“I—”
“I don’t care what flimsy excuse you have. Step back. You’re wrong.”
I watch my sister hug and kiss our parents and Tinsley goodbye, like she hasn’t just chastised me.
When we pile into the Suburban, Mom and Tinsley crawl into the last row, and I sit in the middle next to my dad. He’s excited about the sailboat he saw today.
“Are you going to buy it?” I ask.
“Your mother thinks we may have a problem getting it over the border.”
“Why?”
My mother starts in on a long list of problems related to the boat. She begins with how Dad’s planning on getting it up to Vancouver. “It’s been sitting in the water for years and probably needs its hull cleaned because of the barnacles border inspectors for Canada get particular about, and then there are the mechanical issues.” She rolls her eyes and continues her laundry list.
I chuckle. My dad probably won’t win this one. “Do you have a slip in mind at the marina?” I ask.
“No!” Mom practically yells. “And that’s another reason. Not only is he looking at dropping almost a half-million dollars on a sailboat he will take out a dozen times a year at most, he also doesn’t have a place to store it. There are no available slips in Vancouver for a boat of that size, and I doubt he can head north or down into Washington.”
My parents bicker as we drive back to my place and walk into my building. I let them lead the way and hold back so I can grab Tinsley’s hand.
“I’m sorry about today,” I tell her. “I didn’t mean to be stalking you. I was curious about how the coding was going, and the office Wi-Fi is a mess, so I was looking for a break. Then when I couldn’t get a hold of you… I don’t know why I freaked out.”
Tinsley squeezes my hand. “I’ve worked the last three years on my own. I know I need to be better at letting people know where I am. I’m sorry you were worried.”
“I’m sorry for getting all worked up. My head went to a thousand places, including you in a hospital. I can’t even explain why.”
“Things like this may happen again. Let’s try to remember we’re both new to this relationship thing.”
She gives me a smoldering look, and I raise my eyes to the skies, wishing to God my parents were staying with my sister.
Chapter 18
Tinsley
As we walk into the building, I notice Peter and Edna have stopped and are talking to none other than my best friend, Tiffany. Does this woman have any sort of life? What. The. Fuck.
Landon must notice at the same time. “What the hell…” he murmurs.
Peter is laughing, and Tiffany is hanging all over them. Landon swings the door open, and her eyes turn to him, traveling to his hand on my lower back. He steps in protectively. Her eyes narrow. If she were a cartoon, she’d be a twelve-foot green monster spewing fire.
“I thought you were business partners.” She sounds like a petulant sixteen-year-old.
I try to step away from Landon, but he stops me. “I see you’re still hanging out in the lobby.”
Landon pulls me past her and shoos his parents into the elevator.
When the doors close, his mother turns to him. “What was that?”
“Mother, stay away from that woman. She’s nothing but trouble, and I don’t want her to know where I live.”
Edna looks at Peter, and I know immediately they’ve already said something.
“How could you?” Landon sighs. “You know how much I value my privacy.”
“What’s the big deal?” Peter asks.
“The owner of my apartment—me—is considered one of the biggest secrets in all of San Francisco. I want it to remain that way.”
“I didn’t know,” Peter murmurs.
“He’s told almost everyone he’s met,” Edna says sadly. “We’re proud of you. We didn’t understand it was a secret.”
When we get upstairs, I leave them to discuss and walk back to my room.
I can still hear them talking after I’ve changed and crawled into bed. I pull my computer out and continue working through what I’m hoping Cameron and his team will do. There are code converters, but Cameron and I both agreed we were best served by recreating the code. That way, if it breaks down, the error will be easier to spot. I’ll take on the oldest code, and Cameron and his team can take the newest. We’ll start with Spanish first and then make the changes to other languages.
It’s after midnight when my cell phone pings. I shut my computer down and turn the light off.
Landon: I’m sorry.
Me: What do you have to be sorry for?
Landon: For today. For my parents. For Tiffany. For the continued problems with the routers… Should I go on?
Me: You’re fine. Nothing to worry about.
Landon: I came clean to my parents about us.
Me: They already knew and didn’t approve.
Landon: Trust me, it’s not you they don’t approve of. It’s me.
Me: We can wait until they’re gone.
I send him a pic of my breasts.
Me: These will still want to play with you when they leave.
Landon: You’re killing me, woman.
Me: I’m doing my best.
Landon: I like it when you do your best.
Me: What else do you like?
Landon: Toys.
I take a picture of a small vibe I brought with me.
Me: Like this?
Landon: That could be fun, but I’m thinking bigger.
I search the internet and take a screenshot of a huge dildo.
Me: I don’t think I can do this.
A picture arrives of a high-end vibrator that twists and turns while it pulsates inside.
Landon: I was thinking about
