17 comments/ 18123 views/ 28 favorites A Minute Thirty Ch. 01 By: CelestialChild Hello Guys! This is my first series on Literotica and I hope you all enjoy. I have been toying with the idea of writing and publishing my own story for some time now, so any positive feedback or constructive criticism would be lovely! J It's a gradual build-up, so I hope you stick around to see what happens with the characters. Without further ado, A Minute Thirty. -Celestial Child C H A P T E R O N E L e i l a 'Fuck. I know Antonio did not. FUCK!' Leila Cruise was livid. If her boyfriend Antonio thought she was begging him to take her back, he had another thing coming to him. She couldn't help but think one last resounding 'Fuck Antonio' and a HUGE 'fuck you' to whoever thought it would be funny to piss on her suitcase. Leila was seriously fed up with this fucking asshole, eating her food, spending her money, and fucking her neighbors in the apartment in which she paid more than half of the rent for. 'I hate him' The worst thing to come into Northern Chicago since the fucking flu. And Leila had caught a bad case of Antonio. He was giving her such good dick at first, she would have robbed her own mother had he asked her to. She had never experienced someone so sex-savvy before him. At first he was good to her; buying her chocolates and diamonds and fucking her whenever she pleased, treating her black ass like a so-called "Queen." Then he got lazy. Lazy and uninterested in her thought out attempts at seduction. Leila wasn't offended at first. Staying underneath Antonio's arm just wasn't her scene. Leila was always on the go, flying to and fro any and everywhere she wanted. Any and everywhere she needed to be. She worked overtime because she needed as much money as she could get to keep her fancy ass loft. The problem with traveling however, was that she started to come home to odd smells and an empty fridge. Once confronted about his various activities (and the skanky bitches she found out he had been 'entertaining'), he told her: "Leila. Girl, I would never do anything to hurt you babe. "Tu eres todo mi mundo." You are my world. Fucking dog. And now, after a year and eight months and a move to a new apartment, he'd thrown HER out. Old faithful, hardworking Leila. The fucking nerve. Leila balanced a cigarette in her mouth while reaching a shaky hand into her Gucci purse. She intended to call her older sister, Denise. Nisey would know what to do; she always did. Leila couldn't believe him. She had come home early from a flight from Kentucky to deliver some good news only to find all of her shit sitting on the sidewalk. Gleaming wet from some type of piss. "Hello, Denise Kincaid's office." "Hi, Amy, this is Leila. Is Denise around? It's an emergency." Leila muttered lighting a thin cigarette. "Oh, hi Ms. Cruise. Um, Denise is... in a meeting." "She's always 'In a meeting.' Please, I really need to talk to her." The two women stayed silent, and Leila realized that her sister's nosy ass secretary, Amy, wouldn't connect her unless she knew what the call was about. Leila could just picture Amy rolling her eyes. "Antonio threw me out." Leila huffed. Like magic, she transferred the phone call. "What?" Denise snapped. She never said hello to Leila. "Tony threw me out." Leila said sighing heavily. "And what do you want me to do about it?" She asked. Leila paused. What did she want her to do about it? 'Comfort me, give me advice, beat his ass maybe?' "Do that Sister thing you do that makes me feel better." Denise sighed and then let out a tense chuckle. "I can't save you all the time, Leila. You have to learn how to deal with your own problems." "I understand Denise. And one day I'll figure it out; but today is not that day." Leila craned her neck up to her balcony, tapping her right foot and shaking her head. It was starting to get cold out and Leila would be damned if she was bringing this suitcase drenched in piss with her. Denise's voice softened. "Did he throw you out because of the baby?" Leila froze. No, he didn't throw her out because of the baby, because he didn't know about the baby. Because she came home to tell her boyfriend about their little bundle of joy only to find her finest luggage in the middle of the sidewalk. "No." She replied angrily. "I take it you didn't tell him." Denise admonished. "I didn't get a fucking chance to, Denise! He changed the fucking locks!" Leila snapped. She was tired and she was sure Denise knew that. She had to know that Leila didn't mean to yell at her, but was confused and angry and feeling like class-D shit. "I'll have Mauricio come and pick you up. Bring your things." Denise ordered, giving Leila her I-make-a-ridiculous-amount-of-money-a-year-and-I-can-take-care-of-Oprah voice. "About my things... Whatever he put out on the street has either been stolen or pissed on." The line went silent. Then Denise laughed, hollered even, making Leila laugh in return. When their laughing finally died down, Denise said: "Fine, leave those. I'll buy you new things." It never failed to amaze Leila at how big her sister's house was. It wasn't big like a celebrity's home, but it put her decent sized loft to shame. Anyone who came into Denise's home could tell she worked hard for the things she had. Denise had acquired a lot of money by becoming one of the best lawyers at the Klein & Luther law firm. She was so good, and brought in so many clients that they eventually gave her partner--something that was practically unheard of since Denise was so young. At just thirty one, Denise Kincaid had built an empire for herself, and was every bit of the boss lady people expected her to be, and more. And her house proved it. Mauricio, Denise's assistant, unlocked the big oak door and allowed Leila to walk past him. She looked in awe at her surroundings. Every time she came, she was like a child in a candy shop. The foyer was huge, she discarded her high heels where the other shoes were lined against the wall on a plush rug. Above her was a large crystal chandelier that shone bright. To the left was a huge winding staircase that led to the upstairs bedrooms which were nicer than most hotel rooms Leila had stayed in. She walked through the long marble hallway into the open living room area which hosted a sturdy wooden fireplace. She had a deep brown sofa and a matching lazy boy with a matching love seat. There was a door leading to the dining room, where a large oak table with intricate carvings sat in the middle of the room. On the other side of the dining room was another door which led to her kitchen. In the kitchen was a huge marble island with wooden and leather bar stools lined up. Her kitchen looked like a kitchen that should be on a cooking show and had a pantry to match. Leila walked back into the living room and laid on the soft brown sofa, immediately feeling exhausted. "Okay, I put everything in your room, the keys are on the dresser, and one more thing." Mauricio called bounding down the steps with a little extra pep in his step. "What's that?" Leila asked from her position sprawled on the sofa. "Hand them over." Mauricio said holding his hand out. "What?" Leila asked pretending dumb. She knew Mauricio was referring to her pack of cigarettes. "Don't play with me. I'm not a fiddle and you are not an instrumentalist. Give me the damn cigarettes Leila. I'm not above giving you a pat down." Mauricio said in his sassiest voice. Leila rolled her eyes and rolled off of the sofa marching to her purse which she had hung up on the coat hanger in the foyer. "Fine. Here." She said giving the pack to him. "Is this it?" He asked. "Can't I just keep one?" Leila pleaded. "Leila Cruise, if you weren't pregnant, I would let you keep all of the cigarettes in the world, but you and I both know you are pregnant. So don't ask questions you know the answers to." She reached into her purse and took out the other unopened pack of cigarettes. "Good. Now there's food in the fridge and cable on the television. Denise said she'll try to be home early tonight, but to not hold your breath. Feel free to call or bug me if you need anything. You know I don't do shit." He said buttoning his jacket up and breezing out of the front door. Leila sighed. She was alone, again. And she hated it. C o i l i n "You see Doctor, I have a mark down here and I'm not sure it's always been there." The leggy blonde said, legs suspended in the air, her hand fondling her genitals. He was disgusted; but this behavior wasn't completely alien to him. Coilin Gallagher worked as an OBGYN and had a long list of clients. For the most part, women thought that since he had such a pretty face and worked as an OBGYN that he was either a predator perpetually in search of a vagina to sink himself into or was gay. And they were wrong about both of those options. Coilin Gallagher had chosen his career for multiple reasons, and neither of those were listed. Being in the profession he was in only amplified his respect for the opposite sex, but it was becoming painfully clear that same respect wouldn't always be reciprocated. "Yes, Miss Adams, I will look at that in due time. Please place your legs back into the stirrups." Sulking, the patient put her legs back into the stirrups and allowed him to finish his exam. "Miss Adams, there's nothing wrong here." He grumbled becoming irate. "Doctor, I know you think there's nothing wrong down there, but you're mistaken." "Am I?" Coilin asked, arching an eyebrow and pulling his rubber gloves off. "Yes. What's wrong is that your face isn't down there. I want you to lick me." She stated matter-of-factly. Coilin looked down at the woman's loose, average, pink vagina and stifled his desire to roll his eyes at her boldness. He was growing tired of these barely legal girls coming into his office thinking they had enough skill or sex appeal to seduce him. He didn't know if he should laugh or get upset. He was attracted to more than just a hot body. "Interesting... Miss Adams, I'm going to refer you to our therapist. It seems like you have issues when it comes to how to interact with people. While I'm at it, I'll give you the number of one of my OBGYN colleagues, whom you can start to see. I don't want you back in my office unless you have figured out how to behave like a lady. Be out of here in 2 minutes." The woman's face turned ashen as she watched him stand and walk out of the door, leaving it ajar. Coilin could hear her scramble to get herself composed and decent. 'Too bad she didn't have the decency to treat me like a person.' Walking to the front desk, Coilin told his secretary to switch Miss Adams to Doctor Hartman's roster, still simmering. Being objectified was quickly making him want to give up on the female population. He shook his head at the thought and then turned, prepared to walk into the sexual-harassment free confines of his office but he was immediately floored. The most beautiful black woman he had ever laid eyes on walked through the doors of the lobby. She looked discombobulated and confused, a sad scowl on her face. 'Damn baby, please don't look like that.' He stopped dead in his tracks and silently wondered who this chocolate vixen was on her way to see. He experienced a strange surge of mixed emotion as he hoped that she both would and wouldn't be his patient. He was momentarily distracted as a now angry Miss Adams stalked out of his examination room shooting hot daggers at him with her eyes. He stared back at her blankly. "Miss Adams, my secretary has some information for you." He said in as monotonous of a voice that he could muster. The sudden sound of his voice caused the discombobulated beauty to look up and stare at him. Damn. It was all of a sudden extremely hot in the lobby, and Coilin looped a finger on the inside of his collar, allowing air to enter. His mouth ran dry as he scanned her features. Good God, she looked good enough to eat. Her skin looked like milk chocolate with a kiss of cinnamon. She had dark chocolate irises and the longest eyelashes he had seen in a while which kissed the top of her cheeks when she looked down. She had thick curly brown hair that reminded Coilin of Kimberly Elise. She had a heart shaped mouth will full pillow lips; a beauty mark like Marilyn Monroe, and a small diamond was in the right side of her nose. She looked hot, wearing a teal mid-thigh length pleated skirt and a black long sleeve t-shirt with black ankle boots that extended her toned legs. Coilin resisted openly licking his lips, but his lips pulled up in a slight smile. The woman switched her heated glance to the floor and approached the secretary's desk colliding with a rude and impatient Miss Adams. "Excuse me, I need to talk to her." Miss Adams spat looking from Coilin to the woman. He rolled his eyes and then approached the two women when he saw the incredulous look the mysterious woman shot at Coilin's rather obnoxious ex-client. "Hi, is there something I can help you with?" He pointedly asked the woman. He was momentarily distracted by her smooth creamy skin, which looked even better up close, and his mouth ran dry. Recovering smoothly, he looked into her eyes and decided those too looked even better up close. "Yes, hi," Her raspy, melodic voice rang out. "I'm here to see a..." She whipped a piece of paper out of her purse with a woman's handwriting on it. "Doctor Smith?" She finished, shoving it back into her big bag. His entire body was vibrating with excitement and relief as he gave her a cool smile. "Doctor Smith's office is down the hall to the right." He said pointing toward his colleague's office. "Thank you." She said bashfully, preparing to walk away. "Wait a moment, do I know you? You look really familiar." He said with that same smile. It quickly began to fade as a look of mild annoyance settled on the woman's cute features. 'Fuck, what did I do?' He wondered to himself. "You're joking right? That's a tired ass pick-up line dude. I don't know you. Thanks for the help anyway." She rolled her eyes and tried again to leave before Coilin held his hand out. "Leila?" he addressed. She looked alarmed at Coilin's ability to identify who she was, but still she nodded. "I know your sister. Denise Kincaid. A good friend of mine." "You know Nisey?" She perked up. The smile returned to his face. Denise Kincaid's sister... Yes. No wonder she looked so familiar. Coilin attended college with Denise. She was studying pre-law, he pre-med. They lived in the library, and eventually lived with each other. She was one of his best friends. Of course he didn't recognize Leila right away because he had only met her once or twice. Leila and Denise were half-sisters. She lived with her mother and Denise lived with her father, so she wasn't around much. "Yeah. We've met before. I used to live with your sister in college. You came down to visit our loft when you were a... junior? In High School, if I remember correctly..." Her eyes skimmed his face as if she was trying to put together a difficult puzzle before recognition finally took place. "Coilin. I was a senior in High School, and you had longer hair then." That was true. In college, Coilin had a flow that was so luscious, women called him Patrick Dempsey. Although he didn't think he looked like Patrick Dempsey, he could see how women were under that impression since he wanted to be a doctor and they were around the same height. The only difference was that Coilin had olive drab green eyes instead of blue, less smile lines, and he had a thicker nose. For a while, he refused to cut it off because the ladies loved it. However, when he went to med school, the ladies became less important to him and he chopped it all off. "I'm glad you remember. I'm sorry, I don't mean to keep you, it's just I knew you looked familiar. Hey, tell Nisey I said hi and to call me!" He said chuckling and turning to walk away. "Why don't you tell her yourself? I'm sure Nisey would love to hear from you." She called out. With his back turned, Coilin smiled smugly; now she was the one stopping him. He turned back around to see her smiling at him, her head tilted slightly. "I'm sorry, I don't have a lot of time to call her otherwise I would." He said looking down at his timepiece. "Oh, I'm sure she'll understand. She's probably too busy anyway. You know Nisey: Superwoman." She said jokingly. "Yeah, she was always on the fly. It was good seeing you Leila. You look good." He said, feeling himself blush slightly at the honesty of the statement. She did look good, damn good. "You too Coilin. I'll be staying with Nisey for a while, so I hope to see you around." She said with a wink before turning and walking sexily toward Doctor Smith's office. Coilin didn't miss the invitation in her voice. He most certainly would be paying them a visit sometime soon. He put his hands in his pocket and watched her walk away. That girl had a dangerous body, and it had most definitely transformed into something more than the lanky body she had when he was college. His secretary shot a knowing smile at Coilin. Yes, it seemed she was mesmerized by Miss Leila as well. A Minute Thirty Ch. 02 Thank you all for your comments and critiques! I took them into consideration when creating the next installment. Once again, the story has a slower build so please stick around for the juicy bits. It is worth it! ;) Thanks, -Celestial Child C H A P T E R T W O C o i l i n "I swear to you, I've never wanted to fuck a woman more than I wanted to fuck her." Coilin said, stuffing a fry into his mouth. He had met up with his childhood friend Finnegan Blake, and they had rode their motorcycles to their favorite diner Cozy Corner. The two of them had been closer than yin and yang growing up and that hadn't changed with time; if anything, they had gotten even closer. Finn, as most people liked to call him, knew everything about Coilin and vice versa. Coilin trusted him with his life, and had told Finn countless times before. He was the brother he never had. "Bullshit. You say that every time, and then regret it after." Finn said, sipping his milkshake. His eyes sparkled with pleasure every time he slurped the sugary drink. For someone so obsessed with health and fitness—Finn was a personal trainer— Finn Blake had an intense sweet tooth. Coilin watched his best friend push his curly brown hair out of his face as he reached for his own fries. They really could be siblings their features were so similar. Aside from his pale blue eyes, he and Coilin really favored each other. As teenagers, they used that to their advantage. Their youth was filled with very interesting memories. "I know I do, but I'm telling you Finny boy, this girl is hot. Fuck." Coilin said, adjusting slightly in his seat. Just the thought of Leila Cruise standing in the lobby caused his dick to stir up. He hoped like hell he wouldn't spring a hard-on in the middle of Cozy Corner. "I want to see for myself. Then I'll let you know if I believe you. Remember that girl Rebecca you once were so hung up on? I kind of thought she looked like a foot." A waitress came by and filled up their glasses of water. She was petite and blonde and Coilin couldn't help but notice that Finn was checking her out hardcore. Once she left, Coilin let out a small chuckle. "What?" Finn asked, arching an eyebrow at his friend. "Why don't you just ask her for her number dude?" Coilin asked. "Oh please, the way her knees buckle every time I look at her? She's gonna ask me for mine." He smiled arrogantly at Coilin who was now rolling his eyes. "You're fucking ridiculous, man." "Don't be jealous Scotty boy." Finn said with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. Coilin groaned at the name he hated more than anything. Finn called him Scotty Boy because Coilin's name actually descended from Scotland, not Ireland. And his whole Irish clan of family and friends thought it hilarious with the exception of his mother. His mother was insistent that his name would be Coilin because she liked it, and that was the end of that. When his mother died of breast cancer when he was fifteen, no one really gave him much grief anymore. No one but Finn. In a way, Coilin appreciated that. Knowing that one person was trying to enforce some normalcy. He loved his best friend. "You're a prick, man." Coilin laughed. "Love you too bro." Finn grinned, picking up his burger. Coilin smiled as he picked up his own burger. His mind wandered back to Leila. It had been a few days since he had run into her at the clinic, and she had been on his mind constantly. He couldn't believe that he had reacted so strongly to her presence initially. The years had most certainly been good to her. He allowed himself to remember the sexy sway of her hips as she made her way down the hallway. He could watch her walk away all day. And her ass... He longed to grab onto that apple bottom, spank it, and mount it... amongst other things. He cleared his throat as his thoughts took a darker turn. "Shit." Coilin heard Finn say. He looked up. "What?" He asked a little startled. "You just went off to La la land. You thinking about that girl?" Coilin relaxed a little and smiled lazily. "Am I that obvious?" "To anyone else, nah. But this is me you're with. I can read you like a book." Coilin took another bite of his burger and sipped his water. "Now I really have to see her. Have you asked her on a date yet?" Coilin grimaced and shook his head no. "Well do it now." "No, no, no.--" Coilin began saying. "Don't be a pussy. Get yourself some pussy." Finn said obviously pleased with his pun. "It's complicated." Coilin said, shaking his head. "And why's that?" Finn said, winking at the cute blonde waitress who was walking past their table. "She's Denise's little sister." Coilin said, pausing and taking an aggressive bite out of his burger. Finnegan's smile disappeared and he gaped at his best friend as if he had sprouted a second head. "The girl you're Jonesing for is Denise Kincaid's little sister?" He repeated slowly. "Yeah, Leila." Coilin said, a small smile touching his lips. "No good. Abort mission Scotty boy. There's plenty of fish in the sea. Plenty of fish that aren't related to Denise Kincaid." He said dramatically. Coilin arched an eyebrow. "Since when do you have such an opposition to Nisey?" He asked. "Come on bud, we all know how she is. Headstrong, stubborn, bossy." Finnegan said with a grimace. "Sounds like someone has a crush." Coilin joked. "Ah, fuck that!" He groaned, sipping his milkshake. Coilin chuckled and pulled his wallet out. "I'm heading out. Lunch is on me." "Of course it was on you. Did you think I was paying with my lowly salary?" Finn joked also standing up. They embraced each other in a tight hug before Coilin threw on his motorcycle gear and headed out of the restaurant. "Remember Scotty boy, OTHER FISH IN THE SEA!" Finn called, ignoring the glares he was receiving. Coilin chuckled again and nodded his head. He would try to remember. *** L e i l a "Aren't you gonna call him?" Leila questioned, shoving salad into her mouth. "Lei, I told you I'll call him later, but I'm busy right now. We're busy right now" Denise said flipping through the content of a manila folder sitting on her desk. "Okay, I'm just making sure. He seemed really eager to talk to you." Leila lied. She didn't want to admit it, but she had been thinking about Coilin Gallagher more than she should have been, especially since she had more important matters to handle; the most pressing matters being her pregnancy and her ex-boyfriend Antonio. It's wasn't that Leila wasn't handling that, she was. It was just every time she laid down to go to bed at night, her thoughts drifted back to Coilin and the way he looked in that white doctor's coat. He looked so professional, much more different than the way he looked in college. She had thought that he was cute when she visited him in college, but she never gave him much thought outside of that. She hadn't really been into white guys when she was growing up, she and her mom lived in a predominately Black and Hispanic neighborhood. Growing up had been interesting for Leila. For the most part, she lived with her mother Renee in the gardens of Chicago, Illinois. She hadn't really understood why she only got to see her father on birthdays and sometimes holidays. Whenever she asked his reasoning for being gone, her mother would always tell her to be quite, and insisted they didn't talk about him. She never understood her mother's logic, yet she enjoyed her childhood nonetheless. She hadn't really known the reason why until she was seven years old. The year of her seventh birthday, she had met Denise for the first time. When they first met as little girls, it had been awkward. Leila met the girl who had the exact same eyes as she did but lighter skin, and was astonished. Eleven year old Denise didn't help make the situation any easier when she glared at seven year old Leila and refused to play with her. It was uncomfortable to say the least. However, after a tongue lashing from her father and a few more play dates between the sisters, they had warmed up to each other and slowly, but surely, became as thick as thieves. Although her father wanted them all to live together, Leila didn't quite feel comfortable moving in with a man who was rarely around, and when she found out the nature of the relationship between her mother and father, she really didn't feel comfortable. She kept in touch with Denise though, and tried to visit her in downtown Chicago as much as possible. When she visited Denise in college, Leila had a boyfriend named Timothy back home. He was a tall black boy who was a junior and on the varsity basketball team. Tim, as they all called him, liked to feel her up under the bleachers and was really bad at kissing. But she thought she was in love; so when she saw Coilin and his dreamy green eyes and long brown hair, the last thing that came to mind was serious attraction. But now here she was, 27 years old and basically wetting her panties every time she would begin thinking about her sister's old roommate. "Leila, are you listening to me? I asked if you've tried calling Antonio yet." Denise asked never looking up from her folder. Leila fidgeted in the seat across from Denise's desk, embarrassed to be thinking about Coilin, and rolled her eyes at the mention of Antonio's name. "Yes I have tried calling Antonio, the operative word being tried. He's not answering my phone calls." "Goodness, he is such a pain in the ass. Why did you get involved with him again?" "Nisey, don't start..." "I'm just saying, you've always been too good for him and I knew something like this was bound to happen. You don't listen. Why in the hell would you even let him fuck you without a rubber? Have I taught you nothing?" Denise ranted, annoyance written all over her face. "First of all, I didn't think things between he and I would get so serious. Second of all, even if I did, it's my life, and I don't always have to listen to you. And last of all, I didn't let him fuck me without a rubber, it broke." She said stabbing into her salad angrily. She was still furious with Antonio. Yeah, they had gotten into some pretty bad fights before, all of which ended with some pretty steamy make-up sex, but he had never done something so blatantly disrespectful to her before. She felt upset thinking about the fact that he could throw her out of the apartment and ignore her phone calls without feeling the littlest bit of remorse; she had thought they meant more than that to him. "Anyway, I'll try calling him one more time and if he doesn't answer, I'll swing by the loft." She said, trying to end the conversation. "How's the baby?" Denise asked, this time looking up from her papers. It seemed Nisey had a soft spot for developing fetuses. "Still in there." Leila responded sarcastically. "Did you like Doctor Smith?" Nisey asked with a smile. "She was very kind. So blonde though. Her eyelashes freaked me out." Leila joked. "Oh I know, she's so blonde her hair looks white!" Denise gossiped. "But she had a fabulous body..." The two sisters were conversing animatedly about Leila's new doctor when Denise's office phone started ringing. "What is it Amy?" Denise snapped. "Ms. Kincaid you have a visitor waiting in the lobby for you, quite a handsome one might I add." She said quietly. "He says his name is Coilin Gallagher, he wasn't on your schedule so I thought to check if it was alright—" "It's alright. Send him in." Denise snapped again before hanging up the phone. She began stuffing her papers back into the manila folders and rearranging the clutter on her desk. "Do you need me to leave? If you have a client Nisey I can get going, I don't want to be in your way." Leila said, putting her empty salad container in her large bag. "No it's fine it's only—" "Nisey." Both Denise and Leila swiveled their heads around to see Coilin standing in the doorway. He was wearing a white V-neck shirt underneath a leather black jacket, distressed blue jeans that fit sinfully on him and elongated his long legs, and a pair of scuffed black boots on his feet. He held his helmet in his left hand. Leila's heart began beating rapidly and her breaths came out shallow. 'Good Lord he looks so yummy!' Leila thought, leaning all the way back in her seat now. Denise scrambled to her feet and made her way around the desk to embrace her longtime friend. It had been far too long since she had seen him. "Coilin you cute son-of-a-bitch, come here!" Denise threw herself into a hug with Coilin who picked her up off of the ground and spun her around in circles. "I can't believe you have the nerve to show up here!" She laughed hitting him on his arm once he placed her feet back on the floor. "Well I felt like a visit to my Nisey baby was long overdue. Besides, I knew that after your sister mentioned she saw me, I'd only have so much time to pay you a visit before you came after me." He said, chuckling before his eyes drifted over to Leila. Leila felt as if she was frozen. She sat silently and allowed her gaze to rake hungrily over his tall physique. She couldn't believe that she had been hoping to see this man for the past four days, and now that he was in front of her, she was acting this way. She should have given him a smile, a hug... a kiss... anything but gawk at him like she was doing. 'Get it together, Lei.' She thought to herself. "Hi Coilin." She said, finding her voice and standing. "Hello Leila." He said smoothly, walking closer to her to give her a brief hug. The electricity that passed between them when they embraced felt so delicious that Leila had to stifle a moan. Holy shit this man felt and smelled so damn good. "You look great." He whispered in her ear. She smiled sensually. "Even with that ranch on your lip." He said, pulling out of the embrace with a teasing smile on his lips. Leila was horrified, she turned away and wiped furiously at her lips before finding the culprit and wiping it on a napkin in her bag. Denise, who was too excited to see her friend to notice the sexual tension in the room, pulled Coilin away from Leila and sat him down on the plush leather sofa at the back of the room. "You haven't called." She admonished. "I know I've just been so busy. I've stopped working in the hospital and got a job in the private practice instead. It's smaller, I get to work with the people more. The pay's a little less, but it's still more than enough." "That's crazy. I didn't know you worked there until Leila told me she ran into you. I sent her there to see Debra." Denise said, referring to Doctor Smith. "I forgot you knew Debra." "I know just about everyone. Debra was my doctor for a while. Anyway, how's Nicole?" Denise said with a knowing smile. "I wouldn't know. We broke it off about four months ago." "No! You and Nicole were perfect. What happened?" Denise asked genuine concern showing on her face. "She was too focused on being a Doctor's wife. You know, on the benefits that come with it. I don't think she ever really was in love with me." Coilin said, picking imaginary lint off of his jeans. "I'm sorry Cols, I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for soon." "Yeah, me too." He said, his gaze drifting back to Leila who was still silently sitting in the chair in front of Denise's desk. "So what about you Nisey? Where's ya man at?" He said, that charming smile coming onto his face. "Oh please, you know that there is no man that can handle or is worthy of me. You men have been acting up." She said a bit arrogantly. Leila took that as her cue to go, she didn't want Denise to go on another rant about Antonio. "Okay Nisey, I think I'm gonna head back to the house. I want to take a little nap before I call you-know-who." She said, standing to her feet. Denise immediately sprung to her feet and hugged her little sister. "Alright. Call me afterwards okay, Lei?" Denise said, her voice softening. "Okay." Leila slowly turned to Coilin who had also stood to his feet. "Goodbye Leila, I'll see you around." He said with that smile that made Leila's tummy ache, his green eyes twinkling with something she couldn't recognize. "It was nice seeing you Coilin. Don't be a stranger." She said, hugging him. "Oh and thanks for the ranch thing." She giggled. Coilin chuckled and nodded his head. "You're more than welcome." *** C o i l i n Coilin knew that he was in trouble, but he couldn't help it. When he said that he would try to find the "other fish in the sea" that Finn talked about, he meant that. However, as soon as he saw Leila in that dress, every intention of pursuing other women went right out of that figurative window. She looked so good he thought he'd combust right in front of her and Denise. She was silent, unmoving, and she had the whole 'deer-in-headlights' look going on. She looked great. She had on a mauve colored summer dress that hit just above her crossed knees, with a deep v neckline and a pair of navy blue high heels. She was still sporting that sexy curly hair and her makeup was very natural. His eyes zeroed in on those full lips he had fantasized about the past few days. They looked yummy... even with that ranch on her lip. Shit, even that had appealed to him. He was in deep. He hadn't expected her to be at the office. In fact, that was the reason he stopped there instead of Denise's house. He was avoiding Leila. He was avoiding that pretty chocolate skin and raspy voice of hers. Whenever he got around her, his thoughts turned nasty; and right now, his thoughts were pure filth. His thoughts were so loud to him, he was afraid Denise would catch on and skin his hide. He couldn't control them though. The way her big eyes stared at him when he walked in the room, as if he were the best present on Christmas morning, made him want to puff his chest out in pride. He wanted to take her right on Denise's big desk. But of course his Nisey had stolen his attention momentarily and Leila slid out of the room as quick as lightening. He wasn't prepared for the surge of disappointment he felt when she announced her departure, and knew right then that there was no denying his feelings for her. Denise was rambling about one of their mutual friends from college when Coilin interrupted her. "Nisey, bud, can I ask you a question?" He asked hesitantly. "I don't know Coilin, can you?" She asked sarcastically. He chuckled. "Alright, I have a question for you... It's about Leila..." He shifted in his seat because already he felt the effect that just her name had on his body. "I... I want to take her on a date." He stated. Denise's face remained blank as she waited for him to continue. When it didn't look like he was going to continue, she spoke. "Well that's not a question is it?" She mocked. "I guess it's not. Would you mind if I took her on a date?" Coilin felt foolish asking for permission to take Leila on a date, but he knew that if he had just gone ahead and asked Leila on a date and Denise found out later, his ass would be grass. Denise was incredibly protective over her friends and family members. "I don't think taking her on a date now would be the best idea, Coilin. While it's not for me to tell you or her what to do, I will say that she's dealing with important stuff right now and you may become a distraction. I know I'm being totally meddlesome right now, but Leila has been having a really hard time lately and I can't help but feel protective over her." "Ow, that hurts. What kind of sleaze do you take me to be?" He asked, feigning hurt. A Minute Thirty Ch. 02 "Coilin, you know this is not about you." "I know. And I did ask for your permission. It's not your fault if I don't like the answer." Denise nodded her head—a signal that she wouldn't be changing her mind about her decision and Coilin took that as his cue to leave. He stood up and Denise followed suit. "Well, it was a pleasure to see you, big boy. I better see your face around more often." Denise said, embracing him in a tight hug. "Oh, now that I'm back you won't be able to get rid of me." Coilin said with a chuckle. It was truer than she thought. Denise walked him out of the office complex to his motorcycle, inviting him to dinner the following weekend. "I wouldn't miss it for anything." He promised before getting on his bike and pulling off. While riding through the streets of the beautiful city that he loved so much, Coilin thought about the conversation he and Denise had. It didn't make sense that he, a grown ass man, should have to ask permission to simply ask someone on a date. He knew there was a chance that she would say no, but he didn't think that would actually happen. Denise had mentioned that Leila was having a hard time. And her saying that only made him want to take Leila out all the more. He could only imagine how stressed out she was and she deserved to have a little fun. He was going to ask her on a date, show her a good time, and help her get her mind off of her troubles if only for a little bit. Denise be damned. A Minute Thirty Ch. 03 Sorry for the delay with this installment, I was experiencing a nasty bit of writer's block with deciding what direction I wanted this story to go in. With a change of attitude, however, I managed to get past it and push out this chapter. Needless to say, I'm pleased with the outcome. I made up and airline due to the fact that not all airlines have the same policies, so please, no one look up Zinc airlines, it doesn't exist. Anyway, this one's a little longer, I hope you all enjoy! -Celestial Child. C H A P T E R T H R E E L e i l a Leila felt infuriated. She finally made some progress with Antonio, though not much, and got him to agree to meet up with her at Simon's Bar and Grill. Simon's was a place they both loved to go when they were dating. True to his asshole character, Antonio made their phone conversation as difficult as possible, replying with short, monosyllabic answers for much of the conversation. "Antonio, I've been trying to get in touch with you for four days now. Don't you think you should have at least called me back?" "Yeah." He said simply. Leila grumbled. "Okay... so why didn't you?" She asked, as if she were speaking to a toddler. "Busy." He replied. "You were too busy to give me an explanation for throwing me out?" She asked incredulously. "Yeah." Antonio muttered. Leila sat perched on the edge of the large comfortable guest bed, rolling her eyes at the sheer stubbornness of him. Though she hated to admit it, she should have listened to Nisey and stayed far away from Antonio Juarez in the first place. "Okay, fine. I guess I'll do most of the talking." She breathed heavily, "I was thinking that you and I could meet up and chat for a little bit. Maybe at Simon's? I had some news I wanted to tell you before... well before all of this, and I think you'd be interested in what I have to say." She held her breath waiting for another short answer from Antonio, and was both surprised and relieved when he gave her a full two sentences. "That should be fine. When do you want to meet up?" "Tonight around nine? I have some things I have to do before I can meet up with you, but I don't think this should wait any longer." Leila persisted. They confirmed their plans for the evening and after they hung up, Leila went grocery shopping and stopped back at Denise's house to put them away, all before heading to the bar and grill. She was nervous to say the least, and although she should have been fire-spitting mad, she couldn't help but feel apprehensive about telling Antonio the news about the baby. She didn't know what to expect when she told him about their little bun in the oven. Leila's hands flew protectively to her stomach as she fretted over his response. Like herself, Antonio was sometimes incredibly crude and an asshole, and she knew that if he didn't like the news she had to deliver, he would say some pretty harsh stuff. But she was serious about this baby, and she didn't know if she was making it up, but she could already feel her maternal instinct kick in. She had a soft smile on her face, imagining a future of her nursing and taking care of her baby, when a motion at the door caught her attention. She smiled brightly at seeing Antonio walk in. She had to admit that he looked good, even after all of this shit he put her through, he still had the ability to steal her attention with his sexiness. He wore black slacks and a burnt orange dress shirt with the top two buttons undone. On his right arm, he wore the golden Rolex she had gotten him for his last birthday, and on his face were a pair of dark shades. Once he stepped into the dimly lit bar, he removed the shades and looked around for her. She decided to observe him from afar a little more before alerting him of her whereabouts. He was a very beautiful man. He had curly dark brown hair that was short cropped on his head and a closely shaved beard. His hazel eyes were framed by beautiful long eyelashes. If he were smiling, she would have been able to see those straight pearly whites he had too. Her eyes zeroed in on Antonio's full heart shaped mouth and she sighed. She once loved kissing those lips of his. Leila reminisced about all the times those lips brought her pleasure. Those had been very good times. Leila smiled smugly to herself. Antonio was a reminder that she had never had a boyfriend that wasn't attractive. Though in the end, their personalities were always a little questionable, she couldn't help but be a little prideful in knowing her man was the usually the most attractive one in the room. Antonio was beginning to look a little frustrated, so Leila stood and waved her hand. He caught the movement, and hurriedly made his way to the table. He sat heavily in the seat across from Leila, and looked down at his watch impatiently before giving her his undivided attention. "Okay. I'm here." He said, sucking his teeth and placing his interlaced fingers on the table. Leila smiled softly at him, trying not to let his foul mood affect her. This was happy news. "It's nice to see you too Antonio. How are you?" She said sweetly. "Just dandy," he replied sarcastically, "Can we hurry this up? Cindy and I have somewhere to be after this. She's waiting in the car for me." He mentioned casually, craning his neck around to find a server. Leila had to swallow the initial shock she was feeling. 'Who the fuck is Cindy?' She thought bitterly. "Cindy?" She managed to ask, just as a cute blonde server came around and cheerfully asked for their drink orders. "Hi, what can I get you folks?" The server asked, a large and pleasant smile on his face. He was oblivious to the growing tension at the table. "Yeah, bring me a Crown Royal and a coke." Antonio said, avoiding eye contact with him. Whenever Antonio went out, he never made eye contact with the servers. It was a part of some weird power trip he was perpetually on that Leila always felt annoyed by. The waiter, however, seemed unfazed by his behavior. "Sure, and you?" he asked, turning to Leila. "I would just like some water." Leila replied with a smile. Antonio scoffed. "YOU are just getting water? But you drink like a fish, Princess." He said, using that endearing nickname he had once used for her as an insult now. The waiter picked up on the negative tension finally, said his bit about being back ASAP, and left them all alone in a hurry. Antonio looked expectantly at her and tried again. "We gonna talk or what?" He asked with attitude. She let out a strange chuckle. "I don't really know where to begin." Leila said. "Really? I thought you would for sure have your spiel down by now. Hasn't it been enough time?" He asked, a smug look on his face. Leila narrowed her eyes, and couldn't control the snarky comment that escaped her lips. "I don't know why you're giving me all that fucking attitude Tony, you threw my shit outside, not the other way around." "You and I were done long before that, Princess." Antonio spat back. Leila blinked at him. She felt her body begin to shake. "What the hell does that even mean?" She said, trying not to raise her voice and failing. Antonio sat unflinchingly. Leila huffed and willed herself to calm down. "Look, aside from telling you my news, I just wanted to know your reasoning for throwing me out the way you did. I know my name wasn't on the lease and so technically I have no right to be there, but I thought you would at least be man enough to break up with me to my face." She spat. Antonio replied with a blank face. "The fact of the matter is, you were too damn busy flying to and fro to take care of your man, you were gone to God knows what state and I wasn't about to wait around to ask permission to be done with you Princess. I wanted you out, so I threw you out. For all I know, you could have been fucking someone else. I've seen what you can do behind the bedroom doors, how was I to know if you were being a freak solely inside of those sheets? I didn't know if you had joined the mile high club without me." He smirked at the glare she was giving him and added the nail in the coffin: the part he knew would send her right over the edge. "Plus, I needed to make more room for Cindy's stuff." He didn't elaborate more on that, and to be honest, he didn't really need to. Leila got his message loud and clear. She gasped as if someone had just thrown a bucket of cold water on her. She was blinking more rapidly as she felt the stinging of moisture in her eyes. The realization that this was the girl who Antonio had cheated on her with, the cause of countless arguments between the two of them, hit her with so much clarity it shook her. A laugh of disbelief escaped her lips. "I can't fucking believe you." She whispered, talking more to herself than to him. "Well believe it baby. I've moved on, and you're just mad because for once something isn't about you." He replied with a smug grin. The waiter came by with their drinks, and Leila wished like hell that she had ordered something stronger to take the edge off. She was incredibly tempted to rectify her order, but she both couldn't and wouldn't endanger her baby. "You're an asshole, you know that? Is that all you think this is? Me being upset because something isn't about me?" She scoffed, "I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt, but I should have listened to all of those people who told me you weren't worth shit," She paused to control the tears that were attempting to escape, then continued. "I came here to tell you big news. Good fucking news! I tried to have a positive attitude even after you did all of that horrible shit to me and for WHAT? For you to come in here and try to hurt my feelings when you were the wrong one in the first place." Antonio took a sip of his drink, and held his hand up to silence her. "Okay, why don't you just tell me what the big news is since you keep hinting at it?" "I'M PREGNANT!" Leila yelled, a little louder than intended. She looked around in slight embarrassment, but shook her head in indignation anyway. Antonio's face fell. If Leila wasn't so pissed off, she might have started laughing, but she was too worked up, and was trying desperately not to cry instead. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out so he closed it. Obviously that wasn't what he was expecting. "Oh what? You don't have a horrible remark this time?" Leila taunted, grabbing her glass of water and placing the coolness of it against her forehead. She needed to get out of there. She stood to her feet. "I swear to all that is holy, you better get your shit together and present me with the world's best apology within the next 48 hours or so help me God Antonio, I will take your ass to court and sue you for child support so fast your head will spin. I wanted to make this work between us, maybe even hold onto some small shred of friendship, but I'm not entirely sure that's possible now. I'll be going." She gulped hard. Her eyelashes were wet with the tears she finally allowed herself to shed. That last statement seemed to be effective. "Wait, Lei, just hold up a second. I need a moment to process this." Antonio finally said, also standing to his feet. He looked at Leila searching her eyes for some sign that she was joking. "You're really pregnant?" Antonio asked, his tough guy façade suddenly nonexistent. Leila nodded and wiped away a tear. How could he be so cold toward her after all the time they spent together as a couple? How could he ever claim he loved her? Antonio sat heavily in his seat at the table. "Oh Princess, I'm sorry." He said, having the decency to sound pained. Leila sniffled, then stared straight ahead before she spoke again. "Thank you for your apology, really. Just know that nothing can ever be the same again, though. I'm sorry you felt neglected, but you can't just treat someone like you treated me if you really loved them. It's evident you didn't love me in the first place. I would never let anyone fuck me while we were together. Not ever. You have broken my heart for the last fucking time, Antonio." She said, putting emphasis on the word 'never'. Antonio looked down at the table at a loss for words. He felt terrible. Leila took in Antonio for one last time. She would miss him, even after all of this, she would. But there was no way they could ever be together again, not in the romantic sense anyway. Not when he was so cruel to her. He ran a hand over that short cropped haircut of his that she had loved so much and then ran his hand down his face. He looked so incredibly sad that she almost allowed herself to forgive him and rush back into his arms. But she couldn't do that. "I'm sorry Lei." He said, looking contrite. She looked him up and down, trying hard to push down her second surge of anger. "I'm sure you are." She spat. She walked briskly out of the bar, leaving him with the bill, and his thoughts. *** C o i l i n Coilin felt like a creep, but he knew that if he went home, he would lose his courage and change his mind about asking Leila Cruise on a date. So instead, he was parked outside of Denise's house a little ways down the block, waiting on the opportunity to see her. It just reached nightfall, he'd been parked there for a little more than an hour now, and was beginning to worry that one of the neighbors would call the cops on him before he got a chance to talk to her. He would have a hard time explaining to Nisey his being arrested waiting outside of her home, when he just left her office not too long before. Coilin decided it would be best to leave, but not before he wrote a little note on the back of a receipt from his wallet, and slid it underneath the knocker on the door. It read: Leila, I stopped by but you weren't here. I know it's tacky to leave a note, but I would really love to take you on a date sometime. If you ever want to, call me at 312-067-4512 -Coilin He was just turning away from the front door when he quite literally ran into Leila who was wiping tears from her face furiously. She looked up and yelped before realizing who it was. "Oh my God, Coilin, you scared the shit out of me!" She exclaimed conspiratorially. Coilin breathed a sigh of relief at finally seeing her, but that relief was fleeting as he assessed her mood. She was crying, and although it was very creepy for him to be there, he doubted her tears were brought on by his presence. He confronted her. "Why are you crying?" He asked, concern written all over his face. "It doesn't matter." Leila said with disdain. She looked away and bit her lip, obviously trying to keep herself from bursting into tears again. When it seemed that she had control over her emotions, she turned her head back to him and arched an eyebrow. "What are you doing here?" She asked him. Coilin inhaled and exhaled deeply. "I wanted to ask you something but you weren't here, so I left a note." He muttered as she walked to the door and pulled the receipt from the knocker. "You left me a receipt?" She asked in a confused tone. "On the other side." He murmured. He held his breath and watched nervously as Leila read his message and then looked up at him, this time with both eyebrows raised. "You were gonna ask me on a date... on a receipt?" She asked, making it obvious in her stare that she was judging him. Coilin blushed. "It... It didn't seem like such a bad idea when I wrote it." He muttered again, avoiding eye contact. When she didn't seem like she was going to say anything else, Coilin babbled on. "I've been waiting here for a while now and figured you probably wouldn't be back anytime soon." Leila's eyes were as big as saucers as she stared up at him. "You waited here to ask me on a date?" She repeated. Coilin mentally chastised himself for his slip up and nodded slowly, trying to gauge her opinion of his actions. He was nervous, and from what he could tell, so was she. She bit her lip nervously, and he could slowly feel his brain become clouded by lust. Leila was still wearing that cute little dress she had on earlier in Denise's office and still looked beautiful, despite her now flushed tear-stained cheeks. In fact, the flushed color of her skin made Coilin wonder if her skin turned that color after a good fucking. "Well that's... sweet." Leila said softly, a small smile appearing on her face. Coilin breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "I'm glad you think it's sweet and not creepy." "Oh, I never said I didn't think it was creepy." Leila replied quickly, her smile covering the entirety of her face now. Coilin laughed heartily at her response. "Touché." He responded after his laughter died down. Leila looked down at the receipt-note in her hand and tears filled her eyes. "All joking aside, this is really sweet Coilin. Thank you." He reached to wipe away a resurfacing tear and lifted her chin up to look into her eyes. "Seriously, what's wrong?" He asked softly. "It's nothing, I just... I met up with my ex-boyfriend tonight and it was horrible." She murmured, shaking her head and looking away. Coilin felt his chest tighten at the thought of some asshole guy making his woman cry. He quickly reminded himself to keep calm, not wanting that old temper to flare again. He swallowed the desire to find this ex-boyfriend of hers and break his legs. Coilin backtracked. He was in no position to already be claiming Leila as his woman, they hadn't even kissed yet, let alone gone on a date, plus he wasn't even sure if she wanted to go there with him. Who was he kidding? Based on the way his body and heart responded when he was around her, Coilin couldn't argue with the way he was feeling about her. He cared about her deeply, and wanted the best for her. "What's his name?" He questioned, his voice cold and unforgiving. Leila looked at him, no doubt surprised by his sudden change in tone of voice. "And why do you want to know that?" She asked incredulously. "Obviously someone needs to teach that boy how he should treat a woman." Coilin said sternly. "And you're going to be that person?" "I don't see why not." Coilin replied heatedly. His temple pulsed as he longed to give this mystery man a beat down. "Look, I appreciate your concern, but it's not like you're my boyfriend or anything. You don't have to take care of me." She said, rolling her eyes. Leila had effectively put some space between the two of them, shifting on her back foot so she leaned away from him, but that didn't stop Coilin from advancing. He took a step forward so that he towered over her smaller frame and looked deeply into her chocolate irises. Due to their close proximity, the electricity in the air became more potent. He felt his semi-erect penis lurch at the look in Leila's eyes. They were half-lidded, her mouth parted slightly. It was as if she was in a trance. "I still care about you. And I don't want to see you shedding tears over some asshole, okay? You're too special for that." He said, his gaze flickering to her pouty mouth momentarily, then back to her eyes. "Do you understand that?" he asked, lowering his head toward hers. Her lips seemed to be magnetized to him, because he couldn't help but feel the pull her mouth was initiating. Leila only nodded. He lowered his face some more so that his lips were hovering just above hers, and sighed softly. His tongue snaked out across his lips as he realized that he was moments away from kissing that full pillow-y mouth he fantasized about for the better half of the week. He felt her shudder beneath him, although they weren't touching yet, and felt a surge of pleasure wash over him at the thought that he had ignited that arousal in her. He closed his eyes and touched his lips lightly against hers before delving into the most sensual kiss. A Minute Thirty Ch. 03 Their tongues danced languidly around each other, brushing against one another hotly. Coilin was leading for the most part, manipulating her tongue to follow his lead. He sucked it into his mouth and then released it, exploring the concave of her cheeks with his wet muscle as if he were memorizing each nook and cranny of her sweet mouth. He was vaguely aware that Leila now snaked her hands up his chest and looped her arms around his neck. He placed a firm hand on the top of her ass, slowly kneading her ass cheeks with the palm. He gently licked and nibbled on her bottom lip before pulling it right into his mouth and sucking on it with barely restrained hunger. No longer was he dealing with a semi-erection, but a full blown one that was straining against his zipper. Coilin heard Leila moan and felt her hands venture into the silky strands of his brown hair. He grunted once she began pushing herself against his erection, even going so far as to rocking her hips slightly against it. Coilin was lost in the sweet taste of Leila's mouth and the smooth texture of her tongue. He was sure that given a few minutes more, he would no longer be able to think with his brain, but solely with his cock. He didn't mean for this to get so out of hand. He only planned on asking her on a date tonight. He wasn't expected for them to already swap spit. Yet here they were, writhing against each other and gasping as if they were two horny teens close to losing their V-cards. The only thought in his mind was to find the nearest bed, and fuck Leila until she was numb and her voice was gone from crying his name. When he could no longer breathe, Coilin pulled his lips away from Leila's and dragged in a ragged breath. He looked down at her, his chest heaving up and down, and brought his hand up to softly thumb her now swollen lips. Leila looked flustered, and closed her eyes while taking in deep breaths. "That was delicious." Coilin murmured, a smile playing on the corners of his lips. Leila slowly opened her eyes and they stared at each other lustfully, waiting for the haze to lift off of them. Leila was the first to seemingly snap out of it. "I'm so sorry Coilin. We shouldn't have done that. I... I can't go on that date with you." She struggled to remove herself from their entanglement, and Coilin took his hand from her posterior to help her out of their embrace. It was obvious that he was confused. That wasn't the response he expected at all. 'She was into that kiss right? I couldn't have made that up...' He thought. "I don't understand." He said, his eyebrows furrowed. "This is going to sound really cliché, but it's not you, it's me. I shouldn't get involved with someone right now. I appreciate you coming here to ask me on a date, and I'm very flattered. Under any other circumstance, I would take you up on your offer." She said hastily, looking through her purse for the key to Denise's large door. 'Under any under other circumstance?' What was this girl talking about? Why was she being so damn cryptic? "So... you're not interested, yet you kiss me like that and rub yourself on me like you want to jump my bones?" Coilin mocked, pushing his hair out of his face in irritation. "I shouldn't have kissed you. I'm so very sorry for that Coilin, really I am. It was a very irresponsible thing for me to do. I... lost control." Her tone made it seem as if she were scolding herself, but she continued, "And I never said I wasn't interested, I just said that I shouldn't get involved." She looked up at Coilin with a genuinely apologetic expression on her face. "I'm just going through a really shitty time right now. I need to focus on myself before I focus on a relationship, okay? I'm sorry to have led you on, Coilin." Coilin looked down at Leila who was now fidgeting nervously around him. He wanted more than anything to be upset with her, but it wasn't his place. Sure, she had kissed him back with a tenacity that had his libido raging, but she was human and deserved a break. "Sure," Coilin replied stiffly, "I... understand." He looked longingly at her body once more before turning on his heel and walking briskly down the steps. "Have a nice night." He called back toward her. "Coilin..." He heard the plea in her voice, begging for him to not be upset with her. "Goodnight Leila." He yelled, walking toward his bike. He tugged his helmet on his head and started it up before heading off down the street. He caught a glimpse of Leila standing on the front step, watching him speed off into the night. *** L e i l a "We remind you that this is a non-smoking flight. Tampering with, disabling, or destroying the smoke detectors located in the lavatories is prohibited by law. You will find this and all the other safety information in the card located in the seat pocket in front of you. We strongly suggest you read it before take-off. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask one of our crew members. Thank you for flying with Zinc Airlines. We wish you an enjoyable flight." Leila crooned into the overhead speaker. She was excited to be back at work. While she was grateful for her sister's help, she couldn't wait to work more so she could start paying Denise back. She wasn't used to relying on someone else for help. Growing up, her mother always said that she should never have to depend on anyone else for her well-being; and before Antonio came along, that's just what Leila was doing. She had her own loft, and was fine with working overtime to keep it. It felt good to know that her hard work was the catalyst of what resulted in her well-furnished living space. Of course, once she met Antonio, all of that went out of the window. She first met him at a club, he was the club's promoter, but of course she didn't know that in the beginning. He was chatting with a group of young attractive women and saw her sitting at the bar with one of her girlfriends. Suddenly, he excused himself from the group, and decided to dazzle her with his charm. She blew him off, telling him he had tired lines, and left her spot to go up on the second floor to dance to some different music. He followed her and begged her for a dance. Again, she denied him, but eventually his persistence wore her down and she gave him that dance. She was impressed by his moves, and afterwards let him buy her some more drinks while getting to know more about him. They really hit it off, and though some people warned her that Antonio Juarez was a smooth criminal, she spent the night with him anyway. After that night, the two of them continued to see each other casually. It surprised her how easily he seemed to sweep her off of her feet. He downright spoiled her when it came to gift sharing and lovemaking, and before she knew it, they were in a serious— very serious— relationship. The first eight months of their relationship were beautiful. They couldn't keep their hands off of each other, and practically went to any and every social event with one another. He sent flowers every Sunday morning so he could "start her week off right," and when she would come back from a flight, he went to her house to cook dinner and give her full body massages. He was a dream. The next six months of their relationship were okay, but not as wonderfully blissful as the first eight. Antonio was still a dream, just less of an extravagant one. He got more involved with his work at the club, and was working hard to make a good name for himself. Leila was still working hard to keep her loft, and was grocery shopping for two since Antonio was basically moved in with her. She even got him a spare key. There seemed to be a mutual understanding that they did their own things. The sex was still great, and proved to be a great stress-reliever for both of them. However, the five months following that were outrageously hectic. The price of living increased for Leila, and she was just barely affording to live in her loft. She was contemplating getting another job, when Antonio graciously allowed her to move in with him. She accepted his offer, gave thirty days' notice to her landlord, and moved into Antonio's smaller, but reasonable, apartment. For a fleeting moment, their spark was reignited. Living together—for real this time— was something that was exciting for both of them, and they maximized on that excitement. But after a while, they began playing like an old married couple. They were both too busy in their own lives to satiate each other. And the busyness led to the problems in the last month of their relationship. Antonio's behavior toward Leila grew much more distant, and she was under the impression that he wasn't being monogamous. The arguments were long, frequent, and left Leila and Antonio drained emotionally. Leila was practically jumping to travel in order to get away from their apartment that felt less and less like a home each day. When she found out that she was pregnant, she thought it was a gift from God. She was so excited to share her news with Antonio; she thought he would be excited about the pregnancy. Leila walked up and down the aisle, making sure that all of the overhead bins were closed completely before heading to the front of the plane and opening the door to the cockpit. "We're almost ready for you Jerry, Mark." She said, smiling at both of the men nestled in their seats. "Thanks Leila." Both men replied, smiling brightly at her. She ducked out of the cockpit and quickly walked down the aisle, tossing reassuring smiles at seemingly nervous passengers, and headed straight for the back of the plane where the jump seats were located. Her coworker and acquaintance, Janine, sat in her seat with a gossip magazine in her hand and flipped lazily through it. "Girl," She said in her southern drawl, "this flight needs to start and finish already." Janine was a petite girl with flowing dirty blonde hair that was pulled back into a ponytail. Her knee-length skirt clung to her crossed legs and she had her ice-blue eyes glued to an ad that had a half-nude Paul Walker on the page. "Janine, you're a sweetie, but you need to put that magazine away and get to work. You're still on probation." Leila reminded, laughing lightly. "I know, I know. But there ain't nothin' to do right now." She said, getting ready to close the magazine, but not before licking her lips lustfully at the ad. "I'll tell you what, I sure wouldn't kick him out of my bed." She said, showing Leila what she was looking at. Leila was rubbing scentless lotion on her hands, when she looked up at the picture and she chuckled. "Neither would I." she agreed conspiratorially. "Oh I believe you. That little bun in that oven proves you were definitely incapable of kicking Antonio out of bed." She teased. They both laughed as Janine closed the mag and put it in her purse. "Oh hush." Leila scolded. Had it been anyone else, Leila would have ripped them a new one. But something about the candidness of Janine was refreshing for Leila. They never worried about hurting each other's feelings, because it was all in good fun. "I'm gonna go check seatbelts one more time." She said, walking away from the back. Leila walked after Janine, preparing to do a quick walk-through of the aisle, when the strong scent of beef infiltrated her nostrils. She looked around to find the source. One of the passengers unwrapped a sandwich from what smelled like Burger King, and it sent Leila flying to the lavatory to vomit. Leila only ate a light omelet and some toast that morning, but it seemed as if her vomit was never-ending. She moaned in between heaves and finally got herself to stop throwing up and stand. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and turned the water on to wash her hands. There was a knock on the lavatory door, and before she could tell the person to come in, Janine poked her head in. "You done blowin' chunks or should I come on back later?" She asked, smiling softly at Leila. "Shut up, you and I need to switch sections of the plane, pronto." She said, a small smile on her face. "Yes ma'am." Janine smirked before leaving out. Leila closed her eyes briefly, and momentarily wished for a man to take care of her. Not just any man, but Coilin. He seemed to be very interested in her well-being, and she hadn't felt that attention from Antonio in a while. She remembered their heated kiss outside of Denise's door, and she felt her body grow warm in response. 'Damn, you should have just gone on the date.' Leila scolded herself. If she went, there would probably be plenty more of those kisses where that came from. She sighed and opened her eyes, coming back into the real world. She needed to get herself in the right mindset for the flight. There were lots of families with kids on this flight to California, and there was a passenger or two that were already showing signs of trouble. She said a silent prayer requesting for strength, and hoped she wouldn't have to cuss anyone out today. She pushed Coilin out of her mind. It was for the best.