Scandalous (Slow Updates)

Twenty-One

Song: Off My Face- Justin Bieber

Sunday marked the last day at dad's. I wanted to stay for longer, but Landon and I had to return for school, and he had to get back to the auto body shop. It had been the best weekend of my life in a long time, but it hadn't felt long enough. I wanted to live in that perfect world of mine forever, with the man I loved and the parent who showed up like he was supposed to.

When I walked out to the kitchen, the house was much quieter than the past few days had been. I could see dad's door down the hall, slightly ajar, which I knew meant he was awake. I assumed he was probably out back working on his garden. Landon's door was still closed. I prepared some coffee for dad and took it out back, sitting it on the patio table before walking down to where dad was bent over a ripening tomato plant. He glanced up at me from under his baseball cap. "Morning, honey. Did you sleep good?"

"Yeah," I stretched before bending down to pluck a strawberry off the vine a few spaces down from the tomatoes. I wiped it off on my shirt and then took a bite. Dad smiled, shaking his head. "I hate that I have to go back home today."

"I know. Me too," He sighed before resting his elbow on his bent knee. "What's Landon up to today? He left pretty early."

I tilted my head to the side. "I thought he was still asleep."

"Nope. He left around eight this morning. Didn't say where he was headed aside from wanting to go into town to pick up a few things."

"Huh. I don't know then. He didn't mention anything to me."

Dad lifted his baseball cap off his head and wiped sweat from his forehead, his eyes squinting in the harsh sunlight as he looked up at me. "He seems like a keeper, that boy. Especially given he fixed up my truck in one day when I was still scratching my head over it after months of trying to fix that damn thing."

"You should know that two heads can be better than one, dad," I laughed. "But I think so too, and not just because he's got the brains of a genius."

Before dad could respond, Landon's truck slowly pulled in the driveway, and we watched as he cut the engine and climbed out of the driver's side. He spotted us and made his way over. Dad stood and dusted off his knees. "Find what you need, son?"

"Yep. The downtown market here is a gold mine. Thanks for the suggestion," Landon smiled at my dad before turning to me. "Got any plans today?"

I smiled back. "Just whatever you're doing."

"Well, that's good. Otherwise I would've sacrificed some extra sleep this morning for nothing."

"I'm gonna go wash up and start chopping up these tomatoes. You kids plan on staying for dinner before you head back?" We nodded as dad patted Landon on his shoulder and walked toward the house, both arms filled with ripe tomatoes. I faced Landon again, and he took that as an opportunity to swoop down and place a chaste, but knee buckling kiss against my lips. When we pulled away, I wrapped my arms around his waist and smiled up at him. "What sneaky plan did you come up with?"

He grinned. "You'll find out soon enough. Go get ready and meet me in the truck."

Landon wandered back out front to his truck, while I walked into the house to get ready. I grabbed a quick shower before dressing in a pair of capris and a light blue shirt. Landon was already sitting in the driver's seat of his truck when I walked out to the driveway. I climbed in with him, noticing a picnic basket sitting between us. "What's this for?"

"Our first official date," He winked at me, and I smiled wide, my heart skipping a beat at the sight and his plan. Nobody had ever planned a date for me-- especially not one as sweet as a picnic. I hadn't seen what was inside the basket yet, but knowing Landon, I knew that whatever he prepared had a lot of effort put into it.

Landon drove to a park about twenty minutes away from dad's house. We walked hand in hand to a spot by the pond at the south end of the park, and I watched as Landon laid down a blanket and began spreading out the items in the picnic basket. He had prepared fruits, mini sandwiches, chocolates, and drinks. Once everything was set up, he grabbed my hand and pulled me onto the blanket. He prepared a plate for me before getting one ready for himself. As we ate, I glanced around the park, noticing how quiet and strangely empty it was. Landon must've noticed my concern, because he chuckled and shot me a knowing look. "We have this whole space to ourselves. Just so you know, I did actually get permission for us to be here."

"That's definitely more than I would've done," I laughed, memories of past trespassing episodes fleeting through my mind. As I sat there with Landon, I felt a small pang of regret at those moments in my life. I hadn't realized it then, but those times never really did me any good, and they were only ever to soothe the pain deep inside that I never knew how to fix. I glanced at Landon. He never asked me to regret my past or get over any of my past hurts, and he ended up being the one to heal so much of that pain I hid for so long. I knew I still had work of my own to do to keep healing, but Landon fixed a heart that he didn't break, and I wondered if he knew the impact he had had on me, on my life. Him coming into my life had changed everything. He didn't even know the way he healed me, and it made me fall in love with him even more than I already had.

"What's going on in that pretty head of yours?" Landon asked, breaking me out of my thoughts as he set his plate aside and scooted closer to wrap his arm around my waist. I leaned my head against his shoulder, watching the calm ripples spreading across the pond.

"Just thinking about everything that's happened in the past couple years for me. I always thought the way I was living made me happy. I didn't realize how much of a band-aid to a much bigger problem it actually was until I started really looking at it. Now I feel like I could never go back to that life."

Landon glanced down at me. "Do you want to? Go back to that life?"

I smiled softly. "No. I'm happy with where I'm at now. Genuinely happy. I don't think I've ever been able to say that and mean it."

Landon was quiet for a few minutes, and then he pulled me closer. "Believe it or not, I know exactly what that feels like. Ever since my dad died, I spent so long feeling like I was just going through the motions every day. It's why I wanted a change," He paused to lift my chin with his fingers, his eyes searching mine. "But I realize now I didn't need that change. I'm happy with who I am and being the good guy. You make me feel alive, whether I'm bad or good."

I held his face in my hands, pulling him closer to me. "You do the same for me. I've never felt more like myself than when I'm with you." My lips innocently brushed against his, and I closed my eyes as a shiver ran down my spine. "I'm so in love with you, Landon. Thank you for coming into my life."

He smiled against my lips. "I love you, Kara. You ended up being the best thing I ever took a chance on."

I never got the chance to say it then, but I hoped he knew he was the best thing I ever took the risk with too. Even if I had to do it all over again, I would've chosen him, would've taken that chance, every single time.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hi loves!

Here's another new chapter! Getting close to finishing this one 😪 sorry it took a little longer, I've been updating some old stories and also starting to work on some new ones... 😉

Please vote, comment, share, and spread the word about this book!

Thank you for reading!

Much love,

Abby