Worth Saving(21)

I whip my car around as fast as I can, thanking my lucky stars there’s no other vehicles on the road. When I get close to her, I park my car across the street from where she’s walking and I get out.

“Layla,” I call out as I close my door and run across the road to meet her. “Hey. Surprised to see you out here at this hour.”

She looks up at me, and she doesn’t look happy. In fact, she looks miserable and her crossed arms over her chest make it look like she’s trying to comfort herself more than keep herself warm.

“Are you okay?” I ask. She looks at me, then down at the ground, obviously in a bad mood.

“I’m fine,” she replies, her voice low and insecure.

“Are you sure? You look like you’re having a bad night,” I continue. I have to lower my head just to be able to see her face, because she has her chin tucked into her chest.

“I said I’m fine. I just want to go home,” she replies.

“Okay. Well, can at least give you a ride? It’s pretty cold out here.”

“I don’t need a ride. I only live a couple of blocks away.”

“Are you sure? You really shouldn’t have to walk.”

“I said I don’t need a ride,” she snips, cutting her eyes up at me. “I like walking. Just let me walk.” And with that, she starts walking and leaves me standing there.

My first thought is to get back in my car. I start towards it, but my second thought wins me over. So, I make sure to lock my car doors, and then I jog to catch up to Layla, who hasn’t made it very far anyway. When I get to her, she looks over at me and frowns.

“What are you doing?” she asks.

“Well, since you won’t let me drive you, I’ll just walk with you.”

“What? What about your car?”

“It’ll be fine.”

“You’re seriously gonna just leave your car there?”

“Yeah. It has an alarm. It’ll be okay. I could use a good walk.”

She looks at me like I’m crazy, but I can see her scowl soften just a bit.

“Fine,” she says, then she faces forward and presses on. “What are you doing out so late?”

“Uhh, I couldn’t sleep,” I answer honestly. “Been having a little bit of insomnia since I got back from the desert. So, I decided to go for a drive to help me take my mind off things. Nothing beats Summerlin at night, when there’s nobody on the road but me. Something about it helps me relax. What about you? What are you doing out so late?”

She doesn’t look like she likes the question, but she answers anyway.

“Work,” she says through closed teeth, like just the thought of her job makes her furious. “I just got off work, and the person I was with . . . couldn’t give me a ride. So, I decided to walk. Luckily, I live close.”

“I see. I thought you might have just been out for a little late night stroll, but I’m sure you’re cold in that dress.”

Layla looks down at her outfit like she forgot she had it on.

“Yeah,” she says under her breath. “Anyway, I never got the chance to thank you.”

“Thank me? For what?”

“For paying for my food the other day at Red Robin. That was pretty slick.”

“Oh, that wasn’t me. I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I joke with a smile.

“Yeah, I bet,” she replies, with a small grin of her own. “So, is that what you do? You like to pop up and pay for girls’ meals and then sneak away? Is that your way of being charming?”

“Ah, so you thought it was charming?” I reply. She starts to smile, but I see her fight it back. “Anyway, no I don’t do that with all the girls. I barely want to pay for myself, let alone anyone else. I’ve actually tried not to pay a couple of times, but they always catch me. I hate when they catch you trying to dine and ditch, don’t you?”

I watch as her face finally loses control and unleashes a perfectly gorgeous smile. Even in the night, I can see how bright and stunning she is.

“Yeah, I do,” she says, still beaming. “I hate when that happens, too. That’s tough.”

“Yeah, it is. I’m used to it though.”

“Oh, you’re used to it? Like, you’ve been caught so many times that you’re used to it now?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

She smiles again, and I suddenly find joy in the fact that she doesn’t look as gloomy as she did when I first approached her. I like it better this way.

“You’re a mess, Austin,” she says as her smile slowly fades away. “You’re pretty easy to talk to, but I’m starting to wonder why you keep popping up everywhere out of the blue.”

“It’s because I’m stalking you, Layla,” I joke, hoping she knows I’m joking. When she looks at me sideways, I decide to keep going. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. I don’t know. Maybe it’s like I told you in Red Robin, you and me are meant to be . . . friends. Maybe even BFF’s.”

“BFF’s?” she says behind a cute giggle. “You don’t have any BFF’s?”

“Oh, I have friends, but there’s always room for new BFF’s. There’s no limit on how many BFF’s one can have.”