Page 24 of Light Up The Night
Layla blinks and then laughs. "Why, thank you! Are you new in town?"
Cadence frowns. "I suppose so."
"So then how did you and Riley meet?"
Cadence goes still, as if the question, innocently meant, has put her off balance. "I was sitting on a park bench crying, and he stopped to inquire as to how he could be of assistance."
I see Layla picking up on Cadence's unusual way of speaking. "That's Riley for you. Loves to be of assistance. Especially for pretty girls like you."
I glare at her. "Layla, c'mon. It wasn't like that."
She snickers. "I'm just teasing, Rye." She winks at Cadence. "Don't take me seriously. I just like to fuck with Riley."
Cadence nods sagely. "I see." She glances up at the menu and then at Layla. "May I have the Upside Down Turkey Wonder, please?"
"Anything to drink?"
She freezes, looks to me as if for some kind of reassurance and then clears her throat. "Um. Tea. Hot tea. Please. Oolong, if possible."
"Certainly." Layla offers her a warm smile. "For you, Rye?"
"I don't see it on the menu, but I'm hoping you can still do it," I say. "Last time I was here, you had this bowl that had diced chicken, hummus, spinach, Greek yogurt—all sorts of good shit."
Layla snorts a laugh, shaking her head. "That was a weekly special, but since I’m so fabulous, I'll whip it up for you, seeing as we have all the ingredients on hand."
"Youarefabulous, Layla." I hand her my card. "Iced tea with mine, please."
Layla runs my card, hands it back, and flicks her gaze one more time to our hands…which are still joined. "I'll bring it out to you. Sit wherever."
"Thanks."
By the time we've ordered, a table has opened up by the window, and we sit, finally releasing each other's hands. Cadence looks at Layla, who is preparing our drinks. "You and Layla seem to know each other quite well."
I shrug. "I guess. Three Rivers is a small town. Everyone knows everyone. The Cartwright twins were…a grade beneath me, I think? Hard to remember."
"She is extraordinarily pretty," Cadence says.
I nod. "Yup. Always has been."
"I wonder that you do not seek to court her."
"Court?" I can't help but laugh. "Like…date? Nah. I, uh…Layla and I…yeah, no."
She peers at me. "You are omitting something, I believe."
Fuck it. May as well make it perfectly clear to her what kind of guy I am, so she can make the only smart decision and get out of Three Rivers and away from me as fast as possible.
"I hooked up with her, few years back."
"Hooked up." It's a statement, not a question. "You mean you had consensual, extramarital sexual relations with her."
At that precise moment, Layla walks up to the table with Cadence's hot tea and my iced tea. "Yes," she says, placing the beverages on the table. "That's precisely what we did." She smiles at Cadence. "But don't worry, it was a long time ago, and it didn't mean much."
"That's…" my gut twists at the way she's presenting it. "Layla, hold on, now. That's not entirely fair."
She cackles. "Bro, you bounced literally fifteen minutes after we finished. My legs weren't even working, yet." She pats me on the shoulder. "It's okay. I knew who you were. I knew what I was doing. I wasn't mad then, and I'm not mad now."
Cadence looks from Layla to me. "Perhaps this is not the correct time or place for this conversation. Nor should it include me."
