First

He regains himself and takes slow calculated steps towards her, taking glances at the items

on the mat.

“What’s the occasion and where’s my little dove? She didn’t come out to welcome me.”

“Well….I thought maybe you’d like to spend some alone time with your original little dove,” Leila says in a slow coquettish tone, feeling her heart slam against her rib cage.

She doesn’t know what she is doing or if she is doing it right but it seems to be working as Kelvin cannot take his eyes off her and she can hear the heavy thudding of his heart.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

“We could have just eaten out though, you didn’t have to go through the trouble,” Kelvin says, glancing at the array of dishes in front of them as he sits beside her.

“I know,” Leila replies, “I just wanted the evening to feel more…intimate.”

She stretches her trembling hands and takes Kelvin’s hands in hers, rubbing it against hers softly, feeling like her heart wants to tear out of her chest.

Kelvin stays mute, just staring at her like he is hypnotised.

She doesn’t know if she is doing this the right way, if she is even doing the right thing but Kelvin hasn’t mentioned his feelings for her in more than four years, if this is going to happen between them, she has to be the one to make the first move.

She slowly takes her other hand and cups his face gently, two similar blue eyes staring straight into each other, hers holding uncertainty yet determined, his, genuinely confused with something else hidden behind them.

“What I mean is,” she says in a soft whisper, bringing her lips close to his to kiss him, her heart beating erratically but Kelvin smoothly moves his face away from her hand and stretches towards one of the dishes, opening it.

“Is this egg fried rice? Smells great,” he says, pulling away from her, opening another dish. Roast turkey…hmmm,” he rubs his palm together enthusiastically, pulling out a plate.

A pained look crosses Leila’s eyes as she stares at him, her heart lurching from his indirect rejection, a trifling pain she didn’t expect to feel tugging away at her heart.

She holds his hand against the plate and takes it from him.

“The food can wait, Kev. I want to talk about us,” she says softly, looking passionately into his

eyes.

Kelvin breaks his gaze away from her, staring into the burning flames ahead of him with a sullen gaze. “Sure, shoot.”

“Ever heard the saying: best friends make the best lovers? What do you think of it?” Leila

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asks with a calm smile on her lips, feeling a flutter in her heart, hoping he catches her hint.

“Some friendships are meant to be friendships, beautiful like ours,” Kelvin replies, turning his gaze back to her, watching her eyes closely.

The flutter in her heart stops abruptly, like the butterflies in her chest were hit by a stun grenade.

She may not be crazily in love with him right now but they have a good base to build something beautiful together.

She will learn to love him until it becomes an innate part of her, she is ready to move on with him but he is clearly rejecting her.

“You are right, we have a beautiful friendship and as your friend, I think you should go out and find your mate, you’re not getting any younger. Stop wasting your time on a single mom and her child,” she says with a placid smile, sourness wrapping round her heart as she tests him with her words.

“It’s not a waste….”

“It is,” she replies curtly, watching his eyes closely. “I should probably find myself a man too before I get used to you and start developing feelings,” a wry chuckle follows her words and the unamused look that stays on Kelvin’s face, the subtle pain that flashes through his eyes confirm her suspicions.

He does have feelings for her.

“I’m not in love with Tatum anymore,” she lays extra emphasis on her words, hoping dearly in her heart that he will take the hint and say something to her, she doesn’t know how else to spell it out to him again.

“You really don’t love him anymore?” Kelvin asks in a hopeful voice.

“Not at all…..I’m ready to love someone else, Kev Leila says in a soft coquettish tone, staring deep into his eyes.

Kelvin gently takes her hand in his, his lips quivering as he parts them, Leila’s heart pounding in anticipation.

“Well if-”

Kelvin is interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing and he takes it out to see a restricted number calling him, he glances at Leila and hesitantly takes the call, walking a distance away from her.

The voice from the other side says, “Liana Rogers is being prosecuted for the death of her husband. Tell Leila she has to return to save her mother.”

The call ends promptly before Kelvin can even get a word in and he frowns.

It seems inevitable after all, Leila has to return to the blood oak pack now, she has to return to Tatum.

Collins Patrick

Author

Thank you for reading.