HURT FOR ME

Chapter Fourty-Eight - Who & What

"A girl should be two things: who and what she wants."

- Coco Chanel

Olivia Bennett

"After tonight, I'm going to need you in the cafe for at least a month." Layla searched through every item in my closet, looking for the perfect outfit for me to wear.

She pulled out a black dress that had a frilled hemline and positioned it over my body, "This will look gorgeous on your body!" She exclaimed. I smiled at her compliment.

"So, does it get busier around this time of year?" I questioned. "Or do you just want to see my face more?" I teasingly bumped my shoulder on hers.

"Oh, definitely." She agreed sarcastically, putting her hand on my cheek. "People tend to travel here more so the cafe will get busier, yeah." She explained.

I carefully set the black dress on the chair tucked away in the corner of the room, while Layla started rummaging through my vanity, which housed only a handful of makeup products.

"Do you wanna run by the cafe with me?" Layla asked. "I have to drop off some cups and take inventory."

"Absolutely," I responded, grabbing my phone and casually tossing it into my bag, along with the keys to the car Aaron had gifted me. The mere thought of him buying me my dream car brought a smile to my face.

She followed me through the hallway and we got onto the elevator, debating which coffee should be on the menu for the month.

"Shit," I muttered as we entered the lobby. "I forgot to tell Aaron we were leaving."

Layla waved her hand in the air, "The boys will be fine," She dismissed my concern. "Just message Aaron."

The blonde receptionist cast a disdainful glance at both Layla and me, prompting Layla to respond with an eye roll in defiance. I couldn't help but smile at the floor, attempting to stifle my laughter.

"You deal with her everyday?" Layla scoffed.

"Unfortunately," I guided us to the parking garage. "I'm pretty sure she has a thing for Aaron." Layla bursted out laughing, stopping our walk to the car.

"Any girl who thinks they can get with Aaron," She snorts. "is fucking insane." I glanced around at the people directing their attention to us due to her loud laughter. "If they can't see that he's all about you, they're just unfortunately blind."

The feelings that Layla's simple statement gave me put a smile on my face. I liked that people could see what we've turned our relationship into and all of the progress we've made over the past few months.

Layla's simple remark filled me with joy, painting a smile across my face. I appreciated that others could see the transformation and progress we had achieved in our relationship over the past few months.

We made our way towards the car, hastening to get inside, eager to reach the cafe within the next hour. Since it was mid-day, we anticipated encountering heavy traffic.

"I'll get the cups," Layla grabbed the boxes she had put into my trunk and headed into the cafe, leaving me to close the door and lock the car.

As we entered the cafe, the familiar aroma of bagels and coffee filled the air, evoking memories of my first day working there. It had only been two months since then, but it felt like time had flown by, especially considering that one of those months was spent in the hospital.

"Layla!" called out the girl who Layla had recruited to cover some of my shifts. "Come here," she demanded. Layla motioned for me to join her at the back, setting the boxes she was carrying onto the counter.

"What's up?" Layla asked the girl who looked irrationally irritated.

She wiped the back of her hand on her forehead which carried beads of sweat. "Yvette is killing me!" She exclaimed. "I've never seen someone struggle so much with a coffee machine."

"Seriously?" Layla crossed her arms over her chest. "You girls are going to be the death of me, Lily."

Lily stormed away, refusing to give Layla any more of her time. I made a concerted effort to stifle my laughter, not wanting to aggravate Layla any further.

"I'm just going to take inventory," She grabbed the clipboard on the desk. "I'll be quick." I returned to the front of the cafe, my eyes instantly falling upon Aaron and Sebastian who were walking in the door.

I stood behind the register, nervously staring at the both of them as they stood in front of me.

"Why didn't you tell me you guys were leaving?" Sebastian glanced around in search of Layla I'd assumed. Aaron didn't remove his eyes from mine as he waited for my answer.

"I was going to text you," I nervously looked away, trying to pretend to be busy with something.

"But you didn't." He wasted no time shutting down my excuse. "I was worried about you."

I smiled at his thoughtful statement, looking down to hide the sudden redness on my cheeks. "I'm sorry."

"Good." He finally took his attention from me, turning to face Sebastian as he was still looking for Layla.

"She's in the back doing inventory," I reassured him as he looked concerned.

"We decided to go to the nightclub early," Aaron said as he scrolled on his phone. "So we should just drive together."

Layla appeared from the back room, still holding the clipboard and a stack of cups. "Does it look like we're nightclub ready?"

Aaron glanced up from his cellphone, eyeing me once more. "I don't think Olivia could be anymore ready."

"No, no, no." Layla cut off Aaron. "You're not pulling this lovey-dovey shit right now!" She exclaimed.

"Don't worry," I intervened, putting my hand up. "We can just go back and get ready, then meet them at the nightclub." Layla eagerly nodded and Aaron let out a sigh.

"Fine." He gave in. "But don't take any longer than two hours Layla, I mean it." She rolled her eyes and threw her hand in the air, brushing him off.

After a little more bickering, the guys left the cafe and Layla and I made our way to the car, hurrying home so we'd have a good amount of time to get ready.

Layla pulled me through the lobby and into the elevator, nearly causing me to trip over my own two feet.

"I'm going to wear this one," Layla held up a pink, leopard dress in front of her body.

"I'm sure it'll look great on you, Layla." I gently brushed through my hair, curling some of the pieces that had fell flat from sleeping on them.

I lightly applied some makeup, opting for a touch of lip gloss and a hint of mascara. Then, I changed into the black dress that Layla had picked for me.

Layla's sudden gasp startled me, "It looks amazing!" She exclaimed as she raked her eyes over my body. I turned to the mirror and smiled at my reflection, the dress stopped at my thighs and hugged my body tightly, showing off my curves.

"Thanks, Lay."

"Okay, let's go." She rushed me out of the room, shoving a purse into my hands. "The guys are going to kill us."

"Being hot takes time, precision and skills." I argued. "A girl should be two things, Lay, who and what she wants." Layla chuckled at my sarcasm, and together we stepped into the elevator, bracing ourselves for the excitement that awaited us.