Landon's POV
I was wandering London with my redheaded “enemy.” I honestly couldn't remember what possessed me to ask her to come, but I was startled to find myself enjoying her company. She was quite fragile in the open city, clinging to my arm with a ferocity I didn't think possible for her. Despite this, it didn't hide her giggles or her excitement. I didn't mind her clinging to me. For a strange reason, I felt she was mine to protect right now. She squealed when she saw where I was taking her.
“The London Eye?!”
She grabbed me tightly, spinning me around in a happy hug, but let me go when she felt how stiff I was. Girls didn't usually do that to me. Not wanting to ruin her mood, I took her hand pulling her towards the line up. I scanned the sky, watching the wheel spin, it's glass domes filled with hundreds of tourists. I glanced at Alicia. She was staring at me.
“What?” I smirked.
She blushed, and hid behind her hair, turning away with an almost inaudible giggle. The line continued to get shorter and shorter until we were waiting for the next one to come down and empty. She pushed slightly deeper into me, and I could feel her shivering against me.
“Are you cold?” I asked, adjusting my hand in hers.
“A little, yes, but I'm kind of excited too,” she smiled at me.
The man gestured us in with a group of other people. We crowded into the glass bubble and the door slid shut. I guided Alicia over to an empty space near the wall so she could see out. Like a little child, she gripped the rail, her green eyes glued to the scene passing before her. They were sparkling with so much excitement. I didn't quite understand it, but I found it cute. I pressed up against her back, letting my hand rest on her shoulder. She gave me a surprised smile, before turning back to the world outside. As our capsule reached the ground again, I pulled her out, another idea in mind.
“Do you like art, Ali?”
Her smile was still etched on her face.
“How did you know?” She questioned sweetly.
I chuckled softly. “I figured it out while watching you play the piano and I also might have been a little naughty, snooping through your room.”
Alicia slapped me across the chest.
“How dare you!” She squealed. “But I'm glad you were thinking something substantial while watching me on the piano,” she added, a slight devilish gleam in her eyes.
On reflex, my grip on her hand tightened and she laughed at my reaction.
“So where are you taking me?” she asked, as we walked down the street.
“It's a surprise,” I said, keeping my eyes on the sidewalk under our feet.
I pretty much just allowed my feet to take us there. When we got to the steps, the building spanned out before us, it's white pillars like tall towers against its bleak walls. Alicia was giving me a quizzical look, but I only pushed her up the stairs ahead of me. Slipping through the doors, she gasped at the walls. They were covered with timeless masterpieces I knew she'd love to see.
“You brought me to the National Gallery?” I tried to keep a smile off my face.
“Oh my,” she breathed and drug be behind her.
Personally, I hated this sort of thing, but I figured it wouldn't kill me to do one nice thing for her. I really didn't expect to be there for so long, but she sure knows how to get caught up with something. I suddenly became very frustrated with myself for giving into her so easily. I was supposed to be one of those guys where no soft spot was detected. Besides, true feelings didn't exist for someone like me. I pulled Alicia down the steps even faster.
“Whoa, Landon, slow down,” she said unsuspecting.
“Be quiet,” I growled. “We should have been home hours ago.”
A startled look settled over her face as she rent herself from my grip.
“Let go of me,” she said harshly.
“You weren't saying that not too long ago,” I countered.
She glared at me as I chased after her down the sidewalk. I had allowed my feelings to get a hold of me, but I still felt protective.
“That's because you weren't being an idiot back then. Now get away from me!”
This time she shouted it louder, causing a couple onlookers to turn.
“Quiet,” I seethed, locking her wrist in a death grip.
“Only if you let go of me, otherwise I'll scream.”
She knew how to threaten. I released her and somehow managed to keep up with her pace on the way back to where we had parked the car. As I drove home, I glanced at her small form, rigid in the seat. Her knees were pressed up to her chest, her finger tapping the door in a steady rhythm. It angered me that she could keep her emotions so in check, despite the fact that she was clearly boiling right now. When I parked the car, she flew out the door, letting it slam with such force that I propelled myself out the other side after her. She was fast, but not as fast as me and I caught her at the top of the stairs.
“Don't you dare make a scene,” I warned, “seeing as my mother is already asleep.”
She wriggled to free herself, but I only held her tighter, pinning her against me.
“Do I not even get a thank you? A goodnight?” I whispered in her ear.
She surprised me by turning around, her hands pressed against my chest. I should have realized that it was in an attempt to push me away, rather than any sort of affection.
“Thank you, Landon, for being a total, complete jerk and idiot! I hate your guts even more than I ever did! And have a goodnight!”
While I still reeled in shock at her bluntness, she had pushed me away from her as if I was some sort of vile creature. And to her, I probably was.
YOU ARE READING
One Day At A Time
Romans"I hate her. I'll hate her from the very beginning to the end. And no one can change my mind." Landon Ingram was determined to hate forever the young woman who had been suddenly tossed into his life. And nothing could melt his heart of ice. She fel...
