|Lyla|

“Is that coming from your apartment?” I frowned as I heard loud voices as we approached the apartment from the beach.

“I hope not” She groaned but as we reached the little staircase leading up to their apartment it was obvious that it was. She gently pushed open the door which allowed us to hear Randy’s voice echo throughout the apartment from the kitchen. 

His back was turned towards us while John was focused on him, “She is not some woman I want to fuck and discard, I am in love with her, so I would appreciate you not giving me shit or making assumptions about her because of that and her age.”

My eyes widened due to his words while the anger in his voice was evident, the look on his face as he turned and saw us caused the rage to turn into a blank look. I wasn’t sure what to do, I knew my face was probably not doing best to hide how awkward and uncomfortable I felt while complete silence filled the apartment. 

I heard a loud sigh from John that seemed to break the silence, “We need to get to the arena for our shoot.”

He moved towards their bedroom while Nikki followed which left Randy and I alone. He ran a hand over his face before smiling slightly as he made his way towards me which made me realize I hadn’t left the doorway.

“I’m sorry you had to hear that. Uhm.. I guess it’s what happens when you have some sort of reputation.” He smirked while I couldn’t get a word out, spending time with Nikki had made me feel at ease, but it was obvious John didn’t like me much.

“It sounded like it was more about me than you” I whispered which caused his jaw to clench and I knew it wasn’t due to me. He pulled my hand into his and closed the front door before pulling me along to the guest room.

“I told you I don’t need their approval”

“Randy, I should have just gone home. I don’t want to be the one causing fights between you and your friends.” I shrugged and sat down on the edge of the bed while he laid down, on his side, next to me.

“We always fight about something, Lyla. And you aren’t causing anything, the only one causing shit is John because he has to be the advisor and all that crap.” 

“So what was he advising you about?”

He searched my eyes as if thinking of the best way to answer my question, “How much did you hear when you came in?”

“Everything from you making it clear I am more than just a fling. It was obvious you were saying things to defend me, does my age bother him that much?” I knew I should have probably brought up the fact that he had blurted out that he loved me. Those words were on the tip of my tongue, the question if he meant it, did I love him? Those were all swirling around in my mind but didn’t make it out and he seemed almost relieved by the question I asked instead as well.

“He just doesn’t see grey”

I smiled as confusion filled me, he pulled me onto him and nudged his nose over mine, “He sees the facts. Your age, my age, our kids and the fact that I am divorced. He thinks I have too much baggage for a young, impressionable woman like you”

“And you think you don’t?”

“I don’t. Yeah, I have had my thoughts about what you could call baggage but never about it weighing you down. I don’t need you to handle all the things I have accumulated in my years, the same way you don’t want me handling what you had to deal with. I understand that the weight may spill over on one of us here and there, but I would never put the pressure on you to carry it for me. So, when he points that out, it’s irrelevant to me”

“I might be young and maybe I can’t handle many things because I haven’t experienced them like marriage, divorce, the weight of the success because of your career. But I will help you if you need me, the same way I know you would do whatever if I asked.” I shrugged and briefly kissed him, realizing how much he had actually thought about us meant a lot to me and did help me feel reassured. I knew I couldn’t control how the people in his world felt about me, but I realized it wouldn’t change his need for me.

He wrapped his fingers in my hair as I tried to pull away and gently pulled me towards him. I giggled but was soon silenced as he pushed his tongue past my lips, I moaned into it as I felt him growing against me and slowly straddled him. His other hand gripped my hip and pulled me down onto him as he pushed up against me. “Ask me”

“Ask you, what?” I breath as he kissed into my neck.

“To fuck you” He whispered before biting onto my shoulder.

“Randy…” I shook my head as we had been having a pretty serious discussion and I wasn’t sure when I had gotten turned on in the process.

“Or wait, I need you. So can you please help me.. I know you can feel how hard I am…”

“I….” I jumped as I heard a knock on the door before John’s voice was heard saying they were ready to leave.

“Well that’s twice” Randy muttered as he gently set me beside him before standing up.

“Twice for what?” 

“Pissing me off. I told you we should have done it after they went to bed last night but now I have to suffer with the aches and pains for another week” He rolled his eyes while I giggled.

“I’m sure he would have appreciated me disrespecting his home on top of the fact that he doesn’t like me” I whispered, not being sure where they currently were in the apartment.

I grabbed my backpack as I hadn’t packed much which had resulted in me wearing one of Randy’s t-shirts with some shorts of Nikki’s. 

He stood in front of the door before I opened it and wrapped his arm around me, “John doesn’t not like you. He just doesn’t know you, maybe he will get to know you if you are comfortable or maybe he won’t. But as I have said I need no one’s approval so don’t overthink the situation okay?”

“Okay”

 ✘✘✘✘

“Well?” I heard Lacey as we sat in her backyard watching Felix playing soccer with Luca.

“Well what?” I frowned which led to her narrowing her eyes at me as annoyance filled her. “I didn’t say that I loved him back because he didn’t say it to me, it was obvious he was trying to defend our relationship to John”

“So, you walked in on their argument and then you just carried on like nothing happened?”

I sighed as I regretted even telling her every detail of my weekend away once I got back. It wasn’t like I had much of a choice because she would have forced it out of me but I had dealt with what felt like an interrogation since the day before.

“I didn’t get much of a chance because John said we needed to get to the arena. I went with them in an awkward car ride, and just stood there while he had his photoshoot and before he dropped me off at the airport we were normal with each other like it never happened”

“Poor Randy” she pouted.

I glanced at her, “What do you mean? I just told you…”

“The poor guy admitted he loved you and you just ignored it” She almost screamed but lowered her voice due to my glare.

“I didn’t ignore it though, I followed his lead. I know how Randy is, if he honestly wanted it to be known or wanted to know if I felt the same he would have asked me. He can be very adamant with things like that and besides I don’t even… You know what Cody did to me and I loved him so I am trying to take things slow.”

“You aren’t taking things slow, you are wasting and delaying the best moments you could have because you fear a million things that don’t matter anymore. You fucking deserve to have a hot guy as a boyfriend, and Luca deserves to see his mom being treated well.”

“So now we are going from me telling Randy I love him to him hanging out with Luca.” I stood up and walked inside while she followed.

“You know you can’t run away from me in my house” 

“I wasn’t running, I’m just tired, Lace” I breath as I leaned back against the counter.

“No, you are comfortable. Maybe if you were really fulfilled I would let you just stick in your comfort zone but you aren’t. Deep down you want to be serious with Randy but doing that would mean you would have to get him in the same room as your mom. Have him spend time with Luca and you with his daughter and family and it all terrifies you. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that though, I felt the same minus the kids, but you go through it.”

“And what if everyone in his life doesn’t see things the way we do? What if they think I’m some gold digger, or just a pretty young thing… He says he doesn’t care but if enough people hate something and tell you, you can be swayed.”

“They just might but maybe they don’t. And if they do? You will prove them all wrong once they get to know you because you are just so fucking lovable” She shrugged before pulling me into a hug. “We have been through so much together, and I am happy so I want that for my best friend as well.”

“I am happy”

She nodded but then sighed, “But you could be even happier with an actual life with Randy by your side if you choose to allow yourself to be wrapped up in it. Yes he is your boyfriend but I know you, when you are with him you are all in and then when he leaves, you just close up again. Its almost like you prepare yourself for the possibility that he won’t come back to you once he gets home”

“That has happened before. So, if I do that I don’t intend to…”

“I know you don’t and he doesn’t notice that which is good. But it means you are keeping him at a distance in some ways and that’s not what he is doing at all. You might not love him at this moment but its lingering in the air, you just have to open yourself up to the idea. Fully embrace it all with him…”