The Balance in Love Ch. 01

She stood at the waters edge, staring at the sunset, wondering where things had gone wrong, what had she done wrong, why he had left her. Her eyes glistened with tears and she toyed with her sun-kissed blond hair.

"Ayla, we need to go," a young woman murmured. Ayla turned to the other woman, whose hair was just a shade darker then her own and sighed.

"What did I do Abby?" she whispered.

"You didn't do anything Ayla, Dylan's just a jerk," Abby told her sister. Abby's eyes, green where Ayla's were blue were full of anger for Dylan's actions, but full of love for her sister.

"I had to have done something. Why would Dylan have left me like that?" Ayla whispered.

"Forget about that jerk Aya," Abby said. Ayla smiled at her sister's use of her pet name. "C'mon, dad says it's time to go," Abby added. Ayla gave one more look towards the water and followed her sister to the car where their father waited.

"Is everything alright girls?" their father asked.

"Yes dad, everything's fine," Abby said, glanced at her sister who nodded.

"Everything's fine," Ayla echoed. Their father studied both girls for a moment, then nodded, turned around, put the car in gear and drove away.

-2 years later-

"Ayla, wait up!" Ayla turned around and grinned when she saw her best friends Carly and Rachel hurrying towards her.

"what's up Car?" Ayla asked when her friends caught up.

"There's a this guy in our History class!" Carly exclaimed.

"He's hot!" Rachel added.

Ayla rolled her eyes. "What are we, in eighth grade? Just because there's a hot guy doesn't mean you need to get your panties in a bunch," she reminded her friends. "We're in college now," she added.

"Just because you're anti-men doesn't mean we can't appreciate them," Rachel retorted.

"You should have been in class today," Carly said, shaking her head.

"I'm not interested. I just want to get done with college before I even think about a relationship," Ayla reminded her friends. "I have to go guys, my father is taking Abby and I out to dinner, some place fancy," she sighed.

"I can help you get ready," Carly offered.

"That'd be awesome," Ayla agreed. "See you Rache," she added before she and Carly walked away.

"Well look who we have here," a familiar, male voice said causing Ayla to stop dead in her tracks. "You're looking pretty good Aya."

"Don't call me that! Only Abby calls me that!" Ayla exclaimed. She turned to him, her eyes flashing. "What do you want Dylan?" she asked.

"A second chance," Dylan answered.

"Not a fucking chance in hell!" Ayla spat. Carly's eyes widened; she'd never heard that kind of language from her friend. "Let's go Car," Ayla said, grabbing her friend's arm and pulling her away.

"Who was that?" Carly asked when they reached Ayla's dorm.

"That was Dylan, my first boyfriend," Ayla said, unwilling to elaborate further, no matter how much Carly pushed. "Just please help me find something to wear to dinner," Ayla pleaded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What do you mean I'm wrong? I'm never wrong!" a prissy girl in the front row of the classroom exclaimed, her shrill voice making everyone wince.

"Stella, the First World War was not started because Ireland ran out of potatoes. Ireland running out of potatoes was the Potato famine and that was in 1846. World War One started in 1914," the professor said, rubbing his eyes.

"Then what started World War One?" Stella demanded.

"Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo," Ayla blurted out.

"By the Black Hand," added another student. Ayla looked up to see a very attractive man sitting next to her with a wolfish grin on his face.

"Very good Miss Ivonova and Mister Cohen," the professor said with a look of relief on his face. At least somebody was paying attention.

"Then why did Hitler try to take over all of Europe if it was because some guy got killed?" Stella wanted to know.

"Oh my God, how stupid are you and how the hell did you get into a university?" Ayla exclaimed.

"You little bitch!" Stella shrieked.

"Hitler was World War Two which was 1939 to 1944. He had Concentration Camps and the Holocaust and he decimated the European Jewish population," Ayla explained.

"While Stalin took care of the Russian Jewish population in secret." Ayla smiled at the man sitting next to her.

"You are both correct. Perhaps one of you could tutor Stella for this class?" the professor suggested.

"Sorry professor, but I can hardly handle my course load," Ayla refused.

"I'm having the same problem. Sixteen credits is a lot to handle," the man agreed.

"Very well. Class is dismissed, please do the reading. Stella, a word please," the professor said with a sigh.

Ayla stood up and turned to the man next to her. "I'm Ayla," she introduced, stretching her hand out to his.

"I'm Shane, nice to meet you," he replied, shaking her hand.

"You're a history buff aren't you?" Ayla accused.

"No, not really, I just can't stand stupid people," Shane denied with a grin. Ayla snorted and followed Shane out of the class room.

"He's out of your league Ayla." She stopped short when she heard Dylan's voice, closed her eyes and willed him to go away as he pushed himself off against the wall.

"Go away Dylan, I don't want to talk to you," Ayla told her ex boyfriend.

"But I want to talk to you," Dylan said.

"Fuck off!" Ayla snapped before practically running away.

"What!?" Ayla practically snapped when she flung her bedroom door open later that evening.

"Whoa! Uncle, I cry uncle!" Shane exclaimed, holding his full hands up in the air.

"I'm sorry Shane, I thought you were someone else," Ayla said softly, holding the door open for him.

"Like that Dylan guy?" Shane asked.

"Like Dylan, yes. He has a knack for finding me," Ayla agreed. "What are you doing here and more importantly, how did you find me?" she asked.

"Student directory. You're the only Ayla Ivonova here at school, did you know that?" Shane answered.

"I had a pretty good guess. What are you doing here?" Ayla repeated.

"I brought you dinner. I ran into your roommate Carly and she said you haven't left your room all evening, I thought you'd be hungry," Shane said.

"And you just happened to know one of my favorite meals was Beef with Broccoli?" Ayla asked, her eyebrow raised.

"Carly might have helped me out with that," Shane admitted. Ayla smiled and took the pro-offered chop sticks and began eating the food in front of her. "So who is Dylan?" Shane asked after a moment. Ayla hesitated. "He seemed like he has a grudge against you, you should have someone to watch your back," he added.

"He's the first guy I ever dated. I thought I loved him," Ayla answered.

"He hurt you," Shane murmured.

"Very much so," Ayla agreed. She couldn't place it, but for some reason, she felt comfortable, even safe with Shane.

"Report him to campus police. He's stalking you," Shane suggested.

"He's bumped into me twice," Ayla said, rolling her arms.

"He was waiting for you," Shane reminded her before taking a bite of his own food, a nice and spicy Kung Pao Chicken. "And he was standing out front of the building when I got here," he added.

"What?" Ayla asked, her eyes wide.

"See for yourself," Shane told her. Ayla walked to the window and peeked out and she gasped when she saw Dylan leaning against a tree watching the entrance of the building.

"I think campus police would be a good thing," Ayla said quietly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey beautiful," Shane greeted Ayla when she sat down in her seat.

"I'm not beautiful," she scolded with a laugh as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Yes, you are. But I'm not going to argue with you, are you ready for the midterm?" Shane asked.

"Yeah, but I don't think Stella is," Ayla answered, glancing over at her classmate.

"Ayla, can I sit next to you today?" Stella asked.

"Um, sorry Stel, but Shane is sitting here," Ayla told Stella.

"He can sit behind you today. Unless you're worried about him passing," Stella whined.

"Take your seats everyone," the professor said as he walked in. "Stella, that means you too," he added. With a pout, Stella sat down in the seat in front of her, right where Shane was about to sit. Shane and Ayla glanced at each other as Shane sat down in the chair behind Stella.

"This will be so much fun!" Stella squealed. Ayla rolled her eyes, stood up and walked to where the professor was waiting for class to start so he could hand out the final exam.

-Two days later-

"You're awful Ayla Semira Ivonova," Shane scolded, even as he doubled over with laughter.

"The look on Stella's face was worth it," Ayla protested.

"You're brilliantly awful," Shane amended. Ayla laughed and took another large sip of wine. "You're beautiful and brilliant," Shane murmured. Before Ayla could stop him, Shane leaned over, pressed his lips to hers and kissed her hard, but at the same time, gently. His tongue pushed past her parted lips and dueled with her tongue. Ayla moaned as he pulled away from her.

"What was that for?" Ayla asked breathlessly.

"I felt like it," Shane answered before he kissed her again.

"Shane," Ayla whispered.

"Yeah?" Shane asked.

"Kiss me again," she murmured. With a groan, Shane kissed Ayla, one hand cupped her chin, the other cupped a pert breast; he plucked her nipple land she moaned softly against his lips.

"You're beautiful," Shane managed to say, his voice was ragged when they pulled away to take a breath.

"No, I'm not," Ayla whispered. Her blue eyes widened at the devilish glint Shane's eyes took and she gasped when he quickly and carefully pulled her sweater over her head, leaving her sitting on the couch in just her bra and jeans.

"Oh yes, you are," Shane assured her. Ayla whimpered when he nibbled on her breast through the bra.

"Wait," Ayla moaned. Shane pulled away and looked at her in concern. The concern in his eyes floated away as he watched Ayla take off her bra. She looked at him shyly and gasped as pleasure rolled over her when Shane sucked lightly on a nipple.

"Absolutely beautiful," Shane murmured before he stood up. Ayla looked up at him in surprise. "If you want this to go further, we're going into the bedroom," he added.

Before Ayla could answer, the front door was flung open.

Ayla shrieked and grabbed for her sweater.

"Oh my God Aya, I'm so sorry!"

"Abby, what are you doing here?" Ayla hissed.

"Dad's waiting downstairs, he says he needs to talk to you, it's important!" Abby exclaimed.

"Was waiting downstairs." Abby cringed when she heard her father's voice behind her.

"Dad!" Ayla gasped.

"Get dressed Ayla, we need to talk," her father instructed, giving Shane a look of disdain.