When Layla Forgot to Take Her Pill

With that, she took her leave to shower, leaving Shikan to think.

He had no idea what had just happened, but two things were assured. One was that he had a mess to clean up, and the other was that he knew what his objective was the following day.

---------------------------------------------------------

Layla lowered her cup of coffee to the table as she just enjoyed the views the day had to offer. She was sitting on her porch swing she had gotten from her grandmother a couple years back, swaying her legs lazily and listening to the spare birds that had arrived for the season chirp songs that she didn't know. There was a light breeze and the weather was so perfect that she had decided to wear her favorite t-shirt.

She'd had the damn thing for years, having got it at a concert her favorite band at the time had been performing at. "The Thunderskulls" was their name, and while the name was cringe, the music was fire to her. However, that was her thoughts when she was younger; nowadays, she's more of an electronic metal genre type of girl, but during times like these, soft piano was her taste.

She had one of her favorite tracks playing at that moment called "Diamonds of Peace." A track she described as "the perfect mix of calm and peaceful serenity."

She laid back in her swing and just allowed the track to carry her away, closing her eyes and relaxing with waves of the breeze grazing her ears. Then it was suddenly interrupted by a call of her name, to which she opened her eyes and addressed.

Looking down out to the road, she saw a guy that looked to be her age, dressed in casual everyday clothes. Upon getting a better look, she recognized the guy instantly; it was her friend, Shikan.

"Shikan? What is it?" she called back.

He was silent for a minute, clearly shy and nervous; not to mention probably feeling awkward that this version of Layla wasn't the one he fucked senselessly last night.

Eventually, he found words.

"Um, can I come up?" he asked politely. "U-unless you're busy."

While Layla found his behavior a little odd, she wasn't a bitch.

"No no, you're fine," she answered. "Come on up."

Shikan gulped and started the walk up her walkway and up onto her porch, limping and grunting as he took a seat.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I just...fell wrong," he lied, having flashbacks of the real reason his hips and thighs felt as if they had been kicked by a horse. "I'll be back to normal in few days."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that," she sympathized. "Would you like some coffee? I just made a full pot."

"No thanks. I mostly drink tea."

"I can make some if you want?"

"No no, that's not necessary. I probably won't be here long," he stated.

"Oh okay. So, what do you need?" she asked.

He paused, thinking of what to say. He knew why he was here, but how would he tell her that? All he knew is that he had to think quickly, otherwise he'd miss his opportunity. Therefore, he just gave his most natural response possible.

"Well, Lay, there's something I wanna talk to you about, and i-it's been eating at me for a long time," he started, feeling as if he were going to vomit.

"Okay, let's hear it. I'm all ears," she answered.

He sighed heavily.

"Guess I should just rip off the bandaid. Lay, I-I...

His words seized and his blood turned to ice. It was as if he were frozen in place.

"Yes?" Layla answered, starting to worry.

To avoid seeming like a baffling buffoon who was just there to spout words as if it were some other language, he just said it.

"I like you!" he shouted.

Layla gasped at the sudden exclamation, too stunned to add any comment. Therefore, Shikan took that as his opening.

"I-I've liked you...for a long time...a-and I w-want to be...more t-than just...f-friends...

Shikan paused, gulping at the realization. This was it. This was the moment of truth.

"S-so, I was w-wondering if you'd...like t-to go out s-sometime...t-together?"

He'd done it. While he was a sweaty stuttering mess, he had asked the girl he liked out on a date.

Now, what would she say?

That was the most scary part, and he only grew more anxious with each second of silence.

Layla had a blush on her face, but upon her response Shikan wasn't sure what it meant.

She giggled. Not in a mocking or rude way; just a simple giggle.

"Shikan, you're so cute," she started, smiling. "I've known you've liked me that way for awhile. It's always been kind of obvious."

Shikan felt as if he was going to pass out, but wasn't offended or discouraged. Her response was showing some hope, but she hadn't given a straight answer just yet.

"It has?" he answered.

"Dude, everytime you're around me, you turn into a mess. That's usually a sign that someone likes you."

She giggled again.

"So, w-what do you think?" he asked.

"Hmm, while I wasn't really looking to get into anything like a relationship, recently I've realized that I can't be scared to step outside of the box," she explained.

"So...is that a yes or...

She giggled again, grabbing her smartphone from the table and doing something. Upon a notification alert going off in Shikan's right pocket of his jeans, Layla had stated her answer.

"Meet me at that location tonight at 8 pm sharp," she said. "Dress sharp, smell good, and make sure to act like a proper gentleman. If you pass that, maybe we can take things a "step further."

She winked as an exclamation to the last words, and Shikan felt his heart race at the fact that Layla had said yes. He wanted to jump to the sky and celebrate, but knew he couldn't act foolish in front of her.

"Y-yes! Yes ma'am!" he agreed, unknowingly showing his joy and glee front and center. "I-I'll wear my best clothes and sharpest cologne!"

Layla nodded and giggled again.

"Best go get ready, big boy," she teased, to which Shikan followed by clumsily making his way to the road, and halfway down, shouting to the stars about his accomplishment.

Layla heard it all, giggling at Shikan's cute yet naïve behavior.

"Boys," she said to herself, sitting back yet again on the swing.

Her rest was short-lived though, her phone ringing and waking her from it.

Upon seeing who was calling, Layla was confused but answered.

"Colla?"

"Yeah. It's me."

"What's up?"

"What's up is you getting your ass down here to help me clean up your mess from last night."

"But we did that last night."

"Did you really think you were getting off that easy? We're deep-cleaning my car, so hurry up and get down here. I've set the coordinates in our messages."

"But Colla-

"No "buts," missy. Get moving. Chop chop. Bye."

The signal went dead, and Layla just sat dumbfounded.

She'd completely forgotten about that whole incident, but knew it was best not to argue with Colla.

"Guess I better get going if I'm going to catch Shikan tonight for our date."

With that, she got up from the swing and rushed into her house to get some work clothes on.