Absolutely nothing at all.
* * *
Layla
This day has been beautiful. The sun is shining so brightly. There's no trace of the storm from last night.
I felt as special as the Queen of England when Jay dropped me off at school this morning. I felt his eyes on me the entire way to the front door, and when I turned around, he was staring at me with those black shades on, his big shoulders straining at the seams of his white button-up shirt.
He told me he would be here after school to pick me up. Jay is a car salesman, and from what I understand, he's a damn good one because he can set his hours and come and go as he pleases, even though he doesn't own the lot where he works.
I float from class to class all day, and the closer it gets to time for the bell to ring, the more my tummy flutters. I finger the necklace he gave me. I can’t believe he gave me a necklace that was his mother’s. That only makes it more special to me. I love feeling the slight weight of it around my neck. It makes me feel like I have a piece of him with me. I'm so excited about seeing Jay again.
I go through the motions of leading the squad throughout the pep rally. I might be the tiniest cheerleader on the squad and the one who’s always thrown up in the air and placed on the top of the pyramid, but I'm also the captain. I’m naturally flexible and athletic, and I've worked hard for my spot on this squad all four years of my high school career.
I'm brimming with excitement that Jay has agreed to come watch me cheer. All the other girls always have family in the stands to support them, but I never have. My dad was always too busy chasing his next get-rich-quick scheme. I asked him to come to games repeatedly, but he always came up with excuses why he couldn't, so I eventually stopped asking him.
But not Jay. My heart swells. He agreed to come see me.
My heart does a flip when I walk out and see Jay’s SUV idling by the sidewalk. His eyes instantly find me, and I skip over to the SUV.
Jay gets out and opens my door for me before I get there. I hear several girls tittering behind me, and it's no wonder. Jay is nothing like the boys here at the high school. He's big and bulky. A man.
They can eat their hearts out because he's mine.
“Hey, Layla!” I hear Landon screaming my name. I stop and glance over my shoulder to look at him. “See you at the game tonight, gorgeous!” He winks at me.
“See ya!” I wave back at him with a bright smile.
When I turn and look at Jay, my smile falters. The look he’s giving Landon could cut glass. He turns those stormy eyes on me, his lips pressed into a thin line.“Get in the car.”
I swallow and scurry to obey. Good lord, Jay looks angry. I don't understand why, but it makes those butterflies in my stomach flutter faster.
Like he did yesterday, Jay leans into the car and buckles me up before closing the door and stalking around to the driver’s side. He gets in and slams his door before he tips his head toward Landon and asks, “Who’s that?”
“That's Landon. He's the captain of the football team.”
Jay's hands tighten on the steering wheel before he throws the car into gear and takes off, the tires squealing as he does so.
He takes off so fast my back is thrown against the seat. “Jay, what's wrong?”
Jay's chest heaves, and his nostrils flare. His jaw is so tight it looks like it could shatter. “I want you to stay away from him.”
“Who? Landon?”
Jay grinds his molars together when I say Landon's name.
“He’s my friend, Jay.”
Jay lets out a laugh devoid of humor. “That boy has more than friendship on his mind.”
His tone is filled with so much fury it gives me pause. A rush of pleasure runs through me when I realize what's going on. Jay is jealous. It shouldn't make me as happy as it does, but I'm over the moon, though I make sure not to let Jay know.
I suppress my smile. “Okay.”
Jay blinks in surprise. “Okay?” He raises a disbelieving eyebrow like he expected me to put up a bigger fight.
I shrug. “Yeah. I trust you. If you tell me to stay away from him, I will.”