Deadly Secrets *Completed*

Chapter Eleven-Girls Night Out

Layla pulled on 'I'm a Spike Girl' t-shirt she ordered online then pulled on a pair of white shorts and her red Converse sneakers. It had been four weeks since she had last seen or spoken to Ryder. He was avoiding her; she was sure of it. Maybe she had been too pushy with wanting to get to know him a little more?

Maybe she had said something to offend him?

She just couldn't understand what she had done wrong. Being with Ryder felt right, it felt safe. How come when she had finally thought she had found the one, he ceased all contact with her like she meant nothing? She thought they had a connection. Was she that repulsive that every guy she attempted to date either cheated on her or  left without so much as a word? She couldn't help but to wallow in her self-pity. She really liked him, and she wanted to think she loved him even, but it was too soon for that. You can't love someone you barely know.

Can you?

To try and help pull herself out of her pathetic wallowing, she invited James from the coffee shop for a girls night out. He was already knocking on her apartment door as she was reaching for her brown coach purse she found at a thrift shop for an affordable price. She put on a small smile for good measure and opened the door.

"Oh, Honey! I will make sure you have such a good time tonight that you will forget all about that man-candy of yours." James purred in an excited voice.

Layla did not doubt James would try to pair her up with 'most likely' another loser, but with the way she felt tonight, there was only one man on her mind. She knew he would always be in the back of her mind, even while they went out tonight.

"Hey, James. I am desperately in need of something mind-blowingly fun tonight. What do you have planned for us?" Layla tried to force enthusiasm into her words and she really tried to feel the excitement of a night out, but it just wasn't happening.

James shook his head while holding up one finger and slowly swayed it from left to right again and again. "Oh, no, you don't! You're not getting anything out of me just yet, sugar. It is a surprise. One I think you will love. Now stop rolling your sad little eyes and let's hop to it!!"

Layla sighed. Already she felt the need to cancel, crawl back into her bed and stare at her cell phone in hopes that Ryder would text her. But James lightly grabbed her wrist and tugged her out of the apartment before she could even try to protest.

The warm night air softly grazed her cheeks and blew through her freshly blow-dried hair. She loved the Summer, the smells it always seemed to bring when it arrived. The people who seemed to glow with happiness were always out and about. It was a time for love and friendship. Or a time for a potential love. But Summer was coming to an end and Autumn was approaching fast. Everything would begin to change and eventually it would die. The closer that Autumn got, the more Ryder had begun to overwhelm her mind; her heart.

Layla felt as if it was her fault that Ryder left her. He didn't really want her the way she had thought he did. What did she do wrong? The million dollar question all women ask themselves. But in her case it was true. She must have done something to make Ryder run for the hills.

She hopped into James's red bug VW and immediately her sense of smell was assaulted by the overpowering fragrance of vanilla bean. She scrunched her nose up and prayed her sense of smell would not be permanently damaged by James' poor taste in car perfumes.