LEYLA'S HAND TRAILED the door of the milky white Mercedes after she slammed it shut; she glanced over the sleek black Dior cat eyes perched atop her straight nose and sank her teeth into the plump skin of her crimson lips.

She smirked at the cute little valet boys who fumbled around as she swung her hips and walked through the rotating doors, her six-inch heels clicking with every step she placed on the polished surface.

The soft glow of warm honey lights illuminated her features as by-standers observed her with a variety emotions, primarily envy and awe. 

She continued to walk with poise till she reached the burnt umber podium and stood tall smiling at the teen that looked no older than seventeen with her sweet and luminous eyes.

"I'm Mr. Fitzgerald's guest," Leyla spoke with a light smile that made her seem even more attractive to the host. "O-of course ma'am, this way," the lanky boy led the way to a seat pushed to the far right of the room, away from prying eyes which immediately made her plead silently, 'please god, not a trust fund baby again.'

'how many times did i mention to you that i don't like being set up with pretentious trust fund babies, istg this is the last time you are setting me up on a blind date'

The brunette rolled her eyes as she tapped her rouge nails against the screen of her cellular device and sent the text to her cousin, Ayşe.

"Uh, here we are." 

She sent a slight smile to the shy pimple faced boy who immediately left after gesturing to the seat.

"How wonderful, the man of the night himself is missing!" Leyla grumbled annoyed and lowered herself into the dark turquoise blue plush chair. A server came around to ask if she would like to start with an appetizer, but she politely refused saying that she was going to wait for her party.

She wasn't in a good mood from the get go because yet another woman at work passed snide comments. However she did not want to let her aunt and cousin down, the ones who had come up with this entire blind date fiasco.

As soon as the thin minute hand aligned with the number two on the clock, she stood tall and brushed her straight hair off her right shoulder, mocking the place card that said 'Fitzgerald'.

She shot a quick text to Ayşe that would definitely irritate her, 'he got his ten minutes'

In order to convince Leyla to go along with the plan, her cousin had settled on a compromise with her that if she went on blind dates, there would be a ten minute window during which if she disliked him or he did not impress her, she would text Ayşe or leave but this time around she didn't even wait and lied to her cousin.

She began to gather herself and noticed how the restaurant had a good number of couples who looked oh so in love, the threads in her heart pulled tight as her late mother's words echoed in her ears.

"Guzel kizim benim, love is a beautiful kind of fear, it speaks for itself. The notion of falling and sharing your everything seems frightening but it's equally beautiful, if not more, than it is terrifying because it helps you find comfort in the chaos."

On her way out of the eatery, she smiled at the lanky boy who led her to the table and even waved which made the host want to faint because it wasn't an everyday thing that a pretty woman would acknowledge, let alone wave at him.

The valet boys snickered around this time when she was out, going as far as winking at her. Leyla lowered her head slightly and widened her eyes at the ground. As she thought of a rebuttal, her right shoulder was pushed back abruptly as a man ran, yelling an apology.

His musky cologne still wafted around as Leyla glanced over her shoulder at his frenzy figure that ran into the restaurant she just walked out of.

"Ma'am, your car." An elderly man smiled politely at her this time around. 

Nodding, she handed him a generous tip as she waved goodbye.

She drove out onto the road and received about three missed calls give or take, all from Ayşe. She let them get to voicemail because she knew Ayşe would blow her top if she heard what she did. She was very keen on this particular date but the stars weren't exactly aligned.

She spent the rest of the drive ruminating about her situation and hoping she didn't put her date in a despondent situation.

━━━━ ☆ ━━━━

Exactly two hours after the date she ditched, her stomach started to crave chocolate ice-cream so Leyla did what she had to, she drove to Crema Dolce, her go-to.

She was welcomed by the light chatter of a group of kids sitting right by the large window beside the entrance, other than that nobody was there.

As Leyla pulled her wallet out, the girl behind the counter pushed a cup of chocolate ice-cream towards her, "You're all probably sick and tired of my frequent visits now."

The girl, Aleena, grinned and shook her head, "Everyone loves you Leyla! And your tips, don't even get me started on those." The two girls laughed and caught up on each other's lives until Leyla went to sit down and eat her chocolaty goodness.

The bell chimed, indicating another customer had entered the parlor. Leyla didn't pay much heed to it until a very familiar cologne tickled her nose after he walked by. She looked up to see a tall, well-built man with tousled, soft hair and a plain white crew-neck tee.

She glanced back at her ice-cream not thinking much of it because it could be anyone and she didn't want to seem like a creep analyzing him but there was something so familiar about him that she couldn't help but sneak another glance at the man who now stood in front of the display with furrowed eyebrows, deep in thought.

In the next two minutes or so, she finished and tossed her cup in the trash. She turned her upper body slightly to send Aleena a wave, who yelled back, "Bye Leyla! Don't forget to brush your teeth." Leyla rolled her eyes jokingly and refuted, "Okay mom!"

Her eyes met the man's again who quirked a brow at her while rubbing the nape of his neck, "Leyla?"

He had hazel eyes, that is what she noticed first about the man who now smiled softly at her. She nodded unsure and skimmed his face for a hint of who this hazel eyed man was but soon halted her movements because she had connected all of the dots.

"Matthew?"

i really hope you all liked it! feel free to drop down your thoughts, i love hearing what you all have to say <3

really excited for all of you to embark on leyla and matthew's journey x