Title:
Finding Laila
Author: T.K. Rapp
Release Date: Jan 13, 2015
Find on
Joey, Cole, Haden
and Braxton have been a constant in my life since I was five, and I have loved
being one of the guys.
I’ve been
cheerleader.
I’ve been
study partner.
I’ve
been listener.
When
we’re young, we don’t realize the profound impact certain
people will have on our lives. I had no idea twelve years ago I’d
meet four boys who would turn out to be my best friends, my soul mates -
my barmy.
Now school is
almost done, our last summer together is drawing closer, and I’m
trying to hold on to what we have while I still can. After this we’ll
have to say goodbye to each other, as our choices will take our lives in
different directions. But I don't know if our friendship can survive
once secrets and surprises begin revealing themselves to us at every
turn.
When it’s
all said and done, will our friendships remain unbreakable? Or will our once
strong bond prove to be weaker than we
anticipated?
Letting go is
harder than I thought, but some changes are necessary.
And finding
Laila…finding myself…may be the
greatest journey of all.
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“I guess
we know the flavor of the week,” a female voice says from behind me,
causing several others with her to
laugh.
I know
they’re talking about me. They’re always talking about me.
It’s been this way since I was in seventh grade, but I’ve
made it my mission to ignore
it.
“She
certainly gets around,” another voice chimes
in.
Cole is sitting to
my left, Haden to my right and both guys are staring at the field, but neither
is paying attention to the game. I watch out of my peripheral as
Haden’s forearm muscles tense and relax while Cole bites his lip.
They are intently focused on the words being thrown at me, but keep quiet for
the time being.
“She must
be good because they all stick around,” a guy’s voice
states in salacious tone that makes me
nauseous.
I don’t
wait for another barb to be hurled my way, even though I know it’s
coming. I throw my arm around Haden and whisper something in his ear before
kissing his cheek then turning to do the same to Cole. I lean forward to see
Joey, who is next to Cole and give him a wink, “I’ll get
you later, Baby.”
He shakes his head
and laughs, “Why must you stir the
pot?”
Haden smiles -
proud of my display - and it pushes me on.
I turn to look at
the three classmates who have stopped chattering long enough to watch my little
show, jaws hanging open. I shrug my shoulders, and answer Joey,
“I’m just giving them what they
want.”
One of the girls,
Kasey, looks at me and raises a brow, “And what about
Braxton?”
I glance over to
Cole who’s listening to everything, but is still watching the game.
He smirks, as if he knows what’s coming and a smile of my own begins
to break.
They
are gawking at me when I turn and wet my lips before winking at the
girls.
“If he
wins, we all win,” I say
huskily.
“Touchdown!”
The announcer yells and the crowd jumps to their feet to celebrate. All but the
three jerks behind me.
T.K. Rapp is a
Texas girl born and raised. She earned a B.A. in Journalism from Texas
A&M and it was there that she met the love of her life. He had a
contract with the U.S. Navy that would take them across both coasts, and
ultimately land them back home in Texas.
Upon finally
settling in Texas, T.K. worked as a graphic designer and photographer for the
family business that her mom started years earlier. She was able to infuse her
creativity and passion, into something she enjoyed, but something was still
missing. There was a voice in the back of her head that told her to write, so
write, she did. And, somewhere on an external hard drive, are several stories
she started and never
finished.
Now at home,
raising her two daughters, T.K. has more time to do the things she loves, which
includes photography and writing. When she’s not doing one of those,
she can be found with her family, which keeps her busy. She enjoys watching her
kids in their various sporting activities (i.e. doing the soccer mom thing),
having Sunday breakfast at her parent’s house, singing out loud and
out of key or dancing like a fool. She loves raunchy humor, gossip blogs and a
good book.
