Page 25 of Organized Chaos
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
I made a move toward the bedroom, pretending I’d dress for the day, then stopped as if a realization hit me.
“Fuck, it’s a weekend,” I empathized with faux remorse. “People in the countryside don’t work on Sundays, and we are too remote for Ubers.”
“Shit, if that car doesn’t work, we are stuck. And my school’s starting back up.”
Most college kids partied and fooled around. Maya struck me as the kind of person who wasn’t late even to the eight a.m. lectures. She anxiously paced at the thought of missing a class for the first time in her life.
I would have laughed if I could ignore the growing ache from her forlorn looks.
I put two fingers to my forehead, rubbing my temple. “Don’t worry, baby. I’ll take a look at the car. Whatever’s wrong, I’m sure I can fix it.”
Maya turned on her heels, beaming. She practically jumped into my arms in a childish manner. “My hero!” she quipped.
Her warm embrace mingled with my bitterness. Relief was only emanating through her at the thought of leaving me. I still couldn’t think straight. My arms circled her waist, remaining motionless to soak up all the affection she had to offer.
Maya leaned back to speculate, hands on my shoulders. “Thank you, Brandon. I can’t miss the first day of classes.” But she might if the “malfunctioning” car was still out of order.
Not wanting to resort to tricking her, I had to disprove Maya’s apprehensions about us within the small remaining window. And fuck if I didn’t try.
For the rest of the day, I conjured up every possible idea the “right man” might have used to woo her—making her breakfast, a nature tour, watching the damn sunset.
Hell, I even took her on a fucking picnic.
I refrained from touching her all day, determined to show her the kind of man I could be. To show her it wasn’t only about the physical aspect. Faked as much charm as I could muster without gagging.
Maya appeared contemplative throughout it all, though our conversations never stalled. Except for over one topic.
“How does your family feel about you extending this trip?” I asked, shutting the wooden front door that led into the kitchen.
“Unhappy,” Maya answered curtly, dropping her beach bag on the kitchen island.
We felt overheated after the activities in the sun and finally called it quits on our outdoor adventures. Frankly, I was far more concerned with ourindooradventures, but it had to wait until this discussion was out of the way.
After our first exchange, I marked ‘family’ as an unsafe topic, skirting around it. Later, I realized they played an integral role in Maya’s hesitation about extending our... acquaintance.
“What did they say?” I pressed, following her into the living room.
Maya stopped in front of the sofa. “It doesn’t matter,” she dismissed.
“You seem to hate talking about your family.”
“So do you,” she retorted.
The overgrown branches outside scratched against the glass window. The screeching noise was annoying, yet Maya appeared more peeved about the current discussion.
“Not with you. Ask me anything.”
Maya mulled me over for a long minute, opening her mouth several times to phrase a question. Either she lost her nerve or her interest.
“I don’t need to. If you want to share, I’m here. But I’m not going to pry,” she said at long last.
She meant to add, “and I hope you don’t either,” though she didn’t voice it. Instead, she expressed a different thought.
Maya drew closer, hips swaying gently with the motion. “Besides, the last thing I want to do is talk about them when we are together.”
The dimness in my vision returned with her proximity. Never had I lost my track of thoughts in the snap of a finger, not like this. She wasthatpotent, overwhelming me into a state of intoxication.
