OK for here?"
"Of course - see you in five."
Within seconds of me opening the door, Pamela, decked out in her lime green sweats, fixes me with a knowing smile. "You look good. Glowing."
"Thanks, I..." I trail off.
Oh, who am I kidding? I haven't switched up anything in my lazy-person beauty routine. In fact, nothing's changed except that now Landon knows about Madison. And now that I'm actually taking the time to think about it, that's a hell of a relief.
We hug and, after separating, Pompom takes out a DVD and waves it around so much her ponytail braid bounces. "Look what I have..."
"It's that kind of night?" I ask with my own knowing smile.
"I'm in the mood to believe in love again," Pompom says in a low, sultry voice, holding it tight against her chest, eyes closed. She grins. "And let's get real: The Notebook is an every kind of night movie."
"You've got that right," I say, heading for the kitchen. "I'll get the popcorn."
We're a good way through, at the part when they're saying goodbye, when Pompom says, "OK. Spill."
"It's Landon," I confess. "I finally told him about Maddy."
Pompom pauses the movie to turn to me with an excited grin. "And?"
"And he wants to meet her," I say, trying not to smile and failing.
"Ah!" Pompom bounces up and down on the couch before pausing. "Sorry, are we not happy about this?"
"I'm just not sure I'm ready," I admit.
Although part of me feels like bouncing up and down on the couch myself.
"Totally fair," Pompom says, reaching over to give my hand a squeeze. "You're just being a protective Mama Bear."
"And there's this whole case thing that's making things complicated," I admit. "If they found out..."
"Hey." Pompom passes the popcorn bag my way with a stern look. "You're a great lawyer. Even if you lost this case, you'd get another."
"With time, maybe, yeah. But Goldtree Inc. is a big client. It wouldn't look good if it came out that I was dating the opposing team. Definitely not for them, and not for future clients either. In my business, reputation is a big deal."
"True." Pamela shrugs. "I don't know, though, ending it seems so..."
"Obviously the right thing to do?" I finish with a sigh and a sad smile. "I wish I could. For now, I guess I can just hope that things don't work out. Soon."
Pompom snorts. "Please. You're not actually hoping for that."
"I know," I admit. "But I can hope that one day I'll hope for that."
She rolls her eyes. I sigh. "You're right, I'm being an idiot. And - "
My phone rings. Oh... shit.
I'd completely forgotten to tell him what was going on. But it felt nice, this distance. Reassuring. Like I was starting to get my head on straight. Or straighter, anyway.
I sit there and hold the phone like it's a bomb.
"You gonna take that?" Pamela asks with an evil smile.
"Nah," I say. "It's girl's night and - "
"I don't mind."
"Really, it's fine. I don't need to - "
"Just take it," Pompom urges me.
"I can just message him."
Pamela presses the talk button.
"You bitch," I hiss at her.
"Hello?" Landon says. "Kyra?"
I walk off to the kitchen.
"Hey," I say.
"Hey, is everything OK?" Landon asks. "You just raced off..."
"Yeah, I'm really sorry about that. It was Madison. She was throwing up, so I had to get there fast."
"Oh. Right. But she's OK now?"
"Yeah, she's totally fine. Sorry, it was such a crazy day that it slipped my mind to call you."
And I was avoiding you.
"Glad she's alright. Should I come over?"
"No. Pompom's here."
"Tomorrow then?"
"Landon."
"Is it too much to ask to see you every day?" he jokes.
"Yes," I reply. Although my brain is trilling no, of course not! Not at alllll! "I have a kid. A job. Responsibilities."
"Which I have no intention of keeping you from," he says with good humor. "Let me come over tomorrow."
"I'll think about it. Good night, Landon."
"You can't talk for more than a minute?" he growls.
OK. Maybe I have been acting a bit unfair.
"Not much to report," I say. "Just watching The Notebook. Eating popcorn. Catching up with Pamela."
"Alright, I'll let you go." Typical Landon - pushes for what he wants, then makes sure to end things on his own terms. "Goodnight Kyra."
Then again, I should probably just stop overthinking everything. Maybe he's just being agreeable after I tried to hurry off the phone call.
"Night, Landon," I say.
"Well, that went well," Pompom says blithely after I've hung up.
"It did, actually," I say, exhaling. "Kind of."
"So, are you seeing