"I still can't believe you tricked me like that," Landon said, his arm around my waist as we walked to a restaurant for an early dinner. Today was our second date and he was treating me out since he won the race during track.
"Hey, if you listened better you would have realized the trick so don't blame me. It's kind of like saying let's flip a coin," I said, "Tails I win, heads you lose."
"I don't get it, there's nothing wrong with that," he said with frown, pushing open the door to the restaurant.
"You're even dumber than I thought."
"That's not very nice," he pouted before he came up behind me and put his hands on my hips, guiding me forward to the hostess stand. "So what's the trick?"
"Tails I win, heads you lose. Think it over."
"Table for two?" the hostess asked.
"Yup," I replied.
"Oh!" Landon exclaimed, "I get it now." The hostess gave him a weird look as he squeezed my hips. "That's a bad trick."
"Says the guy who had trouble figuring it out," I teased as we followed the hostess to our table.
"You know, I'm curious about this Blade character," Landon said, once we were seated with our menus, "You said he was a family friend...did you guys spend a lot of time with each other as kids?"
I snorted. I couldn't even Blade as a child. "Nah, I didn't actually meet the guy until this year. Like I said, his family is friends with mine. I never said he was friends with me."
"How old is he anyways? He looks like he's twenty," Landon said, rubbing his thumb on the back of my hand.
"Not a clue." He may look twenty but he's probably ten times that and he sure as hell wasn't going to tell me how old he was for real, especially if it was a high number. He knew better than to arm me with that kind of information so I could make fun him for it. "But he's definitely too old."
"Too old for you?" he teased.
"Much too old," I said, leaning over the table to him, "I prefer guys my own age."
"You're seventeen and I'm eighteen."
"I'll be eighteen in December."
"Ah, I'm a lucky guy then," he said, leaning closer towards me.
"Hi! My name is Jess and I'll be your server tonight!" came a chipper voice.
We both pulled back and I flushed deeply as I looked up at the waitress. She looked about fifty with her dark brown hair streaked with grey and small wrinkles on the corners of her mouth and eyes, but she had a huge smile on her face that seemed incredibly genuine.
"What would you like to drink?" she asked, still cheery.
"Um...coke," I said.
"Same here," Landon said.
"Perfect! I'll be right back with your drinks and some breadsticks and to get your orders!" she said, and with another huge grin she practically skipped off.
"Wow," Landon commented, "She's certainly a happy person."
"No kidding. I think I'd kill myself if I got that happy."
"Well, killing yourself wouldn't be very happy so you'd definitely be accomplishing something."
I rolled my eyes as I picked up my menu. "How sad."
"What is?" he asked.
"They serve fish."
"What's wrong with eating fish?"
"Fish are friends, not food," I said, hitting him over the head with the menu, "Gosh! Katie and Mick would be so disappointed in you."
"Well, they're not here so I think I'm okay."
I hit him in the head again just as the waitress came back with our drinks. She didn't comment, but her perky smile faltered a little.
"Oops," I said sheepishly, putting my menu down to take my drink. "Thank you."
"No problem, honey," she said, giving Landon his drink as well. We gave her our orders and she took our menus away before promising that dinner was coming shortly.
"Damn, she took my weapon," I pouted.
"Thank God."
I kicked him under the table. "Just because I don't have anything to hit you with doesn't mean I can't still kick you."
"You're a menace," he said as we started a footsie war under the table. I slipped off my flip-flops and put my feet in his lap.
"I'm not your foot rest," he whined.
"Fine." I dropped my feet down but he caught my legs in between his, holding them hostage.
"Hey!" I protested, "Let me go."
"Why should I? As soon as I do you'll abuse me again," he said, "There's no chance of me letting you go."
"Fine," I said again, smirking as I maneuvered my foot up between his legs until I felt the booth under one of my feet. I scooted to the edge of my seat, pushing my long leg forward all the way until I had my foot right between his legs.
"What are you doing?"
"Nothing," I said innocently, pushing my foot against him.
He jerked in surprise, knee hitting the table and immediately letting my foot go.
Hey, look at that! Being around Blade is actually useful; I can get guys to do what I want by using their sexual needs against them.
"What the hell?" he said in surprise, his cheeks bright red.
"Sorry, but you wouldn't let go. So blame yourself and your little buddy," I said, slipping my flip-flops back on before I crossed my legs under the table, far out of his reach.
"I thought you were an innocent virgin," he said, still looking embarrassed.
"I said I was a virgin. I never said I was innocent."
Well, I used to be innocent until Blade corrupted me.
"Damn, I guess 'kinky' really does suit you," he remarked, "But if you're going to do something like that can you not do it in public?"
"Sorry but I couldn't think of any other way to get you to let go."
"Well, if you promised me a kiss I would have let go," he said, sticking his tongue out at me.
"Who said I would have kept my promise?"
"I know you would. You're too good to not be able to keep your promise," he said firmly.
"That is highly debatable," I said as the waitress appeared with our food and bounced off with a "enjoy your meal, lovebirds!"
"Lovebirds?" I echoed.
"Ah, you heard that too? I thought it was just my mind playing tricks on me."
"Well, lovebird," I said, raising my glass of coke, "Cheers to making it to a second date."
"Cheers," he echoed, clinking his glass against mine before we drank, "So does that mean second dates don't happen often?"
I shrugged, cutting my chicken parmesan, "Well, it depends on the guy. I've got a rule about that too."
"You have a lot of rules when it comes to dating," he remarked.
"Yes, well I've had some unfortunate dates in the past; the rules are new. I want to be sure the guy I'm with is actually with me for more than just a hook up," I informed him, "Anyways, the rules are relatively simple."
"Do tell, I'm curious. And since I am your boyfriend I should know your rules," he said, taking a bite of his meal.
"Well, there's the obvious ones; no kissing until at least the second date, no dating more than one guy at a time, no cheating, no sex unless I know the guy well, am ready for it, and if I know he's serious and not just sleeping with me just to say he got into my pants," I ticked each one off, "And then there's my third date rule."
"Third date rule?" he asked, sounding interested, "What's that?"
I grinned, taking a bite of chicken before I washed it down with some coke, "Well, basically if I'm going to date a guy I usually give him three chances. Three strikes and he's out."
"Harsh," he said, eyebrows raised.
"Maybe, but it works. Anyways, if I think a guy has boyfriend potential and I date him I give him the three date rule. I don't tell him about it of course or else he'll think I'm weird, get nervous and screw it up or something like that, or act fake till he gets what he wants," I waved my fork generally to illustrate my point, "Every guy is guaranteed two dates, unless he does something truly awful. First date, if it's awkward then I forgive the guy because I mean come on, most first dates are awkward."
"I haven't had an awkward first date."
"Maybe you haven't, but I have so I definitely know how the guy feels if he's nervous for a first date. That's why I automatically give him a second shot, unless of course I saw him with another girl or he dumped me or has a major red flag," I took another bite of chicken and chewed thoughtfully for a moment, "The second date is basically up to the guy. If he makes it awkward, or acts stupid or does something, or several somethings, that I do not like or I just don't think it's going to work out I tell him sorry but no."
"Harsh," he said again, "You're strict when it comes to dating."
"Why should I take the risk on a guy and get my heart broken because he doesn't care? Much less waste my time trying to see if something might work out later if I keep trying?" I countered. I'd had enough dudes try to mess with me, I was pretty over it by now. "The third date rule counter acts it. If he cares right from the start then he's got boyfriend potential and is earning major brownie points from the start. If not..." I trailed off, gesturing with my knife across my throat.
"And what about the third date?" he prodded.
"If the guy makes it to the third date then that means he's got serious boyfriend potential or there's something there that could be more," I said, "Like the majority of guys I used this rule on either lasted a while or things ended okay because they were decent people. Obviously, it's not a perfect solution or else I wouldn't be sitting here with you."
"I'm not sure whether I should be insulted or not."
"Take it as a compliment, you've got good potential so you'll get a third date."
"Gee, thanks. What about a fourth?"
"I don't know. To get a fourth date you have to be a damn good kisser."
"Well, I would be glad to show you just how good I am whenever you like."
I was reminded of Blade when he said almost the same thing.
What was it with men and having to show you all the time? Was it really impossible to take their word for anything these days?
"I'm sure you would, but the night's still young so there's plenty of time for you to screw it up," I said breezily.
"Thanks, I feel so much better."
"You're welcome," I said, blowing him a kiss.
********
"So...did I screw it up?" Landon asked curiously as we walked, hand in hand, around campus as the sun set. Dinner had been fun; we'd talked and joked a lot and had way too much dessert, but it had been worth it. I was full to the brim, satisfied, and sleepy. Being curled up against his warm side in the cooler night was a perfect end to the evening.
"Surprisingly no," I teased as he let go of my hand to wrap his arm around my waist instead, brushing a kiss across my temple.
"So I still get my third date?"
"Yup," I flicked his nose, "Feel special. Not many guys make it that far."
"Well, that's certainly cheery," he said as I started hearing shouts.
We both paused and frowned, straining to hear. There was a distinct chant of 'Fight! Fight!' over and over again and Landon's eyes narrowed. He took my hand again and we both took off towards it.
Over the small hill we'd been walking up was a group of teenagers surrounding a two guys. One I'd never seen before but the other was familiar. Black hair, black clothes, small frame...
Mick.
"What's he doing there?" I cried as we tore down the hill.
"I don't know but this isn't good," he said, jaw setting.
"You're such a fag, Mick!" the guy in the middle shouted at Mick while everyone laughed or shouted angry things at the guy. But the laughing kids were the majority.
Landon and both I screeched to a halt while anger bubbled up inside me like a forest fire. What the fuck?
"Are you going to cry?" the boy taunted, "Why don't you guy find your boyfriend and you can cry into his shoulder?"
"Shut up Cedric," Mick hissed, but he looked so upset despite his angry tone.
Landon and I stomped through the crowd of teenagers, pushing them out of the way. Eager for more drama, most parted for us to see what else was going to happen.
"Or what? You'll go tell your little boyfriend and get him to come after me? Try and turn me gay too?" the boy, Cedric, laughed.
"Cedric!" Landon snapped, finally breaking through the crowd with me right behind him. "Shut the fuck up."
Everyone 'oohed' and I wanted to slap all them but instead went to Mick and hugged him. He was shaking and his face was flushed red, but he stood tall and his hands were clenched to fists as he glared across at Cedric.
"Or what?" Cedric snorted, folding his arms over his broad chest, "What are you going to do about it? Did I insult your boyfriend?"
Landon's fist flew out and caught Cedric right in the jaw. The crowd cried their pleasure at the move with a loud 'oooh!'.
"You son of a bitch," Cedric snarled, spitting out blood before he wiped his mouth and glared at Landon.
"Don't insult my friends Cedric or I swear to God I'll ruin you," Landon seethed. I didn't think I'd ever seen him so angry, even when we got into a fight. This was him being angry to like the tenth power. And I was definitely feeling the same.
"You okay?" I asked quietly to Mick, rubbing his back for a lack of anything else to do. What the fuck else could I even do in this situation to make it better for him?
Mick nodded, jaw tight.
"Look at this everyone, Landon's the fag lover," Cedric sneered. "Don't you and Mick share a dorm room? Well, I wonder what you do at night together..."
I couldn't take it anymore. His ugly mug wouldn't shut up and Mick was just standing there, too upset to defend himself.
I let go of Mick and sprinted past Landon, slapping Cedric right across the face, a loud whipping sound as my hand cracked across his cheek. His head snapped to the side and I grabbed his shoulders, pulled him forward and kneed him in the groin.
"Kiana!" Mick and Landon gasped in shock.
I ignored them and whirled on my heel. "Everyone shut up!" I snapped. The crowd immediately stopped cheering and whistling and fell dead silent. My palm stung like when I'd accidentally grabbed a cookie sheet from the hot oven without an oven mitt when I was thirteen and burned it.
It was worth the pain to knock some sense into that asshole, who was currently curled up on the ground, groping his crotch and moaning in pain.
"You guys are all going to leave and never bring this up again. If I ever catch any of you doing anything like this again, or encouraging it, I will personally kick your asses," I said, slipping an arm around Mick again. "Understood?"
Everyone slowly dispersed, whispering amongst themselves, leaving Cedric rolling on the ground, whining and clutching his crotch like the pathetic little worm he was.
"You sure you're okay?" I asked Mick, eyeing him worriedly. "He didn't hit you or anything?"
"No, he didn't want to touch me because he's afraid I love him," Mick said, glowering down at Cedric like he wouldn't mind giving him a kick or two while he was still on the ground. "But I hate his fucking guts."
"We should go before we get in shit," Landon said, shooing us away from Cedric who didn't look like he was going anywhere anytime soon.
"You know, if I wasn't gay..." Mick started as we headed away. "Scratch that, even though I am gay you kicking his ass was pretty damn hot."
I grinned. "Thanks."
"So...you're not bothered by me being gay?" he asked, chewing his lip ring, hands stuffed in his pockets.
"What? Of course not," I said, hugging him tightly. "I love you. You're like family."
"Thank God," he exhaled in relief, "I wasn't sure if you'd be okay with it or not."
"That's why you didn't tell me?" I asked as we started walking again. I hated thinking he was hiding parts of himself from me, even though I understood why. Especially after Cedric, I didn't blame him for keeping it a secret. But it was an unfair way for it to come out for Mick, being forced like that by Cedric. I had half a mind to turn around and give him another kick or two if he was still rolling in the dirt.
"Yeah, I didn't want to risk it, not everyone is so accepting. Clearly. But I was wondering...you didn't seem all that surprised. I wasn't hiding it per se, but I wasn't advertising it either so like...did you hear about it already somehow?"
"I mean, it's not really my business to assume and I never really thought about your sexual orientation honestly because that sort of thing doesn't really matter to me?" I probably might have been more surprised if he'd just come out and told me, but given how I was too angry and wanting to defend him, I didn't really have space to think of anything else. "Doesn't change anything for me. You're still Mick. And you're still my favorite."
"HA! Take that, Landon," Mick said, sticking his tongue out at Landon. "So did you guys have a good time tonight? Oh my—I'm not ruining your night, am I?" He looked stricken.
I laughed, "Relax, you're not ruining it. And yes we did have a good time tonight," I cast a sly look in Landon's direction, "Right Landon?"
"Right. Except for that one part..."
"What part?" Mick asked curiously.
"Ask Kiana," he said, "I'd love to hear her explain it."
"No, I don't think he needs to know that."
"Know what? Come on tell me!" he pleaded.
"Well...we were kicking each other under the table and stuff and Landon was holding my legs between his so I'd stop and I wanted him to let go but I couldn't think of a way."
"So? What's so bad about that?" Mick asked, looking confused.
"Just wait for it," Landon assured him, "She's getting to the good part."
"Um...well, I slid my feet up and put my foot between his legs...up there...you know," I said awkwardly. At the time it wasn't so terrible, but now it felt mortifying.
"Are you saying you rubbed your foot on his family jewels?" Mick gaped at me before turning to Landon, "And you liked it!"
"I can't help it if my...you know...reacts to that, it's not something you can stop," Landon whined.
"But why were you giving him...well...a foot job?" Mick asked.
"He wouldn't let go of my legs! I had to get him to let go somehow!"
"Man, you guys shouldn't be allowed out in public," Mick shook his head ruefully, "If you guys just started dating and that's what you do I can just imagine in a few months..."
"Mick!" we both exclaimed.
"What?" he asked innocently, "I'm just saying. If she gave you a foot job in public, in a few months you'll be banging each other in the local supermarket or something."
"I would never!" I said, hitting his stomach.
"Hey!" he protested, rubbing the spot where I hit him.
"Well, don't make me sound like an exhibitionist."
"Sorry, cutie," he said apologetically.
"You're forgiven," I said, kissing his cheek, "Besides, I don't think I can get mad at you."
"Whoohoo!" he cheered as we stopped in front of the dorms since it was almost curfew, "Goodnight, cutie!"
"Night, stud muffin." I winked at him before he skipped into the dorm building and I turned around to see Landon staring at me with a warm smile that made butterflies erupt in my stomach. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"You're amazing," he said, wrapping his arms around me, "Most people wouldn't have been so nice to Mick about him being gay, and they definitely wouldn't have taken down Cedric either."
"I couldn't help it. Mick looked really upset and he's my friend. No one deserves to be treated like that, but especially not Mick."
"That's what makes you different than Jill," he said, kissing my forehead, "Girls like Jill don't care about anyone. But you do."
I flushed, putting my hands on his warm chest and tilted my head up to look at him. He was so close, just an inch or two more and—
"Kiana!" a voice called, the too sweet tone grating on my nerves. I let out an annoyed growl as Landon pulled away, looking just as annoyed as I felt.
Speak of the Devil and the Devil shall appear...in high heels and a mini skirt.
"Oh Kiana! How are you? I've got some good news," Jill said sweetly as she came up to me, barely glancing Landon's way with a distracted "excuse us" before she turned to me and tugged on my arm. "Come on! I've got something to tell you."
"I'm kind of busy right now, Jill," I said, struggling to keep my tone civil, but hey she just interrupted what could have been a really good moment. "Can it wait until later?"
"No, it's important," she said, grabbing my arm and giving it a surprisingly hard tug. Her face was set into a firm and serious expression, the first I'd seen from her, which is what cracked my resolve.
"Fine," I sighed, resigning myself to the interruption. Jill hardly ever wanted to talk so whatever it was, it might actually be important. "Goodnight, Landon."
"'Night, Kiana," he sighed, kissing my cheek before he disappeared inside his dorm.
Jill tugged impatiently on my arm, dragging me into our dorm building and up the five flights of steps. She led me into our room and closed the door. I sat down on my bed and waited while she locked the door and turned to me. She hadn't said a word the whole way and now that we were alone, her face turned positively stony.
"Why are you still dating Landon?"
She couldn't be serious. That's why she interrupted?
"Because I like him. Duh." I thought that was a pretty obvious conclusion to come to, but okay.
"Well, you shouldn't. He's a total ass. He's playing you like a violin and you don't even realize it," she said, arms folded as her blue eyes blazed.
"Jill. Seriously? How petty can you be?"
"I'm not being petty," she snapped. For a split second, something had me believe her. But I shook it off. This was Jill, after all.
"Okay, then prove it. How is he playing with me?" I asked to humor her. Maybe she did, by some miracle, have a good reason for this conversation.
She balked for the briefest moment, hesitating only the slightest before she finally gave in. "He cheated on me."
I blinked. I hadn't been expecting that. "Okay. Well, that sucks, Jill. I'm sorry. Thank you for the warning," I said genuinely, but still wary. "But last time I checked I was a big girl and I can take care of myself."
"Fine, if you get your heart broken don't blame me. I just hope you know that when you do I'll be telling you 'I told you so'," she said just as Katie walked out of the bathroom. She tossed Katie an annoyed look before she stomped to the door.
"Where are you going? It's past curfew!" I called after her.
"I'm going to go see Brian, don't expect to see me until tomorrow," she called back before the door slammed shut and she was gone.
"Jeez, what's her deal?" Katie asked, towel drying her hair.
"She's got something shoved up her ass, that's all," I said, scooping up my pajamas.
"Must be shoved in sideways, she was walking kind of funny," Katie remarked.
"Haven't you noticed? She always walks like that. It's her 'get a guy' walk," I said, going into the bathroom to take my own shower and brush my teeth before I headed for bed. I felt bad as soon as the words came out of my mouth though.
I couldn't help wondering if Jill was telling the truth. I mean, Landon admitted to being a bit of a player back then, so maybe when he was dating Jill he did cheat on her. But he did say he changed and maybe he did. I doubt he'd cheat now. He certainly seemed to have calmed down. But Jill did look pretty serious. Why would she lie? Just to stir up trouble between me and her ex? It did sound very much like her, but something about her attitude tonight had nagged at me. If she was telling the truth, that was awfully considerate of her to warn me, especially considering how little she likes me.