Our Last Dance

Chapter 11

I couldn't believe my eyes.

What on earth was happening?

Elijah's 'mom' looked seriously ticked off as she threatened him, "Next time, I'm hitting you with my slipper. Knock it off with your pranks on your friends." Her hand was poised for another strike.

Elijah, trying to avoid getting hit, blurted out, "Okay, okay, I love you, and I'm sorry," his words rushed out.

Elijah's mom let out a scoff before shifting her attention to me, offering a warm smile. "I'm sorry, dear. He's a bit of a troublemaker who loves these silly pranks. I hope you give him a hard time about it," she said, her tone playful as she turned to give him a pointed look.

Elijah, with his hands raised in surrender, nodded earnestly. "Yeah, Mom, I promise I'll be good. No more pranks, I swear."

She seemed satisfied with his response and added with a stern tone, "I'll get you guys some food, but mark my words, if I catch you pranking her again, you are out of here."

Elijah's mom being Asian suddenly made sense, his subtle Asian features now clicking into place.

As his mom left, I turned and shot him a glare. "You better be genuinely sorry, Elijah."

He responded by flipping my hand that was resting on his, then held onto it. "I am, Layla. Truly sorry. It's just this particular prank, it felt like an itch I couldn't resist scratching." He squeezed my hand, looking sorry, making it hard for me to stay upset with him.

A breathy laugh escaped my lips as I relaxed a bit. "Asshole." I had to agree it was kinda funny and his acting was top notch.

He smirked at me. "I can see why people think you're cute. You've got this way of looking angry yet adorable at the same time."

My mouth fell open in surprise at his unexpected compliment, and for the first time I wasn't quite sure how to react to his teasing words.

"I know exactly what you're up to, and if you don't drop that cocky attitude, I might just follow through with what your mom threatened," I shot back, giving him a pointed look and raising an eyebrow as if daring him to challenge me further.

"Adorable," he chuckled, leaning back in his seat and then he gently spread my palm open. His finger tracing invisible lines on my hand.

A vision flooded before my eyes.

Someone spread my palms as they slowly traced lines on my hand.

It was probably him, the guy from my dreams, though this time I couldn't see his face as well as his build.

"You know, weirdly enough, this calms me down," the guy in the vision said.

I found myself laughing. "This is the most normal thing you've probably done," I replied in the vision as he continued to trace circles on my palm.

I clutched the table with my other hand hard enough to crack my fingers. As much as I wanted to pull my hand away from his touch, I knew Elijah would ask me what's wrong. I'd been acting strangely all day, and I didn't want to make up stories and lie to him. So, I closed my eyes for a second, allowing him to hold my hand, trying to make sense of the strange connection I felt in that moment.

I looked at him, feeling my breath slowly increasing. I knew I had to divert my attention before I panicked. A random question popped into my mind, although I wasn't entirely sure if I should ask it.

"Can I ask you something?" I inquired, attempting to redirect my thoughts away from the vision. He continued to look down at my palm, seemingly lost in his own thoughts, but I hoped he would respond.