Then & Now [OMB || Cesar Diaz]

now - 9

Layla looks at her sophomore homecoming photo where she was smiling widely in Cesar's arms and couldn't help but think how foolish that girl was, thinking and believing and hoping and praying it would all work out.

But here she was, her senior year, and she was going with someone completely different. She straightened her natural curls into a middle part and wore a short black dress that showed off her curves with tall heels to make herself stand against Ronnie who was already 6'2.

"Layla! Ronnie's here!" Her dad announces. Layla grabs her bag and walks out, spotting Ronnie who was waiting at the door with her dad. Both men looked surprised at her outfit, her dad looking somewhat less than pleased and Ronnie looking excited. "So?" She gives a little spin. "What do we think?"

"Like you're growing up to fast," her dad came up and hugged her. He then looks at Ronnie and points at him. "Hands to yourself buddy, I'm not ready to be a grandfather," he warns although there was a playful edge to it. He was never this nice to Cesar, she noted.

Ronnie put his hands up in defeat. "Promise to be on my best behavior sir," he swears. He then holds his hand out for her to take. "We'll be back by 12," he promises.

"What? No after parties? You kids don't do that any more?" He asked.

Layla and Ronnie both look at each other before looking back at him. "Um not tonight dad," she tells him.

He shrugs. "Alright, have a good night," he waves us off.

They walked to his car where he opened the door for her before getting in on the other side. "Wow, I️ think he's into you more than I️ am," she jokes.

"I️ am known for my charm," he jokes, making her laugh. "Why are you laughing? I'm right!"

"No you definitely are," she giggles. It didn't take them long to reach the venue, and soon they were in. Layla met up with Danna and Ruby and they all hung out, talked and danced, having an over all good night.

Once a slow R&B song started playing, Ronnie took her hand and she wrapped her arms around her arms. "You know, if we dip out early we could have a bit of time to ourselves," he suggested.

"Don't tell me you want to have car sex," she almost gagged.

Ronnie laughed. "God no," he denied. "Not that I️ don't want to, or don't want you. I️ just...I️ just want some time for it to be just us," he tells her, making her smile. "Although you do look sexy in that dress..."

"Shut up," she rolls her eyes. She takes his hands and they leave the venue about an hour earlier than it was supposed to end as he drove them out to the beach. "I️ think it's great we left the dance before it got shot up," she says, making him freeze. "I'm kidding!" She tells him, giggling a bit. They parked at a beachside parking lot and sat in front of the car, enjoying the salty seaside air and hearing the waves crash against the surf. Ronnie sat right beside her, wrapping his arm loosely around her waist.

"Ronnie?" She asked.

"Hmm?"

"Does where I️ live scare you?" She asks him, making him look down at her now. "Be honest," she demanded softly. She's always dated guys in her neighborhood. She's never had to worry about things like that before but his reaction before made her finally pay attention to the gap between them.

Ronnie breathed in deeply before answering. "I️ worry sometimes about you living there," he answers.

"But does it scare you?" She asks once again.

Ronnie looks down at her before saying, "No, it doesn't," he tells her. She eyes him up and down, tryna gauge how much of that was a lie it was. "I'm serious. Trust me, if I️ was scared we wouldn't be hanging out right now," he assures her.