Page 25 of Snow, Ice, and Spice
“I think it’s kind of romantic, reconnecting after all those years,” Becca says, a sweet smile tugging at her lips. Gage cracks a grin and swipes her hand in his and kisses the back of her knuckles. Her pale skin turns rosy as she beams at him.
“Yeah. Good for Dad if he can win Mom back,” Tyler says through a groan as he reaches his hands up and stretches. I notice Tori sneak a peek at the lower part of his stomach, which is exposed due to his shirt riding up.
“We’ll see how it all works out,” Maya says, crossing her arms. I can’t help but wonder why she seems so annoyed about her parents’ reconciliation while her brothers are supportive. But I let the question die on my tongue. It’s none of my business.
Becca offers to make everyone hot chocolate, and for the rest of the morning, we hang out and chat. Noon rolls around and everyone gets up to leave.
When Maya shuts and locks the front door, she turns to me. “Sorry about that,” she says, the look in her eyes shy.
“Sorry about what?”
“My family dropping by unannounced. I know that’s kind of annoying.”
“It wasn’t. They were nice. And your brother Gage and his girlfriend Becca are really good cooks. They can drop by whenever they want when they bring gourmet food like that with them.”
Maya laughs, but then her expression turns hesitant. “Sorry my brother Tyler made that comment to you about your…personal life. He can be a real douche sometimes.”
“It’s alright. That’s what people know me best for anyway. I can’t be surprised when they say stuff like that.”
She looks like she wants to say more, but instead, she just nods.
She starts to turn toward the hallway, but she stops. “Hey, um…what you said earlier…when you said that hearing me…dothatlast night was hot as fuck. Did you mean it?”
For a second I’m quiet. I’m shocked she brought it up.
“Of course I meant it.”
“Okay…” She glances off to the side, like she’s taking a second to collect herself.
“Is that okay?” I ask after a moment.
She shrugs.
“What does that mean?”
I ask.
“It means…” She doesn’t break eye contact with me as she lets out a heavy breath. “It means that I’m surprised.”
I snort out a laugh. She responds with a lethal frown.
“That’s funny to you?” she asks sharply.
“No, it’s just…Maya, you’re insanely sexy. Don’t you know that? Of course I’d think it’s hot to hear you touch yourself. Anyone would feel the same way.”
There’s not an ounce of sarcasm, smugness, or cheekiness in my tone. I’m speaking in the most pointed, blunt voice ever. Because this is the most obvious fact I could ever state, and it blows me away how surprised Maya seems to be to hear it.
Her full cheeks go rosy and her doe eyes are wide as she takes in what I’ve said.
“I’m sorry if I made you feel embarrassed or self-conscious,” I say after a moment. “I should have said that sooner. But I don’t want you to feel ashamed about what you did.”
Her eyes are wide and inquisitive as she looks at me, but like before she says nothing. She just nods her understanding. “No guy I’ve ever been with has ever said that to me before.”
Now it’s my turn to feel shocked. What the hell kind of losers has Maya been with?
Something that feels a lot like anger bubbles up in my chest. Yeah, I know that Maya doesn’t like me, but that doesn’t matter right now. She doesn’t deserve to be put down or made to feel like she’s not good enough—not sexy or beautiful enough.
I let out a laugh of pure disbelief. “Well, Maya. Then every guy you’ve been with is a dipshit. You’re hot as fuck. And that’s not me trying to rile you up. That’s me being honest. Any guy who made you feel anything less than the stunner you are didn’t deserve you.”
