"How the fuck do you agree to be friends with your husband?" Freya screamed from the other end. Leila chuckled.
Sometimes, she wanted to slap her best friend. And this was one of those moments. Telling her friend about the friendship deal with her husband was to convince Freya he was far from gay. Plus, Leila already learned her lesson from her first and only whirlwind romance. Slow but steady always wins the race.
"Aren't you friends with Darren?" Leila bit back.
"Yeah, but we were friends before we got married."
Nothing about her marriage with Kelvin was regular so as always, they were doing things their own way and it would work for them. Placing her phone down on the sink, Leila turned on the tap and splashed water on her face. She grinned at herself in the mirror as she dabbed her cheeks with the handkerchief she collected from her naughty husband this morning.
Today's breakfast was the sweetest since their marriage. He fed her. He worried over her. When the crumbs from the toast stuck to her lips, instead of allowing him wipe them off, she accepted the handkerchief to do it herself. Leila figured he would take that opportunity to kiss her but for unknown reasons she didn't want to kiss him. Kissing him meant wanting more than a kiss and she wasn't ready.
She giggled thinking of his question.
Do friends kiss?
Friends kissed all the time. But not them, they were newly friends and they had to take things slow. Her husband's kindness tugged on her heartstrings. Most men wanted more from her. Mostly her body. A male friend who genuinely cared was a welcome change.
"How are you?" Freya whispered when she picked up the phone and took it off speaker mode. "Like really."
Freya was the only one who knew. She would keep it that way as long as she could. A flicker of guilt made her almost reconsider. Her husband had comforted her without questions, she owed him an explanation.
Her palms sweated when she tried to picture herself having the conversation with Kelvin. Would he think less of her? Leila snapped out of those sad thoughts. She couldn't tell him. Kelvin thought of her as smart and hard-working. She wanted it to remain that way.
"I think I'm good," Leila replied in a whisper.
Her tone betrayed her words, she fisted her hand and released a breath as her eyes watered. It was crazy how a meeting with one person could crumble the walls she had spent all those years building carefully.
"Are you sure?"
No. But her twin image in the mirror looked better than she did hours ago when she left this building yesterday. It was progress.
Charles belonged to the past.
"I'm fine. Really," she replied. She might not be fine now but if she said that long enough, she would begin to believe it. And she had Kelvin now. He might not know her story but he would help. "I just didn't expect to see him." It had been four years or more since she threw his ring back at him. "No need to worry, bestie."
"I shouldn't but I worry for you, Leilani." Freya's words brought tears to her eyes. It reminded her of her mother. This was one of those moments she missed home. Leila stared at the ceiling to keep the tears at bay. She was perfectly fine. She didn't need anyone else. "Let's take the bastard down, bestie."
Laughter burst free from Leila's lips. She snorted and shook her head at her friend's suggestion. How exactly would they do that? Besides, almost wasn't the same as committing the act. Charles almost but he didn't do it. She had something to be grateful for.
"That's like trying to take down the royal family," Leila said. Freya grunted. Left to her friend, they might have pressed charges. Leila pressed her fingers to her temple to ease the building headache. Investigations were always messy, she didn't want to relive the trauma. "It's not worth it. Freya, I'm good."
A case against Charles would mean seeing him more often than not. Who wanted to see him anyway?
"It's worth it, Leila."
Leila rubbed her palm against her hip. The more they talked about this, the anxious she became. This conversation couldn't end sooner. "Almost doesn't kill a bird, Freya. He didn't do anything."
"He did a lot but we will discuss this later." Leila was more than glad to drop the subject. Her best friend could transfer this energy into something more positive, she would be fine. "Will you drop the project?"
Stars Glow was here to stay. It was a product of her imagination and she would protect it with everything in her. Maybe she could ask Kelvin to do something.
"No. Never." Her voice lowered. "It's for a good cause."
Freya didn't reply to that. Leila thought she had ended the call until Freya said, "Alright. I'll have to go now."
"I love you," Leila said.
"Love you too, bestie."
They ended the call and Leila gripped the sink. Nothing would come between her and the project. If she and Charles avoided each other, she would be fine.
Someone knocked and the door opened almost immediately. Leila took an instinctive step backward. The stalls were empty, she eyed the first one, ready to run into it if the need arose. A frown decorated her lips when her husband walked in with a wide grin.
This was the female restroom.
"Kev?"
His grin was bigger as he crossed over to his wife. She took a step back and he took one forward. Her back met the wall and she jumped. Kelvin smirked when there was no place left for her to run. Leila stretched her hands to push him off but he took them and laced their fingers above her head.
Her heart thumped.
Trying to look above his shoulder to the door, Leila asked, "What are you doing here?" He shrugged. "Kev."
"You didn't answer my question." Were they still on that? He asked the same thing after breakfast but she had left him hanging. His smug smile made her want to tickle him. Kelvin looked too pleased with her reaction to his presence. "Leilani, do friends kiss?"
"Yeah," she breathed out. "Some of them kiss." Kelvin frowned. "Is that why you are here?"
"Partly. I came to do this."
Mischief coated his words. Leila feared for what he could do but more than that, she feared for her reaction to whatever Kelvin would do. "Do what?" she whispered.
He kissed her. More like, he pecked her on her lips. Kelvin straightened up with a smile but she maintained her shocked expression. Her husband just kissed her on her lips. Kelvin would usually peck her.
"I have a meeting so I'll be home late. Don't wait up." He caressed her cheek, took a step back to put on his glasses. Leila blinked morosely at him. She should say something in return but she was numb. Her body was betraying her again. Another peck but this time, to her cheek and she gulped. "Have a great day, wife."
As soon as the door closed, Leila turned to the mirror to confirm this wasn't a dream. She pinched her cheek. Okay. This was real. Her fingers brushed her lips and her smile grew from ear to ear.
Newsflash. She liked her husband.
Leila returned to her office to see a bouquet on her table. She laughed and picked it up to sniff it. He didn't forget today. Lily caught her eyes and she stuck out her tongue. In that moment, nothing mattered to her as much as her sexy husband sending her flowers.
From her side view, Lily sashayed to her desk and she pretended not to see her as she cuddled the flowers.
"Spill!" Lily murmured once she was seated on Leila's desk. Leila made a motion of zipping her mouth and throwing the key away. "Come on, give me something." Leila shook her head. "Anything? Leila!"
"Go away," Leila replied with a grin.
Lily huffed and walked away. She plopped into her seat, waved her middle finger at her friend. But Leila didn't care. Maybe if Lily spent less time gossiping about her husband, she would find a man for herself.
Still smiling, she picked her phone which pinged.
Kev: You look really pretty today.
Leila: You too.
A groan escaped her. Leila facepalmed. Not again. She might have to join a class teaching how to flirt with a devilishly handsome man. She typed up a reply but a new text from Kelvin popped in before she could hit send.
Kev: Thanks, Leila. You're the prettiest one among us.
Leila's cheeks hurt from smiling too much. Kelvin had his bad days but overall, he was the perfect man for her. She typed a reply and deleted it. What was she supposed to reply to that? He was hotter than her.
Kev: Don't forget to go for lunch.
Leila: I won't. Thanks. Have a great day.
Seconds of waiting for a reply passed by without one, she dropped her phone to the table. The vibrations on her desk cut through her thoughts, Leila picked the phone and frowned at the number on her screen.
The time on the upper right corner of her screen caught her gaze first. How did time fly by so fast? The next thing that grabbed her attention was the strange number. Unknown caller.
Could it be Kelvin?
Leila picked and the first thing she heard was his bass voice. "Stone Cafe. 2 pm. Don't keep me waiting, babe."