Chapter Forty-Four
Tyler
What the hell was I thinking, telling Juliet to buy Layla a dress and shoes? What if she decides not to come to the dance? I stare at myself dressed in my tux and shake my head. I should have never given Juliet that note. Make that the second stupidest thing I’ve ever done.
I leave my room and head downstairs in a very empty house. Taking a seat on the couch, I channel surf while I wait for her call like a loser on a Saturday night.
My phone rings and I glance over at the caller ID.
“What’s up, man?” I ask Jared.
“Hey, what are you doing right now?”
“Trying to find something to watch on TV.” I’m not about to tell him I’m waiting for Layla to call me.
He grumbles and says, “So you aren’t going to the dance?”
“I’m heading over there in a bit. Why?”
He sighs. “Good. I can’t believe I agreed to take Kelly. I’m not going to be able to sit there the whole night with her.”
“Well, at least you have a date. I’m not sure mine’s coming.”
He laughs. “I wouldn’t call her a ‘date.’ More like a platonic friend. Whatever. If you’re there at least I will be able to keep myself in check and not take off Mark’s head.”
I flick through the cable guide and say, “Austin will be there too.”
“He has an attention span of a small child.”
I set the controller down and laugh. “Good thing I’m going. I’ll meet you at the school. You gotta do me a solid, though.”
“Name it.”
“Keep Selena the hell away from me.”
“Got it.” He hangs up and I groan.
My phone rings again and I answer right away. “I said I’d be there. Geez.”
“Um. Okay. Hi,” Layla says.
“Layla? Shit. Uh. I didn’t know it was you.”
“Oh. Did I catch you at a bad time?”
“No.” My palms are sweating. Why are my palms sweating? I rub them against my pants and make my way up to my room. “It’s fine. What’s up?”
“You’re going somewhere. I caught you at a bad time. I can tell. I’m sorry.”
“Layla, calm down. You didn’t catch me at a bad time.”
“Okay.” I hear her sigh. “I got your letter. And the dress.”
“Oh. Yeah. It’s cool if you don’t feel the same.”
“No. I, um … I want to do this in person. Not over the phone. So, I assume you’re my date for the dance?”
“Only if you want me to be. It’s cool if you don’t. I’m still going because Jared kind of needs my help with something.”
“He likes my sister, doesn’t he?”
“Shit, did he tell you?”
“No. But I could tell. The way his nostrils flare when Mark touches her. The way he looks at her when he thinks no one is paying attention. It’s really obvious unless you are my sister, then you’d be completely blind to all the signs.”
“Yeah, well, he’s into her. He’s just not making his move because he’s friends with Mark and he wants to see your sister happy. Even if it’s hard for him to watch.”
“I get that. But yes, I want to be your date. Unless you were trying to tell me in a roundabout way that Jared’s your date.”
“Uh, no. We don’t roll like that. He’s going with Kelly, so I’m all yours if you want?”
“I wouldn’t want to go with anyone else. It’s getting late; I’ll meet you there, is that okay?”
I smile at the image of her in a pretty dress. I didn’t see what I bought her. Juliet refused to snap a picture of it. “Perfect. I’ll meet you there.”
“Okay. See you soon.”
“Cool. I’ll see you in a little bit.” Before I end the call, I say, “Layla?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m glad you called. I really missed you.”
“I missed you a lot too.”
We hang up and I fist pump the air.
I’m jittery at the dance. Like a nervous, I’m-going-to-pee-my-pants-any-second wreck. Jared is just as bad. We don’t say anything to one another, but I know we’re both staring at the door waiting for the Valentine twins to arrive.
Austin takes a seat next to me. “What are you doing?”
“Looking for someone.” I answer.
“Oh yeah, who? Pretty sure all the hot single ladies are already here.”
“Um. No.”
He glares at me. “Who’s missing, then?” Then he looks past me at Jared. “Are you waiting for someone too? Cause I could have sworn I saw your date on the dance floor, bro.”
“She probably is,” Jared growls. “Just don’t worry about what I’m doing. I didn’t want to come here to begin with.”
I shrug.
“Don’t let Kelly hear that; she might cry.”
“She looks like she’d be fine with it to me. She’s grinding herself against Adam’s junk,” Jared says.
Austin follows his stare for a second and shakes his head. “Wow. Are you just going to let him take your date like that?”
“She’s not really my date, just a friend dude.” Jared doesn’t look like he truly cares if Adam and Kelly end up together or not. In fact, the only thing he really cares about is Juliet, but I’m not telling Austin that.
“Where’s your date?” I ask.
Austin smiles. “What date? I’m riding the single boat. All these fools are trying to get into relationships, I’m just happy to fly solo.”
“Right,” I say, and turn my attention back to the door.
Austin laughs. “I’ll tell you one thing I won’t be doing, is turning into a whipped puppy like Mark. Don’t get me wrong, Juliet is cool as hell. I never actually met a girl who can whoop me in Dungeon Wars before. But Mark acts like he’s too good for us or something. Like all the sudden he wants to read books or whatever. Oh, and don’t get me started on his ass trying to correct my grammar. Him of all people, trying to correct me. I’m about two seconds from losing it on him.”
I finally stop looking at the door and stare at Austin for a second. “So, what you’re saying is Mark is trying to be something he’s not in order to keep Juliet?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. He’s so fake now I just want to punch him in the mouth.”
I laugh and glance back at the door. Jared gasps next to me. I almost do the same. A few yards from us emerge Layla in a long red dress, her hair pulled to the side and draped in curls, and Juliet in a long blue dress with her hair pinned up. They both look great but my attention is all on Layla. Both girls head toward our table. I’m not sure where Mark is, but I’m pretty certain Jared doesn’t give a damn.
He actually stands and pulls out a chair next to him and guides Juliet to sit. I’d do that too, but freaking Austin is next to me. Instead, I get up and take Layla’s hand in mine. “Would you like to dance?”
“I’d love to.”
I lead us out to the dance floor. I should probably warn her I can’t dance worth a damn to anything that has a beat. I’m that guy who stands there bobbing his head to a song while the girl does all the work. I can waltz and slow dance, so hopefully the music flowing through the speakers of the gym switches to a softer tempo.
That doesn’t happen. Layla sways her hips to the left and right and I keep my hands there as some sort of guide. She finally stops dancing and pulls back so I drop my hands from her waist. “You have no idea what to do, do you?”
“Not a clue.”
She smiles. “Looks like I get to teach you something then. Ready?”
I swallow hard. “I guess.”
She places my hands on her hips and says, “When I move, you move in the same direction.”
“I can manage that.”
As we start dancing I realize I need to say something to her right now. I pull her close to me and whisper, “Layla, I can’t go another second without telling you something.”
She blinks up at me. “What is it?” Worry lines ebb her beautiful face.
I dip my head and press my lips against hers. “I love you.”
She smiles. “I love you too.” Then her lips caress mine again.
And I’d like to say we danced all night but it’s not … in fact, that’s another story. For now, this is our ending.