Page 47 of Best Year Ever
“Done what?” I ask, not certain what she means.
“I know I’ve given you at least a couple speeches now about how I don’t want any distractions, not to mention leaving yourtext on read for weeks before that,” she stops, looking like she is mustering up the nerve to continue.
It’s a very un-Rori look, since she’s usually so confident. What’s going on?
Meeting my eyes, she finds her nerve.
“I don’t know how to explain this, but I think I’ve changed my mind.”
CHAPTER 17
Landon
My heart starts beating quicker. Is she saying what I think she’s saying?
“Changed your mind about what exactly?” I ask.
“About you. About distractions. Or whether you’d even be a distraction, if we kept it light and fun.”
“Huh,” I say as I process what she means.
“When I was in Europe and we were texting, I really liked that we stayed in touch every day, instead of only at random times. I couldn’t—it wasn’t hurting my tennis, and in fact, I love that you totally get the athlete life. It was like you knew what I needed to hear each day, even though we’re still getting to know each other.”
My chest warms at her words. It feels good knowing that she liked talking every day. That I helped her.
“Plus our nights—they’re the best sex I’ve ever had, Landon,” she says with a more confident tone. “I want more nights.”
“I think we’re on the same page with that one,” I agree quickly with a smile.
“I know you’re not into commitment, and so this may not be what you want at all. But I’d love if we could…keep distracting each other when we can be in the same place?”
Her comments have my mind turning over at a mile a minute.
On the one hand, I’m excited that she wants to spend more time together, and yes, fuck. On the other hand, she doesn’t have it quite right as I reflect on my conversations with Grace and Johnson yesterday.
It’s not that I’m uninterested in commitment, but more that no one ever inspired me to get over my own baggage before. Made me grow up and move past my parent’s BS. Past the worry that factors outside of me and whoever I was with could shape our relationship.
My excuses largely washed away in my conversations with Grace and J yesterday. So while I’m just getting to know Rori, there’s nothing that feels wrong about exploring more.
I decide to make her get really specific about what she wants.
“Are you saying, like date, but keep it casual?”
“Yeah. I guess. Maybe we can just not put a label on it?”
Huh. Not sure I love that.
“But there’s one more thing,” she says, the last sentence coming out slowly, like she’s hesitant again.
She squeezes a couch pillow to her chest. “I don’t think I could handle it if you’re hooking up with other women. That may be ridiculous to ask for after just two nights together. But I know myself, and it won’t work for me.”
My response comes easy. “Rori, I’ve had little interest in other women since New Year’s, and even more so since our night after the photo shoot. Don’t get me wrong, it caught me by surprise, but I realized pretty quickly after being approached a couple of times in January that I don’t want to go down that road right now.”
Her arms relax around the pillow, and a genuine smile spreads across her face. “Okay.”
She may be calmer, but my mind continues to spin.
A vague “no labels” situation, on its own, sounds like it could lead to a lot of uncertainty about where we stand. I’m not interested in setting myself up to be burned before we even get started.
