Page 48 of Champagne Kisses
“Maya. What’s wrong baby?” She won’t even look at me.
“You mean other than your brother being a jerk who apparently thinks I’m too ugly to even be in your life?” She’d kept her tears in check inside, but they fall freely now. Each one hitches the temperature of my blood up ten degrees hotter. I move to put my arms around Maya, the only woman I'veeverasked to come to a family dinner, but she steps away.Damnit, Cory!
“Baby, I’m so sorry you heard what he said. He’s an asshole.”
“But he’s not wrong,” she sniffs. “...And you agree with him.” OK. Now I’m pissed.
“Iagreewith him? Maya, what are you talking about?”
“If you’d thought I was beautiful, you would have said so.” She imitates my voice. “‘Maya is smart, funny, fun to be with, super talented.’ But he was right; youdidn'tsay I was beautiful.” She’s clutching her elbows now, and it’s killing me she won’t let me hold her.
“But Idothink you’re beautiful, Maya. I do! Just because I didn’t say it, doesn’t mean I don’t think it.” I can’t stop myself from grasping her shoulders, hoping my message gets through. “You’re beautiful!” She shakes her head, backing away.
“I’m gonna head home.” Before I can take her hand, she adds, “By myself. I just need some space.” Though she won’t let me hold her hand, I start walking after her.
“Maya, c'mon! We need to talk about this! My brother is an asshole and hedoes not speak for me!!” She keeps walking, starting to turn away from me.
“Go back inside and talk to your brother, Adam. I don’t want to be the reason you fight with your family.” She turns completely now, walking off without looking back. She's running away…again.
She might not talk to me in person, but shewilltalk to me. I take my phone out and start dialing.
Chapter twenty-six
Maya
Ilift my head up from my pillow to check my phone. Fifteen unread text messages. Twenty-five missed calls. Adam’s been calling and texting me pretty much nonstop since I left his parent’s place. I don't know what there is to say right now.
Tonight was truly a nightmare. I get up and start pacing, doing my best to walk out my frustrations.
First, I meet his parents andall his brothers—that'sfour brothers—by myself, since he's got some stupid fucking presentation.ThenCory turns out to be a major asshole, doing his best to make me feel small no matter what I said.
Oh, I don't have a real job, Cory?Tell that to my student debt! It's paid in full, bitch!Oh, I'm nothing like Adam's other women?That's agoodthing, dumbass. Those hos never got to meet the family. Adam didn't give those skanks three orgasms just two nights ago!
I come to a dead stop at one horrible thought: Nothing Cory said hurt more than that Adamdoesn'tthink I’m beautiful. It’s all my deepest insecurities realized. Sure, he thinks I’m a good person, but I guess that’sin spiteof my looks? Another sob escapes my already sore throat and I drop back down on my bed and bury myself in the sheets.
Before I can fall asleep and pretend this whole night didn’t happen, another call comes in. God, give it a rest! I grab my phone to silence it before I see who’s calling; what a relief that it's Denise. I pick up immediately. A call will have to do until I can schedule a "Binge & Bitch" session. Denise doesn't bother with a greeting.
“Hey, girl!" she says cheerily. "Oh no, wait. Are you crying?” Denise’s voice is so comforting I let my guard down and cry directly into the phone. I'm probably an uglycriertoo.
“Adam,” I sniff. “Adam thinks I’m ugly!” I let loose another wail and hear soothing tones over the line.
“C’mon, Maya. Calm down." She makes gentle shushing noises over the phone. Is my friend really trying to calm me down like a baby? Damn, it actually seems to be working, too.
"What you just said can’t be true. Of course Adam doesn't think you’re ugly. At brunch, he couldn't keep his eyesor handsoff of you.” It's hard to make out what she's saying over my crying, which has actually given me the hiccups.
“But he does." Even though I hate the whine creeping into my voice, I can't help it. "He just said I was fun, talented, andsmart.” The shushing sounds stop and now there’s silence from Denise’s side of the call. I hiccup, trying to get a hold of myself.
"Hello?" Maybe the phone went dead.
“...Uh, Maya?" Denise finally sighs. "Those aregoodthings.” I roll my eyes. Why is she being so thick-headed?
“Yeah, those are good things," I sniff, "but he didn’t say I wasbeautiful. No woman wants her man to think she's got a" I use air quotes, though D can't see them, "'great personality' while secretly thinking she's a wildebeest! And his stupid brother, Cory, thinks I’m ugly too!” Even to my ears, I sound like a preteen brat. Denise just sighs. She's never had much patience.
“Maya, girl, you’ve gotta get over this." All soothing tones are gone from her voice. Instead, she sounds drained. "First, you thought Adam was too hot to like you. Then you thought he was just using you for some big-girl fetish.”Ha!That thought, now, seems ridiculous.
"Then you decide to finally give it a shot with him, and you spend almost every day fucking like rabbits," she's picking up steam now, "but now,nowyou think he doesn't think you're attractive?" I feel like Denise just treated me as a hostile witness on one of those courtroom shows.Your honor, I object!
“Well…,” I stammer. I don’t have any response, but I also don’t want her to keep yelling the truth at me. She ignores my feeble attempt to interrupt her.
