Oh, La-la!

Chapter 19. Kayla

I’m already awake when my alarm goes off, and I turn it off quickly before it can wake Ash who is snoring softly beside me. I have a moment of weakness, thinking about skipping this morning’s class and instead wake him up in as interesting a way as I can imagine. I’ve never skipped a class before, and I’m a little shocked that the thought had even crept in. Besides, this was the class I picked for Smash and Tone to take with me this semester. Neither one of them were excited about the early Saturday morning wake-up, but it was the only time slot when all three of us were available.

Careful to be as quiet as possible, I slip out from under the covers and get dressed quickly in the predawn twilight, occasionally glancing at the peacefully sleeping man in my bed with a wistful smile. Maybe I can convince him to stay one more night and we can spend Sunday morning in bed with no obligations to be anywhere else.

Ash shifts and groggily calls my name. “Where are you going?”

I kiss him lightly on the cheek. “I’ve got class. Sleep in, I’ll be back in a few hours. Help yourself to any of the food in the kitchen.”

His head sinks back into the pillow, no further convincing needed to slip back into sleep. I’m not sure if I’m more impressed or jealous that he can fall asleep so fast.

I hurry to class, quietly slipping in, trying not to draw attention to myself. I’m only five minutes late, but it marks the first time I’ve ever been late to any class. I spot Tone at our usual table, and sit next to him. His hair is currently a light, almost white blonde, and I assume this means he’s preparing for a bright hue next. I like the contrast of the white next to his velvety brown skin. “Morning,” I say.

Tone studies me like he can see through me. “You had s*x!”

My eyes go wide and my jaw goes slack. “How can you possibly know that? All I said was ‘morning’!”

He c***s an eyebrow at me with a smirk. “’Cause I know you, girl, and I know when you’ve had s*x.”

Smash joins us at the table with a tray of test tiles to begin experimenting with the new glazes we’re trying out. Her hair, equally as changeable as Tone’s, is a deep turquoise that matches her cat-eyed glasses. “Who had s*x?” she asks, distracted with balancing the tiles on their tray. As she sets the tray down, she looks up at me and exclaims, “La! I know that smile! You had s*x! It’s about damned time!”

"Oh my god!” I hiss at her. “Can we please use inside voices?” I avoid looking at the rest of the class turning to ogle at me.

Tone lets a victorious smile break across his face. “So, dish it, sister. Boy or girl?”

I sigh. I should have known my two best, longest friends would know, and there really wasn’t any point trying to hide it from them. In fact, being able to tell them about Ash and I was one of the reasons I decided not to skip class today. “Boy. Man,” I correct.

“What’s his name?” Tone says in a sing-song voice.

“Ash,” I blush as I say it, but neither one of them seems to remember our previous discussions about ‘my work husband.’

“Where’d you meet?” Tone asks next and I stare at him, dumbfounded. Does he really not remember me talking about Ash?

“We work together,” I say slowly.

That finally triggers Smash’s memory. “Hey, wait! The same Ash that’s your work husband?” she says excitedly.

“He’s not my work husband,” I sigh. “But yes, him.”

“Oooo… office romance!” Tone sighs. He’s a hopeless romantic. “How’s the s*x?” Ok, maybe not that hopeless.

“Well,” I lean forward like I’m about to tell them a juicy secret, which, I suppose, I am. “Remember Simon?”

Tone’s smile turns devilish. “Mr. Multiple? How could we forget?”

“Turns out, he wasn’t that good after all.”

Tone whistles through his teeth, leaning back in his seat fanning himself while Smash tries, and fails, to suppress a girlish giggle. “Girl! How are you still walking? It has been too long since I’ve had a date.” I roll my eyes at him. Knowing Tone, it had probably been less than a week. “I’m going to need details!”

I giggle, and fiddle with one of the test tiles. “He brought me a rose last night before we went out to dinner,” I’m trying to play it cool, but it comes out sounding a little reverent. “A red one.”

Tone and Smash look at me like I’m speaking a different language. “Ok,” Smash says slowly. “That’s a good thing, right? Romantic?”

I blink at her. “Well, yeah. It was just so… No one’s ever done that before.”

“That’s not true,” Tone says thoughtfully. “What about that guy from Scottsdale? The one with the skateboard?”

“Kyle?” Or giant jerk, as I typically thought about him.

“Yeah, Kyle. He brought you flowers.”

“No,” I tell him, “he said he would’ve bought flowers but didn’t have enough money after buying beer, and claimed it was supposed to be the thought that counts.”

Smash rolls her eyes. “Sorry, sweetie, I love you, but you have the worst taste in guys.”

Tone nods in agreement. “Truth! We’re going to need to vet this new guy. It was one thing when he was just your work husband, but now that you two are doing the nasty, we’re going to need to form an informed opinion,” he decides as Smash nods in agreement. “When do we meet him?”

I chew my lip. It’s true, I really do have terrible taste in men usually. But Tone and Smash can be a bit intimidating to the uninitiated. “Couple of weeks,” I say. “Maybe when we go out for my birthday?”

They narrow their eyes at me, and Smash is the first to speak. “That’s a long time.”

“It’s not that long,” I shrug. “And hey, even if he isn’t up to your standards, at least I can enjoy the s*x until then.”

Tone snorts in amusement, I knew he’d appreciate the attitude, but Smash is harder to convince. “Kayla,” I wince at her worried tone, it’s never good when she uses my given name, “I don’t think you’ve ever slept with anyone on a whim. Nor anyone you’ve only had lukewarm feelings about. Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“Aren’t you both the ones always telling me I should loosen up about s*x and not make it such a big deal?” I point out.

“We just don’t want to see you get hurt, La-la,” Tone says.

I don’t want to tell them it’s probably too late for that already. It’s a crazy thought, and one I don’t want to dwell on. Obviously, Ash and I have been friends for a while and I already cared about him before jumping into bed with him, but I’m not in love with him. That’s absurd! My gut twists, and I start overthinking everything, trying to convince myself that it’s just the complication of being friends with him first and loving him as a friend that was making me all squirmy. Even thinking the L word makes parts of me quiver, and I can’t tell if it’s out of fear or excitement. It kind of feels like both. Whatever it is, I promise myself not to let that relationship killing word to slip through my lips first.