AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Axel
Throughout the first round of the competition, I’d been acutely aware of Layla’s presence. How could I not? She was right there, looking great and professional in her white chef’s jacket. Her hair was pulled back, off her face, accentuating her beauty.
It seemed that no matter what I did to dissuade her, to break her confidence and to, ultimately, send her home, she resisted.
I had to admit that a part of me admired her determination and her strength. So many other students would have already succumbed to the pressure, packed their bags and run out.
But not Layla. No, she dove into her work, surprising me with just how talented she really was.
Clangers? What the hell? It’d seemed so ridiculous, but the judges had loved them and had loved her.
As I’d tried to concentrate on my own dish, I had also tried desperately to ignore the presence of Chef Mac who stood on the sidelines the entire time, his eyes intently on Layla.
It was impossible to deny that there was something going on between them. When I’d initially caught Layla in Chef Mac’s embrace, I’d thought it was a one time thing... his attempt at getting closer to the hot new student.
But as I’d glanced at him, every time catching his hungry gaze on Layla, I knew there was more. And that knowledge gnawed at me. I hated it. Hated how it made me feel. Hated how it possessed me.
Though it was no surprised that I’d made it to the next round of the competition, I should have celebrated. I should have been happy, victorious.
But I’d simply watched Layla leave the tent with an empty sensation in my gut.
Damn. I had to do something about her. I had to get her out of the academy.
I headed home, eager to talk to Kobe about the entire situation.
“Where are you going to?” I said as I entered the house that we shared and found him all dressed up and ready to head out.
He wore pale blue dressy shorts and a nice white button down shirt that had a delicate pale blue seam around the hem.
I was so accustomed to seeing him casually dressed that it struck me.
“Oh,” he said with a nonchalant shrug. “Me and the guys are heading into town. We need to break away from the campus life a bit.”
“Oh?” I said, a little disappointed. Feeling the need to break away as well, I followed him as he headed into the kitchen. “Mind if I tag along?”
He looked up at me, clearly surprised by my request. “Um,” he said with weighty hesitation. “Maybe some other time, bro. One of the guys is going through a rough time and we all want to help him out.”
I looked at him. I knew him inside and out, and while we were so polar opposite when it came to most things, the one thing I knew about him was that little twitch at the corner of his mouth when he lied.
What was he really up to?
“I was kind of hoping to talk to you about my situation,” I said, my need to talk growing.
“You mean about that Layla chick?”
I nodded.
“Man,” he said. “I don’t know what to tell you. You’ve got the hots for the girl, and you don’t want to lower yourself to her level. What does that say about you?”
Stunned by his question, I took a step back and looked at him. “What do you mean, what does it say about me? It means that I have standards. It means that I have pride in who I am. It means that...”
“Look, bro,” Kobe said, suddenly displaying a level of maturity that was uncharacteristic of him. “I don’t know what to tell you. I can’t help you. You’ll have to figure this one out on your own.”
