Fool for You by Kelly Elliott

Emmerson

WITH ANOTHER MIND-BLOWING kiss seared into my memory, I fought to regain some composure as Landon grabbed our bags and I walked into the hotel. Hailey and Mike were walking away from the front desk, each wearing a shit-eating grin on their face. I loved Hailey like a sister, but for some reason, tonight I wanted to scream at her. Maybe it was because she’d been right. After that second kiss, there was no denying that there was something between me and Landon. We just needed to figure out what it was. And what to do about it.

It didn’t take Landon long to catch up with me. Probably because I walked slowly to the front counter, since the idea of having to tell my folks I’d screwed up tonight was not really high up on my priority list right now. “Landon, do I look okay? I mean, it doesn’t look like we…like we…”

His eyes softened, “You look beautiful, Emme. Like always.”

After Landon and I checked in at the desk, we headed to the elevator and up to the twenty-third floor.

“Is anyone else on this floor with us?” I wasn’t sure why I asked. Or maybe I knew but refused to admit it to myself.

He looked at me. “I’m not sure.”

The elevator doors opened and Hailey stood there with a knowing smile on her face. “Fancy meeting the two of y’all here!”

“Not now, Hailey,” Landon said as he walked past his sister and made his way to the right. “Your room is over here, Emme.”

I followed him after shooting a look at Hailey. I had a feeling she’d somehow arranged to have Landon and me on the same floor. “Are you on this floor as well?” I asked.

She laughed. “No. I’m on the nineteenth and our folks are on the twenty-eighth.”

Well, that answered my question.

“Funny how Emmerson and I are on the same floor, and you happened to be here waiting for us,” Landon stated as he looked back over his shoulder at her.

Hailey feigned surprised. “Isn’t it, though?”

“Hailey,” I warned.

Landon stopped at my room, and I placed the keycard to the reader. Once the door opened I walked in, with Hailey hot on my heels and Landon bringing up the rear. He set my bag on the king-size bed.

“Look at that view!” I gasped, taking in the lights of Austin while Hailey and Landon stood on either side of me.

“You bitch, you got a better view than me.” Then Hailey laughed. “What am I saying? I doubt I’ll be spending my time looking out the window. More like the ceiling.”

Landon groaned, and I couldn’t help but chuckle. Hailey always did know how to lighten any mood.

“I’m two rooms down, Emme,” Landon said. “Text me after you’ve changed, and we can talk before we head to the bar.”

I nodded and walked with him to the door. Before he fully walked out, he turned around and looked at me. For a moment, I thought maybe he was going to kiss me again, but then he glanced back into the room and frowned at the sight of his sister. “Text me when you’re ready for me to come back.”

The second the door clicked, Hailey launched into a million questions.

“What took y’all so long to get here? Did he kiss you again? Did he admit any feelings for you? What in the world were you thinking when you said y’all were engaged?”

I brought my fingers to my temples and moaned. “I can’t deal with this right now, Hailey. I’ve gotten us into a real jam here, and we have to figure this all out. Even if we do have…er…if either of us did have feelings for one another, we need to work through this first. You don’t go from best friends to engaged and then to being together. It’s all backwards.”

She nodded as she chewed on her lower lip. “I guess you’re right. Are you upset with me for telling you I thought he had feelings for you?”

Our eyes met, and I slowly shook my head. “No, I’m glad you said something. I think you might be right.”

Hailey smiled and rotated her finger as she said, “Turn around, let me help you out of this dress.”

She worked in silence as she unzipped the gown and then went and opened my bag.

“I had to tell you, Emme. I could tell your own feelings for Landon had changed.”

“How in the world did you see that when I didn’t?”

She shrugged. “It’s the way the two of you look at each other. Like just now, when he left. He wanted to kiss you. I could see it all over his face.”

I let the dress pool at my feet before I stepped out of it. Hailey walked over and picked it up, and I grabbed the shirt and jeans she had taken out and laid on the bed for me.

As she hung up the dress, I made my way into the bathroom to change out of the strapless bra and into a more comfortable one.

“We kissed in the limo,” I said through the closed door like a coward.

“I’m not surprised,” was her only reply.

I opened the door and looked at her. “Hailey, I’m so scared.”

She took my hands and led me over to the bed, where we both sat down. “Of what? Your feelings for him?”

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I said, “Yes! He’s my best friend. I mean, besides you, of course.”

“Of course.”

“If we explore this and things don’t work out…”

She squeezed my hands. “Do you want my advice?”

I nodded. “Please.”

“If you and Landon decide to explore this thing you feel between the two of y’all, do it in private.”

I pulled my brows in. “In private?”

She nodded. “Right now you’ve got to fake this relationship, right?”

“Yes.”

“The entire world thinks it’s true, and the only people who know differently are me, Mike, Noah, and our folks. Don’t let our parents know there’s anything between the two of you yet. If they find out, they’re only going to butt in. I’m pretty sure your father is putting on a show. I can’t imagine him not wanting you to be with Landon. Malcolm knows how much Landon adores you.”

I nodded.

“It’s the idea of it. Everyone has always thought the two of you would end up together, our folks included. If they know that you’re dipping your toes into something more than friendship, it’s only going to make this harder.”

“So, you want us to pretend to the world that we’re engaged and lie to our family that we’re not attracted to each other while secretly exploring what this is between us?”

“Exactly!”

I closed my eyes and dropped my head. “I have a headache.”

“Mike is over with Landon now telling him the same thing I’m telling you. Emme, I love my parents with every breath I have. But they tried so hard to micromanage my relationship with Mike in the beginning.”

I felt my eyes widen in surprise. “They did?”

“God, yes! My mother was the worst. She asked me constantly how things were going, offered suggestions on things Mike and I could do for dates. God love her, but she is a classic Southern, busy bee mother. With Mike working so much in Dallas, my mom is constantly offering her advice when I don’t ask for it. She actually asked me once if I had enough sexy outfits.” Hailey closed her eyes and shuddered. “She wanted to take me shopping for some. And Paislie is no better. Hell, if it were up to our mothers, Clarisse would still be our nanny simply so she would have someone on the inside to report back!”

I couldn’t help but giggle, because I knew it was true. Clarisse had worked for our parents as our nanny for as long as I could remember. They even kept her on when we were in high school, in case we ever needed her.

“I’ll talk to Landon and see what he wants to do. I mean, all we did was kiss. Twice.”

The corner of Hailey’s mouth rose into something that looked like a smile but was a bit more wicked. “How was it?”

Then she closed her eyes and threw her hands out in front of her and gagged. “O-M-G. I feel like I just crossed a line by asking that.”

“So don’t answer?”

She sighed, shuddered and then said, “No, I really want to know. You’re my best friend and he’s my brother. I want you both to be happy.”

Closing my eyes, I sighed as I buried my face in my hands. “So amazing. It made me…” I dropped my hands to my lap and looked at her. “It made me want…”

She nodded and motioned with her hands. “Made you want what!”

“More.”

Slapping her hand on her leg, she jumped up. “Then tell him that! Christ, Emme. If you want more, take it.”

“Take it?”

Hailey rolled her eyes. “Yes. Take it. Dig down deep and let the inner sex goddess you have hiding in there out.”

I laughed. “This is Landon we’re talking about.”

Her hands went to her hips. “Okay, let me attempt to forget this is my brother we’re talking about for a moment so I don’t throw up.” She paused. “Close your eyes.”

“What? Why?”

“Just do it!”

Closing my eyes, I waited for her next direction.

“Now, remember how your body felt when Landon kissed you. Either kiss. The one on the dance floor or the one y’all shared in the limo. How did that make your body feel?”

“Hot,” I answered without thinking.

“Was it the kiss that made you feel hot, or Landon who made you feel hot?”

My eyes snapped open, and I met her gaze.

She waggled her brows and asked, “Well?”

“It was…it was Landon.”

“There you go. Stop thinking of him as Landon, your best friend, and think of him as Landon, the guy you want to have hot sex with.” She frowned. “Eww, I think I might gag.”

Laughing, I stood and pulled her into a hug. “Thank you, Hail. I’d be lost without you.”

“That’s what best friends are for.”

Her phone rang, and she smiled. “That’s my mom. She’s asking when we’re heading down to the bar; they’re waiting on us.”

I nodded and reached for my phone to send Landon a text that I was nearly ready. Hailey texted Mike as well.

Walking over to my bag, I pulled out my sneakers and socks and sat down to put them on. A knock on the door had Hailey heading over to answer it. I looked up to see Mike and Landon standing there.

“Hey, my mom wants us to get down there,” Hailey told Mike.

“We’ll see you down there then, Landon,” he said.

Landon and Hailey walked past one another, switching places. She and I exchanged another look, and she smiled as Landon told them to let our folks know we would be right down.

When the door shut, he turned and then leaned against it. God, he was so handsome. I’d always thought he was, truth be told. I had just never wanted to explore that thought process too much.

After tying my sneaker, I dropped my foot to the floor and glanced around the room, really taking it in for the first time. The large, floor-to-ceiling windows took up one whole side, with the bed, a dresser, and a desk filling the rest of the room. It was elegant, but nothing too fancy.

“So, Mike thinks we should keep what happened between us in the limo to ourselves.”

I nodded. “So does Hailey.”

Landon walked over and pulled the desk chair out, swung it around, and sat down on it. He had changed into a long-sleeve black shirt and jeans. He had on sneakers and a baseball cap with the number of the car he owned on the front. Lord, he looked so yummy sitting there.

“What do you think?” I asked as I twisted my hands together in my lap.

Landon looked out the window and stared for a few moments before he faced me again. “I think first we need to be honest with one another.”

My heart felt like it dropped to my stomach. Why did those words create both panic and excitement? I nodded. “Okay.”

“Emme, my feelings for you are not platonic, and they haven’t been for some time.”

His words made my eyes widen. “How long have you felt this way?”

He swallowed hard. “Years.”

“Years!” I nearly shouted. “How many years, Landon? One, two, five?”

With a shrug, he said, “Since middle school.”

If I wasn’t already sitting down, I was positive my legs would have given out. “Why…why did you never say anything?” I brought my hand up to my mouth as I gasped. “All those times I shared my breakups and…and…and more with you. Oh my God, and you felt that way about me, and I had been talking about other men?”

“It’s okay, Emme. The only thing I’ve ever wanted is for you to be happy. For you to find the person who makes you happy.”

“Yet, you didn’t think it was important to tell me you had feelings for me? Romantic feelings?”

“I didn’t think you felt the same, and if I said something and things didn’t work out, where would that leave us?”

I could feel the anger building inside of me. “Friends still. I would hope that we would always stay friends no matter what, Landon.”

He looked away again. “I never want to hurt you, Emme. Never.”

My mouth fell open, and I stared at him. “And you think telling me how you truly feel would have hurt me?”

“I’m not sure. I’m not sure about anything other than the fact that tonight I went through a gamut of different emotions in a very short period of time.”

“Such as?”

“Lust, anger, jealousy, desire. And it all revolved around you, Emmerson.”

I felt my breathing pick up, and I opened my mouth to say something but then promptly shut it. I had felt the same swing of emotions in the same amount of time.

We sat there in silence for a few moments before I cleared my throat. It was time for me to be honest as well. With myself and with Landon. “Do you know why I’ve never been able to make any of my relationships work?”

He shook his head.

“I didn’t want to commit to any of them. I never saw a future with any of the guys I dated. I didn’t know why at the time, and a part of me thought something was wrong with me. I had too high of expectations or something. I had no idea why none of them seemed to be the right guy. All I knew was that when things turned serious, I pulled away. And I know you did the same thing, and a part of me deep down inside always wondered why we both did it. Why neither of us could commit to anyone.”

I shifted in my seat. “Then everything started to change when you came back to Waco and opened up your business. And it was us again. Movie nights and camping trips. I felt happier with you here, happier when I was with you. I kept telling myself it was because you were Landon, my best friend. One of the few people I truly felt comfortable with. Happy with. Then Hailey had to go and open her big mouth and tell me she thought you had feelings for me, and all I could think about was why I couldn’t commit to those other guys…and I kept coming back to the same conclusion.”

Landon leaned a bit closer to me. “And that was?”

I looked at him blankly. It felt like his question had such an obvious answer. “You! It was you, Landon. Every guy I’ve ever gone out with I’ve compared to you, whether I meant to or not. Hell, I’m positive half the time I didn’t even realize I’d done it. But these last two weeks, you’re all I can think about. I see you differently, feel things differently. I want to…I want us to…”

“You want to what, Emme?”

I lifted my eyes to meet his. “I want to kiss you.”

He smiled. “Is that all?”

I felt my cheeks burn, and I shook my head. “No, Landon, that’s not all.”

His smile grew wider.

“I think we need to do this slowly,” I said. “It’s so complicated right now because we’re fake engaged and everyone thinks we’re madly in love. And our parents…I don’t even want to know what they think. Although, I know they are about five minutes away from telling us what they think.”

“So are you saying you want to explore this thing we feel between us?”

I nodded. “Do you want to?”

He nearly laughed. “Did you not feel how my body reacted to you earlier in the limo, Emme? Yes, I want to see where this takes us, but I also don’t want to hurt you. Or lose my best friend.”

“Why do you think you will?”

Landon lifted one shoulder. “I don’t know. I think it’s my greatest fear.”

I reached out a hand and he took it, gently giving me a squeeze. “Then let’s make a promise right here. If things get weird, or if it’s not working, we vow to be honest with each other. Our friendship comes first, no matter what.”

With a nod, Landon replied, “Our friendship comes first.”

“And we agree to let our parents think this is all a ruse? At least until we explore this a bit more?”

“Agreed,” Landon said.

We both stood, and when he smiled at me, I could have melted into his body. Hailey’s words came back to me like a bolt of lightning.

Take what you want.

I drew in a slow, deep breath and stepped closer to him. I stretched up onto my toes and wrapped my arms around his neck. “I think we should seal this promise with a kiss.”

Landon’s blue eyes seemed to sparkle as he gently pressed his lips to mine. The kiss was soft and oh so very sweet. I opened to him and our tongues danced in a lazy circle for a few moments before we drew slightly apart, and Landon rested his forehead to mine.

He smiled and whispered, “I think we should seal all future promises with a kiss.”

I giggled. “I agree.”