Maya

"We trust him," Nella tells me, as they try to convince me it's a good idea for me to stay at Marcus' house until I can move into my apartment.

   I don't bother saying that they don't have to convince me. George has already sent a text to him, to see what he thinks. Now, I'm secretly crossing my fingers that he agrees, which is crazy. I know it is.

   "He's not nosy, either. He'll leave you be and you can just sleep in the guest room until Friday. You can spend the days here, so it won't be too awkward," Nella goes on, basically planning it all out.

   "We got along fine," I say, then add, "I mean, like, when we went to the coffee shop, to do the lease agreement, and stuff."

   "So, you're okay with it?" she asks me, her eyes narrowed.

   "I mean, if-"

   "Marcus is on board!" George yells from the other room. Suddenly he's there, crossing the room towards us. "He said she can head over whenever."

   Wow, it's happening. I'm going to Marcus' house that night, to sleep. I'll be staying there all week. Why is everything happening so fast? I thought I wanted him a minute ago but now I'm unsure.

   Nella pulls my arm so I have to go closer to her, then she whispers in my ear, "I swear he's a good guy. You'll be safe there. A hell of a lot safer than if you were at the sketchy-"

   "Okay, I get it. The motel is sketchy," I say, then smile at her.

   "So sketchy," George agrees. "I can do bath and bed time with Willow if you want to take her over to Marcus'?" He's talking to Nella and she glances at me before nodding.

   "Yeah, that sounds good. Maya?"

   I nod, then shrug. I'm confused, obviously, but I don't have much of a choice.

   "Okay Will, say bye bye to Aunty Maya. It's time for your bath," George says to his daughter.

   Willow spins around and drops the toys she's holding, then walks over to me and hugs my legs. "Buh bye."

   "Bye, Willow. I'll see you soon," I say to her and pat her on the head.

   Once they are upstairs and out of hearing range, my sister looks at me carefully, again. I appreciate that she is thinking before speaking to me, though I know she's going to say it, anyway.

   "So, Marcus broke up with his ex, like two weeks ago. They were pretty serious. He was going to propose." She covers her mouth after that last part and I wonder why she's even telling me this. "Anyway, he's still getting over that. We didn't tell him anything about you, really, but... just be... smart."

   "I will," I tell her, and then nod. I'll try.

   Marcus greets us at the door of his big, fancy looking house. It looks new-ish and it's bigger than Nella's house. It only took about five minutes to get there and as I toss my back pack over my shoulder, I see Marcus opening the front door, a big smile on his face.

   It was only two days ago that he asked if he could walk me up to my hotel room. I showed great constraint that evening, because of course I wanted to let him. I still craved touch and he was willing. Now, I knew I'd have to basically not look at him for five days. I'd have to wear extra layers of clothes around his house so he didn't look at me in any particular way. I could not allow anything to happen, because it wasn't just about me.

   "Come on in," he says, to Nella and I both.

   She goes in first and I follow, already feeling my stomach tighten. His house is gorgeous inside. It's big and open and bright. There's a sitting room with nice, white couches and wooden end tables and a big TV on the wall. There's a staircase on the left side. Marcus leads us down the hallway and to another room, which looks like a more casual living room. There's another big TV and some bookshelves, along with a large mocha colored sofa.

   "You wanna stay for a drink, Nell? I mean, I have drinks that aren't alcohol," Marcus asks her.
He's barely looked at me since I got there a few minutes ago. I'm okay with that. I don't exactly want him to look at me.

   "Wow, you do?" Nella deadpans, then sticks out her tongue at him. "I'm good. I have to get back to make sure Willow gets to bed. You know George gives in to her."

   "Of course he does." Marcus smiles.

   "Thank you for agreeing to this. I know it's random and you've already helped a lot by finding her the apartment." Nella talks like I'm not right there.

   Finally Marcus looks at me. I notice his eyes look down my entire body before coming back up to meet mine. 

   "I should have offered, if I'd been thinking," he says. "It makes sense."

   "Still, we appreciate it. " She looks at me and I nod, but then she looks at Marcus again. "Dinner tomorrow still good?"

   Marcus's eyes leave mine and he looks at my sister. He's nodding but not saying anything.

   "Okay. And Maya, call me in the morning and I'll come get you? I actually need to get groceries so I was thinking you could stay with Willow?"

   "Yeah. Of course," I say. I'm glad she trusts me to babysit her daughter and also that she knows I likely won't want to stay at Marcus' house all day.

   Marcus is still quiet when Nella hugs me quickly and then turns to go back towards the door. She pauses and holds her eyes on me for a moment later. "You good?"

   I know she thinks I'm nervous about staying with a random guy. I should be. But I'm not afraid of him. I'm afraid of what I think about him. I'm scared of doing something stupid or at the very least, flirting with him.

   "Yeah, I'm good," I tell her.

   "Okay. Have a good night? See you tomorrow."

   "You too," I tell her, and watch her leave.

   When she's gone and her car has pulled away from the house, I turn to face Marcus. It's obviously there's sexual tension and I figure my best bet is to shut it down right away.

   "I appreciate this," I say, stepping back so there's space between us.

   "I... of course. I have this big house and... I don't like being here by myself. I mean, I'm not home that much, but..." He's talking but now he's not looking at me.

   I nod and step back again. We are just in the hallway near the living room. Behind him, I can see the perfectly remodeled kitchen. It's practically sparkling.

   "It's beautiful. Your house," I tell him.

   "Well, I had George's guys do a lot of the work in here and out front. I bought it about a year ago and we sort of gutted it and made it mine," he explains.

   "That's really cool."

   He smiles this really cute smile and there's a dimple that comes out of no where. Stop. Maya, no. Even though you're lonely and miss physical attention and yes, this gorgeous guy is right here. Just stop.

   "So... do you want a drink?" he asks me and I want to ignore that voice in my head.

   I'm still twenty-three. I'm young and I know I deserve better than what I put up with for two years. I know I deserve to be touched and appreciated. But I've only been here for a week. I have a lot of crap to sort out. I know better.

   "Yeah, sure," I say anyway.

   "I have red wine? And I have bourbon, but it's-"

   "Wine is good."

   He nods and turns on his heel to go towards the kitchen. I walk further into the living room and place my bag on the floor, near the couch. I look around the room and admire the way it feels tidy and fresh and nice while also feeling cozy. When Marcus appears beside me again, he's holding out a very full glass of wine.

   I take it and follow him over to the couch. He sits, so I follow, but leave space between us. I wonder if he can hear my heart beating.

   "So, Nella never said how old you are." This comment throws me, but I take a sip of the wine and look at him before answering.

   "Twenty-three. Nella and I are less than two years apart."

   "Ah, yes, I think she told me you're close in age. I have a brother only eighteen months older than me, too, and the other is... two years older than him."

   "Everyone thought Nell and I were twins when we were younger," I tell him.

  "I see it, for sure. You have the same eyes, and mouths."

   I bite my bottom lip, because now he's staring at my mouth. I look away and then sip my drink again. It's good, and I haven't had a drink in months. I was too afraid to even have a glass a wine with dinner in case Ryland freaked out. I never really knew what he would lose his shit over. 

    "I'm the same age as George. Twenty-five," he tells me, so I nod. "How's that wine?"

   "Good."

   "Yeah it's local, I think."

   "That's cool."

   He's quiet for a few minutes and then he shakes his head. "This is awkward, and I'm sorry."

   "No, it's fine," I say.

   "No. I would usually take a beautiful girl like you out on a real date before bringing her back to my house for a drink."

   I blush and then sip my wine again. It's half gone and I feel it.

   "It's weird circumstances," I say.

   "True. But really... when I first saw you... I thought you were so gorgeous. I was working and George was there, so I had to be polite but... god. Yeah, and then when I picked you up and took you for coffee? That was... sorry. I know that was me working, too... but I wanted you to say yes, to me walking you to your hotel room. I mean... we are on the same page, right?"

   I hear all of the words he's saying and I sort of already knew that he was feeling this way - I am too - but because I'm half drunk already, the words don't make sense. I chug a bit more before smiling at him.

   "We are. But I sort of just know that it's not the right thing to do," I tell him, trying to sound confident.

   "Oh? Who says?" He's flirting. And I like it.

   "Well, me. Also, I don't know how Nella and George would feel about it."

   "Nella would love it," he says quickly, then grins. "I mean, she's been trying to get me to start dating again."

   Dating? What is this guy thinking?

    "Marcus, I really..." I feel drunk now that my glass is practically empty. "I came back from Albany, sort of in a bad place. And I know you are still dealing with-"

   "Dealing with what?" he asks quickly. "What did Nella tell you?"

   I look down at my glass and then reach forward to put it down onto the table. "Nothing. No, she just said you recently ended a relationship."

   "True." He stops to drink back the rest of his glass, then does the same thing that I did, with his. Finally, he sit back and really looks at me. "Why are you in a bad place?"

   "Uhh. I left a relationship, too. It was the best thing for me, but coming back here is sort of... it's not going to be easy."

   "I want to help make it better for you." He's not even being flirty or pushy, he's just being honest.

   "I... I am sort of tipsy already," I admit, just so he knows.

   He sighs heavily and leans back onto the couch, stretching his arms over his head. He's still watching me, but I am not looking at him. I don't trust myself.

   "I am going to go to bed," he finally says, and I know it's only 9P.M. I know what he's doing, which is leaving the situation. I give him a questioning look. "Maya... I will do something that I might regret if I don't."

   "But you might not regret it?" I ask, then yawn. I had a long day and I'm ready for bed, too.

   "I might not. But you might," he says easily. "Your room is the first one on the left, upstairs. Goodnight."

   I nod, and whisper goodnight before he stands, collects both empty wine glasses and leaves the room.