Maya - The Novel

"And the both of you didn't think to inform this girl's mother? Or lock your front door?"

In unison they crossed their arms in front of their chests. Stay still, Gray. Don't fidget. You're good. You didn't do nothin' wrong.

"It was spontaneous," I said instead. Maya nodded in agreement.

"And who are you two?" Tall Dude looked past us to Alex and Cady.

"We're just friends, Officer."

"All right." Tall Dude signaled for us to enter the building. "We'll walk you upstairs, Ms. David. Your mother's been worried sick."

"That's okay, Officer. We got this." At least I tried to say that. But they insisted on walking us to the apartment - all of us, including Alex and Cady.

"Shit's gonna go down," Alex whispered behind my back.

We only had to wait two seconds after the first knock. The door flew open, revealing a very frazzled older version of Maya.

She hugged her daughter immediately, in tears. She spoke a few words in Tamil and I couldn't tell if her words were of relief or a reprimand.

And then she opened her eyes, finally taking in Maya's little entourage.

"Ma'am, I believe this is your daughter. As you can see, she's safe-"

Tall Dude didn't even get through his debrief before Maya's mother's face screwed up in a mask of rage. Shit.

"You!"

God, her voice was terrifying, and she wasn't even talking to me. She pointed a lean finger at Alex. Jesus, Mrs. David looked like she was about to curse the poor girl with her scraggly finger in the air like that.

With her other hand, she dragged Maya into the apartment with a grip that must've hurt. It looked as though she was dragging her child away from sin.

Stocky Dude chimed in. "Ma'am, calm down."

"I told you to stay away from my daughter!" Her voice carried down the hallway. I wondered who else was listening in. Alex looked away; she probably wanted to be anywhere but here.

"Ma, I think we should talk." Maya braved a hand on her mother's shoulder.

"Talk, nothing!" Her accent got thicker the more riled she got. She turned on Alex. "Why are you here? You can't leave my daughter alone, can you?"

Alex turned to one of the officers. "Is it okay if we leave now?" she asked quietly.

Before they could respond, Maya's mom said, "Go. And take your friends with you."

"Actually, ma'am," I tried to sound as confident as possible. "I'm with Maya."

"What?" She turned to her daughter. "What is this?"

"We need to talk." Maya's voice trembled as she looked her mother in the eye. I wanted to hold her and protect her from her mother's gaze.

Tall Dude cleared his throat in the silence that followed. "I assume the matter's settled, Mrs. David. Take care."

They couldn't get out of there fast enough. Alex and Cady were right behind them, leaving me standing alone in the hallway.

"Come in, Gray," Maya said, but her mom stood in the way.

"We can either do this in the hallway with your neighbors listening in or we can do it in the apartment," I said, keeping my voice as calm as possible.

She moved aside grudgingly and I walked past her to stand with Maya.

Mrs. David locked the door and turned to us.

"Don't do this, Maya," she said. She sounded like she was choking on her words.

Maya's fingers reached for mine. "So you do know. Why do you treat me like you don't?"

Well, that made Maya's job a little easier. No bikini wax needed.

"You can't do this to your family."

Maya took a deep breath. "All I've ever done is for my family. I've pretended to be something I'm not for almost ten years. It's enough."

"What about Christopher?"

"He's a grown man. He'll deal with it."

Mrs. David looked me up and down. "And this is who you've chosen over an upstanding lawyer?"

Maya moved closer to me, putting herself between her mother and me, as though she could protect me from the sting those words caused. "I couldn't have chosen someone better. There isn't anyone better for me."

"Stupid. How'd I raise you to be so stupid?"

"You didn't, ma. You raised me to be strong and smart. Do you really think I'd do this if I felt like I had a choice? I don't. This is me. It's always been me."

Her mother snapped. Maya turned her head and took a step back to avoid the blow but I pushed her out of the way and intercepted Mrs. David. She pulled away as though my touch had burned her.

"Get your things, baby," I said quietly, meeting Mrs. David's gaze. "Don't forget your passport and medication."

Maya wiped the tears off her cheeks as she hurried to her room. I could hear her pulling out drawers in a hurry.

I looked at Mrs. David; she seemed to have trouble speaking. Her throat worked but no words came out.

"Don't try that again," I said instead. "Your daughter means the world to me. You won't find anyone who loves her more than I do. Not even your lawyer."

"Who are you?"

"I'm Adrianna Grayson. I own the tattoo shop two blocks over and I'm a counselor at FREE NYC."

"A tattoo shop?" Her voice was flat. She crossed her arms over her chest, as though she was saying, "Is that it?"

"Yes. It's my pride and joy."

"I don't get it." Mrs. David ran a hand through her hair - curls that were a replica of Maya's. "You - you're so manly."

I knew where this was going.

"But I'm not a man," I clarified. "And she wouldn't be happy with one just because she loves someone who's masculine presenting."

"Masculine presenting." She repeated those words as though they were the most ridiculous things she'd heard.

I chose to power through it. "She'll be living with me and you're welcome to visit if you want to. I know this is not what you envisioned for your daughter but... she's happy, Mrs. David. Please respect that."

Maya came through, pulling an overstuffed suitcase behind her and trying to balance a backpack on her shoulders.

"I got it, baby," I said, picking up the suitcase by the top handle. "Is this everything?"

Her eyes were red as she nodded. "Let's go."

"What will I tell everyone?" Mrs. David asked quietly as she made our way to the front door. She collapsed onto the couch, staring ahead at the blank wall.

"The truth," Maya replied without hesitation. "I'm tired of lying. Tell people the truth - that I'm finally happy."

Her mother only shook her head. "You have nothing. What are you going to do without money?"

"Live."

We closed the door behind us with a soft click.

I gathered her into my arms a second before she burst into tears.

*

Alex and Cady were waiting for us on the stoop.

"That was quicker than we expected. What happened?" Cady asked.

Alex looked withdrawn, defeated. I really felt for her. Being attacked like that was... painful.

"What we expected, I guess. She tried to hit Maya."

"Oh, my god," Cady gasped, reaching out for Maya's fingers. "Hun, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Maya's voice was quiet. "She tried to but Gray stopped her."

"Why did she rip into you like that?" I asked Alex.

Both of them looked at Maya, who looked up at me.

"Um-," she paused uncertainly. And then it clicked.

"Seriously?! You two?"

"Gray," Alex said slowly, "It was a long time ago, okay? We were teenagers."

"What the hell happened?" I didn't realize my fingers were digging into Maya's shoulder until she tapped on them to ease up.

"We got caught," Maya said. "And we weren't allowed to see each other after."

"There's nothing going on between us," Alex hastened to assure me.

I sighed. "I guess I know that."

"You'll get over it," Cady assured me. "You just need to tell yourself it happened a long time ago."

"Can we please go home now?" Maya asked, leaning her head against my arm.

"You have our address, right?" Alex asked.

Maya nodded.

"If you need anything - and I really mean anything - you come see us, okay?"

I watched the three of them hug it out and felt myself smile. They were really like a little family: two moms looking after the little bird that had flown the nest.

Cady swiped the tears off Maya's cheeks when they pulled apart. "Get some rest," she said.

Maya nodded and reached for my hand.

With our fingers entwined, we walked home.

#

Epilogue

"Gray, you've got Mr. Gomez here to see you." Maya's voice came through the intercom. I could hear her flipping her thick textbook shut in the background.

Mel had been out sick with bronchitis for a week and Maya had offered to cover for her in between classes.

It had been a month since Maya moved in with me and there hadn't been a day that I wasn't thankful to wake up with her, cocooned in the sweet nest of our mingled scents and feeling her soft weight against my side.

She was the sweetest when it came to our clients - I think it was her smile that made people feel special. When she'd called Mel to ask what her duties were, Mel had simply told her to look sexy and make clients feel special. I think that had worked a little too well. More than one client had taken in her sexy wrap dresses and sweet smile and tried to hit on her over the span of a few days.

It set my teeth on edge.

She'd kept her promise to see a therapist; I didn't even have to bring it up with her. She'd simply asked who I'd recommend, I'd said Connie at FREE NYC, and she'd dropped Connie a message. She'd been going for four weeks straight and taken her medication every night - yes, I watched her do it and maybe breathed a sigh of relief when she did. I felt responsible for her now.

She was showing Jose to the consult room when I walked out.

"Would you like some coffee? Water?" she asked as he took a seat.

"Not right now but how about we get some coffee later? Just the two of us?"

My brows rose at his question. Was this sixty-something man really putting the moves on Maya?

But she only laughed and flashed her ring. "If I were ever single again, I'll give you a call."

Jose clutched his heart in mock disappointment. "All the pretty ones are taken, huh?"

"They sure are," I said, walking in and standing behind my girl. I placed a kiss on the top of her head. "It's getting late, baby. You can head home if you like."

"Esta es tu mujer?" Jose asked in Spanish, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Sí, y es toda mía."

He held out his hand. "Congratulations, Gray. She's a very sweet girl."

I shook his hand, unable to keep a smile off my face. "Gracías. You're here for your touch-up?"

"Sí, sorry I've been rescheduling. Work's been very busy."

I pushed his apology aside. "Don't worry about it. Let's have a look at how it's healed and we can get started."

*

Over an hour later, I could smell dinner on the stove even before I turned the key in the front door. Maya made it a point to make dinner for us every night. It was a lovely way to wind down after a long day.

She was bent over, oven mitts in hand as she poked at the dish in the oven. She was wearing an old sweater of mine and it crawled up her ass, making for a very enticing picture.

"I'm home," I said, locking the door behind me.

She pulled the tray out and set it on the counter. Her face was flushed from the heat of the oven. Little curls clung to her forehead.

"Hi, baby," she said with a smile. "Come here and give this a taste."

I'd never heard a better invitation.

She squealed when I caught her by the waist and pulled her to me, placing a kiss on her neck, inhaling jasmine and vanilla. Home.

"I meant taste the lasagna." She couldn't get the smile off her face.

"Well, you should've been more specific then."

She raised a bite to my lips. I didn't have to taste it to know that anything my girl made would be fantastic.

"Guess who just called?" she asked as she grabbed some plates from the cupboard.

"Who?" I asked, pulling my coat off.

"Maggie - Cady's mom. She set up an interview for me at Macy's. How cool is that?"

"That's great, baby. If that makes you happy, go for it."

"It'll feel good to have some money coming in," she admitted, handing me a slice of lasagna.

I licked a little bit of stray sauce off my fingers while I waited for her to hand me utensils.

"Oh, and there's a dinner party at Alex and Cady's this weekend. We're going, right?"

"Sure."

The first few notes of Sue Ellen's "I Was Made For Loving You" came through the speakers. Maya's gaze caught and held mine. The last time I'd heard that song was our first night together. I remembered lying in her bed and wondering if it was possible to fall in love so damn quickly.

She reached for my hand and simply said, "I remember."

I smiled and lifted her hand, placing a kiss on the ring she wore like a seal of honor.

We're gonna make it all come true

'Cause girl, I was made for you

And girl, you were made for me

***