Page 78 of The Fallacy of True Love
“Were you talking to me?” she asked in a deceptively casual tone.
They gawked at her.
The tallest girl recovered first, giving her the fakest smile I’d ever seen. “Oh. We were just saying that we like your style. We could never pull it off.”
Maya nodded. “Interesting. I thought I heard you talking about how fat I was and how this guy wouldn’t want to be with me.”
Her face flushed.
Maya looked at me. “Do you think I’m too fat, hun?”
I reined in my amusement and said with as much seriousness as I could muster, “You’re fucking hot, and you know it, babe.”
The girl’s friends were elbowing her, as though telling her they should leave, but she stood her ground, saying, “To each their own, I guess.”
“Lucky for me, he’s an ass man.” Maya smiled. “Have a good night, you girls.”
She wound her arm around my waist, and the sudden feel of her body settling next to me made my heart drum faster. Memories of the last time our bodies pressed together slammed into me, stealing my breath.
“Hun, we need to go.” Maya sounded like she was speaking between gritted teeth.
“Of course.” To help sell the act, I put my arm around her shoulders, and we fell into step together as if we’d been walking like this forever. No one would know it was my first time holding a girl other than my ex, and that my world was shifting because Maya felt so right nestled beside me.
I tried not to pay attention to the side of her chest pressing against my ribcage, but that kiss and how she’d molded her body to mine played back in my mind in full graphic detail.
“You could have been a bit more convincing, you know,” she grumbled.
Between the awareness that zipped through my veins and the grip she had on my waist, I barely processed her words. I recovered just enough to come up with a reply. “Did you want me to feel you up?”
She gave me a withering look. “Your response time was subpar.”
“It’s not like you ever gave me a sign that you wanted to cuddle up next to me.”
Shuddering, she said, “Don’t get excited. It’s all for show.”
I studied her face. She kept her expression blank, yet I thought I spotted tension in the corners of her mouth. “You okay?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” She met my gaze with defiance in her eyes. “It’s nothing I haven’t heard before.”
I wanted to round up everyone who had ever talked shit about her and sue them for slander. Did bad-mouthing technically qualify as defamation? Maybe not, but I’d find a way to make a case for it.
“I meant what I said. You are hot.”
“I believe your words were fucking hot.” Smirking, she leaned closer to my side. “Where’s my tapsilog?”
I almost stumbled at her abrupt topic switch. This woman didn’t do subtle in any shade of the word, and I’d come to see it as part of her charm. Tapping her shoulder, I nodded at the restaurant up ahead. “There, on the corner.”
Tagpuan 24/7 was a local food chain that served breakfast dishes all day, every day. They only had a handful of tables indoors, with most of the seating outside, but the food was tasty and the prices affordable. That combo made it an instant crowd favorite.
As soon as we entered the restaurant, Maya broke away from me. “I need to use the bathroom. Here.” She slipped cash into my hand and, without waiting for my response, took off in the direction of the bathroom sign.
I placed our orders and grabbed a table that a group of diners had just vacated. After clearing it, I busied myself with my readings, only looking up when a waitress dropped off our iced teas. I thanked her, then craned my head in search of Maya. She had been in the bathroom for almost fifteen minutes. Even if there was a line, it shouldn’t have taken that long.
I shot her a text:
Alonzo
Everything ok?
