AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She turned slowly toward him, and her stomach clenched tightly. She wasn’t wrong about him. He was crazy good looking with conceit to match.Typical.“Yeah, for one song it wasn’t bad.” Leila took a breadstick and dipped it in marinara. “Desiree pawned you off on me so she could get work done. I’m sorry if touching a girl’s leg was the most excitement you’ve had in a while.” She held his gaze. “I thought you were overly experienced with woman and touching one’s leg wouldn’t be that exciting to you, but I guess I was wrong.”
The corner of Adler’s mouth ticked up. “Don’t let her fool you. My dance moves impressed her, and she shivered when my fingers brushed her thigh.”
“He wishes.” She mumbled and dipped her breadstick back in the marinara.Jerk.
Tristan laughed. “I’m not going there, but I saw you pulling her around the dance floor, taking advantage of those dance classes we were forced to take. So, Leila, I’m guessing his dance moves didn’t impress you as much as he always thinks they do.”
“I don’t think it did.” Jacob said with a smirk. “I saw her ditch him on the dance floor in the middle of the song.”
“Actions speak louder than words sometimes,” Leila answered. “I do have to say though, I didn’t just leave him. I thanked him for the dance first.” She shot him a crooked grin and didn’t miss the shake of his head. “I would’ve been long gone if I wasn’t forced back for the garter nightmare.”
“Saved by food.” Chad changed the subject as the pizza was placed in front of them. The conversation and laughter blended together in a harmonious noise as they ate.
Leila enjoyed herself and couldn’t remember the last time she’d had such a good time with others. They were all friendly and bantered back and forth. Even Adler seemed to get over the pounding his ego took and had a good time.
Soon the food was gone, the tab was paid, and everyone left the restaurant.
“Leila, would you mind if I jumped in with you?” asked Jessica. “Chad has some errands to run first and will pick me and Grant up when he’s done.”
“Of course not. We’re going the same place.”
Jessica sat in the passenger seat of Leila’s compact car as she drove the short distance to Charlotte’s house.
“So, how’re things going at home with your dad and stepmom?” Jessica asked once they were on the road.
Leila shrugged a little. “Things are good.” She gave her a quick glance. “I don’t know how much you know, but my mom kicked me out when I was six months pregnant. She didn’t like that I did everything she told menotto and was choosing to be a single mom. I came here because I had nowhere else to go.”
“I’m sorry. That must’ve been so hard.”
“At first it was, but now it’s not so bad. My dad and I haven’t spent much time together throughout the years, so we hardly know each other, but he took me in anyway. Diane and I are getting along well. They never had kids of their own, so it’s just us.” She pulled into Charlotte’s driveway. “I’m just thankful to be here. With my dad and Diane, the pregnancy center, and all y’all, I have so much more than I ever dreamed possible.” She smiled at Jessica as she turned off the car. “I just hope things continue going well. I want better for Sky.”
“I hope so too. Don’t hesitate to ask for help, or better yet, if you need anything, just give me a call.”
“Thanks. And thank you for inviting me today and for listening. I needed that.”
“Anytime. That’s what friends are for.”
After being away from Skylar for so long today, Leila rocked and cuddled her in her small bedroom in the basement of her father and Diane’s house. She’d enjoyed church this morning. Being around people and hearing the sermon was a good change of pace. Next week, she might try Sunday school for her and Skylar.Jessica had told her she and Chad were in a thirty-something bible class with Jacob, Kristen, Elizabeth, and Brady plus others. It would do her good to get to know more people. Outside of her not having a significant other and being the odd one out, it sounded amazing.
“Sky, so far everything’s been great for us here.” Pastor John’s sermon,Seeing the Good After the Bad, came back to her. That was the story of her life this past year.
This time last year, she and her mom were not getting along and started fighting constantly, not that they were ever best friends. Leila started to spend a lot of time at the community college’s library just so she didn’t have to go home and began talking to a guy who was in her Intro to Chemistry class. Ben was good looking. Okay, more than good looking. Hot was more like it, with a crooked grin which showed off his white teeth and an understanding of Chemistry—both in the class and the bedroom—which left her knees weak. She fell fast and fell hard.
Once her mother found out they were talking, she made sure to let Leila know she wasn’t good enough for him and he was way out of her league. That made Leila determined to prove her mother wrong.
Ben was everything Leila never wanted and always swore she would avoid. Egotistical, wild, bad news, but damn. He was sexy. His smile finally bore right into her soul, and before she knew it, she was head over heels in love—or so she thought—in his bed . . . and pregnant.
Her mom, upset that she didn’t listen, was finished with her. She kicked Leila out with nothing but what she could fit in a duffle bag and the small amount of money in her bank account. Scared and homeless, yet fed up with her mother’s attitude, she held her head high and called Ben.
He took her in, and everything seemed to be going well. They got along, or it seemed like it at the time. Looking back,she could see that he wasn’t home much and expected her to take care of the home “duties” while she also kept up with her schoolwork. She was there a week before she told him about the baby. They didn’t have a discussion. He didn’t hold her and tell her it would all work out. He gave her money for an abortion and told her not to call him again until she “dealt with the problem.” She wasn’t sure what she’d expected. He was all about himself and his future. She should have realized a baby wasn’t in his well-established plans.
She left his apartment heartbroken and scared, yet she knew there was no way she could end the life growing inside her.
Instead, she ended up in an Uber at the airport. With his money and what she had in her account, she had just enough to buy a one-way ticket to Nashville International Airport and hoped her dad, whom she hadn’t talked to in a while and hardly knew, would take her in. Luckily for her and Skylar, he and Diane had, with open arms. They were so welcoming and loving. It was like she and her dad had never been apart. That was probably how family was supposed to be. When you really loved someone, you wanted to be with them and hoped they were safe and happy. At least that’s what her father told her.
Leila brushed her hand over the soft hair on Skylar’s head. Her heart always fluttered when she held her close and relaxed with her in her arms. This feeling of contentment was God’s doing. She was in a great place, had a beautiful girl, a job she loved, and an amazing group of friends.
And determination.
