Layla
I woke up the next morning with a pounding headache. It felt like someone was playing the drums right next to my head. I groaned and curled deeper into the comfy bed, bringing my hands up to hold my head. And this is why I don’t get drunk. The last time I did, it was so bad I vowed to never go it again. Thankfully, this time I didn’t throw up. Oh, wait? Did I? I questioned. I waved it off and snuggled into the bed wrapping the thick cover around myself.
Breathing in deeply, I smelled a mix of lavender and something else familiar. It smelled like a mix of cologne and man. With my eyes still closed, I rolled over and sniffed the bed, smelling the scent stronger here. I knew I looked like a weirdo, but I couldn’t stop myself from smelling the bed and the intoxicating scent. Whatever it was I wanted to put it in a container and keep it. What is wrong with you today, Layla? It was weird that I had this kind of manly scent on my bed, but I didn’t question it. For some strange reason, the longer I smelt the bed, my headache seemed to go away.
I was starting to wake up and as I slowly started to gain consciousness, I could hear footsteps heading toward my room. As they got closer, I groaned loudly.
“Kay, how much did we drink last night?” I asked from under the covers. “My head is pounding.” Kacey didn’t answer, but I heard her moving around the room. The longer she didn’t reply, the suspicious I became. “Kacey?” I said her name again, but the same thing happened. Confused, I pulled the covers away from my face and peeked out. The sun hit my eyes and I hissed, putting my hand over my eyes. Okay, yes, I am never drinking again! After a minute, I was okay and let my hand fall. I glanced around and sat up with a gasp. This was not my room.
My eyes moved to the right and I saw Ashton standing there pulling on a white T-shirt. How the hell did I get here?
“A-Ashton?” I squeaked out. He turned around at the sound of my voice.
“You’re awake, good.” He came toward the bed and sat on the edge a little bit away from me.
“What am I doing here?” I asked, glancing around. I swallowed, my mouth feeling like cotton.
“You showed up here last night around eleven or so, drunk,” Ashton said, shrugging before standing up and walking toward his bathroom. He returned a minute later with a glass of water.
“Here you go. This should help with the headache.” He handed me a glass of water and some Advil. I quickly took the pills and swallowed them.
“I don’t remember coming here,” I muttered, holding the now-empty glass on my lap. When I had moved to grab the glass, the bedspread had moved off of me, I looked down and saw my bare legs and then a pair of what looked to be boxers. “Did you undress me?”
“I did. But I didn’t peek, if that’s what you’re wondering,” Ashton replied. That wasn’t what I was worried about. I was worried that he saw my scars and would start asking me about them. Seeing as he didn’t say anything else after that, I figured he wasn’t going to say anything about them, or at least not yet anyways.
“Oh god, please tell me I didn’t do anything stupid last night,” I said, moving to cover my face as I thought about everything that I could have done.
“Nothing too extreme,” Ashton said with amusement. “But I got to say, drunk Layla is my new favorite person.” He shot me a smirk and then backed away. “I have breakfast downstairs waiting for you. Come down in a minute.” Just the thought of food made my stomach heave.
“No, I don’t think I can eat right now,” I said turning green.
“You have to. If not, your hangover is going to be way worse.” Not waiting for my reply, he turned and left the room. I groaned and fell back on the bed. I didn’t feel like moving at all. I knew if I didn’t go down there in just a few minutes then Ashton would have no problem coming back up here to bring me down with him. With another loud groan, I swung my legs off the bed and stood up. As I did so, the room started to spin. I quickly closed my eyes and held my head.
Stupid fucking alcohol. I cursed in my head.
After standing like that for a good three minutes, I opened my eyes and thankfully the room wasn’t spinning anymore. With somewhat shaky legs, I slowly made my way downstairs, holding the banister as I went. Just as I made it down the stairs, Ashton walked out of the kitchen like he was coming to get me.
“There you are. Come.” I walked behind him into the kitchen and resisted the urge to throw up as the smell of food hit my nose. I slumped down onto a stool and shivered. My bare feet hit the metal of the chair. “Just a few bites,” Ashton said once he saw the look on my face.
“I am never drinking again,” I said as he put a plate in front of me. On it was a plain piece of toast, a few eggs, and a piece of bacon, as well as a big glass of orange juice.
“That’s what you say now,” he joked before taking a seat next to me with a plate piled with food. I watched him eat and pushed the food around on my plate. “Layla, eat. Now,” he ordered. Sighing, I picked up the plain toast and nibbled on it. Ashton nodded as he watched me eat as he ate as well.
We ate in silence, and soon my stomach settled down and I was able to everything on my plate. The silence wasn’t awkward, but I was aware of everything Ashton did. After I was done, I got up and went to wash my plate. Even though I wasn’t the biggest fan of him right now, I wasn’t going to make him clean up after me. As I started cleaning my plate, I could feel Ashton’s eyes on me and I tried not to squirm under his gaze. The way he stared at me was like he was staring into my soul or something.
“So those were your plans last night. Getting drunk?” he asked, breaking the silence.
“Maybe,” I answered, putting my plate in his dishwasher. I held my hand out for his plate and he put it in my open hand.
“Getting drunk and grinding with horny guys is much more important than your job, huh?” His voice was getting hard and angry. “And you were by yourself. Don’t you know how dangerous that is? Don’t you remember me saving you last time you went partying?” He was now standing up and practically yelling at me. The plate in my hand now forgotten as I glared at him.
“I was not alone; I had my friends. And why do you care?” I yelled back at him. “Two weeks ago, you didn’t give a flying shit what happened to me.”
“I care if my PA is found dead on the street.”
“Nice to know how much I mean to you. All you fucking care about is work and yourself! Do you know how frustrating you are? One second you are sweet and caring, then the next you’re cold and being a jackass. You don’t care about other people’s feelings. You make me run all over town and do all different kinds of shit at the office and I don’t even get a ‘thank you.’ You dropped this whole gala thing on me and I had to do it by myself! Then you had the balls to tell me it was ‘just okay!’”
“I told you that this job had to be taken seriously and that you would be at my beck and call. So, don’t stand there telling me what I am giving you is shit. You are lucky I even gave you a job!” He seethed at me. His blue eyes were hard and narrowed at me.
“I am not yelling at you about work. I am trying to tell you I am sick and tired of you acting like such an ass to me. You were the one who ended it, not me! I should be the one pissed at you instead of the other way around.”
“You want me to treat you nice? Sorry, princess, but I treat all my other mistakes the same way.” His cruel words cut into me. I sucked in a breath and stumbled back like he had hit me. A mistake. I would always be the mistake. Clenching my jaw tightly, I gave Ashton my deadliest glares.
“I am done with you, Ashton. I am done with you putting me down and making this my fault when it is your own damn fault. I want nothing to do with you outside of work. The only reason I will continue to work for you is just what you said: I need it. At work, I will do as you ask but nothing more. You don’t have to worry about this mistake anymore.” I moved passed him and made it to the kitchen doorway before turning back to him. “Sorry you ever had to look at this ugly face or ever touch me. Hope you have more fun with Natasha,” I said venomously. With that, I left the kitchen. On a table by the door were my dress and heels from last night. Picking them up, I threw open the door and slammed it shut behind me.
As I made my way downstairs, ignoring all the curious glances being thrown at me, I hailed a cab. I knew I looked like a hurricane had hit me. I bet my hair was everywhere, and I knew I looked ridiculous wearing a huge t-shirt, a pair of boxer briefs, and blue high heels, but I didn’t care. Right now, I was too angry and hurt to care.
I made it home in no time and stomped up the stairs to my apartment. Throwing open the door, I slammed it behind me and walked to my room. My body was shaking, but I didn’t know if it was because of how angry I was or because sobs were trying to break free. I heard Kacey’s snores down the hall, but I slammed my door shut, not caring. And for what seemed for the hundredth time, I fell on my bed crying because of a certain asshole.
***
I spent most of Sunday barricaded in my room, not answering any of Kacey or Neena’s bangs. Why the hell did I think it was a good idea going to Ashton’s house last night? And why did I have a feeling of hopefulness in my stomach when I woke up and saw him? I knew everything about Ashton was bad. I shouldn’t have agreed to this job, going on a date with him, and I shouldn’t have done anything with him in the first place. When I saw him for the first time, I knew he was trouble but me being me, I didn’t listen to my head. And boy, did I regret it now.
Everything I said to him I meant. I was tired of being clobbered by him. I would keep working there until I could find another job, but while I looked I would be stuck being Ashton’s PA. In the back of my mind, I had hoped that maybe Ashton would apologize and we would kind of go back to whatever we were, but now I knew we didn’t have a chance to fully become a couple. I was too broken and Ashton was too selfish. I knew somehow Ashton had gotten hurt pretty badly if he turned out the way he is now. They say opposites attract, but in our case, we didn’t.
When the clock was a little past noon, I decided to get up and leave my room. I had heard Kacey and Neena leave a few hours before, so I didn’t have to worry about being interrogated by them. God knew that if I did, I would be back to crying once again. For the moment, I was fine. I padded into my small kitchen in my mismatched socks and opened the fridge. It looked practically empty, as were the cabinets I opened up a second later. Sighing, I knew I had to run to the grocery store.
I dressed in another pair of yoga pants, stolen from Kacey, a white V-neck, and a pair of flip flops. I pulled my messy hair into a bun at the top of my head, grabbed my stuff, then left the house. I didn’t care what I looked like; this was New York. There were plenty of weird people walking about for me to go unnoticed. The closest grocery-like store we had was a few blocks down. It was more of a Whole Foods than anything else; thankfully, though, it was cheaper than Whole Foods.
I walked the few blocks and breathed in the warm air and sighed. Being outside could do wonders for someone’s health. I could feel my body relaxing and my head clearing. It seemed all I needed was to get out for a little bit. Passing through the doors of the store, I grabbed a handbasket and started my shopping. I walked every aisle, taking my time since I had nowhere to be today. I didn’t have a list, so I just threw stuff in the basket that we usually get and looked good. The store was pretty busy and I had to navigate through it.
As I turned a corner to go to a different aisle, I ran right into someone. My basket dropped, and I almost fell but a pair of arms gripped my forearms, pulling me forward and into a hard chest.
“I am so sorry!” I said, looking up. Staring down at me was a pretty pair of green eyes. My breath got stuck in my throat as I took in the rest of the man’s face. He had well-defined cheek bones and jawline. His blonde hair was tousled on top of his head in a messy just-got-out-of-bed way. There was a little bit of scruff on his chin and jaw that made him look very sexy. He stood about six-foot-two, and I could tell he had a great body underneath that tight shirt. Whoever this guy was, he was very hot!
“No, I am sorry. I should have been watching where I was going.” The sound of his deep, smooth voice entered my ears, and I jerked out of my gawking. I could feel a blush starting to spread on my cheeks.
“It was my fault,” I said, stepping out of his hold. He was wearing a dark gray quarter-sleeve shirt, and a pair of dark grayish-blue jeans; he also had a pair of Converse on. He squatted down and grabbed the few items that had fallen out of my basket and then handed it to me.
“Here you go,” he said, shooting me a gorgeous smile. My knees felt weak and my arms like Jell-O. “Sorry for running into you…”
“I’m Layla.”
“Sorry for running into you, Layla.” The way he said my name, I almost melted. Good god, he is unbelievably attractive.
“I am too…”
“Alex.” I smiled at him. Alex definitely suited him for some reason.
“Are you here shopping by yourself?” he asked, picking up his own hand basket.
“Yeah, I am.” I nodded. “I’m just picking up some food for me and my roommate since our fridge is practically empty,” I said with a nervous laugh.
“Mind if I join you then?” My throat was suddenly dry, so I just nodded. I walked down the aisle beside him, trying to think of something to say that wouldn’t make me look like an idiot.
“I take it you live around here?” Alex thankfully asked first.
“Yeah. I live a few blocks down the road. How about you?” I asked, turning my head and looking up at him. I could see his arm muscles through his shirt as he held his basket.
“Yeah, kind of. I live a little bit further from here, but I like this store so I make the trip here.”
“Ahh, so this is your dating pool, huh?” I joked, sending him a teasing smile. After only meeting him three minutes ago, I felt comfortable around him. He seemed nice and sweet.
“Of course. See that lady in the purple shirt?” He pointed to an older lady who looked to be in her late sixties. “She’s a fox in the bed. Watch out for her.” I let out a loud laugh that made a lot of people to look at us. I slapped a hand over my mouth, muffling my laughter.
“You have a cute laugh,” Alex said, smiling down at me. I forced the blush down that was threatening to break free.
“Thank you,” I said quietly
We walked down the rest of the aisles, not saying much. I felt comfortable in Alex’s presence. He seemed so sweet and funny. The total opposite of Ashton. The moment I thought his name, I pushed it away. I was not going to think or compare anyone to Ashton. Way too soon, we came to a stop at a register. Alex let me go first, and I put my basket on top of the conveyer belt. I realized I only grabbed a few things and when I bumped into Alex, I didn’t grab anything else.
From the corner of my eye, I saw him put his basket behind mine. I couldn’t deny my attraction to him. He was by far one of the hottest guys I had ever seen. I could feel myself getting my hopes up that he would ask me for my number or something. As the lady rang up my items, I couldn’t help but chide myself. How stupid was I to be pining after another guy when just this morning I was at Ashton’s house and crying over him. You would think by now I would give up on guys, but here I was, flirting with another at the grocery store.
“That will be twenty-eight dollars and fifty cents,” the cashier said. I reached into my bag and fished out my wallet. Just as I was pulling out two twenties, a hand shoved theirs in front of mine and toward the lady. I looked over and saw Alex smiling at the lady while handing her money.
“Alex?” I hissed out.
“What?” He shrugged innocently at me, grabbing the change the lady gave to him.
“You shouldn’t have paid for my groceries,” I said. I didn’t know this man, but here he was paying for my stuff.
“It’s no big deal,” he said then softly nudged me to move over, as his stuff was being rang through. I moved the two bags I had off to the side and stared at the side of Alex’s face. “You know a picture would last longer,” he teased, shooting me a smirk. God, even his smirk is sexy. I tried to muster a comeback, but he left me flustered. Once he was done paying, he grabbed his bags and waited for me to go ahead of him.
I grunted and walked ahead of his out the doors. When I got outside, I turned to him.
“Alex, let me pay you back,” I said, but he cut me off.
“Don’t. Layla, it is no big deal. It’s the least I could do after running into you earlier.”
“But I ran into you. I don’t want you to waste your money on me,” I argued. He just stood in front of me, staring me down. Feeling his jade eyes on me, I finally sighed. “Fine, but let me pay you back somehow.”
“How about you let me take you out on a date,” Alex said.
“How is that me paying you back?” I questioned him.
“I get to be in your lovely company again.” He grinned. I couldn’t help but laugh quietly and shake my head. All different kinds of questions entered my mind as I thought about my answer. You know what? For the first time, I am not going to question it. I am going to go for it.
“Okay, yes,” I answered, grinning back at him. His smile somehow got wider as he put his bags in one big hand. He reached his hand in the pocket of his jeans and pulled out his phone. He tapped on it for a second before handing it to me.
“Give me your number.” I took his phone and entered it in. “I’ll send you a text so you have my number.” I nodded, feeling giddy. I just got a hot guy’s phone number! Inside I was freaking out, but on the outside, I tried not to do anything stupid. “I’ll call you and set up a date, if that’s okay.”
“Sounds good.”
“It was nice meeting you, Layla. I’m glad I ran into you,” Alex said.
“Me too.” I sent him a small wave as we both turned in opposite directions. As I walked away, I couldn’t help but look over my shoulder after him. He was looking over his shoulder at me as well, sending me a goofy smile. I grinned widely as I turned back around and headed home. My phone buzzed in my bag, so I stopped, shifting my bags around before grabbing my phone.
From: Unknown
To: Layla
Watch out for any more of my foxy ladies at the store. ;)
I laughed and shook my head as I walked home. Who knew this day would start out so shitty but ended up so good? And who knew I would meet such a nice guy at the grocery store?