AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Are you ready for school tomorrow?”
She nods. “I guess I’ll be seeing Reese again tomorrow.”
“Oh, right.” My stomach churns at the thought. “You don’t have to talk to him if you don’t want to. I just thought maybe—”
“It’s okay. I do. He seems like a good guy.”
“Yeah, he does.” I have to bite my tongue to keep from disagreeing. I think he’s an entitled prick, but that’s just me.
Absently, I wander over to her bookcase and skim all the DVDs. “Look at all these. Now who’s old school?”
“Ian gave me his DVD collection when he moved out. He streams everything now. So do I, but I keep these because they belonged to him. I’m sentimental.”
I pull a copy ofGuardians of the Galaxyoff the shelf. “This is a good one. I love the soundtrack.”
“Do you want to watch it?” she asks, her eyes lighting up.
“Sounds good, yeah.” I like the movie, but I love spending time with her more. “When? You mean tonight?”
“Why not? I’m done here.” Layla hits a few keystrokes, then powers down her laptop. She moves to the sofa and picks up the TV remote to call up the movie and starts the film. When the catchy seventies music starts up, she smiles and pats the seat beside her.
As the movie’s opening sequence begins, Layla puts her feet up on the coffee table, and I follow suit. It’s nice to be able to relax with her. I’m hoping the awkwardness from earlier this afternoon is behind us.
When there’s a lull in the movie’s action, I reach over and squeeze her hand. “If you do go out with Reese, I’ll be coming with you. I want to make sure you understand that. You won’t be alone with him.”Not ever, if I have my way.God, just the thought of her alone with him makes me queasy.
Even as she nods, the corners of her mouth turn down. I find myself staring at soft lips that draw me in like a moth to a flame. My gaze climbs to meet hers, and as her dark eyes lock onto mine, I feel a surge of heat throughout my body, and my heart beats double-time. I turn back to face the screen, and it’s several minutes later that I realize I never let go of her hand.
We’re holding hands.
Shit.
When I sneak a peek out of the corner of my eye, I see she’s smiling.
“Sorry.” I release her hand and give it a friendly pat. I don’t want to make too big of a deal out of this.
She just keeps smiling. “It’s okay.”
My body reacts to her proximity in a very inconvenient and unprofessional way. I try to focus on the movie in the hopes that my body stands down. When it doesn’t, I have to shift in my seat to hide my body’s rather obvious reaction.
This can’t fucking happen.
My body isn’t allowed to react to hers. Not to her touch, not to a look from her, not from a word—nothing.
By the time the movie nears the end, she’s yawning. It’s late, and she should be in bed. I quietly check her sugar level.
God, I wish she was just some random girl, and I was just some random guy, and we met at a party, and I asked for her name and—
Stop it, you idiot. It can’t fucking happen.
* * *
After I leave Layla’s room and head back to my own, I’m way too restless and worked up to go to sleep. I have a serious problem where Layla’s concerned. When I look at her, I don’t just see a client. I see an incredible young woman who occupies a hell of a lot of my mental bandwidth. She’s smart, she’s funny, and she’s so damn humble. And my god is she beautiful. Sometimes I find myself simply staring at her, unable to look away. With her money and looks, it’s a wonder she’s not a vain, self-centered debutante. But she’s not. If anything, she’s too modest. She has no idea of her appeal.
And of course her vulnerabilities heighten my desire to protect her. I really don’t know how I’m going to handle Layla going out on a date with that blockhead Reese or with any other guy. He has no clue what she’s been through.
And yes, she’s emotionally complicated. I’m still shaken by what happened today at lunch. Everything was going fine until suddenly it wasn’t, and she ended up locked in a public bathroom, where shehurtherself. She fucking hurt herself onmy watch. And it was Ian she called for help.
Ian.
