LAILAH
FIVE
Spending the weekend with the boys was great, but it made for a rough return to reality on Monday. I looked over at the books and new assignments that Beth had given me to start working on in addition to my current workload.
Of course, this needed to happen while I was gearing up for finals. It’s not like this has been hard enough already, why not add more to the list? A knock sounded on my door, pulling me out of my inner grumblings.
I opened the door to find Cami with two coffee cups, one of which she handed to me as she walked in and flopped on my couch.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Why would you think there’s something wrong?” Cami asked, frowning at me as she gulped down more coffee.
“For starters, you're awake, dressed, and got us both our morning kick-start, and it’s only seven-thirty.”
Cami leaned her head on the back of the couch and groaned. “Don’t remind me what time it is.”
“Out with it. Trust me, after everything I learned this past weekend, I’m pretty sure I can handle whatever you have to tell me,” I said, placing my free hand on my hip and glaring down at her.
“It’s nothing major, Lala, really,” Cami said, waving off my look. “Beth, in all her wisdom and overbearing ways, thought that I should be here in case you had a meltdown.”
“What? Why would I have a meltdown now? If I was going to have one of those, I would have done it already.”
“That’s what I told her, but of course she didn’t believe me. Like seriously, does she not think I know my best friend enough to judge how you’re taking all this in? Which, by the way, you're kicking ass at,” Cami said, grinning.
I smiled back and sat beside her, finally giving in to the piping-hot chai latte she had provided.
“So, if you're going to have a breakdown before your first class, then you have exactly fifteen minutes before you have to leave.” Cami looked down at her imaginary watch and then back at me. “Times a tickin’.”
I shoved Cami with my shoulder, laughing. “Stop. I promise, as of right now, I’m good. If that changes, I’ll let you know. My plan is just to take this all one day at a time. There’s nothing I can do about it, so now I just have to learn this new part of my life.”
“So you're telling me that I did all this for nothing?” Cami said, dramatically collapsing against me. “What will I do with all this extra time in my day that I could have been sleeping?”
“Why not take your girlfriend out for breakfast? I’m sure it will shock the hell out of her, and you didn’t get to see her this weekend because of everything that went down.”
Cami popped up from the couch and grinned at me. “That’s a great idea! Breakfast in bed sounds amazing!”
I rolled my eyes at her as I gathered my stuff for the day. “You're worse than Parker.”
“Gasp! You wound me; how could you say something like that to me?” Cami said, faking being stabbed in the heart. “I have my Maggs, and she is enough for me. I don’t need five people to satisfy my needs, unlike someone I know.” Cami gave me a pointed look.
“I’m leaving now. See you later.” I waved as I walked out the door, not falling for her tricks.
All it took was one kiss with Brayden, and suddenly I was in a relationship with all the boys.
Brayden and I hadn’t even talked to each other about that kiss yet.
Not letting myself get carried away with my emotions like I had with my ex, I chose to lie to myself and believe it wasn’t a big deal.
I jogged my way to class, knowing I was cutting it close.
“Lailah,” Brayden called out.
Had I summoned him just by thinking about him? Can I do that with my new powers? I stopped and turned to see him coming out of the coffee shop on campus.
“I’m glad I caught you before class. I just wanted to see how you were doing?” he asked once he reached me, giving me a soft smile that made my heart melt.
“I’m good, but I have to run. My class starts in five minutes. I’ll text you when it’s over and see if you're free,” I said, returning his smile.
I did not want to have a talk about our kiss before class. If he was going to tell me it was a mistake, then I didn’t want to be a basketcase during a lecture. Better to wait for me to have some time to hide in my bed and ugly cry.
“Okay, sure. I’ll be around,” Brayden said, his smile fading a little at my brush-off.
I stopped, hating to see the doubt in Brayden’s eyes.
He had opened up to me and told me about his brother, had shared his pain.
Deciding to trust that even though my world changed in the past few days, he hadn’t, and he wasn’t going to use me like my ex did, I walked back up to him and kissed him on the cheek, letting it linger for a moment too long.
“See you after class,” I murmured into his ear and stepped back to see his shocked face and his cheeks blush slightly.
Laughing to myself, I raced off to class, feeling the heat on my own cheeks.
Never was I the one to initiate things with a guy, but when it came to Brayden, I had always felt comfortable.
I tried to focus on class and what Professor Phillips was saying about our final project…
that I didn’t need to do anymore. But instead, all I could think about was the spark in Brayden’s eyes as I walked away.
“Miss Mackenzie, could you please stay a moment,” Professor Phillips called as we filtered out of class.
Nodding, I walked over to him, and he just stood there waiting until everyone left the room.
“I wanted to touch base with you on the changes Ms. Whittemore informed me of,” he said, leaning against his desk.
“My psychology teacher?” I questioned, surprised that he would be interested in my other schoolwork.
“Ah, no, I meant Beth. I forgot that you had Nona as a teacher as well. I know Beth told you that I would be doing all the teaching on Elementi history,” Professor Phillips said, handing me a sheet of paper.
“Here is what I would like for you to work on for the remainder of the semester. Also, on the sheet is the code to get into the special records room where these books are. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out or even email if it’s after office hours. ”
I was excited to be learning more about this new secret history. I had a weak spot for history in general, but getting to study an underground ancient society was a whole new level of awesome. Even though I didn’t have to do the final, the list of books to read was long.
“Thank you, Professor, I will definitely reach out,” I said, grinning and waving as I left the classroom. I immediately pulled out my cell and texted Brayden.
Lailah:
Done with class. You still free?
Brayden:
Yes. Checking out at the library. Meet you at the quad?
Lailah:
On my way!
Taking my time, I texted Cami to see if she met up with Maggs, or if she was free. When I didn’t get a response by the time I reached the quad, I had my answer. Cami always answered her texts, except in rare moments when she didn’t have her phone with her.
“Hey,” Brayden said, drawing my attention to him as he shoved two books into his messenger bag. “How was class?”
“Nothing too exciting, just going over the project we have to complete for finals. Thankfully, in that class, I won’t be working on anything but the reading list Professor Phillips gave me. Adding on these new studies is going to take over what little brain power I have,” I sighed.
“Take a walk with me and give yourself a break for a few minutes,” Brayden said, holding out a hand to me.
Shrugging my shoulders, I took his hand, and we headed out to the gardens by the reflecting pool. We walked in a comfortable silence, allowing me to just enjoy watching the fall leaves swirl around us and breathing in the crisp fresh air.
Tugging on my hand, Brayden pulled me down beside him on a bench near a small water fountain. “I know I already asked you this, but how are you doing—truthfully?”
“I can’t tell if I’m just in shock about the whole thing, or if I truly am feeling totally fine about all this.
Hudson and I had a good talk before breakfast yesterday, and that helped.
I was feeling a little lost, like my whole life was a lie.
He made a very convincing case that I was being overdramatic. ” I chuckled, remembering his scolding.
“If you ever need someone to point out the facts and keep a level head, he’s the one you can always count on,” Brayden nodded with a small smirk. “Beth was worried that since you had a night to think on things back at the dorm, you might run for the hills.”
“Yes, I gathered that when Cami showed up at my door this morning before class. Poor thing was rudely pulled out of bed for nothing.”
“Cami needs to learn how to live like a human, not a vampire.”
“Wait,” I said, grabbing Brayden’s arm. “Are vampires real? What about werewolves and other mythical creatures?”
Brayden smiled and looked like he was holding back laughter. “I hate to crush your hopes, but as far as we know, there are no paranormal creatures besides us.”
“Bummer. I totally would’ve thought Mr. Creed was a vampire, or something equally creepy,” I mused, remembering the strange teacher I’d seen around campus.
Brayden burst out laughing. “Mr. Creed is our demonology specialist; you will be working with him next semester, I imagine. He also teaches religion classes to the normal students.”
“Seriously, I didn’t make such a great first impression on him.”
“Oh?”
“I ran into him and knocked him and all the books and papers he was carrying to the ground. I don’t think I’m his favorite person.”
“Lailah, no one is his favorite person. Actually, I take that back—Micah and he seem to be amiable, bordering on friendly.”
“Of course they are, that seems so fitting,” I said, tossing my hands up in defeat. “Oh, did Kayley end up finding a school to finish out the year with?”
“Yes, thankfully. We’re running out of schools that she hasn’t been kicked out of. So here’s hoping this one will last her longer than the previous school.”
We both laughed and fell into a comfortable silence. I was so relaxed I didn't even realize I was resting my head on his shoulder until he shifted to wrap an arm around me.
“How would you feel about me taking you on a date? A real one this time, off campus. No more coffee dates that others crash.”
I smiled at the memory of our first attempt at a date that Parker and Hudson crashed. Turning, I looked up at him and searched his face a moment before answering.
“I would like that very much.”
Pulling me closer to him, he brought his lips to mine in a soft kiss that made me curl my toes.
Wanting more, I reached out and pulled his head closer to deepen the kiss.
More than willing, he shifted me so I was straddling him.
My arms wrapped around his neck, and I lost myself in our connection.
I could feel my new powers humming under my skin, alight with the emotions I was feeling.
Brayden’s hands gripped my hips and pulled my body flush with his, and I could feel his body vibrating, trying to contain his power from leaking out.
Finally, I pulled away and looked down at him, his lips swollen and his eyes blazing with elemental power. I could feel my face heating with embarrassment at my wanton actions and dropped my gaze.
“None of that,” Brayden said, tucking two fingers under my chin, lifting my face so I was looking him in the eyes again. “I don’t want you to ever feel like you need to hide from me.”
Brimming with emotions I couldn’t express, I pressed my lips to his again, hoping to show him how much his words meant to me.
“Well, this would explain why neither one of you is answering your texts,” Micah snapped, causing me to jump and pull back from Brayden.
I tried to move out of his lap, but his hands held me firmly in place as I watched Micah approach over my shoulder.
“What’s up?” Brayden asked casually.