Page 24 of Unofficial

She turns to leave, and just as her hand grabs the door handle, his large hand grabs her left wrist. She turns to face him, and he takes a deep breath, staring out of the windshield.

"Walking away from Amber almost killed me. We'd been together for so long, and I wanted the whole package. A wife and kids. I'm old-fashioned, and I wanted to be married before we had any little ones running around. She never wanted to be married. She was perfectly fine having kids with me, but she didn't want to be tied down."

"That doesn't make a lot of sense," Jess says. "Kids kind of tie you down more than a husband would, in my opinion."

"I put so much into that relationship, and she knew what I wanted. I guess I kind of knew what she wanted, too, but neither of us thought to say anything to each other. When it came time to either move forward or walk away, I had to walk away. It was the absolute hardest thing I've ever done in my life."

Her heart breaks for him. "Landry, can you look at me?"

Landry’s head turns, and she sees the pain on his face. "I don't like talking about it because I haven't found someone I thought I could have a future with since her. Not until I met you, and I don't want to ruin this because of my past."

"Talking about it doesn't ruin anything. The reason I asked is because you have this large wall that goes up that seems to keep me at a distance. Or maybe it's to keep yourself at a distance. I thought if maybe I knew a little more about your past relationship, I might understand why that is."

His hand moves from her wrist to hold her hand. "You think I have a wall up?"

"You get distant," she says and intertwines her fingers with his. "It's like you only let me get so close before the wall goes up and you back away. Almost like everything we have is superficial because you don't want it to go too deep."

"I don't realize I do that."

Jess smiles. "I figured."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"I like you, Jess. I really like you. I think being with you makes me a little anxious or whatever because I haven't found someone I felt strongly about since Amber. It's kind of unnerving."

He doesn't want to admit it's scary. That he's scared to let her in. Got to love those traditional gender roles saying men must be strong and emotionless.

"I understand. It's easier to protect yourself, but I went too long in my life doing that. Not from a boyfriend but from the death of my father. And then there's the massive mess of a relationship I have with my mother. Being alone was just easier because I didn't have to risk losing someone or being an epic disappointment. But it gets lonely."

"You don't like being alone?"

"I don't mind it, and I can definitely do things by myself. But I'm ready to not be so alone. I want a partner to lean on and go through life with. Someone to settle down with, get married, and have a kid or two. Not tomorrow, but someday."

"I think I am, too."

Releasing her hand, he jumps out and hurries to her side. Opening the door, he takes her hand and walks her to the front door. He looks down at her and closes the distance, his lips capturing hers.

This quickly deepens, and she reaches her arms up to wrap around his neck as her mouth opens to grant his tongue access to tangle with hers. The feeling of his hand on her hip as he presses her body against the door does something to her, and she wants nothing more than to let him inside. Inside her house and her body. The desire in her belly burns and screams to take him upstairs to find the release it craves.

Pulling away, she takes a step back and catches her breath. The more he kisses her, the less she finds it possible to think rationally.

"Did I take it too far?" Landry asks and pants slightly.

"Uh, no," she says and pushes imaginary stray hairs from her face. Her body feels like a bomb about to go off, and it wouldn't take more than a few strategic touches to make her explode in the best way possible.

His hand reaches out and takes hers, forcing her to look at him. "Jess, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," she says and gives him a shaky smile. "It was good. Really good. Too good, honestly. It's been a while since I was last kissed like that."

"It was good, huh?" he asks, a sly grin on his face.

Laughing, she gives his shoulder a playful shove. "Shut up."

"Do you want me to come inside?"

Yes! "Um..."

---