Excerpt from Trevor and Layla's story
Standing at the makeshift bar in the house his brother, Greg, shared with three other guys through university, Trevor zeroed in on a girl that stood out amongst the rest. She was one of those innocent-looking strawberry blondes, makeup-free, freckled, and glowing with all that life could offer. His heart flipped right there. He’d never believed in things like love at first sight, but in that moment, he changed his mind.
He’d only stopped by after a long-haul run to Atlanta to congratulate his little brother on his graduation. He’d planned on staying no more than ten minutes, favouring instead a hot shower, a steak, and his bed. Only now, the pretty sweet thing was eyeing him back, and dammit if he wasn’t sunk when she smiled at him.
“Hey, I’m Layla,” she said, after walking over and leaning up against the breakfast bar loaded with alcohol, snacks, and red plastic cups.
“Trevor,” he answered, turning to face her. He had the urge to kiss her right there. She smelled like watermelon bubble gum. “Greg’s my baby brother.” He pointed his beer cup in Greg's direction.
She nodded. “I felt you staring at me. Like this pull in my gut,” she said. His brows rose a little and she smirked. “Okay, I’m lying. My friends told me there was a hot guy checking me out.” He chuckled and shook his head, but she nudged him in fun. “You believed me, didn’t you?”
“Only because that’s how I felt when I saw you.”
She cocked her head, examining his face which held a serious expression. “You did?” Her eyes narrowed. “You’re just lying to get me back.”
“Nope. I was going to go home." He paused. "Until I saw you.”
“Okay, okay,” she said, waving her hands and sounding excited. It was god-damned adorable! She shifted to face him then too. Placing her hands on his forearms, she giggled. “Don’t go expecting to get in my pants, okay? I'm not that kind of girl. But I need to conduct an experiment for science.” He nodded at her fake solemnity and she continued, “There’s only one way to tell.”
“Tell what?” he asked, cocking one brow and wondering if he looked as smitten as he felt.
“If we’re like soul mates or something.”
“Soul mates?” He grinned skeptically. “Seriously?”
“Hey now, you’re the one that brought up the ‘gut pull.’” Her fists went to her hips.
“You’re right, Layla, I did. Please continue.” She was the one who'd brought it up, but she was too damn cute to argue with. And before he’d even finished his thought, the honey-haired beauty kissed him.
Swept away, his hands found her hair and entwined in it so he could pull her closer and taste more of her. His heart was flipping like a gymnast, and he felt dizzy with the need to consume more of this woman. When she ended their kiss, he was more than a bit stunned. Holyfuckingshit. They were soul mates. And damn if watermelon wasn’t his new favourite flavour.
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