Prologue

AH, BLISS. Charlotte"s face remained expressionless even as her soul danced for joy the moment she lifted the lid off her bento box. Game show model Amelia might not be the typical PTA-attending parent, but few other mothers could match her efforts when it came to her daughter"s lunchboxes.

Having once seen Charlotte practically salivate while watching an anime character feast on raw fish, Amelia had immediately gotten herself a Japanese cuisine cookbook, and Charlotte"s school lunches had never been the same again.

Every lunch made her feel like she was being transported to Tokyo one bite at a time, and today was no different, with Amelia having prepared a trio of tuna mayo onigiri, several slices of crabsticks, and Charlotte"s favorite salmon sushi topped with a generous amount of Dutch cream cheese.

After taking her Sailor Moon chopsticks out of its case, Charlotte clasped her hands together and silently murmured the traditional Japanese phrase before meals.

Itadakimasu.

She went for the crabstick first, but just as soon as she had it between her chopsticks—-

"That looks good."

—-the strip of crab meat disappeared into Landon Carmichaels" mouth, and Charlotte instinctively reacted to this blatant act of theft.

Jab!

Landon grunted as her elbow connected solidly with his guts, but the gleam in his dark eyes told her she hadn"t been able to hurt him as much as she wanted. Then again, he was six-foot-plus to her meager five-two, and the jerk also worked out religiously while Charlotte despised any activity that would make her sweat.

Her not being able to inflict pain on Landon was a no-brainer, and while Charlotte was usually the type not to waste her time on the impractical—-anything that had to do with the boy next door (literally) always seemed to be an exception.

"Can I have another one?" Landon asked.

"No, and don"t—-"

Landon took the seat next to her, asking, "Don"t what?"

"—-sit there," she finished at the same time.

"Too late." Landon flashed her a smile, but Charlotte refused to acknowledge the way it nearly made her swoon.

Also, it was not too late for him to find another place to have lunch, but before she could say another word, other voices had already butted in.

"What"s too late?" That was Devon.

"Or is it who"s too late?" And that was Nick.

"What are we talking about?" Then there was Sean.

"Or is it who are we talking about?" And finally, there was Logan.

Charlotte barely stifled her groan as Landon"s friends came to her table one after another. The five of them were the most popular boys in school, but honestly, all these guys had going for them were their looks. She had been friends with them for years, and most of the time, Charlotte felt as if she was surrounded by toddlers who just happened to be over six feet tall.

As Landon"s friends laid down their trays, her table once again went from socially isolated to the most envied and hated in school, and already she could feel more and more girls glaring at her from every direction.

Great, just great.

Since Charlotte had a reputation for being half-dork, part-nun, and part-thug, most girls were understandably pissed at the way these guys were sticking to her like glue, and now Landon was just making things so much worse—-

"Could you feed me that?"

Oh Lord, save me from this jerk.

Charlotte could practically hear the other girls gnashing their teeth upon hearing Landon make his request in a voice that could only be described as...intimate. While Landon was probably the friendliest and most approachable among his friends, he was also rather notorious for keeping his distance from all other girls in school...except her.

The gleam in Landon"s eyes told her that he knew exactly what he was doing, and Charlotte decided it was time for payback.

She gave him a sweet smile, and Landon blinked.

"Sushi or onigiri?"

Landon wasn"t the only one surprised either. Devon was now staring at her like she had grown two horns while Sean asked her seriously if she was feeling alright.

But Charlotte only had eyes for Landon. "Well?"

"Er...sushi?"

Charlotte nodded and felt all eyes on her as she made a show of carefully taking the sushi out of the box with her chopsticks—-

"This feels gross," she heard Nick mutter under his breath.

—-before shoving the entire thing into Landon"s mouth.

Landon choked, and his friends laughed.

"Heartless as ever," Logan said with a smirk.

Landon could only scowl at his friends, with his mouth still full.

Charlotte returned her attention to her bento box. Now that was done, she felt so much more relaxed—-

"Um, Landon?"

The entire lunch hall fell silent as Valentina Rodriguez, accompanied by her usual clique of friends, suddenly showed up at the side of their table. Valentina was considered as the hottest girl in school, and everyone also knew she had been crushing hard on Landon since freshmen year.

Landon glanced up, and Charlotte"s face remained expressionless even as the horribly jealous little cat living inside her soul started meowing like crazy. Don"t look at other girls, you jerk!

"It"s my eighteenth birthday tomorrow," the other girl began.

"Happy birthday," Landon said right away.

"—-as well as my come-out ball."

"Ah, right. Did I forget to RSVP?"

"So you did get the invitation then?"

"Yeah, I did."

Charlotte mentally rolled her eyes at how the conversation was unfolding. Oh, please. She knew exactly why Valentina was asking Landon about her come-out ball right this very moment, but what the other girl didn"t know was how much Charlotte hated parties. She would rather eat a bowl of live cockroaches than attend one, but if she were to say that aloud, Charlotte was certain the other kids would only think she was faking it.

"I"m so glad!" Valentina bit her lip, and Charlotte couldn"t help but stare. Wow. She had never been the lip-biting type, and she had mad respect for any girl capable of doing so. She just found it so awkward and—-whoa!

Charlotte gaped when the other girl suddenly started twisting like a snake. She had a feeling Valentina wanted to appear shy and fidgety, but...

Nope.

It just wasn"t working, and Charlotte quickly reached for an onigiri. She needed to keep her mouth occupied, just to make sure she didn"t accidentally laugh out—-oh my gosh! Valentina was now practically slithering as she moved closer to Landon, and Charlotte, feeling like her laughter was about to burst out any second, hastily reached for a crabstick and shoved it inside her mouth.

"I was wondering..."

"Thanks for inviting me," Landon said at the same time Valentina had started to speak, "but I"m afraid I won"t be able to attend."

Valentina"s twisting motions instantly ceased. "W-Why not?" The other girl"s strangled tone made Charlotte want to wince on Valentina"s behalf. This was just so awkward, she almost wished she could do something—-

"Because Charles and I always have plans on weekends."

—-or not.

God had apparently heard her prayers, and had used stupid Landon to make things less awkward for Valentina, who was now looking like a snake that had just swallowed a vinegar-flavored mice.

"Charles?"

Charlotte started choking on her onigiri, and Valentina"s friends snickered while Landon started pounding her back. She knew he meant well, but he was seriously making things worse since one: he was about to break her spinal cord with those chops of his, and two: he was the reason she had choked in the first place!

Who"s Charles?"

Valentina"s hiss had Charlotte badly wanting to keep eating her onigiri. Did the other girl seriously not realize how she was very much acting like a snake?

Landon pointed to Charlotte, and if looks could kill, Valentina"s glare would"ve had her six feet under in a heartbeat. Or maybe even sixty, with the way the other girl now looked a slither away from chomping her head off.

Devon gave Valentina a sympathetic look. "If it means anything, Landon has skipped all of our birthdays one time or another as well."

"If we have something that falls on a weekend," Logan added, "we"ve just learned to count him out."

"And if you really need to get a hold of Landon on those days," Nick drawls, "there"s only one place you"ll find him—-"

"And that"s Charlotte"s bedroom," Sean finished with a sly smile.

Charlotte could not believe what the other guys had managed to spout in just ten seconds. It was true that Landon did spend every weekend at her place - well, okay, he was in her bedroom most of the time as well - but all he was doing in her room was read! That was it! Unfortunately!

Enough was enough, Charlotte thought irritably. She turned to Valentina, wanting to clarify things, but Charlotte instead found herself staring at empty air, with the other girl and her friends having already angrily stalked off.

Oh no.

Charlotte glared at Landon and his friends, but all five boys only looked at her with innocent expressions on their too-gorgeous faces. She was badly tempted to give all of them a couple of hard whacks to the head, but since they were still in school—-

"I"m going to kill you guys," Charlotte yelled as soon as they were all in Landon"s house and thus safe from the prying and judgy gazes of other kids in school.

Devon hastily pointed to Landon. "Blame him. He was the one who told us we needed to make it seem like you guys were a couple."

Charlotte swung around to face Landon, demanding, "Is it true?"

"Er..."

Landon"s younger sister came down to the living room just in time to see Charlotte sucker-punching her brother in the guts. "What"s up?"

"You just saw your brother assaulted," Landon growled, "and you"re asking what"s up?"

"Duh!" Cha-Cha rolled her eyes. "Like I"d ever take your side over Char"s."

"You little—-"

Landon was about to go after his little sister when Charlotte stuck her foot out, and he ended up nearly skidding down the floor. "Dammit, Charles!"

Charlotte smothered her laugh and was saved from any acts of retaliation when the Carmichaels" housekeeper bustled in to tell them dinner was ready. Everyone trooped outside to gather around the enormous oak table facing the garden, and it was while they gorged themselves on spicy chicken wings, tacos, and salad that Charlotte finally learned the truth.

Cha-Cha turned out to be just as involved in the whole Valentina face-off, with Landon"s younger sister having overheard Valentina telling her friends about how Charlotte had been desperately throwing herself at Landon for years.

"She was saying just so many awful things about you," Landon"s baby sister griped. "I had to tell Landon and the others because I knew you would never do anything about it even if I told you the truth."

"Now, do you get it?" Landon asked Charlotte an hour later, and it was just the two of them in the living room. Everyone else had already left, and Cha-Cha had also headed up to her bedroom, saying blithely that playing the third wheel had never been her thing.

"We were all doing it for you."

"Hmph."

"We couldn"t just stand aside and do nothing."

"You could"ve done something without making it seem like we were going out."

But Landon only shrugged. "I don"t mind people thinking you"re my girl."

Oh Lord, please, please do save me from this jerk!

Charlotte never knew whether to feel good or bad every time Landon seemed to flirt with her like this. She knew he only did so with her, but...what good would flirting do if it never went anywhere?

Landon looked at her questioningly. "Do you mind, though?"

Charlotte was still trying to think of the best way to answer him when something caught her eye. There was a half-open travel brochure on the coffee table, and it had Mt. Fuji on the cover. "Who"s going to Japan?" She was already bending down as she spoke, and something fell off as she reached for it.

Her eyes widened when she realized what it was, and she could only stare as Landon retrieved his plane ticket and placed it back on the coffee table.

"You"re going to Japan?"

"This summer."

"Why have you never told me about it?" Charlotte asked. "I wanna go, too—-"

"It"s not that kind of trip."

"I don"t care. You know it"s always been my dream to—-"

"I"m going there for training."

Charlotte was confused. "Training? Are you thinking of working there after college?"

Landon appeared reluctant to speak, and Charlotte started feeling apprehensive. "Land?"

"I signed up for a summer crash course on judo and kendo."

"Oh."

Her excitement over a prospective trip to Japan fizzled out in an instant, and Charlotte slowly sat down.

A moment later, she felt the couch dip as Landon occupied the space next to her. "Charles?"

"Stop calling me that," she said absently. "How many times do I have to tell you that my name is Charlotte, not Charles?"

"And how many times must I tell you in return—-" Landon"s tone was mocking. "I"ll only call you Charlotte when we"re in bed."

Her heart skipped a beat even as she automatically sucker-punched him in the guts.

"Damn, Charles. That hurt." Landon raised his shirt to check his washboard abs for bruises, and Charlotte temporarily forgot her worries as she struggled not to stare. Oh...wow.

"Have you been training with Manny Pacquiao or something?"

Charlotte finally managed to drag her gaze off Landon"s rock-hard muscles and cleared her throat. "Manny who?"

Landon grunted. "Never mind. I should"ve known you"d be naturally gifted in pugilism as well."

Charlotte frowned. Was that a compliment or not?

"It"s just too bad the only thing you"re hopeless at is being cute and girly—-"

Since that was definitely not a compliment, Charlotte quickly rolled up the brochure in her hand and used it to swat the back of his head. Hard.

"Ow."

Charlotte was unaffected. It would take more than a paper whack to really cause him pain, especially when considering all the time Logan had spent preparing himself physically...for what he wanted to do in the future.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"You"ll regret asking that," she told him.

"Then forget I asked," he said right away.

"Too late!" And she cut to the chase right after, asking, "Are you really serious about enlisting next year?" She saw Landon"s handsome face turn expressionless, but Charlotte couldn"t help pressing on. "You really won"t go to college?"

A few more moments passed before Landon finally answered her.

"Do you know you only have to be seventeen to enlist?"

Charlotte shook her head.

"I did. But I chose not to," he said quietly, "because I wanted to spend this last year with you."

Her heart pounded, but she refused to let it get to her. "Can"t we both go to college first—-"

"I want to serve, Charles."

Her shoulders drooped. "I know." He had been saying that since they were kids, like he had been born knowing he was meant to serve like his Uncle Billy did.

"It"s my destiny."

The words should"ve sounded fake. No high school kid should"ve been able to utter something like that and sound credible. But because it was Landon, the words didn"t just sound real. They felt real, too, with the way it made her imagine all the terrifying things that could happen to him, when - and not if - he finally became what he wanted to be.

"You believe me, don"t you? I"ve always known it"s what I was meant to do."

Charlotte could only nod. If she said just one thing, she was afraid she"d end up crying.

"Just like I"ve always known I was meant for you."

She reacted unthinkingly, her hand already balling into a fist, but this time Landon caught her hand mid-punch, and before Charlotte could draw her next breath, Landon already had her pinned down on the couch, and his tall, ruggedly hard body was weighing down on hers.

Charlotte"s heart was racing so fast she was seriously worried she might soon run out of breath. He had never been this close to her before, and the hard heat of Landon"s body was making her dizzy. She could feel him staring down at her, and it was making her mouth dry. But when she started to lick her lips, it was then she heard him curse—-

"Damn..."

Charlotte held her breath. Had she finally gotten to him? Were they finally going to do all the things that the other kids in school imagined they were doing? Was he finally going to—-

"Is that a double chin I"m seeing?"

—-get his ass kicked again?

Charlotte kneed him in the groin, and as he rolled off with a groan, she scrambled away and ran for the door. Enough was enough. There were times for jokes, but this wasn"t one of it, and—-

"Charles, wait—-"

Landon managed to grab her wrist just as she was about to yank their front door open, but before she could push him away, he already had her back against the door as he spun her around to face him.

"I"m sorry, okay?"

She was usually a sucker for Landon"s cajoling tone, but now it just made her heart hurt even more, and she saw Landon"s gorgeous features lose color as she started to cry.

"God, Charles. I"m sorry—-"

"Do you really not like me?" She saw Landon flinch at her question, and the sight had her tears falling faster. "Stop leading me on. It"s too cruel. Just tell me, once and for all, do you—-"

"It"s not that simple," Landon gritted out between clenched teeth.

"It is that simple," Charlotte cried out. "You"re the only one who"s making it complicated!"

But this time, Landon"s lips only tightened.

"Do you remember when you walked in on me while I was trying out my first bikini?" she demanded shakily.

"I don"t."

But the way his jaw clenched told her he was lying.

"It"s been three years since then," she whispered. "That"s how long I"ve been waiting for you to make a move. To ask me out. To tell me you like me. But you never have. You just keep flirting, but you never follow through—-"

"Because I can"t—-"

"Bullshit!" Charlotte wasn"t sure who was more surprised more between them. She had never been the type to swear, but she finally had enough, and now she felt as if she were about to implode.

"Charles—-"

She turned her face sharply to the side when he tried touching her. "No!" She heard him suck his breath in at her tone, but she no longer cared. "I thought at first you were just worried it would ruin our friendship, but now I r-realized it wasn"t that at all." Her voice caught, and she had to swallow several times to keep herself from completely breaking down. "It was never that. It"s really because you just never liked me enough—-"

"You have it all wrong," Landon cut in harshly. "It"s because I like you too much that I never let myself make a move—-"

He tried cupping her face, but Charlotte shook her head wildly against this. "You don"t have to lie—-"

"Why would you think I"m lying?" he growled. "Have I ever lied to you?"

Charlotte wanted to say yes, but if she did, then she would be the one uttering a lie.

"I meant what I said, Charles." Landon"s voice was rough. "You"re it for me—-"

She wanted to believe him so, so much. But how could she when he had never—-

"And that"s why I could never risk hurting you. I saw how hard it was for Aunt Aggie, when Uncle Billy was still on active duty. It killed her every time she had to let him go for another tour, and I didn"t want that for you. I wanted—-"

"For me to belong to someone else?"

Landon was never the type to lose his temper, but the expression that flashed over his features was so vicious it scared even her.

"That"s never going to happen."

Her knees knocked against each other even as the dangerous softness of his voice made her shiver.

"You"re mine, Charles—-"

"Then stop pushing me away! Even if you think it"s for my own good, just don"t. I"d rather fall in love," she said fiercely, "and risk getting my heart broken rather than to never have either tasted pain or love."

"God, Charles..."

Landon reached for her face again, and this time she simply kept still until her cheeks felt the warm, tender brush of his fingers.

"You really are a hopeless romantic."

A growl escaped Charlotte, but just as she moved to kick and punch him, Landon only laughed and pushed her back against the door.

"No one would probably ever believe me if I told them that you watch Pretty Woman every night before going to bed."

"Shut up."

"Then again..." Landon"s tone turned musing. "I"ve always liked the fact that I"m the only one who knows these things about you."

Charlotte stared up at Landon in frustration. She always had a hard time figuring out when Landon was saying something as a joke or his seemingly casual words were merely a prelude to something deeper. "Land—-"

Dark eyes gleamed down at hers, and Charlotte"s confusion grew. So was he joking or not?

"You win."

Won what?

He cupped her face. "I love you, Charles."

Her breath caught.

"I know it"s selfish for me to say it, but if not giving you the words is going to make you cry..."

Tears rushed down her face, and she could only cry harder when she felt Landon brush them away with his thumb.

"Say it again," she sobbed.

"I love you, Charlotte."

Her mouth parted in shock. Didn"t he keep telling her that he"d only call her that if—-

Whoa!

Charlotte was too stunned to do anything when Landon suddenly swept her up in his arms, and—-

Whoa!

They were already in his bedroom by the time she realized what he was planning, and he already had her laid down on the bed while she was still trying to figure out how she felt about this. Weren"t they moving too fast? But...hadn"t she also always thought she had been waiting for him since forever?

And besides...

Although she was graduating the same time as Landon"s, she was actually a year younger than him. If she was still a virgin by the time he turned eighteen, that might mean they"d have to wait at least a year before their relationship could be completely legal. Wouldn"t it? So perhaps it was better—-

Landon suddenly cupped her face. "Stop thinking."

"I just—-"

His mouth covered hers, and Charlotte realized that even if he hadn"t told her to stop thinking, she would have. Her brain had immediately ceased to function the moment their lips touched, and oh God, this first kiss was everything she dared...and didn"t dare to fantasize about.

Landon"s kisses were always something she dreamt about, and most of the time she had imagined his first kiss as something sweet and gentle. But instead, it was the opposite. From the moment he kissed her, everything was blatantly sexual, and while Charlotte would never admit the truth out loud, this was also exactly how she had secretly hoped their first kiss would be.

Rough and wild.

Hot and deep.

And oh yes, yes, yes—-

Charlotte couldn"t help but moan as Landon"s tongue immediately pushed in to possess every inch of her mouth. Every stroke of his tongue made her burn, and all she could do was wrap her arms around his neck as his tongue explored depths that she didn"t even realize were accessible.

They kissed for what seemed like an eternity, and yet she still couldn"t get enough of his lips. His mouth. His tongue. Oh God, she had been dreaming for this for so long, and oh my Lord—-

A cry broke out of her as she felt something long, thick, and hard swell against her body. She knew what it was, of course, but to actually feel it was a different thing altogether, and when Landon"s hand went under her shirt—-

Charlotte broke the kiss between them with a sharp wrench of her head, but even as Landon"s dark gaze met hers, his hand was still moving under her shirt until it had completely engulfed one of her cotton-covered breasts—-

"Land!"

But Landon only held her gaze captive even as his fingers slowly tightened into a squeeze.

Landon was squeezing her breast!

"Do you like it?"

She had never heard Landon purr like this, and she loved it.

"My hand...squeezing your tit?"

He had never talked dirty in her presence before either...and she loved it even more.

"I want to hear you say it, Charlotte."

He squeezed her breast again, harder this time, and as her back arched at the shocking pleasure of it, she could only choke out, "Yes."

"Yes what?"

"Yes...I l-like it—-mmph!"

Landon was kissing her again, and so, so deeply that it was as if he was kissing her all the way to her soul, and just as her body started to writhe under him, she felt his hands once again start to move, and oh, oh, oh—-

Another moan spilled past her lips as Landon started fondling her breasts while his mouth continued to wreak havoc on her already-reeling senses.

Land, Land, Land.

Charlotte could only cry his name out silently as her mind started to splinter, and the pleasure started to build. She didn"t want it to end, but she also couldn"t help but wonder how it would feel when it did end, and oh God, oh God, the moment Landon"s fingers found her nipples and pinched them hard—-

Charlotte"s body buckled against his.

"Come for me, Charlotte."

Oh God.

Landon"s kiss swallowed her cry as Charlotte"s very first orgasm took over her body.

It was almost half past ten by the time Landon walked her up to her door, but just as she was about to tell him good night, he suddenly pulled her close and conquered her mouth with another kiss.

Charlotte"s entire body melted against his, and she happily wrapped her arms around his neck as she kissed him back. Everything between them still felt like a dream, and she had a feeling it would always be so.

Another eternity seemed to have passed before Landon finally pulled away, and Charlotte still felt a little dazed as she looked up at him. Was this truly happening? Were they really not just friends now? But what if he realized he had made a mistake? What if he wanted things back to the way they were—-

Landon suddenly pinched her cheeks. "You"re overthinking things again."

"I can"t help it."

"If you need something to mentally chew on, then think of this." Landon gently traced her lips. "I love you, Charles."

Oh Lord, thank You for giving this jerk to me.

Landon raised a brow at her. "Aren"t you supposed to say something back?"

"Uh..."

"Charles."

"Give me a day, okay? Or two. I"m just not the type."

"If you can"t say "I love you", how about a blowjob instead?"

Charlotte was relieved. A blowjob was so much easier than saying those three little words, but just as she was about to say yes—-

"I was joking."

Charlotte turned red, and Landon grinned.

"You—-"

But Landon had already hauled her back into his arms and was now threatening to squeeze the breath out of her with his bear hug. "How can I be this lucky? Who would"ve thought my Charles would turn out to be a dirty little angel?"

Charlotte tried shoving him off, but Landon was now cupping her face again. "You"re so damn cute, Charles. How the hell am I going to ever let you go?"

"Uh...you don"t?"

Landon"s arms went around her again, and Charlotte"s toes curled when she felt him kiss the top of her head.

"Jesus. Even your zero flirting skills are too damn cute."

Charlotte wondered if she should feel insulted or complimented. Was she that bad at flirting? But...wasn"t he also saying that he loved her so much he didn"t care about it?

"I"m almost starting to regret I"m going away for the summer."

Then don"t go, she wished she could blurt out. Stay with me, go to college with me, and be a normal guy who just wants to have a stable job and a family. She wished she could say all of those words, but she also knew she didn"t really mean them. She loved Landon as he was, and she would always love him, no matter what.

"I"ve made up my mind." Landon pulled back and tipped her chin up to meet her gaze. "I"m not going to Japan any longer."

Charlotte was stunned. "What? Why?" She looked at him searchingly. "If this is because of me—-"

"I want my first trip there to be with you."

Charlotte mentally squealed.

Landon looked at her knowingly. "That made you fall in love with me just a bit more, didn"t it?"

"Shut up."

But Landon only chuckled, and Charlotte decided to change the subject before she ended up betraying herself further. "I don"t get it. Rather than canceling, why can"t I just go there with you now?"

"Because I want our first trip there to be special."

Charlotte was genuinely bemused. "And it won"t be special if we go there this summer?"

"I think we"re too young right now to appreciate all the things we could do there."

It was just so like Landon to go all philosophical out of the blue, and Charlotte"s heart skipped another beat. This was one of the things she loved the most about Landon. Most high school boys would think it lame to say anything serious, but Landon was different. Landon always spoke what was on his mind, and he never cared a whit about what people would think because of it.

"If we don"t go this summer," Charlotte began, "then do you have a certain date in mind—-"

"How about twenty years from now?"

Charlotte was incredulous. He wanted them to wait for two decades to pass before they could go to Japan? Seriously?

"I"d be thirty-seven then, and you"d be thirty-six. That"s the perfect age, I think—-"

"No, it"s not," Charlotte protested. "Don"t you think it"s too old?"

"Only because your mental age right now is already thirty-six, so by then you"d be sixty-seven—-"

She made a face. "Very funny."

"It"s not, though." Landon"s tone was solemn. "I just have a gift for making my Charles smile—-"

"Yuck!"

"And yet she blushes while saying it."

"No, I wasn"t—-"

"My Charles is just too damn cute!"

It was nice that he thought so, but did he really have to pinch her cheeks every time he did?

"Promise you"ll always be cute like this?"

Charlotte suddenly felt like someone had walked over her grave, danced and peed on it even, and all she could think about at that moment was how terrifying it was not to know the future. Just as Landon wanted her to always be cute, she also wanted him to always be there...but was that possible, considering what Landon wanted to do with his life?

"Can you promise me something in return?" Charlotte heard herself ask. "Can you promise to always be there and never leave me—-"

"I promise."

"I"m not joking!" And she wasn"t, even though she knew she was also asking for the impossible.

"Who says I am?"

Charlotte gazed up at him in a mixture of frustration and fear. "You can"t promise what"s impossible—-"

"But it"s not," Landon said softly. "I promise, Charles. I"ll always find a way to be with you—-"

Inspiration struck, and Charlotte"s face lit up. "Like Demi Moore"s Ghost?"

"Hell no."

She looked at him in surprise.

"They didn"t end up together," Landon pointed out. "When I said I"ll never leave you, I mean it. So think of something else like—-"

"Somewhere in Time!"

Landon groaned.

"They ended up together—-"

"In heaven," he growled. "I want us to live happily ever after here and in heaven, so think of something like..." Landon rubbed his jaw. "Ah. I have it. Remember Yuyu Hakusho? That"s one of your favorite animes, right?"

Charlotte frowned. "Yes, but..." Yuyo Hakusho was not a romantic anime in any way. Was it?

"Remember the part where Yusuke possessed his friend"s body, and his girlfriend recognized it was him even without actually seeing him?"

Her face cleared. "I do."

"That"s what I mean by finding a way to be with you, no matter what happens."

While a part of Charlotte knew that everything they had been talking about could never actually come true in reality, his words still comforted her, and she found herself playing along as she asked, "How do I make sure it"s really you?"

Landon touched her lips. "With this."

Huh?

Landon bent his head, and as he brushed his lips against hers, he whispered, "You"ll know it"s me...the moment I kiss you."