Worth the Fall

Chapter 12

“Why are you smiling like that?” Sierra asked from the kitchen table.

“I’m not.”

“You literally are,” Stacy said, squinting at me like a detective.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

They both looked at each other.

Then back at me.

Then screamed.

Actually screamed.

My mother appeared from the hallway instantly.

“What happened?”

“Nessa has a boy problem!” Sierra announced.

“I do not!”

“You’re blushing,” Stacy accused.

“I am not!”

“You are,” my mother said, far too calmly.

Traitor.

All of them.

I looked around for backup and found my dad in the living room pretending to read the newspaper while very obviously listening.

“Nathan!” I yelled.

My older brother appeared from the kitchen with a protein bar in one hand.

“What?”

“Help me.”

He took one look at my face and immediately grinned.

“Oh, wow.”

“No.”

“Oh, wow,” he repeated, more obnoxiously this time. “That’s not a normal-school stress blush. That’s a boy blush.”

“I’m leaving,” I announced.

“We just got here,” my mom called after me.

“I’m aware.”

I ran upstairs before they could interrogate me further and threw myself dramatically onto my bed.

This was ridiculous.

I was ridiculous.

He had asked me one question and suddenly my entire household had turned into the FBI.

I grabbed a pillow and pressed it over my face.

This was exactly why I did not do things like this.

I did not date.

I did not get distracted.

I did not let beautiful, emotionally confusing boys with trust issues and blue eyes derail my future.

And yet.

Here I was.

Derailed.

Pathetic.

Hopeless.

Potentially doomed.

My phone buzzed beside me.

My heart immediately betrayed me by racing.

I grabbed it too fast.

Unknown Number

Of course he’d found my number.

Of course he had.

Unknown Number:

You owe me an answer.

I stared at the screen.

Then immediately texted back.

Me:

Who is this?

Three dots appeared instantly.

Unknown Number:

Wow. I’m hurt.

Me:

Good.

Unknown Number:

Landon. In case you’ve forgotten me already.

Me:

That would require peace and quiet, neither of which you allow me to have.

There was a pause.

Then:

Landon:

So dramatic.

Me:

You started it.

Landon:

You still didn’t answer me.

I stared at that one longer than I should have.

Because suddenly it felt less like a joke again.

Less like flirting.

More like a real thing standing in front of me, asking to be let in.

And that was terrifying.

I typed.

Deleted.

Typed again.

Deleted that too.

Finally, I sent:

Me:

I said maybe.

His reply came almost instantly.

Landon:

And I said I’d take maybe.

I bit back a smile.

Annoying.

Me:

You’re very persistent.

Landon:

Only when I want something.

Me:

That sounds concerning.

Landon:

You should be concerned.

I laughed under my breath despite myself.

Then another text came through.

And this one made me sit up.

Landon:

Let me take you out Friday.

I stared at the screen.

Friday.

Was this a real date?

Not lunch.

Not a ride home.

Not accidental time together.

My stomach flipped so hard it should’ve required medical attention.

I typed before I could overthink it.

Me:

I’ve never really been out with a guy before.

There was a longer pause this time.

Then:

Landon:

Good. Then I’ll make sure your first one sets the standard.

And okay.

Wow.

That was—

That was dangerously smooth.

Too smooth.

Illegal, probably.

I flopped back against my pillows and stared at the ceiling like it had personally wronged me.

What was I supposed to do with that?

What was I supposed to do with him?

Another text came in.

Landon:

Say yes, Nessa.

And there it was.

The thing beneath all the jokes.

The thing that made him dangerous.

He knew how to make things feel real.

Like they mattered.

Like I mattered.

And maybe that was the scariest part of all.

Because for the first time in a long time—

I wanted to let someone in.

My thumbs hovered over the screen.

Then, before I could chicken out, I typed:

Me:

Okay. Yes.

I stared at the message for a full three seconds before immediately throwing my phone onto the bed like it had become explosive.

What had I just done?

What had I just done?

My phone buzzed again.

I snatched it back up.

Landon:

Knew you loved me.

I gasped out loud.

Me:

Absolutely not.

Landon:

Sure, Grandma.

Me:

Take me off your contact list.

Landon:

Never. Be ready at 7.

And just like that—

I was going out with Landon Baxter.

God help me.

The next day at school, I made the mistake of telling Alexis and Jasmine.

Actually, that’s not true.

I didn’t tell them.

They looked at my face for half a second and guessed.

Which, frankly, felt invasive.

“Oh my God,” Alexis said before I’d even fully sat down at lunch. “You said yes.”

I froze with my tray in hand.

Jasmine pointed at me like she’d just cracked a major criminal case.

“She absolutely said yes.”

I sat down slowly.

“I hate both of you.”

Alexis gasped.

“So that’s a yes?”

I sighed.

“Yes.”

They screamed.

Again.

Too loud.

Too public.

Too much.

I dropped my forehead onto the lunch table.

“This is why I tell nobody anything.”

Jasmine leaned in, glowing with secondhand excitement.

“When?”

“Friday.”

“Where is he taking you?” Alexis asked.

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” they both said at once.

“No.”

Alexis looked horrified.

“That’s either incredibly romantic or the beginning of a true crime documentary.”

I lifted my head.

“Comforting.”

Jasmine grinned.

“Oh, this is so happening.”

And somehow, despite my panic…

Despite the danger…

Despite every logical reason this was a terrible idea…

I could feel it too.

It was happening.

And there was no going back now.

(Chapter Theme Song: Enchanted by Taylor Swift)