“But…” Maya stepped forward. Her gaze darted between her parents. “We’re supposed to be at Jake’s aunt and uncle’s house in like…” She checked the clock on the wall. “Now.”
Her father smoothed his hands over his jacket, not saying a word.
“Okay, then let’s go.” Her mother snatched a shawl off the dresser beside her and draped it over her shoulders.
One night. That’s all she wanted. Just one night of normalcy. Sobriety. Her mother couldn’t even do that. “I am so sick of this shit.” Maya glared at her mom. “When the hell are you going to stop being so damn selfish?”
Her mother’s shawl slipped off her shoulders to the floor. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” Maya’s voice trembled as something inside her shattered. For so many years she struggled for her mother’s attention. Her love. Some days, she fought just to be noticed. And she was tired. Tired of being a disappointment and never good enough. Nothing would ever be good enough for her mom. No one but Gracie.
“You couldn’t stay sober for one night. For one night, just long enough to go to dinner?”
Her mother’s lips tightened. “How dare you—”
“Because…” Maya clenched her jaw, peering into the face of a stranger. The one person who Maya was supposed to trust, but couldn’t. Not ever. “You,”Maya continued in a somber tone, “have never been a good mom.” She nearly choked on the words. “And you are such a miserable person that Dad works every hour he possibly can just so he doesn’t have to be around you.”
Her father’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “Maya.” She had never heard him speak in such a low whisper.
“That’s what you think?” Her mother dropped her purse to the floor. “You think I’m such a miserable person, such a horrible mother? Then why the hell didn’t you just stay in California and leave us alone.”
Maya scoffed. “Because ever since Gracie died, you’ve made me feel so damn guilty—”
“Because you are!” Her mother’s scream bounced off the walls. She jabbed her finger in the air. “You are guilty, and it’s your fault Gracie’s gone. If you just watched her like you were supposed to, kept her safe, none of this would have happened, and we wouldn’t have left our home—” Her throat closed and she gripped her chest.
Maya nodded, finally getting a confirmation of what she already knew to be. “You’ve blamed me all along.”
Her mother gripped the fabric of her dress. Her bottom lip trembled.
“That’s enough,” her father ordered, stepping between them. “We’ve all had a difficult time dealing with the changes, but we’re a family—”
“Family?” She shook her head, peering into her mother’s face. “We haven’t been a family for a long time. And you know what?” She turned her back to her parents. “I don’t think we’ll ever be a family again.”
Chapter Thirty-two
Jake
Jake sat in the car, waiting for Maya to come back with her parents. But he couldn’t shake the anger surging through him the entire ride home. She was so fast to call it off. If she cared about him the same way he did about her, it wouldn’t have been so easy. Maybe he just expected too much.
Jake ground his teeth and pressed his head harder against the seat.
Or maybe he just had to stop being such a fucking asshole. Of course she would end it. He wanted to end it the first moment he saw her—before anything even began.
He sat up and watched Maya run down her driveway toward his car. “What the hell?” He opened the passenger door and waited for her to get in before asking any questions.
She sat and shut the door in silence, wringing the fabric of her purse between her fingers. After a stretched moment of tension, she lowered her head, cupped her hands over her face, and sobbed.
He looked back to her house to see her front door still hanging open. Something happened. Something he couldn’t ask her to talk about. Not until she was ready.
He slid his cell phone out of his pocket and texted his aunt, letting her know they wouldn’t make dinner. Hopefully she wouldn’t be too upset, but considering she had Uncle Mike buy frozen lasagna for the main dish, he figured it would be okay.
Jake hit send on the text and pulled away from her house, toward his apartment. It was the only place he could think of to go. At least until she calmed down and told him what the hell happened in there.
When he parked at his apartment, he stepped out of the car and walked around the back to the passenger side. She pushed it open, and he rested his hand on the hood and bent down. “Come on. I’ll make you a cup of tea or something.” Tea always made his mom feel better when she was sick, and it was the only remedy he could think of.
She stepped out of the car, hugging her purse to her chest. Strands of chestnut brown hair hung around her face. Damn, he hated seeing her like this. Whatever was going on between them, he couldn’t ditch her when she needed someone to talk to. Especially since whatever went down at her house had obviously been pretty brutal.
He led her into his apartment and closed the door behind them. “Lay down on the couch. I’ll start some water.” She slowly lowered herself to the couch. At least she wasn’t crying anymore, but she wasn’t talking, either. Maya tossed her bag on the floor and pulled her legs onto the couch, hugging them to her chest.
He lingered behind the kitchen counter. “Mint tea okay? It’s all I have.”
Maya nodded. “Yeah. Thanks.” Her voice was quiet and raspy, but it was an improvement from silence.
Two cups of tea and an hour later, she finally told him everything that happened—all the childhood heartbreaks, and her mother’s words that tore into her. All he could do was listen quietly and rub her hands.
He had been there. Every time he was forced back to his shitty town in Washington, a small piece of him died. When she fell silent, he ran his hands down her arms. “If you don’t want to go home, you can stay here as long as you want.”
She shook her head. “No. I couldn’t do that to you.”
“I’ll sleep on the couch. You can have the bed.” She continued to shake her head. He hooked his finger under her chin and tilted her face up until she met his gaze. “Stay.”
She tucked her hair behind her ear, quiet as she took a moment to think. She smiled lightly. “Okay. Just for a little while, though.”
“Good.” He grabbed her mug off the coffee table and walked into the kitchen. “Want more tea?”
“No thanks. And I’ll take the couch. It’s the least I can do.”
“I don’t mind—”
“Well, I do.” She stood and glanced down at her outfit. “What am I going to do for clothes?” She lifted her head. “And my art project is at my house. I need to work on it—” Her eyes widened, color draining from her face. “Oh no.”
He slowly set the mug in the sink. “What?”
“I can’t stay here.” She sighed. “My best friend from California is coming down for the art show. She’s going to stay with me at my house.”
Jake shrugged. “She can stay here.”
Maya paused. “What?”
“I know my apartment isn’t big or anything, but the couch pulls out into a sleeper, and I don’t mind the extra company.”
Maya bit her lip. “I couldn’t ask you to do that.”
“You’re not asking.” He crossed the room and sat beside her. “I’m offering.” Jake ran his fingers through her hair and cradled the curve of her neck. She wrapped her arms around him and laid her cheek against his chest, her body melting into his. “I’m probably risking life and limb to say this,” he said. “But—”
“It’s going to be okay?” She huffed. “I hope you’re right.”
Chapter Thirty-three
Maya
Maya lay on the lumpy mattress of Jake’s foldout couch. It was late, but she couldn’t sleep. Her mother’s words clawed at her. Worse than her words, the way she watched Maya from across the room—like she was a stranger. Or maybe more like an
enemy.
Maya sat up and looked into the kitchen. The only light beamed from under the microwave. She climbed out of bed and walked to the fridge, the linoleum cold under her bare feet.
It was doubtful he had any chocolate. Or ice cream. Good thing she didn’t drink, or she might have been tempted to search for a beer to numb the ache in her chest.
She sighed and opened the door to the fridge, squinting at the light. Grapes, lunchmeat, Diet Coke and jelly.
She’d go grocery shopping tomorrow. It wasn’t fair to ask him to pay for all of the food as long as she stayed. Thankfully, she had some money saved up from selling her car in California. They’d go first thing tomorrow, after they stopped by her house. It would give her parents time to leave for work.
The bedroom door creaked open. Maya glanced over her shoulder to see Jake lingering in the doorway, wearing a shirt, his hair tousled from sleep.
“Did I wake you up?” The hem of Jake’s shirt that she wore to bed brushed against the outside of her thighs.
“Couldn’t sleep.” He moved toward her, and her heart jumped. “Are you hungry?”
“No. Just…couldn’t sleep.”
He slowly walked toward her until the light trickled over his features. Jake stepped around her and pushed the door to the fridge closed, cloaking the room in near darkness. A moment later, his arms slid around her from behind, and he pulled her into his chest.
Maya’s skin tingled under his touch. She traced the curves of the tattoos that wound over his shoulders and down his arms.
He gathered her hair and brushed it aside, his touch sending a shiver down her arms. She bit her lip as his breath tickled her ear. He gently pulled the neckline of her T-shirt over her shoulder and brushed his lips over the curve of her neck. Maya tilted her head to the side, giving him room as he kissed his way to her ear.
Maya wove their fingers together. In that moment there was nothing she wanted more than to be close to him. She needed a connection. Something to take away her pain.
She turned and rested her hands on his chest, feeling the solid muscle under his warm skin. Maya pressed her body against his and smiled when his muscles tensed.
Wild heat burned through her as his hands trailed down her hips and cradled her ass.
In a swift movement, Jake lifted her onto the kitchen counter. She curled her legs around his torso and pulled him closer, kissing him with a deep sense of longing. All of the heartache and grief that was bottled up and unnoticed. She was tired of it.
His tongue parted her lips, and she quivered from the warmth of his hands sliding between her thighs. His fingers tangled in her panties and brushed the heat between her legs.
She kissed him deeper, and after a moment, he pulled back, panting, searching her gaze.
“Are you sure?”
Maya had promised herself not to let her heart get broken. Not to let him any closer. But just like everything else in her life, that decision had come completely undone. She needed him, and she wouldn’t continue to deny herself happiness. She had done that for too long.
“I’m sure.”
He kissed her neck and tugged gently on her panties until they fell to the floor. She pulled back. “Wait…do you have any protection?” Please say he had something...
“No. But that’s okay.” She narrowed her eyes. If he thought for one second— “I can wait.” He sank down below her and knelt on one knee, draping her leg over her shoulder. The heat from his breath caressed her inner thigh. “But I can’t wait for you. Not anymore.” His grip tightened around her hips.
His breath became hotter, and the most exhilarating streak of desire arched in her belly.
“You’re so damn beautiful.” His voice was raspy and deep, only heightening her need for him. Her eyes were closed, though she didn’t remember closing them.
***
The next day, Maya got dressed and grabbed her bag, rushing so Jake wouldn’t wait too long in the car. After running a brush through her hair, she hurried to the parking lot.
The Beast’s engine rumbled as it idled by the curb. The door popped open, and she climbed inside.
Before she had a chance to apologize for taking so long in the shower, Jake leaned over the seat and kissed her—long and soft, his lips serving as a vivid reminder of the night before. Her belly filled with butterflies.
He pulled back and smiled, running his fingers over her cheek. “Good morning.”
She returned his smile. “Good morning.”
He sat back and shifted his car into gear. “So the agenda is your house first, and grocery store second, right?”
Maya nodded. “We need at least some decent food.”
Jake pulled out of the parking lot, onto the street. “How about a third stop?”
“Where?”
“My Aunt Sara really wants to meet you. I just got off the phone with her, and I’m pretty sure she might kill me if I don’t bring you over.”
“Oh.” She tucked hair behind her hear. “Is she mad?”
“At me, for not introducing you to her sooner. Not over dinner.”
“That’s really sweet of her.” More than she deserved from a stranger. “Sure, we can stop over. After my house, though, okay?”
“Whatever you say.”
Maya smiled. “You’re getting a hang of this whole relationship thing.” Her smile faded. Too bad it wouldn’t last much longer.
Jake drove her home, where she quickly gathered her things and loaded them into the narrow backseat of his El Camino. She got back in the passenger seat. “Okay. I’m done.”
“Is that it?” He glanced in his backseat at a small suitcase, her box of painting supplies, and her canvas covered with a sheet. “I expected there to be more.”
“I don’t need a lot.” She checked the time. “Ready?” In her past relationships, parents were never part of the equation. They either lived too far, her boyfriend never mentioned it, or the horror stories kept Maya from even contemplating the plunge into meeting the family.
Jake slowly pulled the car down his aunt and uncle’s the driveway. “I hope you’re really okay with this.”
“Hey. You were willing to meet my mom.” The fact it never actually happened was beside the point. His aunt couldn’t be nearly as bad as her mom. There was just no way.
After they parked and stepped out of the car, Maya wrung her fingers together. What if they didn’t like her?
Jake took her hand, putting her nerves at ease. “Stop worrying.” He pulled her forward and knocked on the door.
Maya heard a voice shout from inside the house. “Mike, they’re here!”
Jake cleared his throat. “Um. Fair warning. My aunt and uncle are a little—”
The door swung open, and a woman with jet-black hair and fair skin smiled at her. “Well, hello.” The woman’s eyes were warm and inviting. “I’m Sara, Jake’s aunt.” She extended her hand.
Maya took her gesture. “Nice to meet you.”
“Don’t keep them standing outside, Sara. Let them in.”
Sara looked at Jake and arched a brow. “Do I get a hug, or are you too cool now that you have a girl over?”
Jake chuckled. “Never too cool for that.” He stepped inside and hugged Sara. Maya followed them into the house.
A man with sandy-blonde hair and a kind smile stood several feet back. “Hi, Maya. I’m Mike.” He moved forward and shook her hand. “Jake’s told me a lot about you.”
Maya glanced at Jake. “He has, has he?”
“And I’d just like to say,” Mike continued, “you should really quit that stripping job. And the drugs. It’s not good for you. None of it.”
Sara gasped. “Mike!” She slapped him on his arm, and Mike burst into laughter.
“I’m just kidding. The girl has a sense of humor.”
Maya’s cheeks flushed, and Jake stood there, shaking his head. “You guys are…something,” Jake murmured.
“Stop torturing the poor girl.” Sara dragged Maya fu
rther into her house. “Let her relax, for goodness sake.” Maya could still hear Mike chuckling as she followed Sara into the kitchen. Sara leaned in close to her. “Boys never grow up. I should just tell you that right now.”
Maya smirked. “Good to know.”
Sara leaned against the kitchen counter and tilted her head. “So what happened last night? You and Jake were supposed to come for dinner. For a minute there I thought you were avoiding us.”
Jake and Mike walked in, as Sara continued to glare at her husband. More chuckles filled the room.
Jake moved behind Maya and wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder. “Do I need to rescue you yet?”
“She’ll need to rescue you if you don’t behave like a gentleman,” Sara said. “And tell your uncle to do the same.”
Jake stood up straight and nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
Maya pursed her lips, suppressing a laugh.
The rest of the evening was bound to be very, very interesting.
Chapter Thirty-four
Jake
Jake threw his keys on the coffee table in his apartment, just glad to be home. If he didn’t know any better, he would have sworn his uncle was working to sabotage his relationship with Maya. It wasn’t the jokes as much as the stories—humiliating stories of puberty, ex-girlfriends, and the time they found his stash of porn in his closet when he was fourteen.
Maya followed him inside and closed the door, still grinning. He turned toward her, shaking his head. “You do realize I’ll never take you back there again. Ever.”
Maya laughed. “Oh, come on.” She walked toward him, biting her lip in a half-smile. “It wasn’t that bad.”
“You’re being way too kind.”
She spread her hands over his chest. “So, was it worth it?”
“Was what worth it?” He studied her, waiting for her response.
“I have a feeling you knew they were going to give you a hard time.”
That was an understatement. His aunt grilled him on the phone the day before—especially when he told her Maya had stayed the night. The words ‘safe sex’ were said more than once, and all he wanted to do was hang up on her.
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