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THE MOONLIGHT SHINING THROUGH the bedroom window is the only thing lighting up the bedroom. It’s still early, or late depending on who you ask, but I can’t sleep anymore. My brain just won’t shut down, the millions of ideas rushing through my head about setting up a digital portfolio for Strong Designs. I still haven’t mentioned it to Landon yet, I wanted to have something put together to present to him first.
His bed is huge and comfortable, and there’s more than enough room for me to sit cross-legged with my laptop without interrupting his sleep. Peeking over my shoulder, I see him sound asleep. He’s lying on his back, one arm held over his head with the back of his hand pressing against the headboard, the other arm lying limply over his abdomen and the sheet pushed down to his waist. He doesn’t snore even though his mouth is open slightly, but the sound he makes while sleeping is still adorable – it’s more of a low growling sound similar to what I imagine a large cat or lion would make.
Just watching him sleep sets off a swarm of butterflies in my belly. I imagine this is what love feels like – the fluttering sensation I feel every time I look at him. When he touches me, I can’t imagine being with anyone else. Landon is the first person that I’ve allowed to touch me in any way in so long. I didn’t think I’d ever be able to allow someone to get close to me again. A month ago, I couldn’t have imagined feeling not only safe but loved, cherished, protected.
One last look at Landon and my decision is made. He’s given me so much in the last several weeks, the least I can do is showcase his business for him. A little internet sleuthing proves that he doesn’t have an online presence at all. There is no digital profile for his business other than a Yelp listing. Do I want to manage his online presence? Not really. I don’t know anything about TikTok or Instagram and doubt that I would be able to commit enough time to posting to keep up with whatever algorithm they use. I do have some experience with Facebook though. I had a profile of my own before my phone and laptop were taken away by Charlie. And I can set up a basic webpage with a gallery and contact information.
I don’t want to throw anything online without Landon having a chance to look it over first, so I settle myself in with a throw blanket draped over my shoulders and my laptop balanced on my lap and begin creating a mockup. Deciding to go with a flip-book style gallery, I upload all the photos of Landon’s properties and designs that I’ve been able to photograph over the last week into the mockup. I’m sure there are more that I haven’t even found yet or that he hasn’t told me about. Hopefully, when he sees the webpage design, he’ll agree to take me around to any that I haven’t already seen so I can get more pictures.
I realize I’ve lost track of time when the glare from the rising sun shining through the windows overtakes my entire screen, making it hard to see what I’m working on. I have to angle more to the left, turning my back to Landon as he continues to sleep beside me, just so I can see the screen and make sure the file is saved – I don’t want to lose the progress that I’ve made on the page.
The bed dips behind me and I know that Landon is waking up for the day. Guilt washes over me when I look at the clock in the bottom corner of my laptop screen and I realize I should have made breakfast. We have a long day planned today. Landon is going with me to take my driving test and hopefully get my license before taking me to work with him so we can hang the pictures I left in his office yesterday.
“Mmm. Good morning, Kitten.” I feel his warm breath on my neck below my ear just before his tongue traces a line down to my shoulder.
Tilting my head to the side, I give him better access. “Good morning.” One hand resting on my laptop to keep it from falling from my lap, my other hand lifts to thread my fingers through his sleep-disheveled hair.
“What are you working on?” he asks, resting his chin on my shoulder and wrapping his arms around my waist.
“Just something I wanted to put together for you.” Using the touchpad, I move the cursor around the page and navigate to the top first page of the mockup. I don’t move, don’t look for a reaction from Landon when he sees the home page for what could potentially be a new website for his business. I hadn’t planned on showing it to him this early, but I’m not going to hide it from him either.
Releasing my waist with one hand, he scrolls through the mockup, clicking on a few of the links and flipping through the gallery. “You’ve been busy.”
“Couldn’t sleep.”
“You nervous about today?”
“A little,” I admit.
“Hey,” he starts. Lifting one hand up to cup my cheek, he turns my face toward his. “You got this.” His lips press softly against mine, his confidence bleeding into me through the simple touch.
“I know.” He smiles at my response, the glimmer in his eyes as he pulls back and looks at me fills me with comfort. My head nods in understanding and realization that I really do got this. “I had a good teacher.”
“Have you been studying the booklet?”
“I’ve been through it so many times I could probably recite it in my sleep.”
“Good.” He nips at my jaw. “What time is it?”
Looking down at the clock on my laptop I tell him, “It’s almost seven.”
“Mmm. Plenty of time.” I watch as he pushes the lid down on the laptop before removing it from my lap and placing it on the nightstand.
“Plenty of time for what?”
“For me to make love to you.” Grabbing the hem of my t-shirt, he lifts, and my arms instinctively lift for him. “Then we’ll take a shower and I’ll make you breakfast.” He turns me around and gently pushes my shoulders, so I lie back on the bed before he crawls up my body and nips at my collarbone. “Your appointment isn’t until ten. We’ll go get your license then I’ll take you to the hardware store for whatever supplies we need. Then you can spend the day with me at the office hanging pictures.”
“You have the entire day planned out?” I giggle as he moves his mouth across my chest to nip at my other collarbone.
“Yep.” He lowers his mouth again and draws my nipple into his mouth. Releasing it with a pop, he lifts his gaze to mine. “You okay with that?”
“Absolutely.”
“Good. Now lay there and let me love you.”
ALMOST THREE HOURS LATER, we’re pulling into the DMV. We walk directly to the registration counter to check in and I’m immediately led to a glass booth to take the written exam. This part is going to be easy – I was always good at taking tests when I was in school. I wasn’t lying when I told Landon that I’d studied the booklet enough that I could recite it in my sleep. There are thirty-five questions on the test, and I can’t miss more than five.
It only takes me fifteen minutes to finish the test on the computer. When I step out of the booth, I’m greeted by a woman with bright pink hair. Her nametag says her name is Lydia.
“Have a seat while I pull your results and I’ll call you up,” she tells me as she extends her arm to indicate the row of chairs where Landon is already sitting.
“Okay.” I practically skip over to Landon, and he smiles as he watches me approach.
“So,” he starts as I take the seat beside him. “How do you think you did?”
“I feel pretty good about it.” Smiling, I lay my head against his shoulder, and he wraps an arm around me, pulling me closer. “There was one or two questions that I don’t know about, but I’m sure I passed.”
I see the color pink out the corner of my eye and turn my head to see Lydia walking toward me with a clipboard. “Emilee?” she calls out to me. “Great job on the test. You only missed one. Are you ready for the easy part?”
I’m not sure that the driving test is going to be the easy part for me. If I’m being honest, I’m more nervous about that part than I was about the written test. “Yes,” I say as I go to stand.
Landon stops me with his fingers wrapped around my wrist and pulls me toward him. “Good luck, Kitten. I’ll wait here for you.” Kissing my cheek, he releases me to stand to my full height.
Without a word, I smile at him before looking up at Lydia and following her out the front door.
She pauses on the sidewalk outside and turns to face me. Pointing toward Landon’s silver Mercedes, I click the key fob to unlock the doors. “I’m over here.” She doesn’t say anything at all, which is making me more nervous. She just nods her head once and follows me to the car. She sits in the passenger seat and buckles her seatbelt while I pause with my hand still on the handle of the driver’s side door. A chill runs down my spine and I get the sudden feeling that I’m being watched. “Don’t be silly,” I chastise myself. “You’re just nervous.” A few deep breaths and I open the door and slide into the car.
As soon as I have my seatbelt fastened, she finally speaks again. “Okay,” she begins. “We’re going to pull out of the parking lot and take a right. Go to the stop sign at the end of the block and turn left.”
“Okay.” Starting the car, I double check to make sure my mirrors are adjusted to where they need to be before putting the car in reverse and starting my test. We’re a few blocks away from the DMV, already having gone through three traffic lights and a four-way stop before she has me signaling to turn on a residential road up ahead before the chills start to run down my spine again. Checking my rearview mirror, I see an older pickup behind us and realize that it’s been following us through the last four turns Lydia has had me make.
“Go ahead and stop here.”
“In the middle of the road?” Looking in my mirror again as I apply the brakes, I see the truck has pulled into a driveway three houses back, so I assume it wasn’t really following me. They must have just been on their way home.
“Yes. This is a perfect spot for the last part of your test.”
I’m not sure what she means by that but she’s in charge here, so I’ll do what she’s requesting. As soon as the car comes to a complete stop, I turn my head to Lydia to await further instruction.
“You’ve done great so far,” she says as she writes some more notes on her clipboard. “Now, we’re going to do a three-point turnabout. Do you know what that is?”
“I do,” I answer, remembering the day that Landon had me practice those out on a county road. It was so frustrating then because I kept running off the road, but he was so patient with me, even when I was getting upset about it.
“Have you done one before?”
Giggle at the fact that I’ve technically done about five hundred of them over the past month, I answer simply, “Yes.”
“Good.” She unfastens her seatbelt and I furrow my brows in confusion at her. “I’m going to get out of the car to watch you do this. You only get one shot so here’s how it’s gonna go.” She opens her door and places one booted foot on the ground outside. “You have to complete the turn in no more than three points. If you touch the grass on either side of the street at any point, it’s an automatic fail. Once you’re turned around, stop and put the car in park and I’ll get back in. After this, we’re done.”
“Got it.”
“Okay. Take your time, Emilee. Start whenever you’re ready.”
I nod once at her and watch as she steps the rest of the way out of the car. Once the door is closed and she’s taken a few steps away from the car, I put both hands on the steering wheel. Putting the car in drive, I turn the wheel as far to the left as it will go and lightly apply the gas. “That’s one,” I say to myself. Stopping where I hope is just before the grass, I put the car in reverse and turn the wheel as far as it’ll go to the right and press the gas pedal again, making sure to keep an eye on my side mirror. I stop again before touching the grass, hopefully. “That’s two.” Finally, I put the car back in drive and turn the wheel all the way to the left before pressing the gas for the third point. As soon as I’m straightened out, I apply the break and come to a complete stop before putting the car back in park.
With a wide toothy smile, Lydia steps back into the car and fastens her seatbelt. “Great job!” she exclaims. “Okay, let’s go back to the DMV.”
I allow her to direct me back through town until we’re pulling into the parking lot.
“I hope you’re ready to have your picture taken today,” she says as she steps out of the car. “Follow me.”
My smile is so wide that it’s hurting my cheeks, but I can’t make myself stop. I passed. I follow her back inside and directly up to the counter. It takes several minutes for her to put the information in the computer before she directs me to stand in front of a screen for my photo. I’m probably the only one in the entire state that actually smiled for my driver’s license photo, but I just can’t help myself.
The card prints out instantly and she hands it to me in exchange for the permit. I watch as she feeds the permit through a shredder. “You’re all done.”
“Thank you,” I say, pinching my new license between two fingers. Turning around, I see Landon standing from his chair. I’m sure he can tell by having been watching that I passed. Smiling, he saunters toward me with his arms held out to his sides. I skip the few feet between us and jump into his waiting arms where, of course, he catches me in a tight hug and spins me around twice.
“Congratulations!” he exclaims as he sets me back on my feet. “I knew you could do it.” Cupping my cheeks, he kisses me softly on the lips. This day can’t possibly get any better. “I hope you’re ready to chauffeur me around the rest of the day. To the hardware store driver.”
Giggling, I grab his hand and drag him toward the door. I’m more than happy to spend the day driving him around.