And the past few months of him being on the other side of the world have been torture. I couldn’t see him to make sure he was okay. He had to recover, then go through the process of being discharged from the Navy before he could come home.
Thank God he’s back now. I gave him a couple of days to acclimate, but I just can’t stay away anymore. I need to see him.
And I’m nervous as hell.
I park at the curb by his parent’s house, gather my courage about me, and walk up the sidewalk to the front door, knocking with more conviction than I feel.
There isn’t any movement in the house, making me frown. It’s early enough in the day that he should be home.
I knock again, and just when I’m about to give up and leave, the door is yanked open and there he is.
Half naked.
Hair rumpled.
Eyes bleary.
Did I mention that he’s half freaking naked?
“What are you doing here?” he asks, his voice rough with sleep, snapping me out of my open-mouthed stare.
“Were you still asleep?” I ask, squaring my shoulders and schooling my face to seem as though I see half naked men every day.
Which I don’t. Certainly not tall, dark-haired men with ice blue eyes and olive skin and washboard abs.
Jesus.
“It’s early,” he mumbles and scrubs his hand over his face. He’s not asking me in. He doesn’t look happy to see me.
He hasn’t even hugged me, which probably isn’t a bad thing considering that he’s half naked and I’d probably do something stupid like tackle him to the ground and molest him.
Down girl.
“It’s not that early,” I point out and he turns narrowed eyes on me and firms his jaw, and I realize that not only is he not thrilled that I’m here, he’s irritated.
“I’m still shaking the jet lag,” he says. “What do you need, Cami?”
I take a small step back and shake my head. “I don’t need anything, Landon. I just wanted to stop by and say welcome home.”
“Thanks.” His voice is a little flat. I was not expecting this at all. Landon has always been welcoming, happy to see me. I don’t know what to do with this.
I do know one thing: I need to get out of here. I’m sorry I came.
“I’m sorry that I woke you up,” I murmur, my eyes on my feet as I turn away. “I’ll see you.”
“Cami,” he says, but I don’t stop to see what he’s about to say. My fight or flight reflex has kicked in, and all I can think is, get out of here.
“How embarrassing,” I mutter, fighting tears. “Why would he want to see you, Cami? You’re just his little sister’s friend.”
But it wasn’t always that way. Back in the day, we were friends. He and I always got along well, and I refuse to believe that it was just because of Mia. We had things in common, and we had conversations. And when he left for the Navy, he left a hole in my life that I tried to fill with a mistake of a marriage.
I miss him. I’ve missed him for years. And now he’s home and he doesn’t want me?
I’ll just have to learn to live with that. Besides, it’s not like I can claim that I know him well. Ten years away is a long time. He only came home once a year, and after I got married, he stopped contacting me because he said it wasn’t appropriate to continue to communicate with a married woman.
Divorced or not, why would I think that he’d suddenly be thrilled to see me and swoop me up in a tight hug, then want to share breakfast and conversation?
I sigh as I park in my driveway, kill the engine, and finally face the fact that despite our past, I don’t really know Landon anymore. I know the young man who left here long ago, and that’s not who he is anymore.
I’m not that girl anymore either.
I’ve been carrying a torch all these years for someone who doesn’t exist.
“Stupid,” I whisper and slam my car door shut and climb the steps to my porch, unlock my door, and to my utter shock, see a grey and white streak run between my legs and into my house, then stop at the entrance to my kitchen, turn and sit on its butt, as if it belongs here.
“Oh no, you’ve got to go,” I say sternly. “Come on.” I gesture to the door, but the