Mirror, Mirror

Chapter-Ten

         “What are we doing for Landon’s birthday?” Delilah asked me one day at school.


                   “I don’t know I keep asking him but he always ignores me and changes the subject. You know it falls around Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year. We could do something then.”


                   “That would be great, no school. Let’s do it.”


                   “Surprise? Or no?” I asked wary of the last surprise two months ago.


                   “No! no surprises well just tell him we are having a party for him if he wants to come he can. If not then it’s whatever.”


                   We continued lunch planning the festivities, the guest list and the shopping list.





                   A few days later I got to break the news to Landon that there was gonna be a party in honor of him. “Knock, Knock!” I yelled as I opened the door to his apartment. “Anyone home?”


                   A muffled, “In here.” Resonated from Landon’s room.


                   “Hey baby, what cha doing?” I asked attempting to decipher his mood.


                   “Researching.” Was all he said, leading to no emotion.


                   To draw his attention away from his computer I pulled his chair from behind the desk and took a seat on his lap. “Hi,” I kissed him sweetly.


                   “Hello. What are you up to?” he asked smiling knowing something was up.


                   A smirk crept onto my lips but I hid it by kissing him once again. “Guess what.”


                   A static, “What?” filled the air.


                   I smiled and began the explanation, “So we have no classes Monday, so Sunday we are having a party here. Booze, friends, fun, presents for the birthday boy, what do you say? Am I going to have to drag you kicking and screaming or will you be here having fun?”


                   He shook his head trying to escape my gaze, “I knew you two would do something like this.” He stopped the evading tactic, took a deep breath, “Okay fine. I will not complain but don’t decorate or anything, no cake.” His eyes said it all ‘do it and you die’.


                   “You only turn 25 once.” I playfully defended.


                   “So.”


                   “At least it wasn’t a surprise.” I laughed at him.


                   “True. What kind of food?” he asked peaking his interest.


                   “Haven’t really decided pizza or wings? Something easy that you are not constantly around.”


                   “Hot Wings. Crunchies & Munchies?”


                   “Any particular drink?” I sounded like a waitress.


                   “Nah, whatever you got.” He started spinning the chair around.


                   I held on tighter to his neck, “You are making this so easy, you know that?”


                   “I’m very easy to please.”


                   “Except when it comes to your kitchen,” I commented.


                   He stopped spinning, dizzy. His lips slowly made his way to mine while our heads stopped twirling.





                   By 1am it was like a scene from Breakfast at Tiffany’s, the apartment was filled with friends and friends of friends, classmates, and a few family members. Finding a place to sit besides the floor was harder than finding Waldo. Even though most people were horribly trying to dance to whatever music was coming out of the radio. Some knew it was a birthday party some thought it was just because tomorrow was a holiday. Everyone was three sheets to wind except for a few people, the DDs.


                   By 3am, the only ones left were the normal gang plus their boys. They were growing bored and agitated so B.J. came up with the brilliant idea of playing strip poker. And because everyone left had no properly functioning brain cells the group agreed.


                   After losing a couple hands straight, Delilah opted out. She just wanted to watch and continue the relentless flirting and fawning over B.J. now that they were public.


                   After a few more hands and drinks in people started dreaming, dreaming about what they wanted for their futures. Even though the future seemed so far away she kept creeping up day by day with graduations coming closer and closer.


                   …“I don’t know what I’m gonna do. Keep cooking I guess.” Landon thought out loud.


                   “You should open up a restaurant so I can come and get you to cook for me anytime.” I commented.


                   Savannah pointed out, “You can do that already, Abby, anytime you want.”


                   Everyone stared at me. “True but what about you guys? I know I am special but I was thinking of you.” I defended.


                   Delilah peeled her lips from B.J.’s cheek and other parts just to say, “Yeah sure.”


                   Evan, Savannah’s boyfriend and neighbor joined in, “You know that’s not a bad idea. With the right business plan and layout your food could make a killing in your own restaurant.”


                   “I guess it’s a possibility. Enh who knows what the future will hold.” Landon said attempting to take the conversation away from him. “Read it and weep, full house.”


                   I noticed a lull and the bored setting in once again so I decided to get Dee’s attention it was time for the birthday ‘cake’. I signaled her to the kitchen to light the one candle placed in the little cup. Since Landon hated being the center of attention for his birthday no cake was allowed, so we made him jello shots instead. The blue wax stick protruded out of the glass with red contents.


                   A chorus erupted into ‘Happy Birthday.’ Landon blushed angry at first then laughed when he saw the ‘cake.’





                   Long before day break had come, the party had dissipated. I was the only guest left and technically I shouldn’t even be called a guest any longer. I was there more than I was at my apartment or school combined. I was even starting to get a drawer in his room but Delilah did have a few articles of my clothing as well, at least the things that weren’t too long for her short stature.

***

                   A chunk of mail greeted me after class. Junk, bill, don’t know, bill, junk, and then a bright red envelope caught my eye. ‘Miss Abigail Harrison’ was scrawled neatly on the front. Inside was an invitation.

Will you be my Valentine? Meet me Friday, February 14 at 7pm on the Square. Love Landon

                   A few hours later I rang the door bell, which was getting a little odd but I wanted him square in front of me.


                   “Hey.” Landon answered the door.


                   “I would love to be your Valentine.” I kissed him hello, “It’s a good thing I got that, …I’ve had a ton of early offers.”


                   “Oh really?”


                   “Yea, all the guys from my classes.” I announced while taking my jacket off.


                   “Aren’t they all gay?” He sarcastically smirked.


                   I seen the smirk and could not help but do the same and he saw it. “Most of them, not all that’s stereotyping. Not all guy designers are gay.”


                   He just smiled at my attempted jealousy.

***

                   I awoke to a ringing cell phone that just would not shut up. I silenced it then fell back into my dream world with a still sleeping Landon tangled beside me. A couple minutes later his phone started buzzing and vibrating. I grabbed it and looked at the caller id ‘Delilah’. Since there was no going back to sleep again I answered as groggily as I could, “Hello.”


                   “Were you sleeping?” Her inflection was surprised but I could tell there was something she had to say.


                   “Yes.”


                   “It’s 1:22 in the afternoon. Hey didn’t I call Landon’s phone this time?”


                   I looked at the phone in my hand forgetting the ringing from before, “Uh, yeah, he’s still sleeping. What did you want?” I could hear her breath deeply into the phone.


                   “Last night…” she paused.


                   “Yeah…,” attempting to get her to continue at a faster pace.


                   “His mom caught us.”


                   This statement immediately woke me up to realize the significance. “Caught you how? Or should I say doing what?”


                   “Having sex.” She stated plain as day.


                   “Well that’s what you get for not going in his bedroom and locking the door.”


                   “We were in his bedroom. She came home early with her date. She wanted him to meet B.J.”


                   A smiled crept across my face that was turning into a laugh but I stopped myself before she could hear. “Oh.” I stated breathlessly.


                   By this time Landon had began to stir hearing and feeling my stiffened giggles. He got up scratched his muscular side then headed for the bathroom.


                   “So when did she catch you?” I asked craving for the details.


                   A long pause came from the other end, “Uh, during… well a little towards the end.”


                   “Climax end or…?”


                   “It was the second go around so we weren’t there yet.”


                   “So are you going to tell me the whole thing or am I going to have to imagine what happened second by second?”


                   Delilah exhaled into the phone, “Fine! Well the night started out great we went to see a movie then we went shopping for each other’s Valentine’s Day gifts.”


                   “With him there? On your date?” I was utterly confused.


                   “Yeah we both agreed that it was easier than worrying about what to get the other one so we just went shopping with each other and found the perfect thing.”


                   “Oh ok, whatever works.”


                   “But then we split a giant pretzel and went back to the apartment. I thought you guys would be here so we went to his. One thing led to another and then she caught us.”


                   “So who was on top?” I questioned trying to paint the picture in my head.


                   At this time Landon was back, he laid down beside me with a puzzled look as to why I had his phone.


                   I mouthed, “Delilah.”


                   He raised his head, then it registered what I just said, he asked, “On top?”


                   I mouthed again, “You don’t want to know.”


                   Delilah answered, “He was. At first she couldn’t see who it was and then he moved and she saw my face…there is something else…she never knew that we’ve been dating.”


                   “What!? How could she not? You’ve been over there constantly since New Years. Why didn’t anyone tell her?”


                   “We never got around to it.”


                   “Well she knows now, haha.” I tried to put humor in the mix to get Delilah to lighten up a bit. “What happened after that?”


                   “Uh we stopped, she went into the living room, her boyfriend seen and just smirked embarrassed too. Then we got dressed and I left. He told me to leave so I did.”


                   “Have you talked to him since last night?”


                   “No. I’m too scared to call and he isn’t online.”


                   “Call him.” I demanded. “Get off the phone with me and call him. Talk to him about what happened. Call me later. You need to know…I want to know.”


                   “Yea I guess so.” Delilah didn’t say it with much heart or enthusiasm.


                   “DO IT! Or I’m coming over there and kicking your butt down the hall to his place. Then you can run into his mother again and have her explain what happened after you left.”


                   “Fine. I’ll talk to you later. Bye.”


                   “Bye.” I hung up the phone then passed it to Landon. “They got caught by his mom and her new boyfriend last night.”


                   His face turned sour, he sucked in air through his teeth, “Oh.”


                   “His mom didn’t even know they are dating.”


                   “How could she not know? Oh well.” He wrapped his arms around me like an octopus with its tentacles claiming his territory. He kissed me then starred at me.


                   His eyes were piercing my soul but all I could do was lie there starring back retracing the lines of his face to update the picture in my head. At that moment I wanted him, no actually I needed him. I grabbed his neck pulling him into me. I could see the fire had spread into his eyes. We were both thinking the same thing. “I love you.”