Artificial Insemination

Chapter Five

That's how he found her- shivering on the pavement, with her hair plastered against the side of her face as she clutched her bags. He jumped out of the car, took two giant steps and had her encased in his arms before she could blink.

They stood like that for a while, Layla shaking in his embrace with her arms wrapped around his torso and her eyes squeezed shut. He was incredibly warm and the rumbling in his chest would have been enough to send her to sleep under other circumstances.

"I've got you. It's okay, you're safe now." He murmured in a soft tone.

She believed him. Of course, she did.

By the time he pulled back, his white shirt was soaked through and water was dripping from the tip of his nose. He didn't break contact with her, keeping his arms around her shoulders as he wordlessly wiped the tears from her eyes. 

She looked up at him and sniffed, hoping that he could tell how grateful she was.

"Thank you."

There was a knock on the car window. 

It caught Layla's attention and she glanced sideways, momentarily shocked by the view of a woman leaning over from the passenger seat and looking at them.

His girlfriend. 

She had forgotten about that.

Dale looked over as well and then took a step back, bending to pick up Layla's suitcases.

"Come on." He told her, moving to the boot of his car. "Don't worry about getting the seat wet."

"Okay." She mumbled, walking to open the door and jump in the back seat.

The car was toasty, the perfect temperature to ease the goosebumps on her arms and temper the shivering. Her nose and cheeks immediately started tingling as the warm air hit them.

When the door shut she was encased in an awkward silence, Dale's girlfriend turning around to look at her.  

Both of them offered strained smiles to each other.

She couldn't help but notice how beautiful the woman was. Much like Dale, she had dark hair and thick eyebrows, although hers were groomed arches. Her eyes were almond shaped with striking grey irises, lashes long and coated black with mascara.

In fact, her whole face was made up. 

Nude lipstick, smokey purple eye shadow and cheekbones that were contoured and highlighted to perfection caught Layla's attention.

Then, her eyes widened as she noticed the striking dress that the woman wore, the blood red nails that had obviously been recently painted, and the sparkling heels that lay on the dashboard.

Oh, no. Layla thought to herself as guilt made its presence known. 

She had interrupted a date.

Dale finished putting the suitcases in the boot and quickly ran around to the driver's seat, swinging open the door and getting in.

"Layla," he gestured from her to the woman in the passenger seat. "This is Evangeline, my girlfriend."

Layla gave another weak smile. "Hi."

He turned back to the wheel and started the car, "Eva. You already know about Layla."

They drove for a short while in silence, Layla's eyes gradually closing until she finally submitted to sleep. Before she was completely gone, she whispered out a thank you, Dale catching her eye in the mirror and smiling.