Page 24 of Even If the Sky is Falling
Maya shifted up to a semi-sitting position and flicked on the table lamp. Should they talk now? Because they clearly had a lot to talk about. Like thewhole world possibly endingpart, but also? They’d kissed last night. A lot. Yeah, they were both exhausted and emotional and very scared, but exploring someone’s lips wasn’t usually how Maya dealt with fear.
She cleared her throat.
“Wait, Maya. Before you say anything, I have a whole speech planned. Can I go first?”
“Speech?” she asked.
“I woke up before you. I practiced.”
She exhaled and nodded.
He cleared his throat. “Maya, I had a huge crush on you when we were teenagers.”
Okay, that wasnotwhat she expected him to say. “No, you didn’t.”
“I did. The last year before we moved away.”
So, nowhere near as long as she’d been crushing on him. Also, was this really happening? The world was ending, and Tarek Mizra had just admitted he was into her when he was sixteen? “Okaayyy...”
“And—” he ran his hand over his hair “—I had fun with you here last night.”
“Except for thewe may all die a fiery deathpart, right?”
He chuckled. “Yeah, of course. Without that, it would have been even better. But I was glad to be withyoufor the end of the world. If the world doesn’t end, would you like to have dinner with me sometime?”
Tarek Mizra is asking me out.She’d pined for him for years, and all it took was one apocalypse and he was asking her on a date. Maya didn’t want to justgo outwith Tarek. She wanted to wrap her arms around his neck and pull him in so they could finish what they’d started last night. Maya literally had to clasp her hands together in front of her to stop herself from grabbing him and mauling the man.
But mauling him, or dating him, or anything in between was a terrible idea. Even if he was estranged from his parents, he was still aMizra. What would Dad say to this? Also, if the world didn’t end, they still had their sandwich rivalry. And they didn’t even live in the same city. “It would be very complicated.”
“Yes, it would.”
“We don’t know if we’ll walk out of here.”
He took her hand. “You’re right, we don’t. But maybe enduring this would be easier if we had something to look forward to?”
She exhaled, squeezing his hand. “Look, Tarek, I’m... This is a lot for me right now. Can we put a pin in this conversation, and have it when we get out?”
He smiled widely. “Yes. Let’s do that. We’ll put a pin in it until we walk out of this place together.”
It took Maya a second to realize that his enormous smile was because she’d saidwhenwe get out, notif. Apparently, the man’s optimism was contagious.
To prevent herself from any more minefield conversations, Maya picked up her e-reader. “I think I’ll read for a bit, okay?”
He grinned. He settled behind her, one arm loosely around her waist. “Yes. Me, too.”
She did read, but not for very long. There was too much going through her head to focus. He didn’t seem to be having a problem, though. He was so engrossed in his book; she almost didn’t want to interrupt him. Almost, but she had to say something. The world was ending, and maybe the apocalypse was telling her it was time to be bold, just like when she opened Masala Girls.
“Tarek?”
“Yeah?”
“I had a crush on you before, too.”
He chuckled and put his book down. “I know.”
“You did?”
He laughed. “You wereveryeasy to read back then.” He batted his lashes suggestively at her.
