Falcon (Trinity Academy 1)

Walking toward Layla, the corner of my mouth lifts. “Morning.” I take the coffee holder from her and go to place it on the table. “You don’t have to bring us coffee anymore.”

“Why? The Barista just managed to get your order right. Do you want something else?”

I shake my head as I walk back to her. When I wrap my arms around her, she lets out a startled, “Oh!” I hug her to my chest and take a deep breath. “Ah… Uhm…” Her hands rest on my sides for a moment before they jump away again.

“Hug me back, Layla.”

“Ohh-kay,” she whispers, sounding uncomfortable. Her movements are jerky, but she wraps her arms around my waist, then stands dead still.

“Falcon,” she whispers as if she’s sharing a secret.

“Mmm?”

“This is going to take some getting used to,” she admits.

“We can stand like this until you’re comfortable with the idea.” She stiffens in my arms, which makes me instantly smile.

“I have to go into town.” She brings her arms to my sides and tries to pull back. I shake my head, tightening my hold. “I need to take the dress to the dry cleaners.” I shake my head again. “This is weird. I really didn’t think you were the needy kind,” she grumbles.

I let out a burst of silent laughter but pull back.

“Do you want to go to town now?” I ask and check the time.

“Why? Did you need me to do something?” she asks.

“You don’t have to run around for me anymore.”

She narrows her eyes, looking as intimidating as a kitten. “Are you firing me?” Before I can answer, she lifts her chin, “Good, because I was underpaid and overworked.”

“Your boss sounds like an asshole,” I state, doing my best to look serious.

She actually thinks about it until I tilt my head, giving her an incredulous look.

“What? You were a jerk most of the time,” she defends herself.

“Why do you like me then?” I ask, not feeling too confident any longer. Again, she takes her time to think.

“You and Mason are a lot alike,” she finally answers. “You both have these walls up wanting people to believe you’re jerks, but you’re not. You didn’t hesitate to help me, and it showed me who you really are.”

I haven’t spoken to her about the attack since it happened. Lifting a hand, I brush over her jaw where the bruise is covered up with makeup. “I haven’t asked because I wasn’t sure if you’d rather not talk about it but is everything healing? Are you sleeping okay?”

She nods then looks down at her feet and shrugs. “It’s in the past. I don’t like to dwell on things.” Wrapping her arms around her middle, she begins to sway back and forth on the balls of her feet.

I memorize all her nervous actions for future reference before I take hold of her arm and pull her against my chest. With my hand on the back of her head and the other around her shoulders, I press two kisses to her hair.

“Talk to me.”

This time she doesn’t hesitate when she wraps her arms around me, and her hold is much tighter.

“It just scared me. I haven’t gone jogging since and I’m going to pick up a ton of weight with all the candy Kingsley’s feeding me.”

“Will it help if I go jogging with you?” I ask, tilting my head to the right so I can see her face.

She peeks up at me, and fuck, I’m in trouble when she gives me an adorable look, making Lake’s seem like a damn scowl. She nods, and her lips curve into a cute smile.

“I’m going to kiss you senseless if you keep looking at me like that,” I growl.

Her eyes widen, and she quickly pulls back. Clapping her hands together, she turns to the door. “Let’s get going. I have a class at eleven.”Chapter 13LaylaThis is weird.

So, so weird.

Standing next to Falcon in the elevator, I’m highly aware of every move he makes, every breath he takes, and especially every time his eyes rest on me.

It feels like we’ve gone from zero to one hundred in the blink of an eye.

“Now I understand the meaning of being assertive,” I mumble under my breath.

“What do you mean?” Falcon asks.

We step out into the lobby and walk to my room. “You’re used to getting what you want.” I open the door and walk over to the couch to gather my stuff. “I don’t mean it in a bad way.” I hang the dress over my left arm and shrug my bag over my right shoulder, then turn to Falcon. “You’ve never been rejected, so it’s easy for you to go all out into a business deal or … ahh… relationship.”

Falcon walks over and takes the dress from me. “You’ve been rejected? By who?”

I frown slightly and begin to count all the times down on my left hand. “First, there was Stephanie from preschool. She didn’t want to play with me. Then… yes, how can I forget Ross? He wouldn’t accept my mud cakes. Little shit head.”