#XD30- Eleven- Acceptance

It had been about a couple of weeks since the incident in her office and Maya was relieved to not have heard anything from Michael since then, but now things between her and Marius were a little off. He seemed to be busy a lot these days. He seemed distant. He hadn’t brought up Michael again; it seemed he was completely ignoring the whole thing, which meant something was wrong. The Marius she knew in college and the one she was getting to know now wouldn’t let something like this go. It was the weekend and once again she was at home enjoying a day off and catching up on some reading in between glancing at some work files. She was doing anything to distract herself from thinking about the fact that maybe this thing between her and Marius had run its course. She picked up her phone and started to dial his number again, but decided against it and instead headed out of the door and up to his apartment. She wanted to talk to him, to find out what was going on. Just as Maya stepped out of the stair well, she saw Marius walking out of his apartment…with someone else. She had met a few of his friends, but not this person. She looked like she had stepped off of the pages of a magazine, dark skin, long legs, and amazing body. Maya turned around before he could see her and hurried back downstairs trying not to let her thoughts drive her crazy. The only thing she could think to do was call Reese and Lina.

Marius was a little confused as to why his ex wife wanted to see him, but he invited her to his apartment to talk about whatever it was she wanted. They had ended things on good terms but as far as he was concerned, there was no need to keep in touch with each other. Since the divorce had been finalized, he and Kimberly had nothing more to say to each other; at least that’s what he thought. For her to show up now was a little weird but he had obliged her request and offer to take her out for a bite to eat so that they could talk. He didn’t want her in his apartment for too long, he didn’t want Maya to come upstairs and think that something was going on. He had to admit to himself that he had been a little distant with Maya since the incident at her office, but he couldn’t help it. Despite the fact that he’d told her he wasn’t going anywhere, he’d given her some distance so that she could really figure out what she wanted. He missed her, the way she smelled, and the way she smiled at him in the morning and how she looked walking around his apartment in his t-shirts. They had barely spent any time together; he seemed to always have something to do. He wondered if maybe what they had was over already, if maybe she was going to go back to Michael and drop him back in the friend zone again. He shook off the thought and headed to the elevator with Kimberly, praying that they didn’t run into Maya on the way down. As soon as he was done with Kimberly, he was heading back to her apartment to talk. He needed to know where he stood with her…now.

“So what’s going on sis?” Reese said as she walked in to Maya’s apartment.

Lina noticed before Reese did. Maya was on the verge of tears. She walked back across the room and sat in the chair next to her window and looked out. She was trying to fight breaking down but it was too late. She sobbed uncontrollably while her sister and friend tried to console her. She finally got herself together enough to tell them what had been going on right up to seeing Marius with the mystery woman coming out of his apartment. In true Lina fashion, she tried to rationalize what Maya saw.

“You know, Maya, that woman could have been just a friend or a business associate. You shouldn’t draw any conclusions just yet. Talk to him, tell him how you feel and let him know where he stands with you. That man has loved you since college and when he finally gets a chance to be with you, it’s complicated by the terrible ghost of boyfriends past. You need to figure out what you want and who you want. Be honest with yourself and be honest with him.”

“She wants Marius, she’s just too afraid to admit, Reese started, she’s letting Michael mess with her head, but it’s obvious that Marius is it for you. You’re in love with that man and you’re afraid that you’re going to mess it up or he’s going to end up being just like Michael.”

Leave it to Reese to tell her what she wanted, but maybe she was right. She hadn’t really thought about what she felt for Marius except that she wanted him in her life, but then there was Michael. She was relieved to not have heard from him in so long, but wondered how long that would last and what she would do about it. When he kissed her in the elevator, she still felt something, something that scared her so much that she had run to Marius to make her forget. She thought about that kiss often, but not as often as when Marius kissed her. She could feel his lips against her skin even when he wasn’t around, she loved the way they seemed to fit together in every way that she had ever wanted. Marius challenged her in a way that no one else had ever done before, she learned from him and he was always willing to learn from her. He was the ideal man. He was her best friend. What else did she need to tell her what she already knew? She loved him; she was in love with him.

 

 

#XD30- TEN- Too Close

She didn’t know what to say now. This was definitely something she wanted to avoid, Marius and Michael were in the same place at the same time and she was too upset to hide anything from Marius.  Marius walked further into the office, stopping in front of Maya and kissing her on the lips. She glanced at Michael who looked amused and pissed at the same time. She wanted him to just leave so that she could be with Marius and avoid having to deal with how she was feeling about him and how confusing it all was. Marius put his hand on the small of her back like he had many times before and it calmed her a little. She finally found her voice to speak.

“Um…Marius, this is Michael, he was just leaving.”

 What were they talking about before he walked in? He’d heard her yelling before he opened the door. Who was this guy she seemed so irritated with? Marius decided to leave those questions for when they were actually alone and walked a little closer to Michael. The men shook hands and Marius walked back over to where Maya was standing. She hadn’t moved from that spot. She almost looked like a deer in headlights. He could tell that she was uncomfortable and had been before he even walked in.

“If I interrupted something, Marius started, I can go out and wait for you to finish.”

“You didn’t interrupt anything, Maya responded, Michael’s visit was unexpected. I’ve been waiting for you so we could have lunch together.”

Maya looked back at Michael who seemed even more pissed now. She walked over to the door and held it open, letting him know that he needed to leave. He walked over to the door and stood there for a moment before walking out. Maya closed the door and walked over to her couch where Marius was now sitting. She sat next to him and smiled nervously. She was afraid of the questions he might have. She didn’t want to talk about Michael just yet, but she took a deep breath, preparing to do it anyway.

“Are we not going to talk about why you seemed so upset when I got here?” Marius asked.

“Michael is my ex, Marius. He showed up here unannounced and I didn’t appreciate it. He said that he wants me back, but that’s not what I want. He’s not giving up.”

“Did you tell him that?” Marius asked.

“In more ways than one, she responded, I don’t think he wants to accept it. That’s what upset me.”

“I wouldn’t want to accept not having you either, but he doesn’t have a choice. You don’t want him and I’m not going anywhere. Is there anything else you want to talk about concerning your ex? Do you want to talk about last night?  Did it have something to do with him?”

Maya didn’t want to answer any of those questions. Why couldn’t she just sit here with him and have lunch?  Michael had ruined yet another day for her and now she was dodging Marius’s question and trying to avoid lying at the same time. She looked at Marius, who was waiting on her to answer.

“I don’t want to talk about it here or now. I just want to have lunch with you. I just want to spend time with you without talking about Michael or anything else. Is that okay?”

Marius wanted to push for answers but he could tell by the look on her face that pushing would only make her shut down and he didn’t want that. He decided to drop the conversation for now. He pulled the food from the bag and placed it on the table in front of them. He leaned over, kissing her and taking in her scent before pulling away. He smiled as she caressed his face. Something was definitely wrong and she was struggling with it. He convinced himself that letting it go was for her, but the truth was he was afraid of what she might have to say to him.

“Not talking about your ex is absolutely fine with me, Maya.”

They sat there together eating in silence. 

#XD30- NINE- Collision Course

Marius didn’t know what had gotten into Maya the night before and as much as he enjoyed what happened, he knew that something was wrong. She’d left before he’d gotten up, probably to go for a run or get ready for work. He didn’t have any meetings, so he’d decided to stay away from the office and do some work at home. Moving back had been his best move yet; his businesses elsewhere ran fine without him being hands on and he’d found her again. He didn’t think he would ever tell her that he was in love with her in college. Somehow he had fallen into the friend zone and stayed there without complaint because he didn’t want to be rejected and lose such a close friend. He’d listened to her talk about other guys and cry on his shoulder when she was hurt by them, all the while wanting her to love him the way he already loved her. Lina had pushed him to tell her the truth, but every time he tried to he couldn’t get the words out. Time had passed and even though they had promised to keep in touch, everyone had gotten busy with their own lives and drifted apart. Throughout his marriage he’d wondered about her, where she was, what she doing and if she was married like him. He had loved his wife, but Maya…she was always on his mind.  Marius stepped into the shower and let the water run over his body for a while. He couldn’t stop thinking about the night before, how she had completely taken control of him. They didn’t even make it to his bedroom the first time. He smiled to himself but he was a little worried too. She didn’t seem like she was completely there with him last night, it was almost like she was running from something. Maybe it’s nothing, he thought to himself, maybe I’m looking for something that isn’t there. Marius stepped out of the shower and dried off; he looked in the mirror and noticed the scratches on his back. She was definitely different last night. He guessed he could ask her if anything was going on. Didn’t hurt to ask, right?

Maya had gone to the office early. Her mind was still all over the place after what Michael did. What she had done next was a little out of character, but she couldn’t say that she didn’t enjoy it. Being with Marius seemed natural to her, but there were moments the night before where she thought of Michael and what happened in the elevator. She hated him for trying to be a part of her life again and she hated him for still having the ability to make her weak at the knees with just one kiss. She stared off into space lost in thought for a while before she decided to lie down on the office couch. She pulled out her ipad to read the day’s news to distract her. Before she could start reading, her phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Marius. She was so tempted not to answer it; she didn’t know what to say to him right now. She finally picked up the phone and hit the talk.

“Hi, Marius, she said, I’m sorry I disappeared on you this morning. I needed to get to the office and I didn’t want to wake you up and you looked really cute sleeping.”

 “I don’t want to take up too much of your time; I just wanted to make sure that everything was okay. Last night it just seemed like something may have been wrong. What’s going on?”

She didn’t want to lie to him, but telling the man you’re sleeping with that her old boyfriend was trying to win her back isn’t exactly what she wanted to tell him either. She dodged the question, telling him that she had to go and inviting him to come have lunch with her later. She hoped that he wouldn’t ask her again. The rest of the day went by smoothly, Lina and Reese were busy working or taking meetings and she had wrapped up her business meeting before one o’clock. She was excited to see Marius; she missed him when he wasn’t around. They still hadn’t decided what they were to each other now. They had basically fallen in to a routine without establishing anything. She heard some commotion in the hallway and got up to see what it is. She could hear the receptionist saying that someone couldn’t see her without an appointment. Before she could get up from her desk, the door opened and Michael walked in.

“It’s okay, Maya said to her receptionist, I’ll handle it. Thank you.”

The receptionist closed the door behind her. Maya watched as Michael walked over to her couch and took a seat. His showing up whenever and wherever he wanted was getting old quickly…and a little weird.

“Don’t you have a job, Michael? Don’t they miss you there? Why are you here?”

“I do, they don’t, and I’m here for you,” Michael responded.

“I have things to do Michael and I have another appointment in a few minutes. I need you to go away and I need you to stay away.”

“That’s not going to happen, Maya, it’s not going to happen because I know that you still have feelings for me. I want to prove to you that I’m serious about us getting back together.”

Maya got up and walked around to stand in front of her desk. She was pissed off again.

“You don’t prove it by barging back in to my life and forcing yourself on me. You’re a borderline stalker now. You’ve shown up at the café, you kiss me in the elevator, and now you barge into my office; you have to stop this. If you want to prove to me that you sincerely care about me, then respect my wishes and stay away.”

She was raising her voice now. She pointed at the door, motioning for Michael to leave, but he didn’t. He stood up from the couch and started to walk towards her. Not again, Maya thought. She prepared herself to resist any of Michael’s advances if he tried but she wouldn’t have to. Before he was half way across the room, the office door opened and Marius walked in with their lunch. She took a deep breath, half relieved and half scared that the two men were now in the same room. 

youngblackandvegan:

thisiselliz:

Tyler Perry  Movies In A Nutshell

so accurate it hurts

(via theblackpicassa)

Source: thisiselliz

#XD30- Eight- You Again

The day was almost over with and Maya was happy. She had been in back to back meetings since nine in the morning and it didn’t seem like she’d had a moment to just take a breath. She didn’t mind the meetings because new business meant more money and more opportunity to expand the company, but the morning’s event with Michael had irritated her a bit and threw her off her game. It wasn’t just a coincidence that Michael had been at the café the same time as her. He hated the food at the café, but he knew it was her favorite spot for breakfast. Had he been waiting everyday to see if she would show up? What was going on? Did he really think it would be that easy to get her back? She’d put on her poker face when she rejected him, but by the time she had gotten to her car she was so angry she’d had to take a moment before she could drive off and head to work. Her mind went from Michael and back to Marius. She hoped she’d get to see him that night, that they have dinner and talk. She wondered if she should tell him about what happened at the café, if it was important enough to mention when she didn’t even know where things were going with him. She knew that the weekend was much more than sex, that whatever was happening between them wasn’t over yet. Why ruin it with talk of the past? Since she had no more meetings scheduled, she decided to go ahead and leave. She grabbed her things and headed down the hallway to let Lina and Reese both know that she was leaving a little earlier. They would be surprised since they usually had to drag her out of the office, but her mind wasn’t on working anymore today.

Good, she thought as she stuck her head in Lina’s office, they’re together. I can’t say my goodbyes at the same time and get out of here.

“Hey ladies, she started, I’m going to head out a little early. I have a few things to do and no more meetings.”

“Whoa, sis, Reese said, we’ve barely seen you today. You can’t just come in here, say goodbye and walk out of here. Get in this office. Tell us how your weekend was. Did you do anything interesting?”

Maya hesitated a little and then smiled. She sat down and started to tell them what happened over the weekend between her and Marius. She didn’t give them details but they were so excited they were talking over each other.  Reese didn’t hesitate to tell her that she “knew it” and Lina was acting like a proud aunt. She finally got away from them and out of the office thirty minutes later. She stood at the elevator smiling to herself; she was looking forward to seeing him. She touched her lips, remembering him there and how sweet he tasted when she kissed him the first time and every time after. She was shocked out of her daydream by the elevator doors opening and seeing an unwanted visitor standing inside. This was too much now. She was hesitant at first, but stepped inside of the elevator anyway. She wouldn’t let him see her react in any way other than what she’d given him at the café. She stood as far away from him as she could and hoped that someone would have to get on the elevator before it got to the parking garage.  They were halfway there and no one else had gotten on yet.

“Maya are you not going to say anything to me?” Michael asked.

“I said what I needed to say this morning. Why are you here? Please don’t tell me you came to see me.”

“I had a meeting here but I’m glad I ran into you. I wanted to apologize to you again. I will apologize to you until you give me another chance, Maya.”

Michael pressed the stop button and turned to face Maya. She was getting nervous now. This was out of character even for him. There was nowhere to go; she was already in the corner of the elevator. She kept her poker face on and pretended that she wasn’t a little unnerved.

“What the hell are you doing, Mike?”

She tried to move around him to start the elevator again, but there was no getting around him when he grabbed her by her waist and pulled her to him. Before she could protest, he was kissing her. She put her hands on his chest trying to push him away…at least she thought she was trying to push him away. She finally pulled away, slapping him and gasping for air. She managed to start the elevator again and stood in the corner again as far away from him as she could get. He was standing in the opposite corner, not saying anything, just looking at her. He started to move towards her when the doors opened, but she backed out of the elevator putting her hand in front of her to keep him at a distance.

“Stop, Michael!”

She hurried to her car and could hear him yelling something to her, but couldn’t and didn’t want to make it out. She jumped in her car and sped out of the parking garage trying to catch her breath and keep her mind from racing. She needed to get home; she needed to get to Marius. She got to her building, parked her car and headed straight to his apartment. She was hoping he was there and he was. He opened the door and before he could speak, her mouth was on his. She pushed him into the apartment, closed the door and started to undress him. She didn’t want to talk; she wanted to forget what has just happened. She just wanted to get lost in him again. 

#XD30- Seven- Revolving Doors

Maya decided to get up early and go to her favorite café for breakfast. She usually hated Monday mornings, but after the weekend she’d had, she was full of energy. As she sat at her table and waited for her order, she went through her phone to listen to the messages that had been left over the weekend. Most of them were from Reese giving her details of her latest weekend escapades and some were from Lina who didn’t really want anything at all. She hadn’t noticed that there was someone standing in front of her table until they spoke.

“Hi, Maya” a voice said.

Maya looked up and almost dropped her phone in shock. She hadn’t seen his face in months and here he was standing in front of her, speaking to her as if they were old friends. It took everything in her not to toss the coffee she had in his face.

“Michael, she said, I would say it’s nice to see, but it’s not. What do you want?”

“I…um…I saw you sitting over here and thought it would be rude of me not to come over and speak. I thought we could at least be civil to each other. I know that things ended badly, but I was hoping that by now we could at least be friends.”

Maya laughed at the idea of them being friends. She had no interest in being his friend or anything else. She wasn’t interested in having a conversation with him and she wasn’t about to let him ruin her good mood. She was in a good place.

“Michael, she started, you and I will never be friends. I don’t hate you, but I definitely don’t want to be friends with you. I wish you the best of luck in your life, but I don’t want to be a part of it and I don’t want you to be a part of mine anymore. I’m having a great start to my day, so I’m nicely asking you to walk away from my table and go back to what you were doing.”

“Wow, he said, you hate me that much.”

“I just said I don’t hate you, Mike; I’m just done with you. You don’t have a right to expect anything more than this from me after what you did. I value honesty, and respect and you gave me neither when you ended things, so I don’t owe you anything now.”

Michael sat down at the table instead of leaving which irritated Maya. She looked at him and pushed her chair away from the table a little.

“Just…wait, Maya. I know that I hurt you and I am truly sorry about that. I thought that I wanted something else, someone else. I thought that I had found something better in someone else when the truth is I already had better. I was even prepared to walk down the aisle with her, but the fact is I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I missed you…I still miss you. I want another chance with you. I think we invested way too much into each other to not try again.”

Maya looked away from Michael and motioned for her waitress. She had her change her order to go and then she turned her attention back to Michael.

“Invested? I’m not stock, Michael and you didn’t “invest” nearly enough into our relationship as you should have. I didn’t sit and wait for you to decide that you might want me back either and I don’t care if you missed me.  You made a decision to walk away from us and into someone else’s bed, it’s not my problem if you don’t like where you ended up laying. My heart isn’t a revolving door. You don’t have the privilege of coming in and out as you please. Now, I’m going to leave. Since you seem to like the table so much, you can have it.”

“I get it, Michael said, you’re giving me a hard time, you’re going to make me work for it and I’m willing to do that. I’m not giving up on you, Maya, I’m not going anywhere.”

Maya glared at Michael as she stood up from the table and grabbed her things. She really wanted even more to toss her coffee in his face, but it wasn’t hot enough anymore to do any damage. She walked around the table towards the café counter, but turned around to say one last thing to him before she left.

“I’m not giving you a hard time Michael; the bottom line is I don’t want any part of you anymore. If you actually listened to anything but the sound of your own voice maybe you would have heard that.  Don’t work for something you can’t have because I am not an option for you anymore. Stay away from me.”

Maya walked over to the counter, paid for her breakfast, grabbed her food and walked out of the door without giving him a backwards glance.