eyes closed, a silly smile on her face.
That’s the moment.
When I look back decades from now, I’ll pinpoint this, right here, as the moment I fell completely,
hopelessly in love with Maya Miller. My fingers still in her, half-naked, sweaty chests pressed
together. This is the moment I gave up the fight.
“That was…like…yay,” she mumbles with a dazed smile.
I let my head tip to the side to lie on the arm of the couch next to hers and trace my fingers over
her face. It’s strange how these features that seemed so unremarkable when I first saw her all those
months ago, has become the most beautiful face in the world to me. She’s unique and bold, and I don’t
understand how I ever thought any differently.
“I need to sit up,” she says with a frown. Something in her tone puts me on edge, so I slide my
hand out of her pants and raise up.
Please don’t regret it. Don’t regret me.
She slides out from under me and sits on the edge of the couch. I touch her back gently, not sure
what the fuck is going on and she hisses, pulling away, the heat of her skin traveling from my
fingertips to my brain a millisecond later. I jump off the couch and run to the dimmer, turning the lights
up from the sexy vibe I had going.
She winces at the bright light and presses her arm over her breast. I should grab her a shirt, or a
blanket or something, but I’m too horrified by the state of her back to move. “What the fuck Maya?
What happened? I don’t understand? Why did you wear the clothes if they were hurting you?”
Her face scrunches up. “The clothes are fine. I think I’m allergic to your couch.” I stare at her in
horror before sliding my eyes to my plush, royal blue velvet couch that took me three months to find,
and way too many zeroes to buy. I take a moment to mourn, just a moment, then I dart to her.
“Show me where else,” I order, dropping to my knees next to her. “Ah, wait, get off.” I tug her off
the fucking couch onto the floor where I can see what’s happening. “Jesus, this is bad. Maybe not as
bad as last time, but it’s not good. Where else are you hurting?” I drop to all fours and pull the
waistband of her pants away from her ass, peering inside.
She slaps at me, “Stop it. I’m okay, it’s just my back. The pants protected the rest of my skin.”
“Are you sure?”
The damn woman rolls her eyes at me. She’s not taking this seriously enough. My fucking couch
