For Now, For Good

14. - Present Day

"You good?" I ask him sarcastically as he catches his breath.

He holds one finger up toward me, requesting my patience before he stands up right, squeezing his eyes shut before running his arm across his forehead, ridding it of the increasing sweat.

"God, were you like running or something?" He questions.

I stand there in silence, my arms crossed against my chest.

"Hi" he finally acknowledges, his breathing returning to normal.

"Hey" I comment, still confused on what he's doing.

"We got interrupted, back at the paddock" he replies, pointing aimlessly over his shoulder.

"It's fine." I shake it off, trying to conceal my feelings.

"It's not fine" he disagrees. "And you went to the restaurant"

I shrug.

"Baylee, that's a big deal" he gushes. "I didn't think.. I wasn't sure"

"It's no big deal, Lando. Honestly. Let's not make a big thing about it okay" I beg. 

Lando's shoulders deflate as his head drops, looking actually disappointed in himself. 

"I should really go" I gush, pointing toward where I can see Jade gazing at us with such hope and almost a look of pride. 

He shakes his head as if that thought scares him, "No, please don't go. Can we just talk?" 

"There isn't really anything to talk about" I insist. 

"Baylee" he looks at me seriously, "I think there is plenty to talk about." 

I don't really know which part of me to go with right now. Whether its my head or my heart leading with the best intentions right now. 

"I think we'd both regret it if we at least don't have a conversation" he suggests with a smug smirk across his face. A smirk that I think even in 24 short hours, he knew melted me. 

I can't help but return the same smile at him, "Oh really?" I chuckle. "You think you're that desirable?" I ask mockingly. 

"No" he shakes his head, "But I know that you are" 

I don't know how he does it, but he always knows how to win me over. "Fine, we can go some where to talk" I agree. 

His entire body reacts to my agreement, bursting a flutter of butterflies throughout my stomach. 

I gaze up at Jade and I don't know if she has supersonic hearing, or she's really good at body language, but she pumps her arms down in satisfaction before waving me off, turning around and skipping down the road. 

Now officially alone, I feel a little more embarrassed and shy to be alone with him. 

He notices.

"Shall we?" he suggests, cocking his arm slightly so mine is able to slide in, gently grasping onto his upper arm. 

We set off down the road, even though he's the tourist here, I feel like he's guiding me. 

"I have to say, I'm was a little disappointed when I saw you" he admits. 

"Oh" I chuckle. "I agree to come with you and now you start with the insults" 

"No" he giggles, "I just meant, I was hoping to see you in some official 'LN4' merch" 

I shake my head in amusement. "Oh, you really have no shame" I tease. 

"None at all. But I'm not joking. If you're there to watch me, I would have liked to see you in some of my representation."

He definitely is the same cheeky boy that I met a year ago. 

"Who said I was there to watch you?" I tease. 

He gives me an unconvinced smirk, "Yeah right." 

We continue down the streets of outer Melbourne, my mind throwing me flashbacks of our first and only night together. 

I hear Lando make a breathily chuckle from beside me. 

"What?" I ask him. 

"Nothing" he shakes his head, yet the smile on his face only grows, furthermore increasing the dimple in his right cheek. "I just can't believe you're here" 

I shrug my shoulders slightly. 

"I'm really, really glad you're here" he admits, halting us to a stop and turning me slightly to be facing him. 

Gazing up at him, it's hard to picture anything else than wanting him. Every fibre of my body is pulling me toward him like a magnet. Like I couldn't even fight the urge if I tried. 

"You have to tell me everything. I want to know everything you've been up too this past year" he gushes. 

"There isn't really much to tell" I admit. Which is the truth, I hadn't really been doing much. 

"I don't believe that" he mocks, shaking his head. "How did your final exams go?"

The question frightens me, as it was one of the road blocks in our unwritten story. 

"It went well. I passed, which is always a positive" I admit proudly. 

"That's so great. I'm really happy for you" he admires. "What happened after that? Did you find a job?" 

I shake my head, "No. After studying straight out of high school, I wanted to take a year or two off, find myself again before I dove into the workforce" I admit. 

Not wanting to admit that a huge part of my subconscious decision was to not have myself tied down to anything when we crossed paths again. I didn't want to be the reason it wasn't going to work this time. 

Although I knew it was never going to anyway. 

The way his pupils seem to respond to my answer almost makes me think that answer pleases him. 

"Oh" he manages to stutter. "And, did, umm, are you still, uhh" 

I shake my head, trusting my instinct as to what he was getting at. "We broke up about 20 minutes after I said goodbye to you" 

"Seriously?" he disbelieves. 

"Yeah" I nod, not entirely proud of myself. "I don't blame him. I kind of knew it was going to be over the minute I stepped through the door. I actually think I knew it was going to be over the night before" 

"So, you're single?" 

I nod. 

"And you have no attachments or commitments?"

I shake my head. 

"Oh"