Make It Right

1 - Leila

"Is that it? I could barely feel anything." Dani tells his friend as they circle the gym's boxing ring. They both had their head gears on as they sparred. Leila was giving it her best with every punch she threw at her friend. He, on the other hand, was just dodging as much as he can without countering back. She complained about it so he'd throw light punches and kicks every once in a while just to make her happy. He must admit contrary to what he said, he's starting to feel every blow that was landing on him.

Their friend, Jessica yells that there were 10 seconds left for this round, Leila threw a kick which landed at her friend's stomach. Dani didn't see that coming so it sent him down on his butt with a thud. Some of the guys watching cheers at Leila who curtsies in their direction before walking towards her friend with an extended hand.

"I guess you felt it this time, right?" she asks with a chuckle.

Dani takes her hand but instead of standing up, he pulls her down, making her fall on her knees in front of him.

"A little...are you begging for forgiveness or do I make you weak on the knees?" Dani laughs referring to her position which earned him another punch. "Ouch! That hurts."

"As if." Leila replies while rolling her eyes at him.

"From a stranger's point of view, I'd mistake you two as a couple, I'm just saying." Jessica interrupts as she steps inside the ring. She and Dani are business partners of the place. From a gym with a few equipment, they now have  modern tools for working out. Plus, they offer spin classes, dance fitness, and kickboxing, which is what Leila enjoys doing.

Dani takes Leila's face into his large hands as he answers.

"Did you hear that honey? Let's humor them,  how about a kiss?" He said jokingly. But his joke backfires on him when his friend puckered her lips and gives him a quick smack at the side of his lips.

"Dani, you look like you've seen a ghost. Relax." Leila said after she wiped the tears that had formed in the corner of her eyes, after she and Jessica had laughed so much over their friend's reaction. They've known way back in high school that he's gay. That however, never stopped the girls from getting attracted to him because of his good looks. 

Once, he experimented with dating a girl and although their relationship lasted for ten months, he ended it because he said it was not working. He later on had a serious relationship with a guy, but they had a nasty break up. After that, he decided to put his dating life on pause.

"Gosh Leila, I told you many times already if you're that hungry for a man, find a new guy who will make your nights hot and steamy again." Dani counters back as he wipes the spot where his lips landed. 

Jessica intervenes before blood gets shed knowing too well it's a sensitive topic for their friend. 

"Christine is meeting us after our workout. She has a surprise which is way too hard to resist. Especially for you." She points towards Leila.

"Me? If that's about meeting someone, then I'm telling you all to leave me alone. You know that my life is so complicated. Dating another guy isn't that easy for me." Leila sighed as her mood moved sideways as she spoke. 

Her life is different from a typical girl her age; some would be enjoying their lives as a bachelorette, having fun with their partners, about to get married, has recently gotten married and is starting a new life as they build a family. She, on the other hand, started that kind of life earlier than most. Pregnant and then a mother at eighteen, married at twenty-three, and then a widow at twenty-four. 

As a teenager, she was a regular party girl. She dated guys, never getting too serious with anyone at all until she met Philip. He turned her life around, she was crazy for him and he was just as crazy for her. Their recklessness got her into the position of being a teenage mother. Philip didn't cower away over what happened though.  He was responsible enough to co-parent their daughter although they chose not to live together yet because they each had their priorities to think about. He went to college, while Leila had to wait for a year because she had to take care of their child, Stella.