concern. Let’s go to work.” And he’s gone.
Guess we’re done talking.
20
MAYA
W aving to one last team member, I wait until she’s out of sight before I slide down the wall and
drop onto the floor in the corner of the marketing room. Everyone’s gone, and I finally feel
like I can breathe.
My nerves are frayed.
This is not sustainable. I’m going to have a heart attack before the end of the week.
I didn’t realize it would be so hard to avoid him. I mean, obviously, I can’t do this forever, but for
the last four days, I’ve managed to avoid being alone with Zach. There’s been a lot of ducking down
behind desks or hiding in supply closets.
I’m not proud of that one.
The way he stared at me today in this room is…upsetting. It’s my fault. I’m the one that put that
look on his face. When I ran out of his place on Saturday night, I was so embarrassed. Everything
spun out of my control so quickly that I didn’t handle it very well. I don’t have any reason to be
embarrassed about my lack of sexual experience, I know that, but the shock on his face was just too
much to take.
I promised myself I would go back to our professional distance, but seeing him walk in on
Monday with that little smile on his lips when he looked at me, I just…panicked. I ran off. Then I did
it again later in the day. Then again, after work, riding the bus in loops until I thought it was safe to go
home. It’s unlikely he was going to knock on my door, but on the off chance he did, I needed to be
prepared. So I rode until I felt like I had my speech perfectly rehearsed. Only I didn’t get to use it, the
elevator and my floor were empty of tall, dark, disapproving men with pillowy lips.
Tuesday, his smile was gone. He started watching me with his arms crossed over his chest, a
frown on his face. Wednesday, he didn’t try to approach me at all, and today, he mostly ignored me.
He was still polite and professional, but he didn’t smile at me or otherwise look at me at all.
Maybe it’s for the best. We can go back to polite strangers and forget all about the kiss and the
other…moments.
But I wish we didn’t have to. I wish that I were someone else. Someone braver, who could walk
