Ever After Awaits (Layla) novel Chapter 136

Chapter 136: Layla POV

Gravel crunches beneath the tires of Xavier’s car as we roll deeper into the trees, the world around us growing quieter with every bend in the road. Dappled sunlight flickers across Xavier’s arm where it rests on the steering wheel, and it is warm against my skin through my rolled–down window. He hasn’t said much since we left the football stadium’s lot, and honestly, I haven’t needed him to. His hand also hasn’t left mine once.

I lean my head back against the headrest, listening to the latest country pop song that’s filtering from the car’s radio, and then watch the trees slowly peel away to reveal something that knocks the breath right out

of me.

A lake–secluded and silver–blue in the midmorning light–stretches wide and still before me, framed by sloping trees and soft sand. A rickety old pier juts out into the shallows, various colorful floaties bob in the gentle waves, and music plays low and lazy from a Bluetooth speaker near the tree line.

Hunter is standing by a grill on the edge of the sand, BBQ tongs in hand. AJ and Cade are already waist- deep in the crystalline water, tossing a beach football between themselves. They all turn towards us simultaneously at the sound of our arrival.

I blink, overwhelmed by the sudden beauty of it all. “They did all this for me?”

Xavier pulls to a stop, cuts the engine, and then turns toward me. “No,” he says, quiet and sure. “We did

this for us. You’re part of that now.”

He opens his door, comes over to my side, opens my door, and helps me out. The breeze is soft and lazy against my cheeks, the air carrying the faint scent of pine, smoke, and something sweet from the grill.

He grabs a sleek black backpack from the trunk and holds it out to me. “I figured you might need this.”

I unzip it, and inside, carefully folded, is a swimsuit. Pulling it out, I see it’s black, high–cut, has a neckline that’s not too low but will show a nice amount of cleavage, and with just enough daring in the cut–outs on its sides to make my stomach flip.

I glance up at Xavier. “You picked this?”

“I consulted the internet,” he says with that maddeningly calm expression of his. “And also my imagination.”

I raise an eyebrow at him, but my face is already warming. I put the suit back, close the backpack slowly, and murmur, “You’re lucky I trust you.”

“I’m well aware,” he replies, then steps back with an almost–smile. “The changing area’s behind the trees over there. We’ll be right here whenever you’re ready.”

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Chapter 136: Layla POV

Ten minutes and a few calming breathing exercises later, I step from the trees and onto the sun–warmed sand barefoot. The swimsuit is definitely more daring than I would’ve chosen for myself, but I have to admit that Xavier had a good eye with this one.

It hugs my body in a way that’s sexy yet sensual, and even though it’s low cut in the back and high on my hips, I don’t feel overly exposed or uncomfortable. I feel…strangely powerful.

Not in the loud, look–at–me kind of way, but in that quiet, humming way that starts in your spine and radiates outward. Like my body isn’t something to shrink or apologize for, but like I am allowed to take up space–softly, confidently–and no one’s waiting to punish me for it.

The fabric clings to curves I used to hide, kissing the dip of my waist, and rising bold and high over my hips as it offers nothing to hide behind. And, for once, I don’t want to. It should feel like too much. It should feel like I’m on display. But somehow, it doesn’t. Somehow, it just feels right.

The mid–afternoon sunlight cuts through the shifting leaves above me, dappling the clearing before me in patches of gold and soft shadows. The smell of warm pine and charcoal drifts on the breeze, mingling with the faint scent of sunscreen and the aroma of grilled meat, as the hum of cicadas buzzes through the air like summer’s steady heartbeat.

But it all fades when I glance up and four male heads swivel towards me in unison.

Cade drops the football he’s still playing with mid–spin, the dull thud of it hitting the soft sand beneath his feet the only sound for a full second. Hunter curses and jerks his hand back from the grill, nearly singeing his knuckles on the edge of the grate. The sizzle of what I now notice is sausages doesn’t stop,

but he sure does.

AJ sputters into his drink where he’s standing next to the make–shift firepit, coughing once, twice, before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, his eyes wide. And Xavier, who is now wearing a pair of aviators, reaches up and adjusts them anyway, as if they are suddenly not doing the job they were made for. His jaw tightens just slightly, and his throat works around a swallow.

The wind skips across the water, ruffling the surface in glittering ripples that reach for the small pier like they’re in on the moment too. Behind me, a bird trills once and then falls silent, like even nature’s pausing to take a second look.

The silence stretches until Hunter finally says in a voice that’s low and reverent, “Jesus, Beautiful, are you trying to get us all killed?”

Cade nods, his jaw slack. “We want to go in the water, not cardiac arrest.”

AJ lets out a breath and mutters, “Remind me to thank Xavier later. Or punch him. I haven’t decided which one just yet.”

I grin, slowly and wickedly, as I saunter over to them, the fine sand warm beneath my soles and shifting under my weight with every step. The towel that I have in my hand swings by my side as I walk, and the

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Chapter 136: Layla POV

cut–outs in my suit catch the sun just enough to be noticed–and evidently, they are noticing them.

Xavier, who’s standing closest to me, shifts just slightly, like his equilibrium has tilted. “I’m glad it fits,” he says, his voice a little rougher than usual.

“It fits really well,” Cade adds, and Xavier shoots him a glare.

Hunter whistles then bites down on his knuckles, before saying, “If this was your plan all along, I’m starting to think you’re more dangerous than we thought.”

I spread my towel out beside their pile of shirts and settle on it with a stretch. “Relax, boys. It’s just a

swimsuit.”

Which has Xavier muttering, “It’s not just anything.”

The guys have set up a small, shaded corner not too far from the unlit fire pit, complete with an umbrella and drinks tucked in between ice in a massive cooler, as well as a couple of beach chairs that feel like a little piece of summer.

AJ hands me a can of soda, while Hunter flicks his tongs and announces that the lunch hot dogs are almost ready, and Cade dives dramatically into the lake from the pier like he’s starring in his own movie.

I sink back onto my towel to rest on my elbows and watch them–really watch them. The way AJ flashes grins around like candy. The way the muscles beneath Hunter’s shoulders ripple as he checks the grill. The way Xavier keeps sneaking glances at me from his perch on a fallen tree log next to the fire pit, before returning to his Ethics handbook that he’s holding but never really reading.

And as the lake ripples silver and blue, and the guys‘ laughter carries across its surface, the tension in my shoulders loosens one muscle at a time.

I don’t know what the rest of the day’s going to look like. But for the first time in a while, I’m not afraid to

find out.

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