Songs for this chapter are:
Friends, Lovers, or Nothing- John Mayer
Use Somebody- Kings of Leon
Elena's Lullaby- it's from this piano only playlist I found that's literally called "Vampire Romantic Piano Diaries" and I'm obsessed with it. There are songs inspired by Twilight, The Vampire Diaries, etc, and it's just beautiful *sobs*
Landon's POV.
It's been two hours since Nora left my apartment to get her work clothes. Well, her excuse was that she needed her work clothes, but I'm not completely unaware how coincidental the timing would be. A stranger shows up in my apartment and Nora just so happens to know his name?
What a day I've had today. Nora showed me a side of her I hadn't seen, not only is she mind-blowingly sexy, she managed to turn off all of the voices in my head with the sound of her voice. I felt comfortable and as stupid as it sounds, I felt confident in my inexperience with her guiding me, telling me I can be who I want to be when I'm with her. The thought is strange, being able to be a completely new version of myself. With her I can be more than the nice guy, I can be more than someone's best friend. I don't have to solve everyone's problems and neglect my own, when I'm with her.
My head is throbbing and my living room is finally put back together. Hardin argued with me for a little bit before he disappeared and came back twenty minutes later with an extra lock to put on the door. I think of what he said about Tessa, and how nervous she was after our break-in, and go to the closet to grab my small tool box to install the lock.
Ken gave me this toolbox when I decided to move to New York. It's nothing too special, but it meant something to him, so it means something to me. I could see it in his eyes when he handed me the small red box and I noted the way his voice changed when he explained the function of each tool inside. I didn't tell him that he was telling me things I already knew.
I didn't tell him that I've been fixing things my whole life, I'm an expert. Instead, I let him explain each thing to me in great detail. I even asked questions like, "What's the difference between a Phillip's head and a flat-head screwdriver?"
I had a feeling he needed these simple moments with his step-son, to make up for lost times with his actual son.
When the lock is on and sturdy, I sit down on the couch and turn on the t.v. What can I watch to distract me from watching the clock? I turn on Netflix and scroll.
And scroll.
And then, scroll.
Nothing sounds distracting enough to keep my mind off of Nora. While I read the movies recommended for my account, I curse at the irony.
Julie & Julia and Chocolat are the top two. Cooking related movies. Of course. The selections make me think of Nora in her work uniform and then, not. It's possible that the movies are recommended because of her and Tessa's history, but I decide that it's some sign from somewhere. I keep scrolling. Nora should star in her own movie, a beautiful, intelligent, and mysterious woman. A woman who also happens to bake edible heaven. If our lives were a movie, it would be easier to uncover her secrets.
I think about the movies I used to watch with my mom on the Lifetime channel. As much as I hate to admit it, some of those movies were pretty dang good. They always had insane plot lines, like psycho babysitters who try to steal husband or husbands who turn out to be con artists, sometimes even murderers. If Nora was the star of a Lifetime movie, she could be a spy or even an assassin. In my head, I piece together what I know.
With her shady trips to Scarsdale, she could be either, really. From what Google knows about Scarsdale, it's a pretty wealthy area with an older population. Her family lives in Washington, so it has to be someone else. My phone buzzes across the table and I grab it, reading the name on the screen.
Dakota.
Why is she calling me?
And more importantly, why don't I want to answer it?
Guilt washes over me. I shouldn't be avoiding her. She doesn't deserve that. But I can't keep balancing this rope between them, eventually I'll slip.
Nora's voice saying, I'll come back to you, plays and plays in my head. I think about the way her eyes flash with mischief when she challenges me and the way my name sounds when it comes from her mouth. I lay my phone on my chest and I let the call go to my voicemail and continue to make up plotlines for Nora's lifetime movie.
The night that I followed her, she changed her clothes before she got off. We can refer to that night as The Scarsdale Night. She changed her shirt and and took her hair down from it's ponytail. She even ran her fingers through the messy strands and they bounced on her shoulders. She shook her head and I remember thinking she should star in a shampoo commercial.
But enough about her bouncy things... I need to focus back on my conspiracy theory surrounding Nora. I raise my hand and hold it up over my face and make a fist. I lift one finger for random subway rides an hour away. What else? Hmmm...
She's had shady phone calls come in while with me and then proceeded to leave my apartment. I raise another finger. As for disappearing, she's done that on more than one occasion, and I would have to be an idiot to ignore the warning signs as I raise another finger. If I get to five, I need to enter witness protection.
Speaking of witness protection, is she in it? She does have two names...
Was her ex-boyfriend in the mob or something?
Does she have a boyfriend now, and if so, is he in the mob?
I'm not sure why my brain goes straight to everyone being in the mob, I think I've watched too many movies. I did watch The Godfather when I was a teenager. More than once. I'm going to be like those people who blame their inability to function in society on a movie they watched when they were at that pivotal age of youth.
Tessa made me watch this movie the other night that had a scene where a woman was sitting with her mom, telling her that she failed her by letting her watch Cinderella as a child. That's what happened to me, I watched The Godfather and soapy Lifetime movies with my mom and now I'm convincing myself that my girlfriend is an assassin or an ex-mob member.
Maybe Nora has a secret child? She is older than me and she does have that soothing voice, I could totally see her as a mom.
Maybe she's hiding something bigger, like that she actually does like Gatorade after all?
I would rather find out that she's an assassin than find out she's been lying about her hate for my favorite drink.
I'm getting way, way too creative here. I need something to do.
Pronto.
I lay the remote down on the coffee table and sit up. Should I call her?
She promised she would come back to me, will she?
She was looking straight at me. Am I a fool to think that I could tell if she was lying?
Can I trust her to actually keep a promise?
I promise to not say things I'll want to erase, she told me. We made a deal. It was set in stone from that second on and I fully expect her to keep her side of the deal.
If she comes back today, I will make a promise to myself to trust her. If she keeps her promise, I will keep mine. I will make sure I will give her time to open to me. Her petals deserve to have time to bloom.
Alright Landon, enough about promises and deals and secrets.
I busy myself by walking into the kitchen and opening the fridge. I should have checked in on Tessa today to see how she's doing. She seemed fine the last time I saw her. Hardin did too, aside from choking that dude in my living room. My eyes scan the kitchen, remembering the taste of Nora on my tongue. The sweetness of her fills my senses again and I grab a muffin from the pan while I daydream. The way her fingers dug into the counter top when I lapped my tongue over her wetness will forever be etched into my mind.
The noises she made when she came set off an animalistic need inside of me. All I could think about then, and now even, is her. She's quickly becoming an obsession of mine and I don't think I could stop now if I wanted to. Nora's clothes were all around my kitchen only hours ago. Two hours and fifteen minutes ago, to be exact. She must have grabbed them and changed on her way out. My clothes did look so, so good on her.
Too good on her.
Everything she wears looks too good on her. She has one of those bodies where she makes oversized t-shirts and jean shorts look sexier than lingerie.
When I take a bite of the cupcake my stomach growls. I don't remember the last time I ate, well food. The only thing I remember is Nora, Nora, Nora. How can I find out more about her? I bite off another corner of the onion cupcake and walk to my room to get my laptop.
When I get back to the couch, I have another missed call from Dakota. I flip my phone over so the notification doesn't distract me and open my laptop. I'm not even sure what it is I'm looking for here but my first instinct is to go to Facebook. Facebook is definitely the home base of sleuthing on the internet. I click on the search box and type in her name. Nora... wait, what's her last name?
Oh, man. I don't even know her last name.
I run my hand over my hair and grab my phone. I tap on my mom's name and put the phone on speaker.
She answers on the third ring. "I was just talking about you," she says into the phone. I can hear her smile through her words.
I laugh, "Good things, I hope."
"Of course. We are here at lunch over at South Fork and we ran into Sophia's parents. We were literally just talking about you, how strange." Her voice is soft and I try to keep my voice the same, despite the nervousness creeping up my spine. I peer at my laptop and look around the room. Her parents are there, right now, with mine. What are the chances?
Another sign.
"Uhm, tell them I said hi?" I stammer into the phone.
Maybe something will come up related to their last name, since I can't exactly ask my mom while I know she's with them.
"Landon says hi," my mom says and I hear muffled voices in the background. A few seconds pass. "They told me Sophia moved back to Scarsdale. I didn't know that, honey," my mom says, and I get the feeling that this is something she expected me to mention to her.
If it were true, I would have.
Why do Nora's parents think she moved, and what did they mean by "back" to Scarsdale? If I hear Scarsdale one more time, I may loose my mind.
Maybe I can get some information from her parents? It would help me solve the mystery of her. "How long ago did she live there again?" I ask my mom and I hear her ask them.
"Just recently. A few months before you moved to Brooklyn," she tells me. "They say they send their best wishes to you and they hope you're enjoying your new city. They are used to their babies being out of the house. I'm not," my mom teases.
"Tell the...." I pause, hoping my mom will fill in the blanks.
"I'll tell the Rahal's you said thank you, and I'll call you back later today, is that alright?"
Jackpot.
I type Nora Rahal into the search bar and a few pages pop up. None of them her.
"Landon?" My mom repeats my name.
"Uhm, yeah. Sure. Thanks mom, love you guys." I hang up the phone and toss it onto the couch next to me.
I type Nora's sister's name and hope I can spell it correctly. Staussey Rahal doesn't appear, but a profile under the name Staussey Tahan does. When I click on the profile, Staussey's face appears. I know instantly that it's her, I can tell by her features. Dark green-brown eyes and high cheek bones. She's slightly thinner than Nora, her face is more narrow and her lips aren't as full. I scroll through her profile and quickly discover that her husband is a surgeon. Ameen Tahan, is his name and he has quite the enormous resume. I scroll through picture after picture of Staussey and her husband, holding huge plaques and diplomas with his name on them.
And I work at a coffee shop...
I should fit right in with her family.
I manage to navigate through her photos and find an album named "Bandol" dated two years ago and click on the folder. At least fifty pictures load onto my screen. Nora's sister should really update her privacy settings. Any crazy person can find so much about her in just a few seconds. Especially given the pictures she has on here. The picture that catches my eye first is Staussey in a tiny red bikini, her husband and his chiseled abs kissing under the stars.
I keep going to find pictures of Nora. A flash of a yellow bikini catches my attention and I enlarge the picture. It's Nora alright, wearing a strappy yellow bikini barely containing the curve of her hips. A man is standing next to her, his black hair is thick and heavy on his head. She's laughing and his arm is around her waist, holding her to him. I can see the possessive position of his shoulders and I can sense his ego in the set of his strong jaw. I mean seriously, the dude could cut a steak with that thing. I brush my hand over my own jawline. I could maybe cut through warm butter?
I stare at the picture for so long that it hurts. Who is he?
I scroll over the image, hoping either of them are tagged, but no luck. Nervously, I click to the next picture. Nora with her feet in the ocean, a notebook on her lap. She's wearing the yellow bikini again, but the man from the other picture isn't in this one. Her hair is braided into two pieces and she's even more tan here than she is now.
God, she's beautiful.
Someone knocks at my door and I jump up. Nora, please be Nora.
I wipe my palms on my sweats and open the door. It's Nora, dressed in black pants and a red shirt with a plunging neckline. Her lips are painted bright red and her eyes are lined with dark makeup.
"Hey," she says, her lips are so... so...
I can't form a thought except that I feel immense relief to see her standing here, in my doorway.
"Hey." I hold the door open for her and she walks past me, her shoulder brushing mine. When I join her inside and close the door, she grabs ahold of my t-shirt and presses her lips against mine.
(Author's note: I'm updating again tomorrow. It's so weird how quickly the days go by since I moved. I either have way more to do, or I'm feeling super inspired and getting more done! lol Also, I am finally on season six of game of thrones and now everything is starting to make sense and i see why Nora loves it so much haha)