MINE

43

MAYA'S POV

As promised, I tried my hardest to make time to hang out with Brixton after that day, and I was successful too.

Brixton's presence felt so easy to me. It didn't feel like a chore. I was comfortable around him, and he made me feel safe. The time we spent together had slowly lengthened over the stretch of a couple of weeks. I think that had to do with the fact that I was absolutely positive that hanging out with him wouldn't lead to any unwanted conversations about feelings that had arose.

I was still actively learning how to juggle the time I spent with Aliyah and Brixton. I had fumbled that. I was always completely present with one and absent with the other. I wanted to be as present as possible with each of them, but I knew I would have to learn how to balance that if I wanted to keep a healthy friendship with either of them.

Admittedly my time with Brixton had been the forefront of my priorities. I didn't favor him over Aliyah, but with him i didn't have to be open and raw with him. I could hide without consequences and that's what I needed right now. Some days I couldn't handle the prying, or the way Aliyah looked at me like she knew everything that was swirling in my head. I needed a break from that, and Brixton had given that to me.

Sometimes I did wonder if she felt the recent distance between us. I would hope that if she did, she would trust me enough to divulge that to me. I didn't want my temporary absence to cause any problems between us.

I skipped out of the elevator happily to meet with the man in question. "Hi!"

"Hey, you ready to go?"

"Yeah!"

I joined his side and let him lead me back into the cool Davis air.

He promised me coffee and I could never say no to that.

"Soooooo..."

"So what?"

"Do you finally trust me to drive?"

I cocked my head, looking at me in my peripheral. "You're welcome to drive your car like a maniac, but I'll pass on giving you the keys to mine."

He pouted. "Awww come on! I'm not a bad driver."

Again, I looked at him sideways. "You're also not a good driver. The only person that's getting behind the wheel of my car is Aliyah because she's actually responsible."

He rolled his eyes dramatically, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Fine. You're no fun."

"Thank you for seeing it my way." "So what coffee shop did you have in mind?"

"It's like half an hour away in Sacramento. I think it's called treehouse café."

I hadn't explored much of the area outside of Davis, but I trusted his judgement.

"Have you been before?"

"Actually no, it just looked like somewhere you'd like to go," he admitted.

"How sweet of you."

"I know huh."

"You ruined it. I take back the compliment."

He chuckled before pulling out his keys to unlock his car.

He opened the door for me, shutting it behind me once I was safely tucked inside.

Brixton stuck his key in the ignition and set the engine to life before pulling out of the parking space.

"What do you usually get so I know for when we get there?"

"Chai latte with oat milk and a shot of espresso."

"Ooooo sounds good."

"And you?"

"An americano. I'm boring and need all the caffeine I can get."

"Indeed you are boring, but we already knew that."

"You must be boring too then."

I turned toward him, a knowing smile on his face. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"If I'm boring then you're boring too because you like hanging out with me."

"Not true! I hang with you to add some excitement into your life."

"Well thank you so much for your charity work."

"You're welcome," I smiled sarcastically. "It always warms my heart to do good for people less fortunate than me."

He laughed out loud, glancing at me for a moment. "You're an asshole."

I shrugged, leaning my elbow on the middle console.

"Do you wanna put on your music," he asked.

"Sure, do you have anything specific you want to listen to?"

"Nah, I wanna hear what you listen to."

"Ooo okay! I actually have a playlist I play if I have girls in my car."

He rose an eyebrow, "Specifically for girls?"

I nodded excitedly, unlocking his phone and looking for my profile on his Spotify so I could find the playlist in question. "Yeah and before you ask, it's not just for the girls I like in that way. It's for those girls and just girls in general."

"What about for boys riding in the car with you?"

"Mmmm, I never about making one of those. I don't hang around a lot of men anymore."

"Anymore? Why?"

"Well because none of them ever want to accept me as just a friend plus my best friend Patrick is all the way in LA so I don't see him often."

"I see. I'm really sorry about that. It sounds frustrating."

"Yeah, it is, but at least I have you. I know you wouldn't do anything to ruin our friendship like that."

"You know..."

I paused, "What?"

"You're right. After spending this much time with you over the past few weeks, I don't think I would either. You're very, very special."

I grinned, "You're sweet."

He visibly blushed. "Yeah whatever. You better not tell anyone I said that either!"

"What? You don't want anyone to know that you, a man from Ohio, is actually soft?"

"Exactly."

"Ok," I agreed easily. "Your secret is safe with me...and Aliyah."

"Maya!"

"Fine! I won't tell her either."

"Good...thank you."

"Well would you look at that, I had my fingers crossed."

"So annoying," he muttered.

I giggled, reaching over to ruffle his hair playfully.

He batted my hand away with one hand, his other clutching the wheel securely, muttering something about never complimenting me again.

I laid my head back against the head rest humming along to the song that was playing from the speakers, resigning myself to the playful mood I had put him in.

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A/N: Hello! Here's another update. Stay tuned for the next two chapters 😎