Page 27 of The Playboy's Playbook

I sit and stare at Laila, not saying anything as she does her homework. After a while, she looks over at me and asks, “Uh, aren’t you going to get your lunch?”

I was so caught up in staring at her I forgot about my lunch break. I’ve already burned twenty minutes by just gaping at her like a lovesick idiot.

“Shit. I probably won’t be able to call you before I head back to work to close the site down for Luke. I’ll call you later. If that’s okay with you.”

I feel like it’s best to leave the option to continue our conversations in her hands. Of course, I’ll be crushed if she says no, but I won’t argue with her.

“Yeah, I’ll be up for a while. I have a term paper to write, so I’d appreciate the company.”

My heart skips a couple of beats knowing that she’d like my company while she does her homework.

“Okay, cool.” I try to keep my voice level even though I feel like a kid on Christmas. “I’ll call you tonight.”

“Enjoy your lunch break.” Her voice is sweet and the look on her face matches. We hang up and I run inside to pick up my sandwich before sitting in my car and scarfing it down. I try to focus on my sandwich and all of the things I’ll need to do when I get back to work, but I can’t.

All I can think about is my phone call later today with Laila.

As soon as I got back to the construction site, Luke was getting ready to head out. Once he left, I made sure the crew finished their daily tasks before closing everything down. As much as I wanted to rush everyone off the site, I didn’t. The last thing Luke needs is for me to rush through the closing protocol and get hit with a lawsuit.

The drive home wasn’t too bad, but traffic was a bit more hectic than normal with all of the beach goers on the road. As soon as I got home, I took a brisk shower because I don’t want to waste another second not being on the phone with Laila.

I throw on a t-shirt and pajama pants before looking at the time on my phone and figure that Luke is getting the boys ready for bed, so I decide to call him first.

“Where do I sit for this call with Laila?” I ask as soon as his face appears on the screen.

“Huh?” His deep voice bellows in confusion. “The fuck are you talking about?”

“I don’t know if I should sit in my room, like on my bed. She’ll more than likely be doing homework, so I don’t want to seem too lax. But my living room seems too formal, like I don’t want to let her see my space,” I ramble nervously.

Luke looks at me with a blank expression for a moment. “You called me because you don’t know where to sit on a phone call with a girl?

“Luke,” I groan. “I really need your help here, man. I want to impress her.”

“I don’t think she’s going to care, Matty. Just keep it cool, let the conversation flow naturally,” Luke says, his voice reassuring.

I nod in agreement. “Okay. Uh, before I go, how was lunch with the boys?”

Luke smiles and shifts. “It was great. Apparently, according to Jen, I’m a superhero who can lift really heavy rocks. Oh, and one of the teachers slipped me her phone number.”

I look at Luke with a shocked look on my face. “Really? So, you’re finally considering getting back out there, then?”

“I took the number and told her I wouldn’t make promises to reach out to her. But if I find myself not busy, I’ll see if she’s free to meet up for dinner or something.”

He only said that to be nice because he and I both know he won’t reach out to her. He just didn’t want to be rude.

“Call Laila and tell me how it goes later. I’m about to go tuck the boys in and read them their bedtime story,” Luke says before ending the call.

I take a few deep breaths and realize that I didn’t settle my seating dilemma. I settle for my bed and ball up a blanket to prop the phone against. I open the messaging app and press the camera next to Laila’s name and wait for her to answer.

When she does, I swear I stop breathing.

She’s in her mom’s kitchen and she’s moving so effortlessly. Her hair is down instead of up like this afternoon, but she still has her glasses on and she’s in a long sleeve Oakridge Tornadoes shirt and black shorts. She’s talking but I can’t even focus on what she’s saying because I’m awestruck at her.

“Matthew, are you alright? It’s either my phone or you look flushed,” Laila says, eyeing me carefully, concern on her face.

I shake my head, waking up from my trance. “Yeah, yeah. All good. I’m sorry, I zoned out for a second. What were you saying?”

“I was saying that if I fall asleep, shout at me to make sure I put Nola to bed so she won’t tear apart my mom’s house,” she says, chuckling lightly.

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