Page 58 of Snow, Ice, and Spice
“Yeah. It does suck, Theo. Because if you hadn’t distracted me with that bullshit in the kitchen before I left, I would have had a nice date with Xander instead of asking him to take me home early, and I wouldn’t have forgotten my keys and we wouldn’t be stuck in the guest house together.”
I stumble back a step at what she’s said.
Bullshit in the kitchen.
It certainly didn’t feel like she thought it was bullshit, not by the way she moaned and pleaded, not by the way she grabbed at my body, not by how hard she came on my hand…
I focus on Maya’s face, how her eyes are fire. She looks like she wants to run me over…and maybe maul me and…devour me…
Heat flashes across my skin. “What do you mean bullshit—”
“Never mind that,” she snaps as she yanks her phone out of her purse. “Let’s just focus on calling a locksmith and getting someone out here to unlock the house as soon as possible.” She squints at me. “What the hell are you wearing?”
I tug at the hem of the shirt, feeling weirdly called out. I explain what happened—how Ingrid called me in the middle of my workout to check on the guest house, and when I realized I had locked myself out of the house, I figured I’d take a shower to pass the time.
“I didn’t want to wear my sweaty clothes. So…” I shrug. “I had to improvise with some of the bachelorette party decorations you left lying around.”
The corner of Maya’s mouth twitches and for a split second I feel a burst of pride that I’m about to get her to smile in this moment where she’s pissed at me. But she clears her throat. Her mouth remains a stern line.
“Whatever,” she mutters before looking at her phone, presumably to look up locksmiths.
For the next few minutes, the two of us call places on our phones while standing in the living room. Neither of us gets far though. All of the locksmiths in our area are closed since it’s late into the night.
“Damn it,” Maya mutters. “Not a single place is open.”
“I’m not having any luck either,” I say.
She sighs, her delicate shoulders sagging with the movement. She kicks off her boots and sheds her parka. “I guess we’re stuck here till morning. Great,” she says, clearly irritated.
But then she blinks and her entire expression shifts to worry. “Crap, what about Mr. Pudding? I haven’t fed him since before I left. He needs to eat one more time tonight.”
“I fed him like an hour ago. He’ll be okay.”
“Thanks,” she says in a gentle voice.
Her expression is soft, but then she blinks and she’s frowning again.
“If you’re trying to get me to like you, it’s not gonna work,” she mutters.
I just stand there and look at her. What the fuck? It feels like she’s reminding herself to act all annoyed and angry at me after that moment of liking me for remembering to feed her fish.
A flash of boldness ignites within me. “I gotta tell you, Maya, I don’t buy this whole act.”
“What act?”
“Fine if you’re pissed at me for what went down in the kitchen earlier. You’re right, I was jealous seeing you go out on a date with Xander. I was pissed that you looked hot as fuck and were leaving to meet another man.”
Her lips part, her expression shocked and dazed. “What?”
I tug a hand through my hair, worked up and frustrated and annoyed at myself for letting things escalate instead of just telling Maya how I felt—how Ifeel.
That changes right now.
“I don’t want you to be with anyone else other than me,” I growl, heart pounding, my breath shallow. My entire body is one giant knot at the risk I’ve taken saying all of this out loud. But enough hiding my feelings. Enough pretending like I don’t care about Maya when I do.
She stares at me, her eyes as wide as her open mouth, like she can’t believe what I just said.
“Are you kidding me, Theo? I heard what you said to Xander the other day at the ice rink. When you told him you and I were just friends, that there was nothing romantic between us, that you were totally fine with him asking me out. And now you change your mind?” She aims an incredulous look at me. “I’m just supposed to stand here and be cool with that? With the fact that you’re capable of flipping your feelings at the drop of a hat? Or is this part of your jealous caveman act? You don’t actually want me, you just don’t like the thought of any other guy with me either.”
