Ch. 34 – Layla
T he faintest smudges of sunset lingered on the horizon, painting the sky a rich plum, while stars winked in the black fabric overhead. A strong wind blew across the shoreline, pulling at the heavy skirts of Layla’s dress and causing stray wisps of hair to dance around her face. In the distance, the ocean heaved, the crashing waves like a steady heartbeat.
“She’s not going to do it,” Hue said behind her.
“The water’s going to be freezing.” Fear etched in Jax’s voice.
Unlike the Atlantic Ocean on the other side of the country, the Pacific Ocean was nearly always frigid regardless of the time of year.
“Yeah, I’m sobering up, and suddenly this doesn’t seem like the best idea,” Tess added.
“Exactly how cold is the water, would you guess?” Everly asked.
The Crazy Cat Ladies and the poker boys stood behind Layla just on the edge of the empty beach parking lot. Layla could hear someone rubbing their hands together.
“Not. Gonna. Do. It.” Hue repeated, articulating every word.
“Oh, she’ll do it,” Alanna answered. “You got this, babe.”
A spark of excitement lit inside Layla’s belly.
She kicked off her heels.
She smiled.
Her feet began to move over the warm sand.
Layla’s smile widened as her steps grew longer. The wind beckoned her forward. The salty smell of the ocean filled her nostrils. The heartbeat of the waves synced with her own. Layla grabbed up thick swaths of her skirts and began to run, her feet pounding toward the water.
A high, joyful cry tore from her lips.
Several happy whoops answered her. Layla could hear them, The Crazy Cat Ladies, running behind her, following her into the abyss.
The sand turned hard and wet beneath her feet, water curling around her toes with each step. A frothing wave licked up to her ankles, sending icy shocks across her skin.
Layla invited the cold. It thrilled her.
Keeping her skirts hiked, she waded further into the water. The next wave broke against her shins. The next, her knees.
The cold was shocking. Stinging. Layla pushed forward.
Yes. Yes. Yes!
This felt like a Baptism. Like the ocean was washing away all her heartbreak and disappointment. Layla closed her eyes and let it go — her dream of the perfect wedding, the perfect husband, the perfect life.
The ocean took those dreams from her heart, leaving her feeling weightless.
New.
Behind her, the happy whoops of the Crazy Cat Ladies warped into cries of distress as they entered the water.
“Oh fuck me!” Alanna hollered.
Layla released her skirts and continued walking forward. The long train of her dress swirled around her legs, tugging her back. She stumbled but regained her balance. Tiny rocks and shells pricked her feet.
The water lapped at her hips. Her legs quickly grew numb, but the smile held firm on her face. A wave crashed on top of her. Layla staggered, trying to keep her balance, but her skirts wrapped around her legs. She fell, plunging into the ocean. Her eyes popped open. The coldness of the water speared through her. She saw only darkness.
Layla wasn’t afraid.
The blackness felt peaceful.
Then arms hooked under hers and pulled her up and out of the water. Layla’s head broke the surface, and she gasped for air. Around her stood The Crazy Cat Ladies, each barely visible in the night.
Layla leaned against Everly, laughing and crying at the same time. Her soul felt like a moon flower, whose petals were finally opening.
“Thank you,” she gushed over and over again, hugging each of the Crazy Cat Ladies. First Everly, then Alanna, Tess, and Jax. Willow was missing from the group, and Layla spotted her slender form standing just at the water’s edge.
“Okay, so c..c..can we get the HELL out of here now?” Jax asked.
“Not quite yet,” Alanna answered. Layla could just make out a saucy smile on her sister’s lips. “Why waste suffering when you can force it onto the ones you love?”
She lifted her voice and called across the beach. “Come on in, boys. The water’s fine.”
A harsh laugh answered from the cluster of man-shaped shadows huddled near the parking lot.
“Not in a million years,” Hue’s voice called back.
“The w…w…water’s great,” Jax teased, her teeth chattering. “Like a h..h..hot tub.”
“You’re not scared, Sully, are you?” Alanna challenged.
“Ooooh!” Rico hooted. “Your woman just called you out.”
A warm laugh responded. Layla thought she saw the twinkle of spectacles as one of the shapes on the beach separated from the others.
“Alanna, you make me fearless.” The figure kicked off his shoes, stripped off his shirt, and shucked his pants.
Alanna whistled and hollered as Sully jogged across the beach and confidently entered the water. As he approached, Layla couldn’t help but appreciate his lean body. Those days in the gym definitely weren’t going to waste.
As soon as Sully reached Alanna, she threw her arms around him. “My brave Sully,” she purred before laying a heavy kiss on him.
“Hey R..R..Rico, you’re not g…g…gonna let Sully show you up, are you?” Jax taunted, cupping her hands over her mouth.
“Salt water doesn’t work with my skincare regimen,” Rico shot back.
“BAWK,” Everly erupted. “BAWK, BAWK, BAWWWWWK!”
“Dude, I think your man card might be on the line here,” Cam said.
Rico muttered something in Spanish, then started pulling off his clothes. More whistles erupted from the women. As Rico approached the water, Jax gave him a loud catcall. Rico flexed in response.
My, my. Layla might be head over heels for Prem, but that didn’t mean she still wasn’t a red-blooded woman. His body dripping with well-defined muscle, Rico was gorgeous. By the way he grinned and wagged his eyebrows, he seemed well-acquainted with his effect on women.
The moment his feet entered the water, though, his roguish smile fled. Unhappy grunting accompanied him as he waded toward the women, and he released a somewhat unmanly squeal when a swell of frigid water covered his hips.
“Shrinkage is real, ladies,” he groused. “Just so you know.”
The moment he made it to Jax, he pulled her into his arms. “The things I do for you, woman.”
“I know,” she purred. “Will your skin ever recover?”
“Will my balls ever recover?”
“Anyone else want to join us?” Tess called to the remaining three men on the beach.
“No way in hell,” Hue spat back.
“I’m good,” Theo added.
“Aw, what the hell?” Cam said. “I’m a sucker for peer pressure.”
Off came his clothes. Layla noticed Cam unhook a tube from a medical patch on the lower edge of his abdomen, then the large, blonde man bounded for the ocean. The women went silent as they took him in. Layla had thought Rico’s physique was perfect, but Cam was stacked like an 80s action figure. The moonlight poured silver across slabs of hard muscle, bulging pecs, a rigid six pack, and quads that deserved their own zip code.
“Uh, Jax, I’m over here,” Rico grumbled.
“Uh-huh,” she answered faintly.
“He owns a gym!” Sully whined. “He gets to work out all day.”
In moments, Cam splashed through the water, laughing as he approached the group. Layla noticed a small white device attached to his upper arm, and it all clicked. One of her fellow volunteers at the food pantry wore the diabetic sensor as well. Strange to think a man so strong, so beautiful and healthy, could be suffering from diabetes.
Cam smiled. “It’s not so bad. Just like a big ice bath. Take ‘em all the time after tough workouts.”
“I hate you,” Rico grumbled.
“C…c…can we please get out of the w…w…water now?” Tess begged.
“Definitely,” Rico agreed. He nibbled on Jax’s shoulder. “But just one thing first.” In a smooth motion, he scooped Jax into his arms and heaved her into the water.
Her shriek of surprise arced through the night ending in a Splash!
Layla couldn’t help herself. She burst into giggles as Jax re-surfaced, sputtering.
“T…This is war!” the younger woman growled as she launched herself at her boyfriend. In the faint moonlight, Layla saw Rico’s eyes widen in horror moments before the two tumbled beneath the waves in a tangle of limbs and skirts.
Alanna narrowed her eyes at Sully. “Don’t you dare even think about it.”
“Who me?” Sully asked innocently. “I would never—” He slapped the water hard, sending a spray across Alanna, who squealed in protest.
Nearby, Rico surfaced, staggering three steps with Jax on his back, then tumbled into the water again.
“It. Is. ON!!!” Alanna hollered. She scooped water with both hands and flung it at Sully who smoothly ducked beneath the water’s surface. The airborne water splashed into Everly, who hollered a string of curses.
“Oops.” Alanna smiled sheepishly. “Sorry about that, Everly.”
“Of course.” Everly grimaced. “No hard feelings!” She splashed back, hard, soaking Alanna, who gasped and sputtered. Sully, newly resurfaced, laughed until Alanna splashed him in the face, and he choked on seawater.
Within moments, water flew everywhere. Someone splashed Layla from behind, and she wildly flung her arms, trying to get everyone around her. Alanna tackled Sully, pushing him under. He bobbed up, then flipped backward, dunking Alanna, who cried in protest. Off to the side, Everly and Tess held onto Cam who begged for mercy as Jax splashed him mercilessly.
Layla laughed. She splashed. Got splashed. She’d never had so much fun in her life.
And then, just as quickly as it started, the splashing seemed to end all at once. Layla’s teeth chattered. She couldn’t feel her hands.
“I’m f…f…freezing my balls off,” Rico griped.
As one, they seemed to come to the same conclusion and began to wade toward the shore. Layla slogged, panting and still laughing a little as her dress grew heavier with each step.
Up ahead, she was surprised to see Hue’s large shape standing in the water, jeans rolled up to his knees.
“See.” He pointed to his submerged feet. “I went in.”
“S…s…so brave of you c…c…cowboy,” Every mocked.
“W…w…we need p…p…pictures!” Layla called out.
“Yes!” Tess seconded.
“Must we?” Sully asked.
“P…pictures, p…pictures,” Everly chanted. “Ooof!”
Layla turned just in time to see Everly stagger and fall into the thigh-high water. She slowly started to rise to her feet, when a wave crashed over her, pushing her down again.
Everly choked and gagged as another wave broke over her.
“Everly!” Layla tried to rush toward her friend, but her dress anchored her in place.
A large, dark figure appeared at Everly’s side and grabbed her up out of the water. Moonlight shone on a battered ball cap and glints of orange hair.
“I got you,” Hue said gruffly, the waves soaking his jeans.
Everly shivered and coughed in his arms.
He rubbed her back with a large hand. “You’re okay.”
From the shore, Janet, the basset hound, offered a worried woof for her owner.
Everly clung to Hue, seeming to melt into him for several long moments. Layla sighed. Then, as if a magical spell had broken, Everly seemed to realize what was happening. Specifically, whose arms she was in. Her eyes flew open, and she stiffened before stumbling back, away from the landlord she despised.
“Uh…I’m good now,” she said, yanking up the front of her dress, which hung low, showing off her generous cleavage. “Um. Thanks.”
“Yeah, sure. Whatever.”
The two stared at each other for an uncomfortable second before turning and walking toward the shore in opposite directions.
“So, um, pictures?” Jax asked after too much tense silence.
From the shore, Theo gamely dug through discarded pants and purses and handed out phones. The Crazy Cat Ladies posed at the edge of the water, their hair in tangled whips, their dresses soaked. As the boys took pictures, they grinned. Jumped together. Made goofy faces. With a little coaxing, Willow joined them, leaning into the edge of the pictures.
Things got silly.
Alanna took a dozen glamor shots of Layla posing with her heavy, soaked dress. The two sisters hugged. Alanna jumped into Layla’s arms.
Jax jumped in the air, performing a sloppy split.
Everly twirled.
Sully scooped Alanna into his arms. “Look, I caught a mermaid.”
“Or maybe I’m a siren,” she cooed. “Leading you to your doom.”
“Worth it,” he murmured, placing his lips on hers.
Even as Layla’s heart sang with happiness, it also ached. She wished Prem were here to share this beautiful moment. But maybe it was best he was having dinner with his parents. This was a night meant to let go of the past. To say goodbye to what could have been so that she could now focus on the future.
On Prem.
There was one way she could include him. As the Crazy Cat Ladies continued posing for pictures, Layla opened her phone and scrolled through the pics Alanna had just taken of her.
Her thumb paused. She stared at a picture of herself smiling widely, her arms outstretched, the ocean black ink behind her. Her dress was soaked, her hair a true rat’s nest, and yet she loved the image immediately.
She hit the share button but paused, her thumb hovering over Prem’s number. Was it weird to send your boyfriend a picture of yourself in a wedding dress?
Boyfriend.
The word caught her off guard. Was Prem her boyfriend? Her mother certainly thought so, but they’d never discussed it.
Yes.
The word whispered from her heart. Yes, Prem was her boyfriend. And couldn’t you send silly pictures to your boyfriend?
Shoving down her doubts, Layla quickly typed out a message.
Successfully trashed the dress! [heart emoji]
She sent the picture.
“Watch this,” a voice called, snagging her attention. Nearby, Jax performed a series of cartwheels in the sand.
“Oh yeah? That doesn’t look so hard.” Rico attempted a cartwheel that left him sprawled in the sand.
“Oh! I used to do those all the time as a kid,” Tess said. She did a wobbly cartwheel, grinned, and tried another one. As her foot hit the sand, she slipped and crumpled to the ground with a groan of pain.
Fear lanced through Layla’s heart as Tess grimaced and grabbed at her foot. Layla picked up her heavy, sopping skirts and moved toward Tess, only to stop when she noticed another emergency unfolding.
Near the edge of the waves, Willow sunk to the sand, her eyes wide and glazed with fear as she stared at Tess.
“Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no,” she murmured. The young woman shook her head back and forth violently. “Oh no. Oh no. Oh no!”
Layla saw Everly and Theo bending over Tess, so she changed direction and made a slow, slogging beeline toward Willow.
Cam got there first. The huge bodybuilder crouched next to the slender woman, his brows creased in concern. He hesitated, then gently placed a hand on her back.
“Breathe,” he said softly into her ear.
“What’s happening, Willow?” Layla asked, finally reaching her friend and dropping down into a pile of wet skirts.
“It’s Tess,” Jax said, making it to the small group. “Willow’s terrified of people getting hurt. It’s part of her condition.”
Willow dropped her head, wheezing. She shut her eyes and started to rock.
“Willow, Tess is okay,” Jax said. “She just slipped on a rock and twisted her ankle.”
“One. Two. Three. Four,” Willow chanted and performed her ritual, touching her thumbs to the tops of each finger on both hands. “One. Two. Three. Four.”
A gush of frigid water pulsed around them.
“Come on. Let’s get away from the water,” Cam said. He plucked Willow up from the wet sand as if she weighed nothing and carried her in his arms back toward the parking lot.
Nearby, Tess leaned on Theo’s shoulder and carefully hopped up the beach with Everly and Alanna on her other side. By the time the group met at the cars, Willow’s eyes were open and her breathing had calmed.
“I…I can stand now,” she said shyly, looking up at Cam. “I’m sorry. I…I…had an episode.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Jax said. She took Willow’s hand. “You’re making such amazing progress. There’s bound to be some backsliding.”
Cam carefully set her down on the sand, holding her shoulders as she bobbled.
“Well, this is not how I expected poker night to go,” Hue said.
Tess looked guilty at Layla. Her dress clung to her body, showcasing gorgeous curves even as she hopped unsteadily on one leg. “Sorry. I guess I kind of ruined our sacred woman’s ritual.”
Layla stepped forward and gave Tess a strong hug. “Not at all. The night was still magical, but we’ve got to get you to the hospital.”
“Nah.” Tess waved away her concern. “It’s just a mild sprain. I know these things. I was almost a doctor.”
Theo shook his head. “I’d really like you to see someone. Get some x-rays. Just in case its broken.”
“It’s not b…b..broken,” Tess said, her teeth chattering.
“It’d make me feel better if you got it x-rayed.” Theo insisted as he slipped out of his well-worn leather jacket and draped it over Tess.
“Not b..b..broken,” Tess repeated. The two stared at each other, stubborn clashing against obstinate.
Tess blinked first. “Fine.” She tugged his jacket more tightly around her shoulders.
“Okay.” Theo rubbed his hands together. “I’ll take Tess to the urgent care clinic in Sagebrush. The rest of you can head home.”
Alanna scoffed. “Buddy, you obviously don’t know the first thing about The Crazy Cat Ladies. We all just ran into the ocean for this one.” She jerked a thumb at Layla.
“And Crazy’s in the name,” Jax added.
“We’re all going,” Everly finished.
As one, the women nodded.
Hue groaned.