This Cat Has Claws

18: This Again?

It was totally unintentional that I swept Landon off his feet and pinned him under myself. Really. For a second though, I was almost glad that he had startled me awake. He was so cute and having him pinned under me was pretty hot in and of itself, but even more so since it was Landon.

"Whoops. Sorry Landon. I didn't mean to fall asleep," I said. I didn't mean to actually fall asleep, but when I closed my eyes and took as deep a breath in as I could, it was hard not to just let my eyes stay closed.

"Yeah," Landon almost whispered. I could feel his heartbeat pick up a little through my hands that were still holding his own down on either side of his face. I focused my attention away from his racing heart and to his face. There was a slight blush creeping onto his cheeks. "Uh, I finished packing, so I'm ready to go whenever you are."

We stared at each other for a moment longer. Landon's eyes watched my own and switched back and forth. I could tell he was thinking about the specks of green and hazel in my left eye and how there was nothing in my right. I took this time to look at his eyes too, and to study his features. I wanted to trace my fingers along the lines of his face; his jaw, his cheeks, his lips, even his nose. They all seemed so perfectly structured all of the sudden. It seemed almost impossible for me to notice something like this since we were around each other a lot recently. Maybe that was my I missed it. Because I was so used to him. So comfortable.

I closed my eyes momentarily and gathered myself again. When I finally took my hands off his wrists and climbed down from the bed I realized something. I could feel myself falling for Landon. That's what this feeling was.

"Okay, let's go back to my house then," I said finally.

I watched as Landon slowly sat up on his bed before sliding off onto the floor. As I turned my head, I could see out of the corner of my eye that Landon placed his hand over his heart and let out a silent sigh. We walked out of the dorm room and down the hall and then down the stairs. I didn't really know what to do with myself now that I had realized my feelings for Landon. How do people deal with this stuff? I guess, nothing would really change as long as I didn't say anything, so there was no reason for me to act differently.

It was a lot colder outside than I remembered it being when we first entered the building a half hour ago. I put my hands in my pockets and looked behind me towards Landon. He rubbed his hands together before adjusting the straps of his bag and then doing the same. I was met with a hand over my mouth as I turned back around. They really liked Landon's dorm for some reason. This was the second time in two days that this shit has happened. I headbutted whoever was holding me and looked at Landon. They had him completely pinned with two guys on either side. I figured it wasn't much use to fight anymore. It would be tough even for me to fight off my attackers and then Landon's on top of that. I'm not a superhuman or anything.

They bound our hands and feet and tossed us into the back of a black SUV. Classic. This time though, our eyes weren't covered. Landon and I were met with three buff guys and a scrawny woman. Two of the guys sat in the front seats, the drivers and co, and I'm guessing we were facing the bosses. I vaguely recognized the lady, so maybe she was the boss and Buff Guy to her right was another guard.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Ms. Parker," she said. "I'm Jillian."

"Yeah, hi. I'm assuming you have business with my mother and father," I said nonchalantly. I just wanted to get out of this as fast as possible, so I needed to figure out why I was needed.

"Yes. Quite smart you are, young lady. I need you for negotiations with your parents."

"Then why is he here with me?" I asked pointing to Landon.

"Well, last time we tried this, he was there and ruined everything by calling your father, so I thought it would be just fine to take both of you this time, rather than risking it again. You two are always together these days, it would have been hard to take you without him being there."

We drove the rest of the way to Jillian's hideout in silence. I tried to reassure Landon with glances his way every now and then, but I'm not sure how well the message was received. It's not like either of us were forbidden from speaking, I just thought it'd be best in the long run if we didn't say too much.

Jillian's house was nice. It was up in the mountains so it took us a while to get there, and there were a lot of twists and turns along the way, but honestly it was kind of worth it to see this place. There were kempt trees surrounding the front yard. We even had to go through a gate and then drive some more to get there. I could see there wasn't much of a backyard because there were large trees everywhere that wasn't the house. The car stopped and Jillian's door opened. The driver held out his hand and she took it as she stepped out of the car.

"What is she, some foreign princess?" I asked under my breath.

Landon stifled a laugh and passed it off as a cough as we got out of the car. The three buff guys walked behind Landon and I as Jillian led the way into the house. We were sat in the living room to wait until something happened. I couldn't be sure until they were here, but I was pretty sure Mom and Dad were already on their way to come get us. We were not far out of town so it shouldn't take long. But that wasn't what I was worried about. Based on what I've seen, I'd be able to get out of here. The three buff guys were the only other people I'd seen here, so it'd be somewhat of a challenge, but I could probably take them. And I saw who had the car keys, so Landon and I could escape and steal their car. What I was worried about was what Dad would agree to so that we'd be let go safe and sound. I'm sure it'd just be the two of them that would come to the house, so they wouldn't have much leverage.

"It seems like our guests have arrived ahead of schedule," Jillian said as she headed for the door.

Landon and I turned our heads in that direction and saw Mom and Dad walk in behind Jillian. They looked at me and smiled.

"We'll be back soon, kid," Dad said to me as the three of them walked into another room and closed the doors.

"Oh, God. Why is my life so ridiculous?" I asked myself. "Landon, be as normal as possible and try to undo this knot please."

I turned my body ever so slightly so that my bound hands were next to Landon's. I glanced from side to side to see where the three buff guys were located. One was outside the door where Jillian's meeting was happening, another was by the front door, and the last was not too far from us. Landon's hands fumbled around as he tried to feel where the knot was and how to undo it. Even if all he did was loosen it a little, that would be enough.