Bound Together (7 page)

Damn. She was right, I was
thinking about him. I hadn’t stopped thinking about him all
morning. And I was certainly tempted to reply to that text but I
had to take the moral high ground here and be the better
person…again. I would not let Jared do this to me. But I was
curious as to how he got my number in the first place. I thought
maybe I could just ask him. It was one little text right? I shook
my head at myself. No. I would confront him in person on Monday.
Probably.

* * *

Dad took me to my favorite
Italian restaurant. Mama’s Little Pizzeria was a small family owned
business. The owners, Marco and Marie, were an older couple and
along with their two sons they ran the whole restaurant. They were
obviously a close family and were always happy to see us when we
came for our usual Saturday night meal. “Andrew! Layla! Is so nice
to see you. You want your usual table? Come, I get you a
menu.”

Marco was as welcoming as
ever. He showed us to a small table by the window and placed two
menus in front of us. “So Layla when you gonna marry my boy huh?
He’s just graduated at the top of his class you know.” I felt my
cheeks warming and stared over at dad, pleading with my eyes for
him to help me get out of this.

“Ah Marco you know how it
goes. She’s a college girl now. She’s got her head in the books.
And I hope that’s where it stays till she’s 21.” He reached over
and held my hand in his, giving me a smile.

“Besides, no one will ever be good enough
for my baby girl.” Winking at me he turned to Marco who was smiling
and shaking his head. “We’ll have the usual please Marco and a two
glasses of lemonade.”

Dad had come to my rescue
just as he always did. Marco’s son Roberto was twenty one and had
just graduated from California State. He had studied biology and
human science and was well on his way to medical school. He was a
nice guy and we would often talk when dad was in the bathroom or
talking to Marco and Marie. He had even asked me out once and I’d
had to let him down as gently as I could. He was a great guy but
with his dark hair, dark eyes and slim physique he just wasn’t my
type. I wasn’t sure if I’d even
had
a type at the time but whatever the case, Roberto
certainly wasn’t it.

Dad and I spent the evening talking about my
new job and I told him about Amy and Oliver. I decided to leave
Jared out of the conversation. Dad was very protective and I knew
he wouldn’t take kindly to anyone upsetting his baby girl. Plus I
could handle Jared all on my own.

I was thinking about him
again. What was wrong with me? Here I was in my favorite
restaurant, my dad animatedly talking about how he had fixed every
appliance in the house that week and I was thinking about that
jackass. I tried to focus on what dad was saying. I was finally
caught up on his week of D.I.Y projects and meals for one when I
felt my phone buzzing in my pocket.

Excusing myself, I made my
way to the bathroom. Once safely inside and away from dad’s prying
eyes, I pulled out the mobile. There was a text and I knew exactly
who it was from. I had saved his number in my contacts under “The
Asshole.” I exhaled a deep long breath and opened the
message.

Layla. I do hope you
weren’t offended by my previous message. I did not intend for it to
anger or insult you in any way. However I must admit I am a little
disappointed to have not received a message back from you. I almost
looked forward to seeing your name pop up on my screen followed by
a sarcastic comment or infuriated response. I will assume from your
silence that you have found the request of $275 agreeable. Looking
forward to seeing you on Monday. Jared.
;)

Received: 20.21

From: The Asshole

What the hell?! Was he
serious? And what did he mean he was disappointed not to have heard
from me? I couldn’t stop reading the same sentence over and over,
“
I almost looked forward to seeing your
name pop up on my screen
.
”
Almost?
What did that even mean? Was he being sarcastic? Or was Mel
right?

First there was that
smiley face and now a wink. This was becoming too much to handle. I
felt woozy and staggered backwards a little. I turned around and
gripped the edge of the sink in an attempt to steady myself.
Looking down into the basin, I shook my head, trying to regain my
composure. Raising my head, I gawked at myself in the mirror. My
eyes were red and the lack of sleep I’d had that week was showing
in the dark circles that surrounded them. I ran the cool water and
splashed a little on my face. Feeling a little more refreshed I
walked back to our table.

Dad had paid the bill and was standing by
the door. “Ready to go kiddo?”

I nodded and followed him
back to the car. As soon as we got home I kissed him goodnight and
went to bed. The moment my head hit the pillow I was out. But the
week’s drama invaded my sleep. I woke up and glanced over at the
clock. 2:28 a.m. Gripping my pillow, I tossed and turned; trying
desperately to go back to sleep. But it was no use. I wasn’t
getting any peace while thoughts of Jared and
that
text loomed over me. I picked
up my phone and typed out a new message.

When you assume, you make
an ass out of you and me. But in your case making an ass of
yourself seems to come naturally. Layla

Sent: 2.36

To: The Asshole

I hit send and immediately
wished I could take it back. But it was flying through the world of
digital communication. Oh boy was I in trouble. It was past 2 a.m.
and there I was texting him, playing his stupid game. I clearly
needed help. I switched the damned thing off and dropped it on the
floor before temptation to send another could take hold.
I was in hell and sleep was clearly not an
option, especially now.

Chapter
8

Toot, Toot. Beep,
Beep

My head was pounding as if
someone had taken a hammer to my delicate and fragile skull. I
opened my eyes and scanned the room. A small glimmer of light was
beaming through the window and I could hear the chirping of a
bird’s morning song. Slowly raising my head off of my pillow, I
rubbed my sore and tired eyes. They felt heavy and the sting of
another night’s restless sleep was beginning to burn into them. I
hauled myself out of bed and swung my feet onto the floor. As it
landed, my foot hit something and I glanced down in curiosity. It
was my phone. Oh. Dear. God. No!

The events of the previous
day and the texts suddenly came rushing back through my mind,
playing out like a montage in a movie. It was my very own horror
flick; the coffee shop, his texts and oh good heavens
my text
. I winced and
held my head in my hands. What was wrong with me? He was plaguing
my thoughts and I was encouraging it. He hadn’t replied but I was
sure I’d be hearing from him at some stage in the day. Based on
what I knew so far, I was fairly sure he’d never let me have the
last word.

Trying to put it all to
the back of my mind I showered, dressed, slipped my cell phone into
my pocket and went downstairs for breakfast. The massaging beat of
the shower had gone a long way to relieve my headache and as I
entered the hallway I could smell the aromatic fragrance of
cinnamon, which caused me to hurry down the stairs. Dad was in the
kitchen making pancakes. He was beaming at me as he tossed one into
the air. It landed with a smack onto the counter top. I stifled a
laugh and he smiled over at me with a shrug. I sat at the breakfast
bar and poured myself a glass of orange juice. Handing me a plate
of pancakes dad nudged my hand with his to get my attention. “So
kiddo, what time were you thinking of heading back? Not that I’m
trying to get rid of you, I just have something planned for today
and need a time scale.” I swallowed a mouthful of pancakes and
shrugged. “I don’t know I guess around lunch time, if that’s
alright?” He nodded and slid onto a stool next to me. I loved meal
times with dad. We could talk about anything.

I finished breakfast,
kissed dad on the cheek and headed across the lawn to Mel’s. I
didn’t have a chance to even knock on the door as she opened it and
hugged me. “Hey Lay. So how was your night? Did anything
interesting
happen?” I
rolled my eyes at her. She caught me and laughed loudly. “I knew
it! I knew you couldn’t resist. So fess up. What
happened?”

Sitting on her porch
swing, I told her about the restaurant and showed her Jared’s
message. Smiling at me with a wicked grin, she handed the phone
back to me. “I told you Layla. This guy is into you. Why else would
he care if you replied to him? I’d even say he’s got it bad. You’re
obviously in his thoughts as much as he is in yours. So did you
send one back?” I could see the hope in her eyes as she listened to
my mini drama unfold. I felt like I was in a soap opera and Mel was
my biggest fan wanting to know every little detail of the
storyline. Without a word I handed her my cell and showed her the
“sent” item.

Her jaw dropped and she held her hand over
her now gaping mouth.

Handing me the phone she
shook her head. “Oh Layla. Looks like you got it bad too.” I was
about to protest but she held her hand up to silence me. “Deny it
all you want. But he’s gotten into your head. You said yourself
he’s gorgeous and let’s be honest there’s not been anyone rummaging
through your panties since Josh. I say have some fun. Let him play
his game and you play yours. Nothing has to get serious. He’s
seeing how far he can push you before you break, but you’re still
springing back at him. That guy wants to crawl all over you and
you’ll be panting like a dog in heat when he does. I’d bet my life
on it.”

As much as I wanted to tell
her she was wrong, part of me hoped she was right. He wasn’t just
hot. He was flaming hot and it had been a long time since I’d been
warmed by that kind of fire. It had been months since Josh and I
broke up and there had been no one since then. I was a hot blooded
woman with needs and Jared seemed to ensnare my senses and invade
my thoughts every waking moment. So maybe I
could
play his game. I sure as hell
could use a little fun.

I eyed her playfully and
smiling, I bit my bottom lip. Her eyebrows bounced up and down
suggestively. She knew exactly what I was thinking. “Oh Layla.
You’ll have him on his knees in no time.” She winked at me and
giggled. We sat for a while talking about school. Mel’s classes
were starting on Monday like mine. She was taking arts mostly but
had a few English classes thrown in for good measure.

My attention was diverted
when I heard dad call out to me. “Hey baby girl, come over here I
got something to show you. You too Mel.”

We gave each other a
puzzled look and strolled across the lawn. Dad was leaning against
the garage door with the remote in his hand. He held it out to me
as I approached and gave me an enormous grin. “Go ahead. Open it.”
The door whirred and clanked to life as it lifted slowly to reveal
a brand new Ford Focus. My chin nearly hit the floor and my eyes
darted to dad. He smiled at me and tossed a set of keys my way. In
my dazed state I just about caught them as they flew at me through
the air.

It was a beautiful shade
of sky blue; the kind of blue that you would see on a clear summer
day. The interior was an immaculate black and dad had already hung
a novelty stiletto air freshener on the mirror. I jumped up and
down in delight then ran to him flinging my arms around his neck.
He heaved me off the ground and laughed as he kissed my hair. “I
thought it would be best if you had your own car. That way you can
come home whenever you like. You can also drive to visit your
mother. I know she’s dying to see you.”

I was grinning like a
lunatic as he set me back onto my feet. “I’ll call her later to
arrange something. I don’t know what to say dad. It’s amazing. I
absolutely love it!” I squealed with enthusiasm and kissed him hard
on the cheek. I’d had my license for almost a year now but the only
car I’d driven was dads and even
that
was only on weekends to the
mall. This little baby was all mine!

I turned to face Mel who
was positively glowing with happiness. “You realize Layla that now
you have absolutely no excuse not to come and pick me up for all
those parties you’re going to be invited to.” She gave me a hug and
we said our goodbyes. We both had to prepare for classes the next
day, and Mel hated long goodbyes as much as I did.

I was on cloud nine as dad
and I headed back into the house but with a sudden bump, I crashed
back down to earth. He had made a valid point about mom and a pang
of guilt was creeping up my stomach. We’d spoken over the phone
during the week but our work schedules made it hard to have any
kind of real conversation. Now that I had the car, I really had no
excuse not to drive to San Francisco and visit her. I had decided
already that I would go and visit her for a week during winter
break and she was over the moon about it. She started making all
kinds of plans for us like spa days, shopping, dinner and a movie.
It sounded wonderful and I couldn’t wait to have some quality
mother/daughter time.