Chapter 11 Kira #3
Noah, on the other hand, nodded. “I get it.” But when Macey glared at him, he cleared his throat. “But not really. You can get a hotdog anywhere.”
“True. My friends and family are here, though,” said Landon.
“Kira’s here,” Macey pointed out.
“Scribbles…” Noah placed a hand over Macey’s, which held a banana that she squeezed so tight it started to peel.
“What?” She slammed the banana down on the counter. “Are we all just going to stand here and pretend that everything’s okay? That Landon didn’t totally turn his back on Kira, his friends, his family?”
I stepped in front of Landon. “Macey, I appreciate you standing up for me. But Landon and I talked, and we’re okay now. He apologized.” I lowered my voice. “He feels guilty enough.”
“Oh, he apologized,” she said sarcastically, frantically nodding. “Because that makes up for hurting you.”
“It doesn’t erase it, but—”
“How do you know he won’t do it again?”
The short answer was I didn’t. But that was the point of trust. You never knew what was going to come out the other side, but you had to hope it was better than what you’d seen.
“It’s fine, Kira.” Landon nudged me to the side before turning to Macey. “She’s right.”
Macey paused. “I am?”
“It wasn’t just Kira I left behind. I abandoned you, too, Macey.” Landon took a few steps closer to Macey, who was now holding a tomato like a lifeline. She really needed to choose firmer fruits. “We were friends for years, and I ruined that too. I’m sorry.”
Noah stood solemnly next to Macey, glancing at her as if to check if she needed support. He was always doing that: letting her handle her problems but assessing and checking for when she needed him.
She sniffed once. “Yeah, you did. I’m still mad at you, but if Kira can forgive you, maybe I can too.” She tossed the tomato onto the counter. “You need to do some more groveling first, though.”
Landon grinned and tossed his eyes to me. “That I can do.”
“Don’t you just love friendship?” Noah poked Macey’s bicep.
“Are you kidding?” Macey turned an eye toward him. “You barely had any friends before you met me.”
Noah wrinkled his nose. “I had a million social media followers.”
“And how many have you gained since we started dating?”
Noah sighed. “Another million.”
“Right,” she said proudly. “Follower count doesn’t mean anything. Not compared to genuine friendships.”
He rolled his eyes and pressed a kiss to her temple.
“That’s our cue.” I grabbed Landon’s hand, then announced to the happy couple, “We’re going to get something to eat. See you guys later.”
They waved goodbye as we headed out of the apartment.
“We’re getting food?” Landon asked eagerly, his voice full of excitement.
As we stepped outside, the sun warmed my face, and I couldn’t help but close my eyes for a moment, soaking in the feeling. I hadn’t been able to do this in a while. “Honestly, I was just looking for an excuse to leave before the Macey and Noah lovefest starts.”
Landon chuckled, a light sound that seemed to lift the air around us. “Perfect, because I’ve got an idea.”
We paused on the sidewalk, the busy hum of the city surrounding us. Sunday traffic rumbled through the streets, cars honking and people chatting on their way to dinner. It was loud. Too loud, almost. I couldn’t help but feel a little out of place in the rush of it all. “What is it?”
“You’re trying to do something that scares you every day, right?” He grinned, eyes lighting up. “Let’s do something right now.”
“Now?” I glanced around, feeling the pulse of the city. There was a crowd everywhere, a buzz of people walking and laughing, moving with the weekend energy. “Let’s do something that scares you instead.”
Landon gave me a mock-serious look. “I’ve already done that.”
“Already?” I raised an eyebrow, genuinely curious. “What could have possibly scared you today?”
He exhaled with a wry smile, the edges of his expression softening. “Confronting Macey like that.”
I laughed. “Macey is the least scary person ever. Besides, you didn’t have to confront her.”
“She’s important to you,” he said quietly. “So I wanted to.”
My chest warmed at his words. “Okay,” I said, my voice soft. “What did you have in mind?”
Landon grinned wide, a playful glint in his eyes. “You tell me. I’m not too sure what scares you anymore. Besides spiders, of course.”
I shivered at the thought of them. Yeah, that fear was definitely here to stay.
After a moment of deliberation, I said, “I’ve never eaten alone at a restaurant before.”
Landon’s eyes widened, clearly intrigued. “Really? Let’s do that. We’ll go together.”
“It kind of defeats the purpose if we’re eating together,” I pointed out, following Landon’s lead.
“Kira, I’m starving,” he said with a grin, “and I will not be passing up food at this time.” He gestured toward a corner restaurant, where many people frequented after late nights. “We’ll go in separately. Besides, I’m a pro at eating alone. I can share my tips with you.”
“Like what?” I raised an eyebrow, genuinely curious.
“Order what you love. Calories don’t count when no one can see them.” He gave me a wink.
“That’s definitely not how that works.” I laughed.
“Chat with the waiter staff. Make up stories about everyone in the restaurant. Pick a good spot to sit. Blink slowly behind those hot glasses and get a free drink.”
I nearly tripped over a rock on the sidewalk and instinctively pushed up my black-rimmed glasses. “Hot glasses?”
“You look hot with glasses,” he said, like it was a well-known fact. “Lastly, my biggest tip for doing something scary is to think of a good thing while you do it. Whatever that might be for you. Now c’mon, we’re nearly there.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at his enthusiasm.
As we reached the door, I reminded myself that this wasn’t a date.
We weren’t even sitting together. It wasn’t Landon’s fault; I had made it clear I needed space, but were things really going to go back to how they were before the kiss?
We had no time to talk about it when we woke up.
The hostess greeted us as we stepped inside. “How many in your party?”
“One,” Landon said, leaning against the stand with a playful smirk. “Just me, myself, and I.”
She nodded and gestured for him to follow her, but before he disappeared around the corner, he turned and winked at me.
I watched him, a smile tugging at my lips. There was something about his carefree confidence that made it impossible not to grin. The hostess turned back to me. “And you?”
“Party of one,” I replied, my tone lighter than I expected.
To my surprise, the anxiety of eating alone didn’t last long. Maybe it was because I knew Landon was just around the corner, but I also liked to think I was getting better at facing fears. Well, the small ones, at least.
The table she sat me at was snug and meant for two, but it felt cozy. I could easily imagine a conversation between me and someone else in the chair across from me.
And when Landon sent me a ridiculous selfie halfway through our meals, I probably looked like a crazy person laughing to myself.