Endless Love

She didn't know what she had to do to get to know him or if her mother had strategically placed him there, but what she did know now that he had passed is she not only needed to get his number, but she also had to get out of her head and touch the seal before she passed it completely. Luckily, in the nick of time she remembered to place her kissed hand on the seal, she then took off after this stranger that she didn't know but wanted to etch into her brain and never forget. He hadn't gone too far, and she was confused when she reached him because he was right in front of the building she was heading to.

"Hey! I need you to slow down a little bit!" she shouted still trying to close the gap a bit; he was very tall. He also had a chiseled jaw, and warm chestnut brown hair, but what she wasn't expecting was his icy, cerulean blue eyes. He looked at her astonishingly, he had not been expecting to be run after today. He stopped at the door and waited for her, holding open the door for passers, greeting them with the most gorgeous, bright grin. Lyla finally caught up to him and was slightly out of breath - the adrenaline rushing from her body, "I'm sorry, I promise I'm not a stalker. I just really needed to get your number."

Flabbergasted, he took a moment to realize what she was asking. "I don't think anyone - let alone a woman - has chased me down to ask me for my number. If you're heading this way I wouldn't mind walking with you, so I can at least get your name first," he said with a warm grin. She had never wanted to get to know someone more. "Lyla," she blurted out, "my name is Lyla." She held out her phone for him, already having the contact pulled up for him to input his information.

"Oh, well, my name is Alex." he blurted out, still not quite accustomed to her boldness. He started clacking away on her phone putting in his name and phone number into the contact module; he kept stealing glances at her and she caught every single one. She smirked, knowing her daringness is what drives her to do these things; she was never one to shy away from anything or get embarrassed. She always told Serena it was because her sperm donor passed it onto her; why else would someone leave his wife for a twenty-four year old, when she had just had his child.

"I'm heading to meet my mom, so if you want to meet up later - that would be alright," he said as cool as someone could after being ambushed in a place he rarely goes. He disappeared down the hallway into an office that Lyla wasn't quite sure who's it was. She headed into her class and placed herself in the back where she always sat since no one ever sat there. It made taking notes and tests extremely easy for her; especially since no one would be able to distract her.

She diligently finished taking her notes and packed up her things. She beelined for her car, but not before she was pulled off course by a mystery hand. "Hey! I figured I'd find you here, my mother is the head of this department, and I was in town visiting her," it was Alex, and somehow, he looked even dreamier now that he had settled into the idea of Lyla and was starting to get comfortable with her. He kind of smirked at her with his eyes, "so I figured we could go get a coffee in town, but I'm not quite familiar with the town very much, so you'll have to pick the cafe."

After her bewilderment passed, she grabbed his hand and pulled him towards her car to start their little adventure. When Alex got in the vehicle he was greeted with the smell of warm French Vanilla, then a smile spread across his lips. As he buckled in, Lyla punched in the address to her favorite coffee shop and proceeded to buckle herself in as well. She was daydreaming about how close they would be sitting at the coffee shop and her body began to heat up. They began passing questions to one another to find out about the stranger sitting next to them.

Lyla had found out that Alex's mother had moved all the way to Texas to become the department head from Iowa, but Alex himself was visiting from Florida - where he was attending school at the moment. He was an honors student studying law and would be beginning his internship in the fall. She also learned that he came here on a motorcycle; mostly because he had slipped in that they would eventually need to go back for his bike.

Once they arrived at the coffee shop, 'One Cup At A Time,' Alex exited the vehicle while Lyla gathered her things, but Lyla expected to find Alex standing at the door waiting for her or find that he had already made it inside. To her surprise, he was standing outside her car door, ready to open it for her. She was not used to this kind of treatment, as all the men in her life were less than mediocre, which was the main reason why she steered clear of dating in the first place.

"Madam," he said jokingly, in an English accent. She then clasped his outstretched hand delicately and pulled herself out of the car. She mirrored his gestured with a short curtsy, which they both chuckled and then disappeared behind the door of the entrance. Alex wasn't quite sure what he was going to expect with the shop, but the cozy feeling coming from every square inch of the place made him never want to leave. "Wow, of all the times I have visited my mother, I have never been here," he said in disbelief, "this is magnificent." His eyes sparkled as he looked around the building.

He wasn't sure if it was the cozy chairs, or the different cultures spread out across the floor, or if it was the smooth music that seemed to be coming from everywhere at once. Then he was welcomed with the soothing smell of the mix of coffees that had been made that day, macchiatos, and cappuccinos, and all kinds of drizzles had filled his space and felt as though he had found Heaven on Earth. He was then disrupted by a sweet, but quiet sound, "my best friend, Serena, found this place one day with her art history friends," she smiled shyly. It was the first time today he had seen her show any sort of vulnerability, and it made her seem small and fragile.

"She brought me one day when I was having a hard time trying to study and told me that it would keep me in my own space. Now I just come here for the coffee and the atmosphere; especially when I don't have anything to do, and it's a great place to people watch," Lyla chirped as they glided across the floor to the counter. They were met with a grin from the barista, her piercings moving with her face as her expressions changed, "hey Lyla, would you like your usual," which was met with a slight nod, "and what can I get for you sir?"

Alex glanced up at the menu, knowing exactly what he was going to get but wanting to seem like he was going to consider choosing a different option, "I'll just take a black coffee," the barista looked at Lyla quizzically, as if she was trying to ask her if she was sure about this person that she had brought with her today. Lyla chuckled as they paid for their coffees and headed off in a different direction.

She led him towards an enclosed room, and took him inside, away from curious, prying eyes. They sat down on the sofas that sat across from each other, "I was meeting my best friend here later, so I figured that I could just bring you here and we could chat before then," a cute smile quickly painting her face for a moment. "Well, I'm glad you brought me, this place is amazing; I didn't know such a place existed," Alex confessed to her with such gratitude in his voice that made her want to take him to all of her favorite spots.

They then talked about how Lyla was going back home to help with her mom's flower shop, but she made sure to leave out the part about her inevitable possible suitor waiting for her next to her childhood home. Lyla left for a brief moment to grab their coffees knowing the barista always made her regulars a priority and tipped her graciously since she had troubled her with making such a mondain coffee, she just shook her head and laughed letting her know that she was only trying to get a playful rise out of one of them.

She returned to the hidden room and sat down across from Alex once again, they finished their barrage of questions to each other and just sat across from each other chatting as if they had been old friends this whole time. He told her that he was staying for the week and that he had to go find a motel to stay in at some point, "you're more than welcome to stay at our condo while you're here, there's more than enough room for one more and I'm sure the girls wouldn't mind," Lyla said confidently now that she had gotten comfortable with Alex being in one of her special places.

Time had passed when a head had popped into the curtained doorway, the delighted grin turned into shock as Serena walked into the room with her girlfriend in tow. "Hey Lyla, I brought Jessica; I was going to make sure you were okay with that, but I see you have a guest of your own," Serena cooed at her and then turned to Alex, "and who might you be?"

Alex stuck out his hand, "hello my name is Alex, and you must be this Serena I have been hearing about," she took his hand and playfully glared at him as a protective parent would. "I was actually ambushed by your friend here earlier; we just met today," he declared as he politely shook Jessica's hand. She shyly went back to standing behind Serena again; as if she were a barrier that would protect her from anything and everything, but almost as soon as she had gotten comfortable where she was, Serena sat down next to this new stranger within their midst.

Serena began interrogating Alex, occasionally glancing at Lyla, which caused her recently dyed hair to bounce around on the top of her head because of her messy bun. Purple and blonde strands poking out everywhere; when she was pleased with all of the information she turned to Lyla, "so the reason I asked you here today -"

"You're staying here, aren't you?" Lyla chimed in, beating her to the punch. Serena hung her head for a moment and then made a sullen nod at her best friend who had looked forward to her favorite person in the entire world going back home with her, so she didn't have to deal with her mother's shenanigans alone. "Well, I hope you know I'm only going to forgive you as long as you stay out of my room and take care of the condo, right?" she asked with a smirk placed perfectly on her face.

"And just how would you know if I went in your room?" Serena asked slyly, knowing that Lyla didn't actually care if she went in her room or not, but that she needed to have a condition to throw into the air. Looking her square in the eyes awaiting her reply she matched everything about her for just a moment, thinking she had won this hazing round.

"Fine, let Alex stay at the condo this week so he has a place to stay that isn't one of the nasty motels downtown," Lyla spit out quickly, taking away any victory that Serena thought she had. No longer having the upper hand and now completely in disbelief that her best friend, someone who had never even worried about boys outside the academic setting, was asking to let one stay in their home. As she sat there with her mouth wide open, she looked to Alex; trying to figure out what it was about this guy that would make Lyla want him to stay at their place, then to Jessica, finally her face resting on Lyla, "well, I can do with that, but Jessica is coming too," she leaned over to Jess, "we both are going to see what happens this week.