by Megan Smith
Layla sighs. “You have no idea how hard it was for me to move in here. To give up everything I knew, to start fresh, but…” she shifts in her chair. “I’m glad I’m here. I don’t know if I would have found this happiness for both Fallon and I anywhere else.”
I hold out my hand for her. She reaches over and entwines our fingers together.
“Thank you, Eli.”
I smile and tug on her hand. She stands, walks closer to me where she climbs onto my lap and buries her face in my neck. I kiss the side of her head; I shouldn’t because I’ll crave more. I just want that one minute with her. That one minute to forget everything and just be in the here and now with her.
Layla must want that, too. I feel her lips touch the flesh of my neck. I don’t say or do anything because I’m almost positive that it didn’t happen. Then she does it again but a little harder this time and I know I’m not imagining it.
“Layla,” my voice comes out huskier than I wanted it to.
“Shh,” she lifts her hand and presses a finger against my lips.
She continues kissing me, lingering, savoring every moment. Suddenly I can’t stop myself from crushing her to me. The feather-touch kisses were too tantalizing.
I repeat the same words to her I said the first time we kissed. “I’m going to kiss you now. If you don’t want that you have to get up because I can’t promise I can control myself.”
I expect her to get up since this is the only real contact we’ve had since that last time we kissed months ago. My lips slowly descend to meet hers and, just like the first time, it sends a shock wave through my entire body. I know she feels it too because her whole body shakes.
The kiss is slow and full of passion. Then suddenly it’s all hands and hot hungry kisses. My shirt is gone in an instant followed by hers. Layla is now straddling me and pulling on my hair. My hands find their way to her hips. It’s the safest place for them; she needs to run this show.
Layla slows the kiss down, running her hands down my neck to my chest and just over my heart.
“It’s pounding so hard.”
“I know.”
She leans forward and places a kiss over my beating heart.
“I know you’re holding back with me, Eli. Don’t think I haven’t noticed. It’s the thing I like about you so much. You’re able to read me even before I’m able to.” She kisses my chin. “I’m going to go to bed.”
She climbs off my lap and throws the covers over her shoulder. “You coming?”
I don’t exactly want to get up right this second because it’s going to make this an awkward situation with me sporting a hard on.
“Just a second.”
Layla starts in without me, when she’s out of sight I stand from my chair and adjust myself so I don’t look like some fucking creep.
Layla is waiting for me in the kitchen with a smile on her face. “Does it feel weird that you aren’t tucking Fallon into bed tonight or even checking on her?”
After the first week of them moving in Fallon insisted that I be the one who tucks her in because I do it better than Layla does. “Yeah, a little bit.” I do miss it but I’m enjoying myself a little more here with just Layla.
She gets this glimmer in her eye. “You can tuck me in if you want.”
A smirk comes across my lips. “Well, let’s get you to bed then.”
Layla and I go upstairs and into her room. She grabs a t-shirt since the one she was wearing is still outside and slips it on over her head. She watches me from the corner of her eyes as she pulls down her pants and steps out of them. I try to look away but I fail. Her legs, her fucking legs, they get me every damn time. Layla knows it to so of course she’s doing everything in her power to get a rise out of me. Mission fucking accomplished.
I take the few steps over to her bed and pull back the blankets for her. Layla climbs in and lies on the left side of the bed. I wait until she gets comfortable, then lean over her body and tuck the covers under her body just like I do with Fallon.
I kiss her forehead and say, “Goodnight, don’t let the bed bugs bite.”
Layla giggles just as Fallon does.
I walk over the door and reach up on the wall to turn the light off.
“Eli?”
“Yeah?” I don’t turn around because I just can’t look at her lying there.
“Stay.”
I glance over my shoulder towards her. “I can’t.” I whisper. “It’s not a good idea.”
She waits a moment and just as I take another step forward I hear the words that break my resolve.
“Stay for me.”
Without waiting another second I go back into her room and climb into bed with her.
“Thank you.” Layla says snuggling up to the side of me.
“You’re welcome.” I sigh loudly and decide to bite the fucking bullet. “Layla, I know we have feelings for each other but I also know what happened in your past. I’d like to see where things go between us. I want more than just friends with you.”
“I’d like that, too.”
“You would?” I ask in surprise. I mean I know she likes me but I didn’t think it would be this easy.
She laughs softly. “Yeah, I just…” She lifts her head so she can see me. “I just need to take it slow, okay?”
I nod. “I can do slow for you.”
This is going to be one long ass night. I’ll never sleep having her this close to me and not touching her. I’m sure if I tried, she’d let me, but that’s not what tonight is about. This is taking another step forward and I’m not about to take two steps back.
Layla
It’s a late summer afternoon when we pull up to First Energy Park where the BlueClaws are playing. After Eli suggested we go to a game, Jaylinn was able to score us enough seats so that we could all go with her.
I don’t understand a thing about baseball besides the pitcher throwing the ball at the batter and them hitting it, so when Cooper is up he hits the ball out of the park. Jaylinn and Eli are up on their feet and I’m just sitting here wondering why they are so excited.
“Damn, that was a nice home run.” Eli comments.
“He’s having a great game.” Jaylinn smiles happily.
“Um, what the hell just happened? He hit the ball over all the guys’ heads.”
Jaylinn and Eli both look at me and they start cracking up. Jaylinn is laughing so hard she’s wiping tears from her eyes. “You really don’t know anything about baseball, do you?”
I give her a pointed look. I hate feeling stupid.
“That was a home run, babe.” Eli tells me. “It means that he scored and so did the guy who was on second base. The score is now four to one.”
Now it makes sense why they were so excited for him. Fallon is sitting next me playing on my phone. The poor girl is bored out of her mind and I can’t blame her because so am I.
A guy carrying peanuts and popcorn walks by. “Fallon, you want some popcorn?” Eli asks knowing it’s one of Fallon’s favorite things to eat.
“Yes!” She cheers.
While Eli is handling getting Fallon popcorn I’m trying to roll up my sleeves so I don’t get a farmer’s tan.
“Wearing these clothes out here is going to mess up my tan lines.” I whine. Who would have ever thought that I would be worried about something like tan lines when not four months ago I had the weight of the world on my shoulders worrying how Fallon and I were going to eat the next week.
Jaylinn rolls her eyes. “What a horrible thing to have happen.”
“I’ll take care of those tan lines when we get home.” Eli whispers in my ear before nibbling on my ear.
He sits back in his chair with the smuggest look on his face. I back hand him in the stomach and he just laughs. Ever since Eli and I made it official we’ve been making out like a bunch of hormone-driven teenagers. We haven’t had sex yet but we’ve teetered the line a few times. It’ll happen when the time is right. Neither one of us are in a rush.
As Jaylinn and Eli go back to watching and cheering about the game, my mind wanders back to Brian. He never would have done something like this for Fallon and me. I wonder where he is and what he is doing now. I can’t believe he would just let me go. After everything he’s always kept over my head, after all the times he hit me and threatened me, he just disappears. That’s not like Brian, not even close. I know one day he’ll show up just like my mother will and neither will be a welcome sight.
“Layla,” Eli jabs me in the side with his elbow.
All the people are exiting the stands, Jaylinn and Fallon are standing waiting for me.
“We’re going to grab some pizza once Cooper is finished.” Eli tells me and holds a hand out for me. “Come on.”
The four of us make our way out of the stadium and back into the parking lot where we were doing a little pre-gaming. Eli and Jaylinn crack open a beer while I get Fallon a juice box. As I’m standing there taking the plastic off the straw I get this tingle that goes straight down my back and leaves me a little breathless. My eyes cut across the parking lot to the playground on the other side, nothing but kids. My eyes cut back to the other side and it’s just lines of cars trying to exit the lot. Turning to see if anyone else notices anything I spot a familiar looking white Dodge Charger just over Eli’s and Jaylinn’s shoulder.
I put my hand up to shield my eyes from the sun so I can get a better look.
“Layla,” Eli says looking behind me then turning back to me. “What’s the matter?”
Not moving or saying a word, I watch as the car drives by. From the tinted windows, to the rims on the car, I know it’s Brian; without a doubt. It snaps me out of my trance. My heart is pounding, I feel a trickle of sweat running down my spine and my hands are now in fists breaking Fallon’s straw.
“Layla,” Eli says coming to my side. “What is it?”
My eyes find Jaylinn who is staring at the same car I was, she knows who it is, too. When she meets my eyes I give my head the faintest shake of my head. If you weren’t looking for it you wouldn’t have known what I was doing. I don’t want him ruining this day for me. He doesn’t get to do that anymore.
Eli grabs my hand, takes the straw and puts it in Fallon’s juice box. Shit, Fallon. I look down to her and she’s looking up to me. If she seen Brian’s car she hasn’t said anything and I pray that she doesn’t.
Eli hands Fallon her juice box. “Hey, could you do me a favor?” He asks her.
Fallon nods.
“Go in to the back seat of the car and grab the baseball so we can have a catch.”
Fallon skips away over to Eli’s car. I know now that she hadn’t seen Brian’s car as she wouldn’t have been skipping.
Eli stands and faces me again. “Layla, what’s going on?”
I paste on the best fake smile that I can. “Nothing, why?”
Eli narrow’s his eyes at me. “Why do I feel like you’re lying to me?”
Jaylinn coughs and I know I have to tell him. I don’t want to but I can’t not tell him either. I let out a deep breath. “I just saw Brian’s car pull out from over there.” I say nodding behind him to the place Brian’s car was on the other side of the park’s fence.
“Did you see him earlier?” He asks with concern etched on his face.
I shake my head.
“Is this the first time you’ve seen him since you moved in with me?”
I nod.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, positive. I would have told you.”
“Like you were going to tell me just now?” He retorts making me feel all of about two feet tall.
My head drops forward. I shouldn’t have tried to lie to him.
Eli tips my chin up to meet his eyes. “I need you to tell me if you see him again, okay? I don’t like that he’s lurking around like that. You have no idea how bad I’m tempted to hire Dante to watch you and Fallon all day, every day.”
My jaw drops in shock. “You can’t be serious.”
“Oh I’m dead serious.”
Jaylinn snickers from behind Eli. “He’s got it bad for you, Layla.”
Eli closes his eyes and bites back a smile. I slide a hand up his chest, around to his neck and give a little tug pulling him closer to me. “I have it pretty bad for you, too.” Then press my lips to his.
Just as his hand slides around to rest on my lower back we hear, “Eww!” coming from Fallon. We break apart, both laughing.
“Ah, kids. Gotta love them, huh?” Jaylinn snickers. “We were just getting to the good part, too.”
“Jay?” Eli calls then gives her the finger.
She throws her head back and starts laughing. I bend down to Fallon’s level. “Take a few steps back and I’ll toss the ball to you.”
She squeals and runs down past a few cars. “Come back a little closer.”
“No way, stay where you are.” Eli says taking the ball from my hand.
We spend the next few minutes tossing the ball back and forth while we wait for Cooper. When he finally emerges, a few fans stop him for autographs. Cooper smiles and signs them happily but from what Jaylinn tells me he hates the extra attention. It’s like when he’s done with the game, interviews, press and anything else he needs to do he just wants to leave baseball on the field. I know from the few people who ask about him at Fierce that it rarely happens. Guess it explains why he doesn’t really go out shopping with Jaylinn and why she’s always dragging me along.
Cooper signs a little boy’s hat, says goodbye and walks away towards us. “Hey, guys.” He greets us.
“Uncle Cooper!” Fallon yells as she launches herself in his arms.
“Huh, he gets a better greeting than I do.” Eli complains but I know he’s just messing around. Fallon started to call Jaylinn and Cooper ‘aunt and uncle’ a few months ago. We were sitting at the dinner table and she asked why she didn’t have any relatives. Jaylinn spoke up before I could explain why.
“I’ll be your aunt and Cooper will be your uncle if that’s okay, squirt.” Jaylinn and Fallon both looked over to me.
My eyes grew teary while I nodded. I’m truly blessed with a best a friend like her. She’s opened her arms up to Fallon and me without a blink of the eye. She’s taken her under her wing like they were sisters.
“Are we ready for some pizza, squirt?” Cooper asks while picking her up and over his head sitting her on his shoulders.
“Yes!” She cheers.
“We’re taking her with us.” Cooper tells me walking off towards his car with his arm draped over Jaylinn’s shoulder.
“Well,” Eli says throwing his arm around my shoulder as we walk to his car. “We can finish what we started.” He whispers.
I giggle all the way to the car but glance over to Cooper who is watching us. I’m not sure what to make of the face he’s giving me. His head is tilted to the side and he’s watching the way that Eli and I are interacting.
We pull up to the pizza place a few miles from home. It’s the same one that we eat at when we go out with Jaylinn and Cooper. There is a little booth that sits in the back and the table is hidden.
We take a seat at the round table. Jaylinn sits next to Cooper who is sitting next to me and then Fallon is between me and Eli. Cooper’s eyes keep going between me and Eli. Jaylinn notices and elbows Cooper.
He shakes his head. “So, what kind of pizza are we getting?”
“Cheese!” Fallon shouts.
“Cheese, it is.” Cooper says with a smile.
The waitress comes over to take our order. Eli excuses himself to use the bathroom and Cooper goes with him.
“What’s his problem?” I ask Jaylinn once they boys are out of ear shot.
“I have to go to the bathroom.” Fallon tugs on my sleeve before Jaylinn can answer. I stand and pull Fallon’s chair out. We make our way over towards the bathrooms but I stop short when I hear Cooper and Eli talking.
“What’s going on with you and Layla? I see the way you’re looking at her
.” Cooper says. Fallon tugs on my hand and I put a finger up to my mouth to keep her quiet. “You’re keeping it in your pants, right man?”
My breath catches. Does he not want us together? Why does he care?
“Yeah, you have nothing to worry about.” Eli tells him.
“Good. I don’t want any trouble with Jaylinn and I if you guys start messing around. Not to mention it would make work really uncomfortable since we are all friends.”
“You’ve got nothing to worry about.” Eli says with a touch of attitude but I don’t think Cooper catches it.
I lead Fallon off to the bathroom and pass the boys with a fake smile. I know Cooper can be a bit of an ass sometimes but why does he care if Eli and I are messing around? I think we’re mature enough not to let it affect our friendship and work situation.
The rest of dinner I’m pretty quiet and only speak when spoken too. So much for having a fun day out at the ball park.
Later that night when I’m lying in bed after asking Eli to stay with me again I tell him I heard his conversation with Cooper.
“I’m sorry I didn’t know what to say.” Eli says rubbing his hand up and down my arm.
I’m hurt and a little upset but I understand why he did it now that I’ve thought about it for a while. Cooper has enough on his plate and my relationship with his business partner doesn’t need to be another.
“I didn’t want to tell him we are in a relationship and have you get mad that I told him, you know?”
“Yeah I understand now. I guess earlier it just took me by surprise.”
“Uh-huh.” Eli says burying his face into my neck. “If you want me to tell him to mind his fucking business I will. I’m not afraid to speak up and say something. Honestly, I’m shocked Jaylinn hasn’t said anything.”
“Yeah, me too. I guess she doesn’t want him worried about things here while he’s on the road.”
We settle into a comfortable silence, Eli’s hand slowly rubbing up and down my arm as we are both lost to our own thoughts.
Eli’s breathing evens out and I’m sure he’s fallen asleep.
