“I really did.” She responded with a smile as she accepted her keys from the valet.
My lips spread into a grin. “So…does that mean I can convince you to join me for lunch later this week?”
“It means…I’ll think about it.” With a wink, she climbed into her car and closed her door, giving me a small wave as she drove away. It was nearly 11PM when I got home, and I wondered if I should contact Tori, to tell her the date had gone well. I’d done so after every other date, but somehow, knew it would be received as rubbing it in her face.
Hell, maybe I should do it then.
But that would be petty, and I knew it. I felt guilty enough for actually having the good time, I didn’t need the shame of purposely hurting Tori’s feelings on my conscience. Why the hell was I mad? She had stated very clearly in Chicago it was only for that night… but that’s not what I felt. Those were the words that came out of her mouth, but it’s not what she gave me, and it’s not what I saw in her eyes. Although I thought her no was a blatant lie… it was still a no. I had to accept it, even if I didn’t understand it. I was working with Tori with a specific goal in mind, one she obviously still intended to meet.
Maybe I needed to get back on board.
— & —
I couldn’t help the smile that sprang to my face as I watched Maya walk into the restaurant. Her tan skin glowed against her soft yellow dress, the fabric draped sensually against her curvy body. As she got closer to the table, I stood to pull her chair out for her, and the sexy scent of her perfume teased my nostrils. It had only been a few days since I’d seen her, but this was our sixth date in three weeks, and I was definitely feeling her, enough that I was starting to miss her when she wasn’t around.
“I am so sorry I’m late! I got caught up at the restaurant, trying to run over the basics for this new marketing plan with management, and I swear, you’d think I was speaking German to the staff!” she rattled off, giving me a kiss on the cheek before taking her seat.
I laughed as I returned her kiss. “I could have met you there for lunch. It’s your place right?”
“Yeah, Coral is my baby, and the food is amazing, but….half of my family works there, and it is the last place I would bring a date,” she replied, laughing with me. “They would scare you off.”
“They can’t be that bad!”
“Ohh, yes they can,” Maya assured me. “Stick around long enough and you’ll see.”
“Oh, I certainly plan to.” I grabbed her hand across the table. “I’m tryna meet everybody. Moms, dads, sisters, cousins, play cousins, all of that.”
“Avery, you are a fool.” She laughed nervously, averting her eyes as the waiter approached.
Ok dude, chill, you’re freaking her out.
We ordered our food, and spent the next hour talking and laughing as we ate. Even in the midst of my time with Maya, my thoughts still drifted to Tori—who was avoiding the hell out of me— more often that I’d like. As much as I liked Maya, and truly enjoyed being with her, I still didn’t feel the same electric chemistry I had with Tori. There was a spark though, so I was willing to see if it grew. The more I suppressed my feelings for Tori in my mind, the more room I had for Maya.
She and I were still in our ‘trial run’, so we had meetings — as a pair, and separately— with Tori once a week. To avoid being alone with me, she had Mel sit in on our sessions, presumably because she knew I wasn’t going to betray her privacy by bringing anything sensitive up in front of her sister. She wouldn’t look me in the eyes, but I could tell she was hurting, and it made me want to drop out of the Matched services altogether. But how would I explain to Des— to Maya? Every time the guilt crept in, I had to remind myself that this… whatever it was, was her doing, not mine. The best thing I could do for myself was focus on what I could build with Maya.