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Her eyes widen. “Of course not. I don’t want to keep it a secret. But if the public finds out we’re dating, they’ll start hounding you, too.”
I pull her close and plant my lips on hers. As we kiss, I can hear Gary’s startled reaction and the rapid-fire clicking of his camera as he takes a series of shots. “Oh, my god!” Gary says. “Are you two together? Like romantically? Since when?”
“Well, now they know,” I say, grinning as I pull back from her.
She smiles up at me. “You’re in for it now.”
“Let them do their worst.”
When we’re almost at her first classroom, I slow us down. “Are you ready for this?” I’m not entirely sure I’m ready. If Reese mouths off to Layla one more time, I just may lose it.
“I don’t really have a choice. I can’t miss my class.”
I open the door and usher Layla into the building. “If he says anything obnoxious, I’ll handle him.”
As usual, the students loiter in the hallway while they wait for the professor to unlock the lecture hall door. Charlene is already here, and when she spots Layla, she smiles and waves us over.
I follow as Layla heads for her friend, but before she reaches her destination, Reese emerges from the crowd and plants himself directly in front of Layla, blocking her way. He looms over her, his hands on his hips.
As Layla comes to an abrupt stop, I move in front of her, easing her back. I glare at Reese. “Don’t even think about it.”
“I just want to talk to her, that’s all.”
“You said enough the other night at the restaurant. She doesn’t want to talk to you.”
“Come on, it was just a joke.” Reese peers around me and smiles at Layla. “Hey, baby, we need to talk. It was just a misunderstanding. Your guard dog overreacted.”
I hear Layla snicker behind me.Guard dog.She likes that.
Layla steps out from behind me and faces Reese. “No, we don’t need to talk. Let’s just forget it happened, okay?”
Reese scowls. “No, it’s not okay.” Then his expression softens. “Hey, baby, come on. It was just a big misunderstanding, and this jerk” —he points to me— “overreacted. Let’s start over.”
“That’s enough, Reese,” I say, pressing my hand to his chest and driving him back. “Leave her alone. You were an ass to her at the restaurant. She’s not interested in a do-over.”
Reese sneers at me. “How about you let her speak for herself?”
“Jason’s right,” she says. “I’m not interested.”
The big blond hulk sneers at me. “Oh, I’ll bet you’re loving this, aren’t you? You make me out to be the problem, whenshe’sa certifiable nutjob.”
Layla gasps.
I grab Reese by the collar of his hoodie and shove him into a wall. My grip on his clothing is nearly cutting off his air. “Not another word, you hear me? You don’t look at her, you don’t speak to her. And if you try, I will make you regret it, is that clear?”
Reese’s face turns beet red before I release him. Grimacing, he staggers back and shoves a finger in my direction. “You’re the one who’s going to regret it. Nobody speaks to me this way, douche bag.”
Four big guys step up behind Reese, and for a minute, I’m wondering if I’m going to have to fight all five of them right here in this hallway.
But before anyone can make a move, the professor arrives and unlocks the classroom door. “Good morning, everyone,” the man says as he steps aside to let students file into the room.
I shadow Layla into the classroom and follow her and Charlene to our seats. Reese heads straight to the back of the room to sit with his buddies. Five against one? I doubt any of them are trained fighters, but they’re big motherfuckers, and all combined, they probably outweigh me by at least two hundred pounds. I could take them, but it wouldn’t be pretty. Somebody would get hurt. Hopefully it won’t come to that because I really don’t want Layla to see me fighting.
While the professor lectures about the structure of the kidneys, I read on my phone. This author talks about how and when the nature of her voices changed from antagonistic to more congenial. She talks about how her voices gradually morphed from criticizing her to cooperating with her, even encouraging her. That’s what I hope for Layla.
After I pause to check her glucose level, I go back to reading. Monitoring her sugar levels has become second nature to me now. I do it without even thinking. She also checks throughout the day, and between the two of us, we manage to stay pretty well on top of it.
When class ends, the students file out of the room. Reese and his friends are some of the first ones out the door. I notice Layla lingering a while as she chats with Charlene. They’re confirming their standing plans to meet up for lunch in the cafeteria.
