Chapter 22
Ana did not think she had ever felt so excited after a date. There was a smile on her face, and if it got larger, she was probably going to tear her jaws open. She wanted to see him again. It was weird because he had only just dropped her off. But she was still craving his presence.
It wasn’t that the man was perfect. He definitely wasn’t. But she wasn’t looking for perfect. Ana didn’t know what she was looking for but this man had managed to make her taken with him so much. She loved being around him.
Ana let out a sigh and dropped the smile from her face, even though it was hard to do so. Then the thoughts started creeping up on her and she settled into her couch. She did not bother turning the lights on. The more she thought about everything, the more her mood dropped. And even the thought of Jack could not bring the smile back to her face.
Her thoughts… the thoughts. She was thinking about her best friend and about how cold he was now. He still had not returned any of her calls, and Ana felt like she was going to cry just thinking about it. The fact that she was getting along with Jack but he still didn’t know anything about the baby. She felt like telling him, she truly did. But wouldn’t he think it was too early and that she was setting him up? She didn’t want to kill whatever they had now. Ana wanted to take everything slow.
Her mother was also on her mind. Ana didn’t know how in the world she was going to tell her mother about the baby. They were not on very good terms, but it didn’t mean Ana wanted to disappoint her. At the end of the day, Veronica was still her mother.
She had had Ana before she had gotten married. But it wouldn’t matter. She had brought Ana up on very strict values, no premarital sexual, no alcohol, no pop music. She was an extremely conservative woman and she had expected her daughter to follow in the same direction like her, even though she had not given that daughter a lot of love.
Ana knew that telling her about the pregnancy would create a scene. She was already expecting the screams, the dramatics, the tears and maybe even a slap. Or slaps. So for now, Ana was going to keep that off her plans. She had no desire to deal with her mother and all the other issues she had at the moment.
She didn't know how long she had been sitting there, on that couch, in the darkness but she was under the impression that it had been about thirty minutes.
But when she stared at the clock, it showed 3:17 am. Ana widened her eyes and stood up, closing her eyes when she felt a little dizzy. She hadn't checked the time when she got home, but it had been about 9 pm. She had really sat there, thinking for about five hours. Wow.
She picked up her bag and walked to her room. She didn't bother removing her phone or anything from her bag. All she did was take off her makeup, undress, brush her teeth an slip into bed. The day had been exciting yes, but tiring too. She needed her sleep.
***
The next morning, Ana found herself waking up at 9:30. Luckily, it was Saturday so she didn't need to go to work. If not she would have been fucked.
Her stomach growled loudly as soon as she got into the toilet to pee. She frowned a bit. She had eaten a lot the previous night so she didn't really understand how she was hungry this morning.
Nonetheless, she brushed her teeth, removed her phone from her bag and went downstairs. As she sat down to start eating the bowl of cereal she had made, her phone started vibrating like crazy.
It was Landon. As soon as she made a move to pick the call though, he put it off. She frowned a little then unlocked the phone. There were three missed calls from Jack and three messages too. From him.
She responded to the good morning text with a smile on her face. She had never known she needed this type of attention. But she wasn't against it. Actually, she was basking in it.
It was strange how two to three encounters with someone could change your entire life and entire mood. Ana wasn't trying to say she was unhappy before Jack came into her life. But he brought a kind of excitement she didn't know she had needed. And it was awesome.
She looked again at the call log and Landon's number was staring at her. She sighed and locked her phone, determined to call him after she finished eating. The last thing she wanted was for him to say something and just put her whole mood to shit.
Ana loved Landon. He was her best friend. They had known each other for fourteen fucking years. And that was a lot. She was used to him acting up occasionally. But that didn't mean she put up with it. He had hurt by just getting up and leaving and she was going to tell him exactly that.
Finally, she finished eating. It was like, subconsciously, she didn't want to talk to Landon. Because she found herself eating really slowly. Almost sluggishly. But she was done. No turning back.
She put the bowl in the sink and picked up her phone, leaning against the counter. She took in a deep breath and clicked on Landon's number. Ana hated confrontations and she was scared this call was going to turn into one.
After five long rings, Landon finally picked.
"Hello?" was all he said. Ana was a bit hurt. They never answered each other's calls with hello. It was either answered with a stupid anecdote, an affectionate name or a stupid name. Never a simple greeting.
"So it's like that huh?" she asked, making her tone light-hearted purposely. She didn't want him to know she was actually hurt. It was not going to do anything but make him feel guilty. And she didn't want him apologizing because she was feeling hurt.
"Like how?" Landon asked and Ana had the urge to smack him through the phone.
"Landon, I think you want me to hang up right now," she threatened, clicking her fingers on the tile worktop.
"Okay okay. I'm sorry Mel. I don't know what got over me. I'm coming over," he said the last part suddenly, then the call went off. Ana sighed and went to the room. It would take Landon about 15 minutes to reach her place. So she changed into shorts and tank top, knowing she would take too long if she took a shower or a bath at the moment.
About 20 minutes later, Landon was getting in. His expression was sheepish and in his hand were Ana's favorite dark chocolates. She had just eaten but her stomach growled. She wanted them. No no. She needed them.
She stood up and walked to him and as he opened his arms to give her a hug, she took the box of chocolates from his hand and walked back to the couch.
"I don't give hugs to mean and annoying people," Ana said, opening the package quickly.
"You shouldn't eat mean and annoying people's chocolates then," Landon said, sitting on the loveseat adjacent the couch.
"I can and I will," she said, then put a chunk of chocolate she had broken into her mouth. It melted and she let out an involuntary moan. Landon stared at her then looked away, taking in a deep breath. Ana didn't know what she did to him.
"Do you want me to grovel before you forgive me?" Landon asked, staring at her longingly. Ana caught his look and kind of felt bad. This was her best friend. She loved him and she couldn't stay mad at him for that long.
But what came out of her mouth was, "It could be an interesting start."
Landon had already caught the soft smile that had crossed her face so he stood from him seat and walked to hers with a mischievous smile on his face
"No, no. Landon! Please not while I'm trying to eat," she exclaimed, laughing and trying to get away from him.
He held her though, took the chocolate and kept in on a stool, then started with his tickling assault.
"You forgive me now?" Landon asked, laughing.
"I do. I do! Please just stop!" Ana exclaimed, breathless laughter coming out of her mouth. Landon finally stopped and slumped on the chair. She slumped on top of him and both of them were all smiles.
"So do you forgive me?" Landon asked, seriously this time around.
"Of course stupid. I can't stay mad at you for long," were Ana's words. Landon smiled and placed a sweet kiss on her forehead, then wrapped his arms around her.
Even if he couldn't be the man she needed, he was content being in her life as her best friend and her pillar.