Chapter 18
18
COLE
I grab the wicker picnic basket and blanket that Carla had delivered to my penthouse an hour ago. I haven’t looked inside, but it weighs a fucking ton. Carla assured me there were plenty of goodies inside to keep everyone happy, whatever the hell that means.
My brothers laughed their asses off when I told them I was spending my Saturday afternoon going on a picnic with my archenemy and a nine-year-old girl. Turns out none of us have ever been on a picnic, so I’m winging it. This is all new territory for me, and just as I expected, my brothers were of absolutely no help. Thank fuck I have Carla.
Before I get to the door, my phone rings. I wrestle it out of my pocket as I juggle the basket and big-ass blanket in my other hand. It’s Connor.
“What?” I growl. The last thing I need right now is more of his bullshit.
“Is that any way to speak to your brother?” he says with a chuckle.
I smile and amend my greeting. “Hi, Con. Fuck off, I’m busy.”
Laughter booms through the speaker. “That’s more like it. So, what’s the plan for this picnic anyway. I still can’t imagine why the fuck you would agree to this.”
“It was my idea, fucker.”
“Fuck off. It was not.”
“Okay, it was actually Carla’s idea. I have no idea why I agreed to run with it. Layla doesn’t even know about it yet. I’m just hoping it doesn’t blow up in my face.” I can’t take the credit. At least this way, if it bombs, I can blame Carla.
“There’s still time then. You can change your plans and just take her out for dinner and drinks like the rest of us?”
“No. I’m doing this. I wanted something different. Besides, I’m trying to prove to her that I’m not a sex-crazed player. This seemed like the right direction to go in to make that happen.”
“Um, I hate to break it to you, brother, but you are a sex-crazed player, you dumb fuck. And might I ask, what is wrong with being a player all of a sudden?” he huffs over the phone.
“You’re only saying that because you’re just like me.”
“Yes. That’s my point. All three of us are the same.” He chuckles. “Chris and I have learned from the master. I thought we were all having a good time. You can’t change the rules now,” he protests.
“Yeah, well, keep watching and you just might learn some new moves you can try out in the future. I hear picnics are all the rage these days.” I can almost feel his shudder come through the phone.
“Thanks, but no thanks. I think I’ll stick to dinners and being a sex-crazed player. It’s working well for me. Let me know how it goes. I can always use a good laugh. Gotta go.”
He hangs up.
I pocket my phone as I enter the elevator and push fourteen. This will be the first time I’ve been to Layla’s apartment. I’ve thought about dropping in on her more than once since we returned from Boston, but I’ve talked myself out of it every time. She’s not like all the rest. I want to do things differently with Layla—or at least, I do now. Boston changed everything.
The doors slide open, and my heart rate kicks up a notch as I step out and walk down the hall toward the dark wooden door with 1422 inscribed on it in gold. I’m not accustomed to feeling nervous, but if I had to put a label on how I’m feeling right now, that is the word I would use. Before I have time to dwell on it, the door flies open, and a tiny dark-haired girl stands in the doorway with a huge smile on her face.
“Hi, Cole,” she exclaims as she bounces from foot to foot.
I can’t keep the smile off my face. This kid is damn cute.
“Hey, squirt, how have you been? Skip any more school since I saw you last?”
Big blue eyes shine up at me as I step through the door.
“It’s Aria, not squirt,” she admonishes me. She reaches for my hand, and I quickly slide the blanket under the arm carrying the picnic basket before she curls her tiny fingers around mine.
“I haven’t skipped school. I only did it that one time because I was super upset and wanted to quit, but Layla talked me out of it. Remember?” She’s still looking up at me as she tugs me inside and shuts the door.
“Oh, that’s right. How are things going with the other kids? No more gum incidents I hope.” Fuck if I know what to say. I’m so out of my element right now.
“Nope.” She gets a little quieter but still keeps right on talking. “I mostly hang out by myself or help the teachers with stuff. I do have one new friend now, though, so I spend a lot of time with her too. Her name is Willow. I think that is such a cool name. Don’t you think that’s a cool name, Cole?”
Just as I’m about to answer, Layla comes around the corner, and I forget what I was about to say. Her cheeks are pink, and her eyes are sparkling as they lock on mine, but it’s the gorgeous smile on her face that really captures my attention.
“Aria, please take a breath and give Cole a moment to get in the door, sweetheart.”
“He’s already inside, silly. See, the door is shut.” She turns without dropping my hand and I turn with her. We all stare at the closed door behind us. Well, she isn’t wrong, I am inside, and the door is shut. She’s done her job.
“Cole was asking about school. I was telling him about my new friend Willow,” she carries on with her explanation.
“I did ask.” I confirm what she has already said.
Layla smirks. “Can I help you with that?” She gestures to the giant basket in my hand and the blanket that is slowly slipping from under my arm.
“Yeah, that would be great. Maybe I can just set it down for a minute while you girls finish getting ready.” I bend to set the basket down and plop the blanket on top.
“Oooh, what’s in there?” Aria finally lets go of my hand and drops to her knees in front of the basket.”
“Aria Lynn Crawford. Don’t you dare open that,” Layla says in a voice I haven’t heard in a while. Both Aria and I jolt at the same time. Then she softens her voice. “Please remember your manners. You don’t want to ruin Cole’s surprise, do you?”
The girl’s face drops as her cheeks flush a light shade of pink. Her eyes momentarily flick up to meet mine as she gets to her feet. “I’m sorry, Cole.” Dark lashes immediately shield them as she drops her gaze to the floor.
“Hey,” I say as I squat down and lift her chin with a finger, forcing her to look up at me again. “It’s no big deal. Do you like picnics, Aria?”
That does the trick. The sparkle is back in her pretty blue eyes. She bounces up and down. “I love picnics, Cole. My gran used to take me on a picnic every Sunday if the weather was nice.” She grabs onto my fingers again and swings my hand back and forth. “We haven’t gone on one in a while, though, ’cause Gran hasn’t been feeling well.”
I look up at Layla who is still standing across from us. She is smiling, but it’s more of a sad smile now. She’s worried about Aria. It’s written all over her face. She notices me looking and her smile brightens.
“I wasn’t sure what we were doing, but now that I know, I need to grab a sweater. I’ll just be a minute and then we can go.”
“Sure, take your time. I have Aria to keep me company.”
She chuckles. “She’s very good at that.” Then she looks at the girl who is still eyeing the basket at my feet. “Aria, do you need to use the bathroom before we go? It might be a while, and I’m not sure if there will be bathrooms where we are going.”
“I’m good,” Aria answers back as Layla disappears around the corner.
“Sheesh,” she mutters to herself. “Where are we going for our picnic, Cole? Hopefully there will be swings. I love to swing. I can go higher than all the other kids. That’s because I’m not afraid of anything,” she informs me.
“Anything?” I ask with a raised eyebrow.
“Nope.” She glances up sheepishly. “Well, sometimes bad people scare me. My dad is a bad guy. My gran says I should love him ’cause he’s my dad, but I remember him being really scary. I don’t see him anymore, though, so I’m not afraid very often. But I’m not afraid of going fast or high, though, like most of the other kids are.”
Fuck, this kid is killing me.
“You’re a pretty brave little squirt, aren’t you?” I ask as I ruffle her hair.
“It’s Aria,” she squeals, even though I can tell she likes the nickname I’ve given her.
“We are going to Central Park,” I tell her. “I’m sure we will be able to find some swings there so you can show me how high you can go.”
“Oh wow! I bet I can go higher than you.”
“I bet you can,” I assure her. “You are going to have to be in charge of the picnic, too, because I’ve never been on one before.”
Her eyes grow to the size of saucers. “You haven’t?”
“Nope.”
She glances at the basket and blanket in confusion.
“So how did you know what to pack, and how would you know that we needed a blanket?”
“I had a friend help me out.” I bend over so only she can hear me. “I didn’t want to make any mistakes because I’m trying to impress Layla. Do you think it will work?”
Her eyes slide to where Layla was standing and then back to mine. She covers her mouth with her hand and starts giggling. “Ohhh, you like Layla. Do you want to be her boyfriend?”
I smile and nod. “I do.”
She grins from ear to ear and nods. “I hope it works.”
“Hope what works?” Layla asks as she returns with a sweater in her hand and a tote bag over her shoulder.
“Uh…” I look at Aria and wink.
“Cole was telling me how to pump my legs so I could get higher on the swing. I’m going to show him when we get to Central Park,” the kid answers, saving my bacon.
“That’s right,” I say, because I don’t know what the fuck else to say.
“Please don’t encourage her. She’s already a reckless little daredevil as it is.” Layla looks at Aria and shakes her head. “So, I’m surmising that we’re going to Central Park, then.”
“Yes, and I get to be in charge, because Cole has never been on a picnic before. Can you even believe that, Layla?” She snatches up the folded blanket that is almost as big as she is and looks up at me. “I’m too small to carry the basket. Can you please carry it for me, Cole?”
I grin and do as I’m told, picking up the basket as Aria yanks the door open.
“But I’m still in charge,” she calls out as she steps into the hall, and we follow behind her.
“Have you seriously never been on a picnic before?” Layla asks as we spread the blanket out on a lush section of grass. Dappled sunlight filters through the large trees nearby. It’s a nice quiet spot with lots of room for Aria to run around. We passed a swing set on our way here, and I assured her we would stop on our way out so she could show me her moves.
“Never,” I answer. Now that I’m saying it out loud, I suppose it does seem odd. Until the last few days, I honestly never thought about it. It’s certainly not something I felt I missed out on. I’ve been all over the world. My parents are well travelled, and they made sure my brothers and I were too. We always had the most amazing family vacations. I suppose I took them for granted because I didn’t really have anything else to compare them to. Simple was never in their repertoire.
“Have you?”
Layla looks at me and grins. “Yes, I went on a lot of picnics with my mom and my friends when I was a kid. Seriously, though, what kid hasn’t been on a picnic?”
I grin and shrug.
“Wow, Cole, there’s a lot of good stuff in here.” Our conversation is interrupted by Aria as a stream of water hits me in the side of the neck. What the fuck? I turn to see the pint-sized pipsqueak pointing a pink water gun at my head.
“Aria!” Layla yells.
The girl swivels so her gun is pointing at Layla, whose t-shirt is now soaked in the front. It’s more transparent than white. Good work, kid.
I dive behind the picnic basket and peer inside, spotting two more loaded guns right on top. I grab the blue one and toss the green one in Layla’s direction before taking aim at Aria’s back and letting loose.
She squeals as the water hits her, and I use the momentary distraction to take off running. I don’t know why the fuck I’m not holding my ground like I would if those two were my brothers, but something inside just screams run and that’s what I do. I hide behind the nearest tree and laugh my ass off as I watch Layla and Aria soak one another.
They both yell at each other to stop, but keep pulling the triggers. I know they must be getting low on ammo, so I decide it’s now or never. I make my move. I sprint as I do a pass-by, spraying water all over both of them. Fuck, this is fun. At least, it is until they drop their guns and start charging after me. I’m so busy watching them that I catch my foot in the big-ass blanket Carla sent and drop like a stone.
They are both on me in an instant. Aria is the first to dig her fingers into my ribs. What the actual fuck ? I yelp and try to toss her off me but the little squirt squirms out of my grip and goes to town. I didn’t even know I was fucking ticklish. It’s not pleasant, and the need to escape is all I can think about. When Layla joins in, I can’t take anymore.
“Enough.”
“I give up.”
“Help,” I gasp as I try to get out from under them.
They both fall beside me in a fit of giggles. No one moves for a few minutes as we all gasp for air and try to dry out in the sun.
“I’m hungry,” Aria finally says, breaking the silence.
“Did you find anything good in there besides the water guns,” I ask.
“There’s lots of stuff in there,” she answers. “I think I saw some fried chicken, maybe potato salad, and there’s chocolate cake. I think we should start with that.”
Layla sits up and reaches for her sweater so she can cover her wet t-shirt. Her lacy pink bra now fully on display.
“Don’t cover up on my account,” I say as I take her in and grin. “Is that one of mine?” I point my chin at her chest.
She pulls the sweater closed, blocking my view. “It’s one of mine, but you may have paid for it,” she says with a cheeky grin of her own. Then she reaches over and snatches the chocolate cake out of Aria’s hands. “Food first.”
“Hey,” Aria grouses. “For the record, that is food. Why does it matter what order we eat it in? I thought I was in charge of this picnic.” She turns to me. “Cole, tell her.”
I lean onto my elbow and shake my head. “No way, I’m not getting involved in this one, squirt. You are in charge of the picnic, but Layla’s in charge of you. I’d do as she says if I were you. Trust me, I’m speaking from experience here.”
She sticks out her lip and watches as Layla dishes out a little of everything she finds in the basket, reserving the cake for later.
“Just try each thing. If you like it, eat it, if you don’t, try something else. Then you can have desert.”
“Fine,” she huffs before picking up a piece of chicken and taking a big bite. “Mmm, this is good,” she says as she tears off another piece with her teeth. “Did your friend make this, Cole?”
Layla glances over at me. “Your friend?” I know what she’s thinking. She should know better. None of the female friends I have would be interested in making me chicken.
I smirk. “Settle down. My assistant helped out with the finer details. Since I’ve never been on a picnic before, I didn’t exactly know how to go about it. I don’t think she made the chicken, though; she doesn’t strike me as the domestic type. I’m not sure where she got this food.”
I take a bite. Damn, the kid is right, that really is good chicken. I’ll have to ask Carla where she got it. The three of us devour the contents of the basket as we talk about all kinds of shit, and then tackle the rest of the games Carla stashed inside. We never make it to the swings. I promise Aria we will do that next time.
Next time. I really hope there is a next time. This has been one of the best afternoons I’ve had in a long time. I watch as Layla walks the girl up the steps of her grandmother’s house. Aria turns and waves again, and I wave back. She’s a really sweet kid. It’s amazing, considering the crap life has dumped on her doorstep at such a young age.
The passenger door opens, and Layla drops into the seat next to me. She looks a little tired, but I still have plans for her, so I hope she’s not too tired.
“What now?” she asks as she turns her head and locks her big brown eyes on mine.
“Now we move on to the X-rated portion of the evening,” I say with a wolfish grin.