Finding Laila: Some Changes Are Necessary Part 30

He turns to look at me and gives me a knowing smile before kissing me at the top of the ride.

"But you thought I was gay," he laughs.

"Didn't mean I didn't still think about it. Besides, how could I not think about it? You were my hero."

"You mean at your eighth birthday party when Cole teased you and you ran off into the woods alone?"

"He was mean," I protest half-heartedly as I recall the memory. "I think Cole knew how to get me worked up more than the rest of you. He said that I was turning into a real girl and that I wouldn't be able to play with y'all anymore."

"I know. And then you took off. Your parents were so worried, but my dad knew I could find you, so I went to the quarry."

"And you found me sitting on the ground crying."

"Your clothes were covered in mud and I thought you were hurt."

"Yeah," I laugh. "I wanted to prove I was still the same girl so I got as dirty as I could."

"And you were still the prettiest girl I knew."

"I remember you sat down next to me and took my hand in yours and squeezed."

"Do you remember what else you said?" he asks, his face serious.

I shake my head and wait for him to remind me. Instead, he wraps his arm around my shoulder and I lean my head against his shoulder. It's peaceful up here away from everyone. I can still hear the rides and people screaming with excitement, but the noises are distant. My eyes are heavy, the day taking a toll on me despite my nap. Just as I feel myself starting to drift, he kisses the top of my head and whispers in my ear.

"You said 'someday I'm going to marry you,' and I hoped right then that you were right."

"You mentioned public humiliation-would reminding me of the embarra.s.sing things I've said to you fall into that category?" I ask, unable to look at him.

His hand traces up and down the side of my arm, relaxing me, but I look up into his face and find him staring at me.

"I can tell you every embarra.s.sing thing you've ever told me, and all of them make me love you more."

"Good," I smile, "because I wouldn't take any of them back."

Chapter 25 ~ Finding Baylor.

"Remember when I told you I hate shopping?" I call out to Ree as I hand her another dress to try on.

"Be a girl for five d.a.m.n minutes," Bailey calls out from the next dressing room.

"It's been two hours-and why are you even trying a dress on? You already have one," I remind her.

She doesn't answer and I don't care to hear the logic behind her actions. I hated trying on the ones I did-and shoe shopping? No thank you. Fortunately, Mom isn't a big shopper either. We made it as quick and painless as possible so we could grab dinner.

"You had no idea about the carnival?" Ree asks, changing the subject from clothes to guys quicker than I can keep up.

I've been so busy with swim team and cla.s.s projects that we haven't gotten to talk very much. Sure, we see each other at lunch, but we're there with the guys. Besides, as much as I like these girls-and I do-the people I confide in, the ones I always have, are my guys.

"None at all. But we had a great time." I smile to myself.

"I would kill Joey if he tried to take me to a carnival for a date," Bailey whines. "I mean, no offense, but that's pretty cheesy."

"I love cheesy," I defend.

She opens her mouth to say something but Ree's squeal distracts her.

"We have a winner," she declares and steps out with the perfect dress.

Bailey and I both gush over her selection and I snap a picture of her with my phone before she disappears in the dressing room to change. I told Cole I'd let him know what he needed to get so he could match her.

In front of the guys, Cole is all male. He likes to act as if things don't affect him like they do others. But then he'll call me up and keep me on the phone for thirty minutes trying to figure out what his next move is. When I brought up tuxes for prom, he shrugged as if it was no big deal. An hour after I got home, as expected, he was asking about Ree's dress, if he needed a corsage, and if he should get his hair trimmed a week before or the day before. The only way to get him to relax was promise I'd get a picture of her dress. This should make him happy.

"Are you nervous about the meet this weekend?" Bailey asks, breaking me from my thoughts.

"Not yet, but I still have to pack everything up and I'm sure it'll hit me then. We'll head out Friday since it starts early Sat.u.r.day morning."

"My dad is taking time off work, and Mom says she has everything planned. I just hope I can get them to take a little detour-and by 'little,' I mean 'completely out of the way'-because I really want to see Baylor again."

"Didn't you drive out there during Thanksgiving break?" she asks.

"And?"

"And I'm sure it hasn't changed since the last time you were there," Ree calls out.

Changing the subject, I decide to flip the conversation around on them.

"Do you have plans this weekend?" I ask them both.

"My parents will actually be around this weekend," Bailey rolls her eyes, "so they want to have a little getaway."

"Sounds like fun. Where are you going?" I ask.

"San Antonio. Riverwalk. They started getting nostalgic when they realized I'm graduating soon, so they want to go to the one place we used to go when I was little."

"That's sweet," I say, even though she doesn't seem happy about it. "At least they're making time for you."

"It's probably a photo op or something for the Christmas card this year," she scoffs.

"What about you, Ree? Any plans?" I ask.

"Nothing big. Might go catch a movie or veg at home. Haven't really decided," she shrugs.

"I get back Sunday afternoon, do y'all want to go out to eat or something?"

"Ree, did you hear that?" Bailey asks with mocked shock.

"Yeah, did Laila just ask us on a date?" Ree adds.

"Forget I asked," I laugh.

"Nope, it's a date." Ree smiles.

"I hate to do this, but I really need to go," I announce to the sounds of annoyed groans. "Hey, you don't have to go, Haden's here to pick me up. But Sunday. See you then?"

I wave goodbye and head out, determined to get some rest-because I'm going to be exhausted if I don't.

Focus, Laila. You got this.

Swim fast and ignore everything else.

It's just the water and me.

It's what I tell myself before each heat that I'm in, but it does little to calm my nerves. It's my last time to swim as a high school athlete as well as my final event of the day.

The signal is given to step onto the diving block and I check my goggles one last time before moving onto the podium. Every noise echoes in the natatorium as people cheer their swimmer on, but I drown out the noises and focus.

"C'mon, Laila," they scream, and I point to my ear to let them know I heard.

"Swimmers. Take your mark," the judge calls over the speaker.

I stare at the water and take a deep breath before breaking the surface to begin my race. Noises are m.u.f.fled in the water, but I focus on the sound of my breathing and pushing my body to the limit as I make my way to the wall for the flip turn. My arms are tired, but I swim harder and faster in order to finish strong, as my legs offer the extra boost to aid in my speed. My body glides through the water seamlessly as I attempt to increase my speed so I can reach the wall.

I raise my head out of the water and try to catch my breath while looking to the scoreboard. Moments after my completion, I notice the final three reach the wall, but I'm not sure where I placed in the overall lineup.

As I climb out of the pool, there is a burst of excited screams coming from the stands, but it's not my family. Mom, Dad, and Luka are loud, but not that loud. Walking toward the wall, I look up at the board and there it is, next to my name-first place. I smile and grab my towel before making my way toward my family, who's waiting for me, but as I get closer I see that Luka isn't with my parents because her body is wrapped around the neck of Haden, who smiles proudly as I reach him.

"What are you doing here?" I ask when he sets her down.

She mopes, but only for a second before he takes her hand in his.

"We wouldn't miss your last meet." He smiles and kisses me. "You were great."

"We?"

He points in the direction of my parents, who are making their way down with the rest of the guys.

"Y'all are awesome," I tell them as they get closer, and I walk over to hug each of them. "When did you get here?"

"About thirty minutes ago. It was hard to find a parking spot," Braxton says.

Mom and Dad break through the guys and crush me into a proud hug, despite my suit getting them wet.

"You were great," Mom says with pride, and Dad nods in agreement.

"Definitely ended on a high note," he adds.

Everyone congratulates me as Mom and Dad lead our group toward the exit. They talk over each other and I look down at Luka who is trying to make heads or tails out of any conversation. She smiles at me and I make a face, causing her to laugh as Mom and Dad small talk with the guys.

Mom hands me my bag of clothes so I can change and I hoist it over my shoulder and listen to the conversations before I interrupt.

"I'm starving, but I need to change and get cleaned up. What time do we need to head out?" I ask Mom and Dad.

"We're leaving right now," Mom says, pointing to Luka in explanation. "But the boys wanted to take you out to celebrate."

"Oh. Okay," I say, stunned that they're already leaving.

She and Dad pull me into another hug while congratulating me on a great win. Luka doesn't want to leave and begs Mom to let her stay, but Mom refuses so she walks over to me and gives me a pouty hug before disappearing with my parents. Funny how she was the most annoying person in my world, but now that I'm going to be leaving for college, I'm starting to like having her around.

I head off to change in the shower room, and when I return the guys are hanging outside talking about something, but get quiet when I am closer. There's nothing suspicious about the action because none of them look guilty. I can read everything about them from one look, and there's nothing to tell here.

"What's the plan?" I ask of all of them when no one speaks.

"Depends on what you want to do," Haden says as we walk toward Cole's SUV.

"Anyone want to see Baylor?" I ask hopefully. But from the eye rolls and heavy sighs, it's not in the cards.

"Let's start with food and see how much time we have. Sound good?" Joey suggests.

"That's not a no. I'll take it!" I shout as we near the vehicle.

Haden holds the door open, and I climb into the middle and sit between him and Braxton. The guys are telling me about the drive out here and how traffic was backed up pretty badly, though I'm not sure why. Joey is sitting in the pa.s.senger seat and mutters something to Cole, who c.o.c.ks his head to the side in some sort of response. With that gesture, Braxton nods and Haden hides a grin-now I know they're going to do something.

"We talked it over and Bailey told Joey how much you wanted to see Baylor," Cole says as he continues to drive.

"Really?" I ask excitedly. "Even though I've already been there before?"

"You've never been with us," Braxton says easily.

"Y'all are awesome, but do you think we have time?"

"Trust me," Joey says, "we have enough time."

Haden drapes his arm across the back of the seat and I lean into him and smile. I have to be the luckiest girl around to have these guys in my life. I didn't even have to throw a fit to get my way. My eyelids grow heavy from the toll the day has taken on me, so I close my eyes and try to relax.

"Don't fall asleep," Haden says. "We're almost there."

"There's no way," I a.s.sert, sitting upright and looking around.