Chapter 25
1055 Words
Martha and Landry left the hotel room around 3am. Martha was exhausted and her body was begging her to stay in the four-poster bed with Landry, but she did not want Josie to wake up alone in the house. Martha had opted to wear home the shorts and tank top she had stashed in her purse, balling up her red dress to take their place in her bag. Landry had laughed when he saw her put them on.
“Quite the girl scout, ey, ma belle chere? You came prepared!”
They found Landry’s shoes waiting outside the hotel room door, freshly polished. He slipped them on and gallantly offered Martha his arm. She felt a little silly being escorted so formally by a man in a stylish suit while she was in her gym clothes, but Landry’s goofy smirk made her feel like they were in on the joke together. He regally led her down to the lobby of the hotel and out to his car.
Landry opened the passenger side door to the car and helped Martha get in. He then took off his suit jacket and spread it over her like a blanket. Too tired to protest, Martha curled up under the jacket and closed her eyes. She wasn’t sure when she fell asleep, but when she woke up they were parked in the driveway of Dahlia house.
“We’re here?” Martha yawned. “Why didn’t you wake me?”
Landry chuckled. “We just got here. You looked so peaceful, I thought I’d give you a few more minutes to sleep. But here we are.”
He leaned over and kissed her delicately on the forehead. Before he could pull his face away Martha grabbed the back of his head and pulled his lips to hers, kissing him fervently.
“I’m awake now,” said Martha.
Landry chuckled again. “Yeah, me too.”
He got out and went around the car to open her door. Instead of helping her stand up he scooped her up into his arms and carried her towards the house.
“Remember last time, ma chere?” he said with a wink. “Can’t have you falling and running out of my car every time I bring you home- bad for my self esteem, ya know?”
Martha giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning her head against his chest. They reached the front door and he set Martha down on her feet.
“I’d invite you in,” she started, “but…”
“I know.” Landry said. “Josie.”
“Thank you, though,” said Martha. “For an incredible evening. Truly, it was amazing.”
“You are amazing,” said Landry. “Thank you for the immeasurable pleasure of your company.”
Martha blushed and looked down. She dug her key out of her purse and unlocked the door. She opened it and stepped inside. Landry gently grabbed her wrist and tugged to pull her slightly back to him. He leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips.
“Until next time, ma belle chere,” he said, and he turned and walked away.
Martha snuck up to her loft as quietly as she could. She threw herself on to her bed and decided she was far too tired to change her clothes, making her grateful she hadn’t worn the red dress home. She saw a silver glimmer out of the corner of her eye.
“Mom, I’m tired,” she said.
“Ok, Martha,” said the ghost. “But then I get all the details in the morning.”
“Good night Mom,” Martha huffed.
The ghost disappeared. Martha did not want to give her mother’s ghost all the details, as much as she knew the ghost would love it. Isn’t me getting home at this hour enough information for her? Martha thought to herself. She knew that her return time would be enough information for Josie to piece things together. She’d have to have another talk with Josie, like she had before the date, about the importance of keeping the relationship with Landry a secret. I’ll worry about that in the morning, thought Martha, and she fell asleep.
Martha woke up the next day to the sound of electric drumbeats. She rolled over and pulled a pillow over her head to try to muffle the sound. It didn’t work. Sighing, Martha got out of bed and took a shower. As she washed her body, her hands retraced everywhere Landry had touched, had kissed, had sucked…
“MARTHA!” yelled a voice from downstairs. “Don’t drown in there!”
Martha turned off the water and dried herself. She threw on a clean pair of shorts and a shirt and skipped down the stairs.
“YOU look happy,” said Josie accusatorily as soon as she saw her cousin.
Martha laughed. “And?”
“It’s just… different. You’re so boring and serious. It’s weird to see you happy,” Josie teased.
Martha rolled her eyes and began making coffee.
“What did you do with Mr. LeBlanc last night?” asked Josie.
Hmm, mused Martha. What is the PG version of what happened?
“He took me to have a picnic on the beach,” said Martha. “It was really nice.”
That seemed like enough of an explanation for Josie. She went back to her drumming without asking for any more details. When Martha’s coffee was ready she took it over to sit near Josie.
“Look, Josie, I know we already talked about this, but with me and Mr. LeBlanc, it’s very, very important that no one else knows.”
Josie stopped her drumming and stared at Martha for a minute.
“I know,” said Josie seriously. “I know how important this job is and I know what could happen. Don’t worry, Martha. I know I can always count on you, and you should know you can always count on me.”
Martha stood up and walked over to Josie. She leaned down and gave her cousin a big kiss on the cheek.
“Ewwww, gross!” cried Josie, pretending to wipe off the kiss.
Martha just laughed and took her coffee out to the back deck to get some peace and quiet while Josie went back to her drums. It was the last day before classes started, she had just had the most amazing night with Landry, and she knew she could depend on Josie.
Everything was perfect.
- Writer
