Page 55 of Take Her On

Jamie was so calm and so gentle, Maya couldn’t help but listen and follow her instructions. Soon enough, she was driving around the car park—stiff as a board and as slow as a sloth crawling through slime—but still moving, nonetheless. After a couple of laps, she got quicker, moving into second and then third gear. The muscle memory came back to her, and then they were flying around in Jamie’s little Golf, with Jamie clapping and cheering each loop.

Maya pulled into a space—technically occupying two as she parked clumsily over the lines—and switched off the engine. They both let out a laugh, and she palmed the steering wheel.

“Okay, yeah,” she admitted. “That was really fun.”

“You’re a little speed demon. I should’ve known. It does make sense.”

“Shut up, you.” Maya nudged her but couldn’t keep the grin off her face.

“You did good.”

“Thanks. It felt good.” The fact she’d got an adrenaline rush from driving around the empty restaurant car park made her laugh again. She shook her head. “Thanks for this, Jamie.”

Jamie grinned. “No problem.”

“I think it’ll really help Grandma out if I can learn to drive.”

Jamie nodded, her eyes flicking over her face. “You’re allowed to do something for yourself too though, Maya.”

Her words hit a sensitive spot, and Maya glanced away. “Yeah. I know.”

Jamie’s hands found her face, turning it towards her. Maya’s breath hitched. She inched closer, then hesitated. Jamie’s words came out in a soft whisper. “Sorry. About earlier. I shouldn’t have jumped on you like that.”

“It’s okay.” Maya was surprised to find she meant it.

“I mean, with everything going on, I don’t want to make anything worse…or more complicated for you.”

“You don’t. Strangely, you actually make things better.”

Jamie’s mouth quirked, a flash of something unreadable in her eyes. Maya leaned in, feeling her breath on her lips, the gravitational pull tugging them closer. She soaked in the moment, the tension coiling in her stomach and the heat spreading up her neck.

She kissed her, burying her hands in her hair and sinking into her touch. Jamie’s mouth welcomed her, hungry and soft at the same time, in a way that felt like flying. It escalated quickly: hands squeezing and gripping, lips nipping and bruising. Jamie was everywhere and everything, pulsing through Maya’s veins, throbbing between her legs.

When they broke apart, gasping for air, Jamie laughed, the sound a little like disbelief. Her gaze met Maya’s, touching somewhere deep in her chest. “Yeah. Strangely, you make things better too.”

Chapter Sixteen

Maya

Maya pounded the door hard, grazing her knuckles on the wood. Please be in. Please be in.

Her heart raced. She’d run all the way there, and now she felt foolish. Nauseated. Ridiculous. Standing out in the hallway, it was becoming impossible to hold back tears. She brushed a few across her cheek and knocked hard again.

I should’ve fucking known.

The door finally opened. Maddie greeted her in her fluffy pink dressing gown, but Maya didn’t have it in her to smile or crack a joke.

Maddie took one look at her and tugged her through the door. Her panicked green eyes took in the state of her, wheezing and tearstained, hair swept by the wind. She shouldn’t have come here. Maddie hated strong emotional outbursts, and she didn’t want to make things worse.

They stood in the entryway. Maddie raked her hands through her black fringe, eyes darting over Maya’s face. “Maya—I—erm—”

“I’m sorry. Sorry.” Maya tried to smile, but her chin wobbled. She should’ve called first. Or texted, at least, but everything happened so quickly. “Hannah?” she asked.

Maddie shook her head.

Shit.

The last thing Maya wanted was to make Maddie uncomfortable, but it wasn’t like she could go to Jamie about this—not that she would put her problems on Jamie, anyway. In fact, she didn’t want to put her problems on anyone, but apart from crying in the street, she didn’t know where else to go.