Finding Laila: Some Changes are Necessary (18 page)

“Merry Christmas,” I gush, giving Braxton
a hug as soon as he answers the door in his basketball shorts and no shirt.
Most girls would love to be in my shoes and have the chance to ogle this guy in
a state of semi-undress. That dark hair and his brown eyes—there’s a
reason certain girls have been after him for so long.

“C’mon,
let’s go.”

“Lai,
it’s Friday, and Christmas isn’t for another week. What are you doing here so
early?”

“Go
get dressed,” I order, shooing him inside so I can close the door behind us.
“We’re going to get some coffee and hang out.”

“Fine,
I’m sure Mom can make some coffee and we can hang out here. Just come back
after one, I’m tired,” he says, rubbing his eyes.

“Nope.
We’re going now. Let’s go.”

“I
hate chipper Laila,” he grunts, taking the stairs two at a time.

“Good
morning, Mrs. Jameson,” I call down, following him up the steps.

His
room is a mess, as usual, but I find a spot on his bed to sit down. When he
walks out of the bathroom, he grabs a shirt from his drawer and pulls it over
his head. Years ago, being in this room and seeing a shirtless Braxton would
have made me tongue-tied. But so much has changed and he’s almost like a big
brother, even though he’s only a couple of months older than me.

“Glad
football season is finally over?” I ask, glancing around the room.

“Yeah,
I guess. Maybe I’ll actually get to have a life.” He grins.

“You
really do need one of those. It’s kinda sad,” I tease.

“All
right, let’s get out of here and you can tell me what I need to do about this
life I need.”

He
grabs my hand and pulls me to his chest, and gives me a hug that I reward in
kind. His body is warm and he seems hesitant to let me go as his heart starts
to beat faster. Braxton finally releases me and looks down at me with a sad
smile. He kisses my forehead before taking my hand in his and dragging me down
the stairs.

The
coffee shop is around the corner, but we drive anyway because I’m a
wuss
when it comes to the cold weather—or ‘not so
hot’—as the guys like to say. The cute redheaded barista checks out Brax
when she hands us our coffees and muffins, and we take a seat so we can talk.

“Looks
like someone’s into you.” I smile over the rim of my cup.

He
looks around to see
who
I’m talking about, and laughs
when he assumes that I’m referring to the redhead. The coffee shop is
relatively empty and I suppose it’s because people have taken off for the
holiday. There are a few people sitting inside with their laptops and books,
but Braxton wanted to sit outside.
Why
did I listen to him?
It’s cold and this coffee cup is doing little to warm
my fingers.

“Who
ya talking about?” he finally asks.

“Candace
really pushed all the wrong buttons the other day,” I say, seemingly changing
the subject.

“Yeah,
I don’t think I’ve ever seen you actually react to anything people have said to
you,” he admits.

“I
really don’t know what came over me.”

“I’m
glad you said something.”

“I’m
glad Ree was there to hold me back.” I smile and wait for his eyes to meet
mine.

“Good
thing,” he agrees. But when I don’t say anything else, it finally hits him.
“Nope. No way. Sorry, Lai, but you’re not setting me up.”

“Why
not?” I whine. “You haven’t dated for a while—it’s time to get back on
the horse!”

“I’ve
dated and I do just fine on my own,” he protests. But his argument doesn’t hold
water; he hasn’t dated.

“Name
one.” I raise a brow at him and wait.

“Jennifer,”
he says.

“That
was two years ago, Brax, and you haven’t been with anyone since. Isn’t there
someone you’re interested in?”

“Not
here,” he groans, breathing in his coffee, and mutters again, “please not now.”

“Fine.”
I stand up with my coffee in hand. “Where to? Quarry?”

“No.”
He shakes his head with a serious look. “Your house?”

“Eh,
Luka’s home and running through every room to find her presents. Park?”

“Yeah,
that works,” he concedes and stands up so we can go.

We
drive with only the sound of the radio and his heater on full blast, but of
course my mind is running the gamut of ideas of
who
he
could be talking about. He pulls into a spot at the park, but doesn’t turn off
the car.

“Could
we just stay in here?” he asks.

“Thank
you,” I drag out and laugh. “It’s way too cold out there.”

“Wimp.”
He winks at me and I return it with a smirk.

I
hand him a piece of paper and smile. “This is Ree’s number—she wants you
to call her.”

He
takes the paper from me, looks at it, and then hands it back. “Not interested.”

“But
she’s cute,” I argue.

He
turns in his seat and leans against his door to face me, so I do the same.

“Don’t
get me wrong, she’s pretty, but she’s not really my type,” he says.

I
close my eyes and lean my head against the window, fighting a groan.

“All
right, then tell me your type,” I demand. “And do I need a piece of paper for
this?”

He
laughs and shakes his head, but looks nervous to say any more. His face turns
serious, and my stomach begins to
roll
as my curiosity
wants to retreat and take my body with it.

“My
type…” He closes his eyes and looks up. “Someone who is strong and funny.
Definitely someone that’s independent, but doesn’t mind asking for
help when needed.
They’d have to be smart and athletic and get along
with my friends—oh, and hopefully they get along with my parents.”

“Braxton,”
I interrupt, but he stops me.

“Look,
Laila, you’re my best friend and you know how much I love you,” he says. “I
can’t keep this—”

“I
love you, too, but not like that,” I answer. “Jeez, this is going to ruin everything
isn’t it? I mean, I’m with Haden, and you never said anything like this before.
Why now?”

“Whoa,
easy there, Lai.” He reaches over and lays his hand on my arm. “I love you, but
not like that.”

“Wait,
then what was all that about?”

He
starts laughing so hard he can barely breathe and I’m turning redder by the
second, I can feel it.

I
slap at his arm and glare at him. “What’s so damn funny?”

“You
are,” he laughs again and does his best to stop. “I’ve never seen you like
this.”

“Like.
What?” I say, punctuating each word for emphasis.

“God,
I love you. You always make things so much easier.”

“Okay,
enough,” I say, barely able to control my anger.

“Lai,
I’m not telling you that I’m in love with you or that I want to be with you,”
he pauses and waits for my head to catch up, “I’m telling you that I’m gay.”

“Wait…You?
What? When?” I can’t string together a sentence worth a damn from my shock.

“Yes,
me. I’m gay. Since…for as long as I can remember,” he says. “I wanted to wait
until after football season so I didn’t have to deal with any fallout.”

“But…hold
up.” I grab my head and look at him so he can talk. “Start from the beginning.”

“I
don’t know, I guess some time back I realized it, but never told anyone. When
all the guys were having crushes on you, I was having crushes on guys.”

“Our
guys?” I ask for clarification—not that it matters.

“Well,
there was a time I liked Joey, but that was it. Haden was too moody and Cole
was too obnoxious,” he grins.

“But
why didn’t you tell anyone? You know it wouldn’t change anything, right?”

“Actually,
I did tell my parents this summer,” he says. “Yeah, Mom hugged me and said she
loved me.”

“What
about your dad?”

“Funny
thing, he thought my big news was that I had picked a college, even though it
was too early to apply. After I told him, he was just looking at me. I thought
he was pissed, but then he goes, ‘well?’ and I looked at Mom then back to him
and he goes, ‘so you haven’t ruled TCU out, yet?’ And that was it.”

“Your
parents are seriously the best,” I gush and reach out to hold his hand. “How
did I not know this?”

“Really?”
he scoffs. “You thought Haden was gay. I think you’re senses are completely
off.”

“So
what now? I mean, clearly Ree isn’t your type. I get it, but who is your type?”

Braxton
turns around, opens his door to step outside, and stretches while
simultaneously trying to hide his smile.

“
Omigod
! There
is
someone. Who?” I ask, jumping out of the car to get the details.

“I
don’t want to talk about it yet. It’s too soon, and outside of my family and
him, you are the first person to know.”

My
smile grows wider and I link my arm through his as we walk to the swing set.
Braxton has always been confident and comfortable in his own skin, but I never
felt he was hiding anything from us. I figured he was focused on sports and
trying to keep his grades up, but there’s this whole other side I’m excited to
discover.

“Can
you tell me his name so I don’t have to refer to him as ‘him’?” I ask, taking a
seat, hoping for some little detail.

“His
name is Scot—with one ‘t’—and he’s pretty great.” He sways back and
forth on the swing and turns his head to look at me.

“Okay,
I know you don’t want to give me too many details—which I don’t
get—but tell me something about him. I’m really excited for you.”

“We
met at work this summer, but he’s in college.”

I
nod my approval. “Older guy, smart—okay, what else.”

“Jeez,
Lai, give me time here,” he laughs. “Actually, I’m really glad you stopped by
this morning. I was planning on telling you, but I didn’t know when or how.”

“You
know we love you and there’s nothing we wouldn’t do for you.” I move my swing
closer to give him a hug.

“I’m
so glad you said that, because now I need you.” He stands up and pulls me to my
feet.

“Sorry,
Brax,” I grin, “I’m taken.”

“Cute.
But really, I have a big favor to ask, and if you don’t want to, I understand.”

“Anything,
just
tell
me.”

“You’re
the first one to know, but I want to tell the guys—would you…come with
me?”

“You
don’t need me, but absolutely, I’d love to be there with you. When do you want
to do it?”

He
looks at his watch and then
back
to me. “No time like
the present.”

* * *

One
group text is all it takes and the guys show up to the park without question.
Haden sees Braxton and me on the merry-go-round and smiles, clearly remembering
our night here when he told me how he felt about me. I’m beginning to think
there’s something special about this place.

“So
what’s the big deal?” Cole asks when he is close enough. “I was still
sleeping.”

“At
eleven?” I ask, shaking my head. “Good thing I woke you up then—too much
beauty sleep and none of us will be able to look at you.”

“Very
funny,” he deadpans.

“How
long have you been out here? You’re freezing,” Haden says after kissing my
cheek.

“Ah,
an hour or so, but who’s counting?”

“Someone
better do some talking before I head back home.” Joey sits on another part of
the playground toy.

“You
will not.” I narrow my eyes at him and watch as he backs down.

“All
right.” Braxton stands up in front of us and crosses his arms across his chest.
“I guess now’s as good a time as any.”

“Are
you gonna finally come out?” Cole teases, to which Braxton raises a brow.

Does he already know?

My
eyes dart between Cole and Braxton in shock, but he remains the epitome of
calm.

“Actually,
I am.”

Silence.

The
guy is standing in front of the four people who know him best and my heart
swells with pride. He doesn’t look nervous, doesn’t cave under their wide-open
mouths—he waits for the words to sink in.

“Really?”
Joey asks, looking to me.

I
nod and smile, looking at Braxton.

“Really,”
he smiles. “I just told Lai this morning.”

“You’re
happy?” Joey asks, just to make sure, because that’s the guy he is.

“Yeah,
I am.”

“So
how long have you been into me?” Cole asks with a laugh. “I mean, we all know
that I’m the best looking of all of us.”