Chapter 6:
Loved
I woke up with Layla pressed against my back and her arm wrapped around my waist and I couldn't help my grin. We had shared the bed for the past week and I loved every minute of it. I lay still, enjoying the feel of her body against mine. She knew I wanted her. It had become too obvious since the first morning I woke up beside her. She'd felt me pressing against her and yelped in surprise, sitting up abruptly. I'd been tripping all over myself trying to apologise but she'd just laughed that adorable laugh of hers and suggested she sleep behind me from now on. She hadn't woken up screaming since we'd been sleeping together, which I admit I felt very proud of.
Her hand fisted against my chest and she gave a little yawn, rolling onto her back. I turned to face her, propping myself up on one elbow. I flattened my hand over her stomach, rubbing my hand back and forth. She giggled and smiled up at me. She'd gotten used to me touching her and I couldn't stop myself. I finally understood why Jared touched Melanie constantly. Touching Layla came as naturally as breathing.
"Hi." I said softly, a smile spreading across my face. She smiled back and reached up to brush my hair away from my face.
"Hi." she replied. She moved her hand to my neck, toying with the hair there. "Sleep okay?"
"Mmhmm." I replied. "Did you?" she nodded. I lay back down next to her and she faced me, her hand still on my neck. I cupped her cheek and as I looked into her eyes, I knew I couldn't wait to kiss her anymore. She seemed to know what I wanted because she slowly moved closer to me. I watched as she drew closer and started leaning in too but just as our lips would have touched a bang on our door made us jump apart.
"Wake up guys!" Kyle's loud voice yelled from outside the door. "Jeb wants us all in the fields. Dirt's not gonna shovel itself!" We heard his footsteps walking away and I looked across at Layla. She caught my gaze and blushed, looking down at her lap with a sweet little smile on her face.
"Uh-" I started, at the same time she said "Umm-" we both broke off and laughed in embarrassment. "Layla-" I tried again but she stood and grabbed her towel.
"I'm gonna...go take a bath." she said, not meeting my eyes. "You heard Kyle. Dirt won't shovel itself." and with that she quick walked out of the room. I looked after her and chuckled. I'd get another chance at that kiss before the day was through. She couldn't run from the way I knew she felt forever.
"Alright guys I think that's enough. You can take a break." Jeb said. I sighed in relief, wiping the sweat from my forehead with my shirt. I'd taken it off midway through the morning, the heat too much for me. Layla'd barely suppressed her groan but I'd heard her and winked. She'd rolled her eyes and minutes later had left the field. No one else saw her slip out but I was so aware of her I knew when she was gone.
Now, with my shirt slung over my shoulder, I went looking for her. I was so not above using her reaction to my body against her. There were two places Layla always hung out in the caves. The first was, surprisingly, with Doc and Candy. I'd found her there last week, watching them heal a scrape Freedom had got while he was running. She was amazed at how the medicine just made the cut disappear. It was like it was never there.
The other place was in the kitchen. Layla loved to cook and she did it whenever she had the chance. Trudy loved having her in the kitchen and while she was a good cook, the food had become better since Layla started cooking. We'd hand lamb stew the other day. It tasted amazing. Layla had sat and grinned as everybody had told her how good it was.
I turned into the kitchen and sure enough there she was, stirring something in a pan. If not for Wanda, we'd still be stuck eating bread and soup every day. I walked silently into the room, my eyes on her back.
"Hi Jamie." she said. She had the uncanny ability to know when I was around. I guess she was as aware of me as I was of her.
"Hey." I replied. "You avoiding me?" she laughed.
"No I-" she began but broke off as she turned to face me. Her eyes trailed over me before she forced them up to my face. "I'm not." her voice was huskier when she said this and I smiled.
"Good." I stepped closer and I could see the effort it took her to stay still. Trudy looked at us from where she was mashing potatoes and shook her head, a smile on her face. Layla giggled, like she'd only just remembered Trudy was there. I sighed. This kiss was obviously not meant to happen today. I pulled her toward me and wrapped my arms around her. She hugged me back and I kissed the top of her head. I loved holding her. She felt so right in my arms. She fit there perfectly.
"I'll see you later." I said. She took it for what it was; a promise that I would do more than see her. I pulled away and headed off to find Jared.
Dinner was taking forever. I walked into the kitchen, took a seat and waited patiently until Layla had served everyone. Then she approached me with two plates in her hand. She set my plate in front of me and turned to move away but I gently caught her arm and then pulled the plate from her grasp with my other hand. I tugged her so she ended up on the stool next to mine and wrapped an arm around her waist, effectively stopping her from moving. I put my lips against her ear and heard her breath catch on a gasp.
"Going somewhere?" I asked, my amusement evident. "I thought you weren't avoiding me." she blushed and I smiled.
"I'm not." she whispered back to me. I smiled wider and pulled back a little cupping her cheek and turning her face to mine.
"Then stay." I said. She nodded and I let her go, turning to my food. Everyone was staring at us. I looked across at Layla, who was blushing even redder, then I glanced at Mel, who was trying her hardest not to laugh and I grinned at her. Kyle was glaring at me but Ian was smiling. At least one O'Shea approved of my budding relationship with their cousin.
I shovelled my food down, wanting to get out of there and get Layla back to our room as soon as possible. Layla took her time beside me. I sat with my arms folded, watching her. She glanced up at me once and stuck out her tongue and I laughed. She always made me laugh.
When everyone was done eating, we stood to head to bed. Everyone mingled in the kitchen for a few minutes, talking to each other. Layla stopped to talk to Ian and Wanda and Kyle grabbed my shoulder.
"Oh for God's sake..." I mumbled as he turned me around. He gave me that famous O'Shea scowl.
"Be very careful what you do with my cousin." he growled at me. Then he let me go and went to wait on Sunny as she stood talking to Lily. I watched as Layla spent as long as she could talking to Wanda and then I couldn't take it anymore. I could tell Ian wanted to get Wanda to their room too. Guess he finally got over himself. I walked up to them, stepped in front of Layla, crouched down, grabbed her legs and stood, holding her over my shoulder. She shrieked and pounded on my back. Wanda gasped and Ian let out a burst of laughter.
"Jamie!" Layla yelled, pounding on me furiously. I just held her more securely and started walking in the direction of our room. I winked at Kyle as I passed him but even he couldn't help but laugh at us. Jared gave me a thumbs-up and Mel stood laughing so hard that tears streamed down her face. When we were almost to our room I set her down and grabbed her hand instead. She glared up at me but I knew how to negate that. I tapped her nose and she automatically smiled, then scowled at her reaction. I gently pulled her into our room and shut the door.
She immediately went to the bed, sitting and folding her arms, glaring at me. She looked so cute I couldn't help but smile. I walked over to her and sat on the bed next to her. I easily unfolded her arms and held both her hands in mine. I brought one to my lips and the scowl on her face melted into a stunned expression.
"Don't be mad at me Laylie." I whispered. "I just wanted to be alone with you." I brushed her hair away from her cheek and put my hand on her neck, my thumb on her cheek. She looked up at me with awe in her eyes. Then her face fell. She looked so sad. "Layla?"
"Don't do this." she said. "Don't make me want this. Don't make me need you. You're too important. If I lose you I-" she broke off and pulled her hand from my grasp, bringing it to her lips. I pulled her closer, lifting her chin so she'd look at me.
"You're not going to lose me." I assured her. She let out a sound that was half laugh-half sob. "You won't."
"You don't know that. You don't know everything about me. If you really knew how messed up I am, you wouldn't be able to look at me. You'd hate me." she pulled away from me and moved to stand in front of the door. She put her head against it. I walked up to her and stood behind her, giving her as much space as I could by not touching her. There had been so much self-loathing in her voice. I never wanted her to feel like she was anything but amazing. She was the sweetest, most beautiful girl I'd ever met. I hesitantly touched her arm.
"Layla I-" she turned to me and I stopped short as I realised what I was about to say. I was going to tell her I loved her. And as I looked at her I knew it was true. I did love her. She was my air. I needed her around me, always. I didn't know when it happened but I knew it was real. Should I tell her? What if she didn't feel the same way?
"Jamie?" Her voice was full of shock and I looked down at her again. She was staring at me wide eyed. Those beautiful green eyes were focused on me and only me. If I could keep it that way forever, I'd be the happiest man alive. I needed to tell her. It didn't matter if she felt the same or not. She needed to know exactly what she meant to me.
"Layla, I love you." I whispered. "You're never going to lose me." she gasped, tears welling in her eyes. "Oh god, baby, don't cry. It's okay if you don't-" I was cut off by lips crashing onto mine. I was stunned for a moment then kissed her back, wrapping an arm around her waist and cupping her cheek with the other. It was like fire had consumed us both and the more we kissed, the closer she was to me, the hotter and stronger the fire became. She braced her hands on my shoulders and jumped onto me, wrapping her legs around my waist. I pushed her against the door, never breaking our kiss. She buried her hands in my hair and I moved my lips to her neck. She gasped my name and I lifted my lips to hers again, walking her to the bed. I gently lay us both down, our lips still fused together. She ran her hands up and down my back before digging her nails into my shoulders.
When we pulled away we were both breathing heavily. I balanced my weight on one elbow so I wouldn't crush her and brushed my thumb across her bottom lip. She closed her eyes again, her breath coming in short gasps. She looked so incredibly sexy like that, I couldn't help but capture her lips with mine again. I flipped us over so she was on top of me, her legs on either side of me, and put both hands on her tiny waist. When we pulled away from each other again, I could hardly breathe. My heart was racing.
Layla rolled off of me and lay on her side next to me with her face in the crook of my neck and her right hand on my cheek. I grabbed her hand and brought it to my lips before putting her palm against my chest, letting her feel my heartbeat.
"Do you feel that?" I asked. "Only you can do that to me. My heart beats for you. I love you, Layla, with all my heart." I didn't expect her to say anything and she didn't but she sat up a bit so she could look at me. She looked so beautiful, her hair falling on one side of her face. I stared up at her, a smile spreading across my face. She smiled back and leaned down, rubbing her nose against mine. Happiness consumed me as I realised she was finally mine. I no longer felt empty inside. Layla completed me and now that I had her, I would never let her go.
So how do you feel about Jamie telling Layla he loves her? Too early? And what about her not saying it back? :O
Don't worry it's not all about lovey-dovey stuff. You guys are in for some twists and turns starting in the 8th chapter :) Chapter 7 coming shortly. Oh and I was asked about Layla's P.O.V. Yeah I know you guys miss her but I really want us to see her through Jamie's eyes so bear with me. She might reappear at some point, not sure yet. We'll see :P
- Ashley :3
