Chapter 16
L ayla didn’t mean to take it personally, but she couldn’t help it.
It felt silly even feeling the way she was, but she couldn’t help herself.
The past week things had been off between her and Andres.
He’d been just as present and helpful with Dior…
it was Layla he’d started to retreat from.
Layla couldn’t blame him.
If she decided to agree to Carlos’s terms, tonight would be the last night they’d have with Andres.
As a sign of good faith, Carlos allowed them to come back home.
To Layla, it was his cocky way of showing he knew she would agree to what he’d said.
Needing to clear her mind, Layla lit a few candles and started a Sade playlist while she cleaned the kitchen after dinner.
As Sade sang about a love that wasn’t ordinary, Layla washed the dishes as if the action could cleanse her thoughts.
“Do you need anything before I go?” Andres asked, leaning against the counter next to the sink.
Avoiding his eyes, Layla shook her head.
“I’m good. Thank you. Have a good night.”
Andres chuckled.
“What’s up with you, Layla?”
“Why does something have to be up with me?”
“You won’t look at me for one.” Andres’s fingers under her chin turned her head in his direction.
“What’s wrong?”
“I feel some type of way,” she admitted.
“About?”
“You’ve been acting funny.”
“How?”
“Ever since you started working with us, you’ve spoiled me with your time and attention. No matter how full your plate is with Dior, you always set aside time for me. This week, it feels like you’ve been distant. You’ve mainly just been talking to and engaging with Dior and I don’t like that.”
He chuckled again as he grabbed the hanging rooster decorated dish towel and used it to cut the water off and dry her hands.
“I will admit that I’ve been trying to wean myself off of you. Tomorrow’s the day you have to make your decision, right? I’ve been trying to prepare for that.”
“But why? Even if you’re not her aide you’ll still be around, right?”
Andres’s head tilted as he released a hard breath.
“I know that’s what we both want, but we have to be realistic. If Carlos doesn’t want me around, he’s not going to accept our relationship. He’s going to find some kind of way to keep us apart. I don’t want to create dis-ease for you or Dior.”
Her tongue ran across her teeth as she stared at him.
Sade was singing about being by her man’s side, and here Layla was, accepting the fact that she might have to say goodbye to hers.
“So that’s it? I’m just supposed to accept the end of us before it even really begins?”
Andres pushed her hair out of her face then cupped her cheeks and pulled her into his chest.
“How about we make the most of tonight and let everything else play out how it will in time?”
Her lips formed a pout as her brows wrinkled.
He couldn’t even bear to speak those words just to avoid hurting her, and that only made her want him more.
Layla pushed him away gently before placing her hands back in the soapy water.
Andres made his way behind her, wrapping his arms around her and swaying her hips and his to “Smooth Operator.”
“What are you doing?” she asked through her giggle.
“Giving your spoiled ass some attention before I go.”
“I don’t want it anymore,” she whined, biting back her smile.
“It’s only going to make this harder.”
Andres pressed himself into her and her eyes fluttered at the feel of his dick.
“Can’t be any harder than this.” His lips slid down her neck, and Layla dropped the towel back into the water.
“Is it harder than this?”
Layla licked her lips before he turned her head and bit down on the bottom one.
“Layla…”
“Give it to me.”
He smiled, pushing her hands away when she tried to unbutton his pants.
It took him hardly no time to pull his dick out, but he didn’t bless her with it immediately.
“You like doing shit that’s almost going to get us caught,” she grumbled, relaxing against him as his fingers circled her opening.
“I just can’t wait to have you any longer. Is that such a bad thing?”
Instead of replying, she inhaled a deep breath and gripped the faucet as he pressed two fingers inside of her.
As soon as he began to press into her G-spot, Sade started singing about the sweetest taboo.
Before she could start moaning and cum against his hand, he was pulling his fingers out and replacing them with his dick.
“Ahh,” she moaned quietly.
His slick fingers went into her mouth as he began to stroke her from behind.
As she licked her cream off his fingers, he moaned into her ear before licking it.
Her grip on the faucet tightened as she began to rock against him…
needing more.
They fell into a steady pace that had them both muttering and moaning under their breath until they milked each other of their cum, quickly, and at the same time…
After their last encounter, Layla figured it was best for her and Carlos to meet in public.
Like last time, they met at Panera Bread.
She didn’t have an appetite, but since she hadn’t eaten anything all day, Layla wanted to at least get a smoothie or latte.
Once she placed her order for a green smoothie, she headed to the table she favored on every visit.
They were fairly busy, so Layla wasn’t expecting her smoothie to come out quickly, but she also wasn’t expecting Carlos to arrive before it did.
The sight of him had her feeling like she needed something on her stomach to even stomach him.
“Hey,” he spoke, softer than normal.
“Hey.”
“You’re not eating today?” he checked, sitting across from her.
Layla’s head shook.
“I just got a smoothie. I don’t really have an appetite.”
Carlos nodded.
“Power green smoothie for Layla!” was yelled out by the barista, causing Layla to stand.
“Hey, do you mind if I use your phone real quick? My battery is low so it’s charging in the car.”
“That’s fine,” she agreed, handing him her phone.
“Did you want something to eat?”
Carlos pulled his wallet out and handed her a twenty-dollar bill.
“Some soup, I guess. You can get yourself something if you want.”
Layla nodded, though she didn’t plan on getting anything.
Hell, she’d only offered to get him something to start their meeting on good terms, because she was sure things would go left as soon as she told him the choice she made.
After grabbing her smoothie, Layla hopped back in line to order Carlos a bowl of tomato soup.
Instead of going to wait for it at their table, she went over to the pickup counter.
Because she didn’t have her phone, she didn’t know how much time had actually passed, but it didn’t feel like a lot had gone by before the buzzer she held went off.
“Thanks.”
Layla nodded as she set the soup in front of him.
“So… I’m not going to agree to your request,” Layla blurted as he digested his first spoon of the soup.
“If I felt like it was because you were doing what you thought was best for our daughter, I would. But we both know you’re doing this because you don’t like Andres. You don’t like Andres because I do, and that’s not fair. I’ve given you the grace and space to start a whole new relationship if that’s what it took to make you happy. Now, I’m going for mine.”
Layla paused briefly and inhaled a deep breath as he stared at her…
spoon still midair.
“I still want to go forward with the divorce now. You can keep the house and you don’t have to pay me any alimony. Just child support for your daughter. Dior and I will move in with my parents. I will recreate her room there. It won’t be as big but it will work. With their help, I’ll be able to go back to school, work a part time job, and still have energy to care for Dior and practice self-care daily. And since they have a housekeeper, Dior and I will only have to pick up behind ourselves because she will take care of the heavy cleaning and cooking. So…” Layla shrugged.
“I guess that’s that.”
Feeling like a literal weight was off her heart, Layla relaxed in her seat.
Carlos pushed his soup to the side and rested his forearms on the table.
“Maybe I should have went first.” He smiled softly, remaining calmer than Layla was expecting.
“I didn’t, though, because I thought you would agree to what I’d asked of you. Layla, I know I went about this the wrong way, so maybe I should just… come clean from the beginning.”
“What do you mean?”
Carlos moved his seat so that it was next to her instead of across from her.
He took her hand into his.
“I want to come home.” She stared at him, expression unreadable.
“I can admit that I’ve taken advantage of your love in the past. I knew how much our marriage and honoring the vows we made to God meant to you, so I thought I could do my own thing and you’d always be there.” She chuckled and shook her head, slowly removing her hand from his.
“I know that sounds fucked up, but it’s the truth. I was lonely as fuck and envious of the care and attention you gave our daughter. But how could I say that shit? So I didn’t. I started fucking off, wanting you to feel just as lonely as I did. I never expected things to get to this point though.”
“How could you not?” Her leg began to shake as she stressed, “You proposed to her, Carlos.”
“Not on purpose. She was tripping over us being separated and not divorced. Jasmine wanted some kind of commitment to prove I wouldn’t leave her and come back fully to you. That’s why I proposed. I wasn’t expecting you to agree to the divorce this soon. My plan was for us to just draw the shit out until she got sick of waiting and left. So when I saw how you would look at him… the way you used to look at me… I started feeling some kind of way. He was always around, and I felt like that was supposed to be me. Then I saw you kiss him, and that was it for me.”
“Why didn’t you say anything instead of acting so silly? I feel like I haven’t even been able to recognize you lately!”
“I know.” He pulled her hand back into his and kissed her palm sweetly.
“And I really apologize about that. I didn’t know what else to do, Lay. For a while now I’ve been out here living foul. It wouldn’t have been fair of me to try and make a big deal out of you moving on, so I tried to make it about Dior thinking you’d agree.”
“So what if I would have agreed, Carlos? How did you plan to fix this?” she asked, for clarity more than anything.
“I was going to come back home. Make things right. Be who you and Dior needed me to be. I would have slowly proven that you both could trust me and make you fall back in love with me all at once.”
Layla removed her hand from his again, body radiating with a mix of anger and disbelief.
It was just like him to wait until she’d began to release him from her heart to want access to it and her again.
“Carlos…”
“Just… I have a meeting in about fifteen minutes that I can’t miss. Please, Layla. Let me meet you at home and we can talk about this further. If you don’t agree to what I’m saying, I swear to God I’ll have my lawyer draw up the divorce papers first thing in the morning, and I will never ask you for another chance again. Give me today. Don’t talk to him or anyone else that could sway your mind. Please.”
He stood, cupping her cheeks and kissing her lips quickly.
Softly.
Sweetly.
Before walking away.
Layla didn’t realize how second nature it was for her to call Andres until her finger was hovering over his name.
Looking down, Layla’s head shook slowly as she stared at her open, empty hands.
How did they even get to this point, and what the fuck was she going to do now?