His Sweet Revenge

Chapter 34.

Layla turns around to face her cousin. "I'm going to stay for a while. Could you cover for me? Just say I'm at Camila's."

Iris immediately smiles. "I got you, girl. See you later." I see her wink as he slips out of the door.

I wrap my arm around Layla's shoulder as we turn around. "Are you hungry?"

She opens her mouth to respond but stops. I look up to see what has caught her attention. Kade stands there, dumbfounded.

"Who was that?" He asks.

"Oh, that was my cousin, Iris. Sorry I didn't get to introduce you to her."

Kade stands there, eyes slightly wide. "Wow, she's ..."

"She's taken. Sorry Kade," Layla laughs.

"Not for long," Kade says under his breath as he steps next to me. When I look at him, he smirks, which makes me laugh.

Layla eats dinner quickly, chatting with Jenny and Patrick, who, of course, love her. Once she's done, Kade takes us downstairs to watch a movie.

"Grayson told me you're a movie girl," Kade says, leading us through his basement.

Layla shoots me a look. "Yeah. I've probably seen hundreds of movies. I'm actually doing a minor in Film and Media studies in the fall."

I didn't know that.

"Why do you like movies so much?" I've always wanted to ask her.

Layla tucks her hair behind her ear, looking at me. "Every Sunday night growing up, my dad and Grandma Esther would gather by the TV with me, and we would watch a movie. Nate always thought it was lame and would get out of it, but I started to love it so much. It was like I could be somewhere else for a while, and there was no limit on where I could go. Eventually, I grew up, Grandma Esther passed, and my dad left. But ... I never lost my love for movies."

"Well." Kade smiles back at us. "You're going to love this." He continues down a secluded hallway, framed movie posters lined up on the walls.

She gasps when she sees the theatre room. "Can I live with you too, Kade?"

Kade and I chuckle.

Layla plops down onto one of the recliner chairs, excited, and Kade looks at me with a smirk.

I shake my head. "Don't look at me like that," I say quietly.

He leans closer to me, speaking by my ear. "You know, maybe I should leave you two alone."

I grab him by his shirt and drag him into the room. "Sit your ass down."

Layla shoots a confused glance our way.

"It's okay, Lay-Lay. Grayson knows how much I love being manhandled."

"Fuck you," I chuckle, shoving him into a recliner chair. I drop down next to Layla.

"What would you guys like to watch?"

Layla smiles, and I'm so happy she's here. "I know exactly what I want to watch," she says.

— — —

Kade clicks off the screen with a few buttons, and silence welcomes us in the home theatre.

"Point Break is a good old classic," Kade says into the silent room. "You guys want tea or something? Ice cream?"

Layla raises an eyebrow at Kade. "What kind of ice cream?"

Kade rises from his seat. "We've got loads. Let's go upstairs."

We follow Kade upstairs to the industrial-sized fridge in the second kitchen. Sometimes I wonder why three people need a house this big.