Worth the Fall

Chapter 20

Landon got out first and walked around to my side.

I followed him to the overlook, where the night breeze caught the ends of my hair and the city stretched out endlessly below us.

“It’s pretty,” I said softly.

He looked at me instead of the skyline.

“Yeah.”

I felt that one everywhere.

And suddenly it was hard to breathe again.

Hard to think.

Hard to remember why I was supposed to be careful with him.

He stepped closer.

Not enough to crowd me.

Just enough to make me aware of every inch between us.

“I had a really good time tonight,” he said.

I smiled.

“Even though I was the star of your public humiliation fantasy?”

He laughed under his breath.

“You did great.”

“I nearly passed out.”

“You still did it.”

I looked down at my hands.

Then back up at him.

And there it was again.

That look.

That same one from the night before.

The one that made me feel like I was standing at the edge of something life-changing.

His voice was quieter now.

More honest.

“Can I tell you something?”

My pulse kicked.

“Depends if it’s weird.”

A small smile tugged at his mouth.

“It’s probably a little weird.”

“That’s encouraging.”

He exhaled through a laugh, then looked down for a second like he was choosing his words carefully.

Which, somehow, made it feel even more serious.

Then his eyes found mine again.

“I haven’t stopped thinking about you since you walked up to me in that hallway.”

Everything inside me stilled.

Every defense.

Every joke.

Every carefully built wall.

Gone.

Just gone.

Because there was no arrogance in that.

No performance.

No rich-boy charm.

Just truth.

And Landon Baxter, I was learning, was far more dangerous when he told the truth.

“I tried to tell myself it was nothing,” he admitted, voice low. “That you were just… some girl.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“How romantic.”

He smiled softly.

“You know what I mean.”

I did.

And somehow, that made it worse.

“Then why didn’t you leave me alone?” I asked, quieter than I meant to.

His jaw tightened slightly, like the answer mattered.

Then he said:

“Because every time I thought about not seeing you again, it felt wrong.”

And that—

That absolutely destroyed me.

Because boys say a lot of things.

Especially boys who look like Landon.

Especially boys who come from the kind of world he came from.

But this?

This didn’t feel like a line.

It felt like a confession.

And maybe the worst part was—

I believed him.

He took one more step closer.

Close enough now that if I breathed wrong, I’d fall into him.

“I know this is fast,” he said quietly. “And I know you think I’m probably a disaster.”

“You are a little bit.”

He smiled.

“Fair.”

Then softer:

“But I like you, Nessa.”

My heart cracked wide open.

Not in a painful way.

Not yet.

In the kind of way that feels like something is blooming where it shouldn’t.

Like your life is splitting in two and you’re standing right at the point where everything changes.

And because I was me—

And because I had apparently never once learned how to protect myself properly—

I told him the truth too.

“I like you too.”

His entire expression changed.

Not dramatically.

Just enough.

Enough that I could see it land.

Enough that I could tell maybe he hadn’t been nearly as sure of me as he pretended to be.

He reached up slowly, giving me every chance to stop him, and brushed a loose curl behind my ear.

His fingertips skimmed my cheek.

And I swear my soul left my body.

“You have no idea what that does to me,” he murmured.

I swallowed.

“Probably the same thing you do to me.”

His breath caught.

Actually caught.

And for once, for the very first time since I met him—

Landon Baxter looked undone.

And that was the exact moment I knew I was in real trouble.

Because I had wanted him to want me.

But I hadn’t planned for what would happen if he actually did.

His hand slid lightly to the side of my neck, warm and careful.

His eyes searched mine one last time.

And then he kissed me.

Slow this time.

Not like the first kiss that had felt like surprise and static and adrenaline.

This one was intentional.

Deep.

Patient.

Like he was trying to tell me something with it.

Like he wanted me to understand that this—

whatever this was between us—

wasn’t temporary to him.

And maybe that was what made it so terrifying.

Because if Landon kissed like this when he was only just beginning to fall—

What would happen when he loved?

And what would happen if he ever stopped?

I kissed him back before I could think too hard about either answer.

Because some moments are too beautiful to ruin with logic.

And this was one of them.

When we finally pulled apart, my forehead rested lightly against his and neither of us moved.

I could feel his breathing.

Could feel mine.

Could feel the exact second this stopped being casual.

Stopped being a crush.

Stopped being “maybe.”

He smiled against my mouth.

“So,” he murmured, “you think I can get a fourth date?”

I laughed breathlessly.

“You’re unbelievably arrogant.”

“That’s not a no.”

I pulled back just enough to look at him.

Then, because apparently I had no interest in preserving my own peace, I smiled and said:

“No, Landon.”

His face fell so fast I almost laughed.

Then I reached up, tugged lightly on the collar of his shirt, and added:

“It’s not.”

That grin came back instantly.

Bright and reckless and entirely too beautiful for my own good.

And just like that, I knew.

I was done for.

Not because he was rich.

Not because he was handsome.

Not because he looked like every bad decision a girl could make wrapped up in black denim and blue eyes.

But because somewhere between the milkshakes, the karaoke, the skyline, and the way he looked at me like I was the first thing he’d

chosen just for himself—

Landon Baxter had become real to me.

And that was so much more dangerous than a crush.

Because crushes fade.

But boys who start to feel like home?

They ruin you.

Later that night

I was still smiling when I crawled into bed.

Still smiling when I took my earrings off.

Still smiling when I caught my reflection in the mirror and looked deeply, deeply suspicious of myself.

This was bad.

Very bad.

The kind of bad that writes itself into your bones and stays there.

My phone buzzed just as I was plugging it in.

Landon

You awake?

I laughed out loud.

Me

It’s been six minutes.

Landon

And yet I miss you already.

I stared at the message for way too long.

Then:

Me

You’re dramatic.

Landon

You like it.

I bit my lip and smiled despite myself.

Me

Unfortunately.

Three dots appeared.

Then:

Landon

Good.

Because I think I’m going to keep you.

My heart absolutely folded in half.

And that should have scared me.

It should have made me pause.

Should have made me remember that boys like Landon Baxter and girls like me did not exist in the same world for long without one of us eventually paying for it.

But instead—

I smiled into the dark like an i***t.

And typed back the most dangerous thing I could have possibly said.

Me

Then don’t lose me.

And somewhere deep in my chest—

I think I already knew he would.

(Chapter Theme Song: Everywhere by Fleetwood Mac)