Page 26 of Even If the Sky is Falling
And she realized that she didn’t want to put that pin back in. She was keeping Tarek, no matter what happened. He fit with her.
7
Eventually, Maya needed to get up and clean up. She retrieved her clothes strewn around the floor while Tarek pulled his pants back on. This was the awkward part.
“You okay?” he asked.
She nodded, locating her bra. “Yeah, I’m fine. I...I’m sorry. This is a little weird.”
“You don’t have regrets, do you?”
She looked at him. His jaw was set, but his eyes looked a little uncertain. She’d known that face pretty much her whole life, and although she’d never seen his after-sex glow before, it was still so familiar. She shook her head, then leaned down to kiss him.
“None at all,” she said, then stood and pulled her T-shirt on. “I just need the bathroom.”
He grinned. “Okay. Me too. After we’re done, meet me at your booth?”
She frowned. “At Masala Girls?”
He nodded. “I want to show you something.”
After cleaning up, Maya made her way to her booth in Hall A. She was feeling nervous—she still had no regrets about what they’d done, but maybe she’d let loose a little too much? Maya enjoyed sex, but she usually didn’t show exactly how much she enjoyed it so soon with a man. But with Tarek...this didn’t feel as new as it was. Even without the fact that she’d known him forever, the connection...theintimacybetween then in the last ten hours wasn’t like anything she’d felt before. But still. Had she gone too far?
He was already at Masala Girls when she reached it, dressed and waiting for her behind the counter.
“Okay, what’s this about?” she asked.
“I have a proposition for you,” he said, a huge bright grin on his face. “I thought of this before we...you know.”
She raised a brow. “Did you sleep at all?”
He shook his head. “Not much. I’m an insomniac. Here,” he said handing her a bottle of Curry Junction Tikka Sauce.
“What’s this?”
“It’s my sauce. I had an idea. This isn’t because we slept together, which by the way, was amazing. You are so perfect, and I’m looking forward to talking later about how much I really, really like this new grown-up Maya and her...skills. But first...you don’t want me selling my sauce because sauces are your thing. But prepared food ismything. So why don’t we compromise and stop selling each other’s things?”
“What?” Maya was confused.
“You said earlier it’s a pain in the butt to cook in this space. And bottling sauces is a pain in the butt for me. So, why don’t we sell each other our tikka sauces wholesale? I’ll use yours to make a paneer sandwich exactly like yours, with the Portuguese buns and pickled onions. I’ll call it the Masala Girls Paneer Tikka Sandwich, and if people love it, I’ll send them to your shop for your sauce. And you, you can stock the Curry Junction Tikka Sauce on your shelves. Tell people to come to the truck to have a chicken on naan sandwich that uses it, but not before you sell them some masala dabbas and biryani masala. We’ll bring business for each other. There is no reason for us to compete when we can have a symbiotic relationship instead.”
His face was so bright. His eyes twinkling. Tarek had the most expressive eyes. From confidence, to wonder, to arousal to fear, she’d seen it all in the last night. She’d been there with him for eleven hours and it felt like a lifetime. She certainly saw more of him than the fifteen years she’d known him as a kid.
His idea was a good one. Making the sandwicheswasa pain in the butt. Without them, she could spend more time with customers or developing new sauces.
She smiled. “This is a pretty good idea. I think this is worth exploring. If we ever get out of here, that is.”
He beamed and put out his hand. “When.Should we shake on it?”
She took him behind the neck and pulled his head down. “How about we kiss on it.”
After a small kiss, he smiled. “Does that mean we’re leaving the pin out of...us, too?”
She laughed. “For now. That pin was poking me.”
“I’d rather be the one poking you.” He waggled his brows suggestively.
She laughed, resting her head on his forehead.
