Ghost Flowers

38. Covering Their Tracks

Unity streets were covered in snow. Some people in town finally took down their Christmas decorations. Savana walked across the road to the café to pick up lunch for work. Cheryl decorated the place for Valentine's Day. Savana was very excited about tonight. It would be the first time celebrating Valentine's Day with a boyfriend though no one else knew.

Savana and Landon kept their relationship secret. She knew no one would approve, especially her dad. But she liked him and wanted to do whatever it took to keep seeing him. Though she felt guilty not telling Cully or Faye.

Those two still haven't totally made up since Homecoming. They said things to each other they both regretted, but both were too stubborn to apologize first. Savana was sick of being the middleman.

Cully was busy dating Chase and hanging out with his friends. Savana was occupied hanging out with Jade or sneaking out to meet Landon. All Faye did was work. Her daycare kept her busy. She felt like she was losing her friends completely.

Gavin took Jacklyn out for Valentine's Day dinner. He asked Savana if she wanted to hang out with Jade while they were gone. She lied and told him she had already made plans with Faye since Cully would be on a date with Chase. Gavin was okay with that. She felt slightly guilty for lying to him at first. However, she remembered how he lied to her before and snuck around with Jacklyn for months.

Savana and Landon usually waited until midnight before he parked his truck at the end of her driveway and waited for her. She wanted to ensure her dad was asleep and wouldn't notice her missing.

On nights like tonight, when Gavin wasn't around, Landon would show up whenever, and they would hang out in the living room and watch movies. Savana had already picked out a romantic film for tonight. She also made dinner for them, spaghetti.

She cleaned things up after making dinner. There was a Valentine's Day card placed on the counter. She wondered what Landon would bring her. Roses? Chocolates? A Teddy bear?

Soon Savana saw headlights shining through the kitchen window. Her heart skipped a beat. She was so excited but nervous, too, for some reason. She opened the door and welcomed him inside.

"Hi." She smiled and stepped to the counter, covering the card with her hand.

Landon stomped the snow off his boots and shook his jacket off. "Hey."

Right away, she noticed he didn't have anything in his hands. Maybe he had a card in his pocket.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" Savana excitedly handed him the card.

He smiled and glanced at it. "Aww, thanks babe." He leaned in and kissed her. He stepped back and sniffed the air. "What smells so delicious?"

"I made spaghetti." She put the card back down after he handed it back to her.

"Awesome. What movie did you pick out?" He put his jacket on the back of one of the dining room chairs and sat down.

"It's First Impressions." Savana grabbed a plate of food and set it down in front of Landon. She was about to sit down with her plate.

"Babe, you got any soda?" He asked with his mouth full.

"Yeah, just a second." She set her plate down and turned back to the fridge.

As soon as she had handed him the drink, she sat down. They ate silently. Savana tried not to ask him bluntly if he got her anything for Valentine's Day.

Once they finished eating, they hopped over to the couch and started watching the movie. About twenty minutes in, Landon rubbed his hand on her thigh. Goosebumps appeared on her arms. She was still getting used to someone touching her like that, even though they'd been seeing each other for months.

He then leaned in on her side and kissed her neck. They had kissed a lot since being together, but that was the most they had done. The stubble on his chin tickled her.

"Stop it Landon, watch the movie." Savana laughed.

"How can I when you're right here looking like dessert?" As he continued kissing her neck, his hand moved from her thigh to her stomach.

Savana felt his hand move closer to her chest. He had tried this move before. "Nope." She gently pushed his hand back down. She was not ready for that.

"I've told you before that we don't need to go all the way, just halfway." Landon moved from her neck to her mouth. His kisses got deeper.

"I don't want to risk getting carried away." She explained in between kisses.

"We won't. Let's just try it." He pleaded.

She thought about it for a minute. She liked Landon and became more comfortable with him. Maybe it was time to take it a step further. A small step.

Suddenly she realized he had hardly mentioned Valentine's Day and hadn't given her anything yet. "So, what did you get for me?"

"What?" He asked, not caring about anything but consuming her as he continued to kiss her.

"For Valentine's Day, what did you get me?" She pulled back and looked at him expectantly.

His eyes looked void for a second. "Oh, I didn't know we were doing the whole gift thing. I thought maybe I could give myself to you, if you know what I mean." He smiled and winked at her.

Her eyes furrowed. "Oh. I see." She leaned back into the couch and stared at the movie playing. It was one of her favorite movies, but now she felt it was tainted by this disappointing moment.

"What?" Landon sighed and leaned back as well.

"I just thought you would have gotten me a gift like any other couple would do. I got you a card and made dinner and picked out a romantic movie." She paused and looked at him. "But all you wanted to do was feel me up."

"Hey now, it's not like you're not enjoying it just as much as me." He put his hand on her thigh again.

She glared down at his hand. He could feel her eyes burning holes into his hand, and he took it off her.

"I told you that when I'm ready I'll tell you. And I'm not yet." She tried to stay calm.

"Well, when the hell is that going to be? We've been doing this for four months." He huffed.

Savana scoffed. "At least you know how long we've been together."

"We haven't really been together yet, have we?" He stood up and stepped over to his jacket and boots.

"What are you doing?" She was worried she had pushed him too much.

"Obviously you don't want me here, so I'm leaving." He put his winter gear on and reached for the door.

"I didn't say that!" She shouted.

"You may as well have." Landon stepped out and shut the door behind him.

She couldn't believe he left like that. She just wanted to talk things out. By the time she got up and opened the door, he had already started his truck.

"Landon, wait!" She shouted.

But the truck sped down the driveway and turned onto the road heading for town. Savana looked at the tire tracks, worried that Gavin would see them and suspect something. With tears in her eyes, she put on her jacket and boots and shoveled the driveway.