CHAPTER 36
LANDRY
“Hey sweet cheeks, time to wake up!” Olivia’s voice floated around me, a grunt leaving me as I curled myself tighter into the comforter.
“Oh, don’t do that, it’s already almost noon babes! Rise and shine, we got some stuff on the agenda today.”
I stuck my hand out of the comforter just enough to offer her the middle finger. Things had started going back to normal over the last few weeks. Spring semester classes had started, and I no longer felt the need to avoid Cashton at all costs. I met up with him and the guys at the gym every once in a while, the workouts soothing some of the anxiety I still dealt with.
He had even left a bag of Takis at my door the first day of classes, which had been a life saver since I had woken up too late to get some myself. And though I wasn’t complaining about him being nice to me all of a sudden, I didn’t know if either of us would ever be able to fully get past everything that had happened.
“Oh, don’t be a grouch. C’mon!” Olivia encouraged.
I felt the bed dip as she jumped in next to me, my body slowly turning to face her. I would never understand morning people. I could sleep in for half the day and still not feel rested. Her cheeriness this early felt like an assault, something I didn’t hesitate to relay as I opened my eyes to find her wide-eyed face inches from mine.
“But why? It’s a Saturday for crying out loud,” I groaned, my voice hoarse and gravely from just waking up.
“It’s a surprise. You still have a few hours, but I figured you would want to shower and all of that first. Bexley is helping get it set up so I’m on Landry duty. My one and only job is getting you there! I told them it was a two-person job, but nobody believed me.”
“Uggghh,” I rolled back over.
“Oh, Lan. You’re such a grump in the morning. Would it help if I told you that I brought coffee?”
My eyes cracked open at the sound of that, the smell of coffee just now hitting my nostrils.
“Okay, okay. But you’re staying in bed with me for the next fifteen minutes while I drink this and slowly wake up,” I told her.
“Deal!”
—
Once I was freshly showered, Olivia picked out a fitted taupe blouse and white pantsuit from my closet and threw them my way. I proceeded to curl some loose waves into my hair, Olivia talking my ear off the entire, time as I finished up with a small amount of makeup.
An hour later and we were pulling in through the gates of Cashton’s house, fancy cars lining the driveway as well-dressed guests of all ages made their way inside.
I walked in to find a crowd of people socializing about, champagne flutes in hand as hors d’oeuvres were passed on silver trays. This was much too sophisticated to be a college party, so what was going on?
Bexley met us at the front door, and I let my friends lead me through the house as we exchanged pleasantries in passing, until we reached the back side of the home where the French doors opened to the crowded yard beyond.
My breath lodged in my throat as I took in the pens set up around the estate, familiar dogs occupying each one. I was frozen in place, a laugh finding its way out of my throat as I spotted the bow ties on some of the male animals and the pearl collars around some of the females.
“You think you’re ready to make a speech?” Olivia asked, nudging me in the shoulder as she jumped giddily up and down.
“Guys, what the fuck is going on? Actually, I think I need a glass of champagne to process all of this first,” I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face as I took all of it in.
Bexley grabbed a glass from a passing waiter, handing it to me as I downed it in one go.
“Cash reached out to the owner of the shelter a few weeks ago, and he had Bexley send him the presentation that you made for midterms and never got to present. Guess he felt kinda bad about it,” Olivia winked, and I felt about ready to collapse into a puddle on the ground. Cashton had set this up?
“We all knew how important this was to you,” Bexley added, her voice soft and reassuring as she assessed me. “We told him that we would help in any way we could. It’s completely up to you, but we have your BSL presentation loaded up and ready to go on the projector. You say the word, and we’ll get everyone’s focus. You’re the keynote speaker for the event, after all.”
I felt like I was going to pass out. But in a good way, if that was possible. This was beyond anything I could have ever asked for. I had been so excited to present in front of a class full of students that I had never stopped to imagine just how far of a reach I could have if I only tried.
“Okay,” I nodded, excitement flooding through me.
Handing my empty glass to Bexley, they led me to the small stage set up in the center of the sprawling yard. I didn’t meet Cashton’s eyes until I found myself in front of the podium, the large white screen behind me displaying the first slide of my school presentation as Bexley messed with the projector. He stood out in the crowd, his all-black tuxedo matching Kaptan’s and Zayn’s, as they turned to give me their full attention, TJ clinking his glass next to them until the entire party went silent. There had to be easily over a hundred people here.
Beginning the presentation was the hardest, my voice slightly shaky as the nerves took over. It didn’t take more than a few slides for my words to flow more naturally. All eyes remained on me the entire time, all of these people genuinely listening to what I had to say .
Once I was done speaking, applause surrounded me as I made my way down the steps. It all felt like a dream as I courteously acknowledged everyone that came up to me, before finding my way to my best friends and jumping in their arms, letting their congratulations wash over me.
TJ was the next to walk up and congratulate me, offering me a quick hug before moving over to his girlfriend and letting Zayn come up next.
“You killed it, honey,” he offered before wrapping me in a tight embrace and lifting me off the ground, only stepping back to light a cigarette as Nate came forward to do the same.
As he lifted me up, I locked eyes with Cashton over his shoulder, his hands in the pockets of his suit as he made no move to come any closer.
I brushed my hair back out of my face, stumbling for words as I tried to figure out a way to thank him for all of this. Tomahawk provided a welcome distraction, his black and white form racing up to me and falling to his back at my feet as he begged for attention.
“Tomahawk, what are you doing out here silly?” I laughed, offering him belly rubs as I looked around to try to find which enclosure he might have escaped from. “Let’s get you back to where you need to be, buddy.”
“By all means, princess. If you want to help me accompany him back to my bedroom, all you need to do is ask. I figured I would let him run around and enjoy the attention for a bit, though.”
“What?” I asked, confusion racing through me.
A smirk played on Cashton’s lips, the rest of the group around us dispersing to give us some space .
“As of this morning, Tomahawk lives here.”
My mind spun in circles, his words bringing my brain to a complete halt. I took in the new leather collar around the dog’s neck along with the shiny metal nameplate stitched into the side, my mind disbelieving.
“You adopted him?”
Cashton’s lips tugged up in the corner, a dimple forming in his right cheek as I continued to give belly rubs to Tomahawk.
“Why?”
“Someone once told me that he was the best cuddler. Figured I would put that to the test.”
“And you set up this adoption event?”
“Figured that I had a lot to make amends for, starting with a Communications project that you never got to present. The only difference is that instead of presenting it to a classroom full of students, these are some of the most influential families in the area. I called in a few favors. Oh, and I took the liberty of borrowing Deborah’s number from your phone. Hope you don’t mind. I wasn’t about to break in and kidnap a bunch of innocent animals.”
I took a look around the space, noticing kids of all ages with their parents, the dogs getting more attention than ever, and tears burned at the back of my eyes. This was the most thoughtful thing anyone could have done. Cashton noticed my loss for words and decided to continue.
“Look, Landry…” his confident facade eluded him briefly as he looked down at his feet, sticking his hands in his pockets like he didn’t know what to do with them.
“I know that I’ve already said this, but I need you to know how sorry I am. For everything. I know this doesn’t even come close to making up for any of it. But I just figured it could be a starting point.”
He cleared his throat, a moment of silence passing between us. The truth was, I didn’t even know how mad I was at Cashton anymore. In some odd way, I could justify why he had done the things he did. I didn’t have any siblings, but I had no doubt in my mind that I would feel the need to avenge them if the roles were reversed. And he had gone above and beyond with the little things he had done these last few weeks.
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him that I forgave him, to let him know that I was ready to move on from all of it. But I wasn’t quite ready just yet.
He continued as if he hadn’t even expected a response, his mood shifting back to his usual self as a dimple appeared on that beautiful face of his.
“Six adoptions so far, but there could always be more before the end of the event. Did you know that the majority of the people here didn’t even know that we had an animal shelter in town? The main goal today was to bring awareness. And coupled with your very convincing speech, I would say it has been an overall success. Olivia and TJ even adopted a kitten of their own, and I think Kaptan’s beginning to fall in love with that big ole rottweiler over there. Maverick, I believe.”
I turned to see Kaptan indeed leaning over Maverick’s pen, the dog braced up against the side to offer him kisses, nearly reaching Kaptan’s face with his massive size. That would be one intimidating pairing until people found out that Maverick was nothing but a big baby at heart .
“Let’s just say the house might be a bit of a madhouse for the next few days. But it’s a good thing we’ve got plenty of room.”