That made Sofia snort with laughter at the double meaning. She mumbled, “Not walking into that one.”
“Too easy,” Vicky said with a giggle.
I had tuned out the conversation happening on the phone as I held Leyla tight to my side.
Vicky’s voice boomed over ours as she said, “Oh, I almost forgot. Here, let me turn the phone around. You’ve met Leyla already, but this is her boyfriend Niko,” she said, pointing to me. “Here, I’ll pass Leyla the phone.”
Leyla took it and said, “Hey, hey, lovely. This is Niko.”
“Hi,” I said, waving awkwardly.
“And this is Mike Walker. He’s a new friend and a worthy opponent at game night,” Leyla said, holding the phone up to Mike, who was just wiping his mouth with a napkin.
When he looked up at the phone, his eyes looked like they were about to bug out of his head. “Um, hello,” he mumbled.
“Ciao, Mike! Nice to meet you. Looks like you guys are at the beach. I just realized that,” Ren said, her cheerful, raspy voice crooning through the phone.
Mike sat frozen. I tilted my head, trying to figure out what was wrong with him.
“Ah, yeah. We’re at the beach. Outside, at the beach,” he stuttered, making her laugh.
“When I visit, we’ll have to see just how good you are at game night. I’m ruthless. Hope you can keep up,” Ren said, smiling widely.
“Yes,” he breathed out.
Leyla started to laugh, but she covered her mouth as Mike glared at her.
“Well, pass me back to my girl. I’ve got an early client. Ciao, everyone! Have fun.”
When the phone was returned to Vicky, she was finishing her conversation when Mike whispered, “Wow.”
“Oh boy. I’ve never seen Mike speechless before,” I whispered to Leyla with a wide grin.
That night,as the stars appeared, Miles started a fire in the nearby fire pit.
Dean slept on a blanket between Sofia and Luke, and MJ cuddled into Vicky’s lap, a thick hoodie enveloping her.
The fire crackled as the sound of someone nearby playing a guitar floated around us. We were all a bit sunburned, full but happy. Our conversation hardly stopped all afternoon, jumping from subject to subject. Earlier, when I had hit my limit, Leyla seemed to understand and pulled me up for a long walk.
When Dean woke up crying and cranky, our friends left, saying they had to get the kids to bed. Luke and Sofia offered to bring Mike home so Leyla and I could stay a little longer.
Now, she sat between my open legs, her back pressed into my chest, my jacket over her arms as she lazily roasted marshmallows for us.
Leaning down to whisper in her ear, I said, “There’s something I need to tell you, but I’m not sure it’s the right time.”
She laid her stick on the blanket, then twisted around to face me as I pulled her sideways into my lap. Her arms went around my neck, and she kissed my cheek. “You can say anything to me. Always.”
Gathering my courage, I said, “Back in college, besides being inspired by you to get my tattoo, I was actually pretty crazy about you.”
Her eyes widened comically. “Are youserious?”
I nodded. “You made me so nervous every time I even looked at you.”
“I felt the same way. I kept hoping you’d ask me out, but you never did.” She placed her hand on my chest, moving so we could see each other better.
“That’s not possible. You were…you were everything, Leyla. I never thought I stood a chance with a woman like you.”
“And you were this handsome, exotic, brooding man that made my heart stop when you looked at me,” she said, brushing my face with her fingers.
