Maia laid awake staring and the wooden beams on the ceiling watching the sun cast its last rays. She'd been up for a little while contemplating when she'd emerge from this room. She was hungry, but also embarrassed. It'd been a while since she'd had a breakdown like that and Sven was always the culprit.
Looking over at her phone sitting on the bedside table next to the glass of water and aspirin Mateo left for her, she picked it up and sighed as she turned it on.
She grimaced at the barrage of texts and missed calls from Sven, but her heart clenched at the missed calls from her sister and the text urging her to call her immediately.
"Fuck," she whispered. Faye was probably wanting an update on the novel and the company was probably breathing down her neck for it.
Maia took a deep breath and called her. She was just going to have to be honest with Faye and herself. She needed a break and while Mateo was the perfect muse, she wasn't going to be in the right headspace to write like she needed to until she dealt with Sven.
"Hey, Maia," Faye answered. "I'm sorry I called so many times. I know you turn off your phone when you're in your zone, but I wanted to talk to you about your book."
"Yeah, I need to talk to you about that too." Maia sighed. "I... I hit a wall last night and I think I need a break. I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry. I'm glad you told me and it makes what I have to say a little easier."
Maia's heart sank as she gripped the blankets. "Are you dropping the book because I'm behind?"
"No, but we're pushing the publication date back by a year and it's not because you're behind."
"Why are you pushing it back then?"
"Well, it's actually for a good thing. Paramount is acquiring your Damaged Royals series for three films and a potential TV spin off. I've been in a bunch of negotiation meetings the past few weeks about it."
"Faye," Maia breathed as a smile tugged at her lips. "You know Damaged Royals is the one series I've always wanted to be adapted."
"I know, which is why I'm trying to negotiate the best deal for you and get you in the writer's room too, if you want?"
"Yes! As long as you're going to be involved as a producer too."
Faye laughed softly. "You know I'm trying to negotiate that," she said before hse let.out a heavy sigh. "But just so you know, Sven's agent has been pushing for him to be involved in this because of your history together and the fact that you used him for inspiration. His agent is trying to use your films as Sven's big break."
The smile on Maia's face fell as realization washed over her. "That's why he came out here," she whispered.
"What?"
"Sven. He started calling and texting me a few days ago and then he showed up here, but now it all makes sense. I bet he thinks if we get back together it'll better his chances of getting the role."
"Oh that piece of shit," Faye huffed. "Yeah, that's exactly what he's doing. Are you okay?"
"Kind of. I saw him yesterday and I thought I was fine, but I wasn't. I had a bit of a breakdown last night and it made me realize I won't be in the right headspace to finish my book until I deal with Sven," she said, rubbing a curl of her hair between her fingers. "Mateo got me out of my funk and I still want to keep him on as my muse, but this book or any I write after it, won't be what I want them to be until I handle the reason why I've been in this slump for so long."
"Wow Maia. I'm proud of you. I don't think you've ever been this honest with yourself before."
"Thank you, but I feel so stupid for letting him get to me."
"Don't feel stupid. He's the idiot for pulling that stunt. Especially when he won't have anything to do with the films. I'll make sure of that," Faye scoffed. "Oo, I wish I was there to give that fuck a piece of my mind for ruining your peace."
"Mm, I'm sure you would," Maia chuckled. "But now that I know what he's really up to, I want to handle him my way."
"Oh yeah? And how's that?"
Maia bit her lip. "You have to promise not to get mad."
"Why would I get mad?"
"Because Mateo and I are dating."
"What?!" Faye shrieked. "I thought you said I didn't need to worry about you fucking your muse again and what the fuck does this have to do with you handling Sven?"
"Relax, Faye." She sighed. "Mateo and I aren't fucking and we're not together for real. I thought if I pretended to be with someone, Sven would leave me alone."
"Okay...so what's your plan? What's the end game here? Because I'm not seeing it."
"Mateo and I have our end game figured out and I know you think this is stupid, but I just...I want to show Sven that I'm worthy of someone caring for me just the way I am and I don't need to change for someone to be happy to be with me," she said gripping the blankets. "I want it to tear him up inside that he can't use me for his career and I'm not falling for his bullshit."
"Maia, you've always been worthy and you don't need to prove that to him," Faye said, sighing. "But I get it. It's petty as hell." She laughed. "But if this is going to help you get the closure you need, then go for it as long as you realize what you're doing with Mateo isn't real."
"I know that. We've talked about all of that and we have our boundaries in place."
"Good and he really agreed to do this with you?"
"Yeah." She smiled. "Mateo's gone through something similar with an ex and we're both on the same page with relationships and falling in love. We don't want any of it. He's probably the safest person I can do this with."
"Mm, alright. Well, you do you and just be careful. I don't want to see you getting hurt because of this."
"I'll be fine. Mateo's become a really good friend and I want to keep it that way," she said, pushing the blankets off and slipping out of the bed. "And speaking of that, I need to get up and get dressed. I've been sleeping all day and hiding out in his guest room. I haven't talked to him since he found me mid breakdown last night."
"Right, you're sleeping over at his house now too?"
Maia rolled her eyes. "It's not like that, Faye. I write at his house all the time and I stayed last night because Mateo was worried about Sven bothering me at my house."
"Uh huh...that's admirable of him, but like I said, just be careful."
"I will. I'll talk to you soon."
"Yes, and hopefully I'll have more good news to share. Love you, Maia."
"Love you too," she said, hanging up before she plucked her overnight bag up from the jade green couch in the corner and padded into the bathroom to take a shower.
Faye was right to have some concerns about her fake dating Mateo and to be fair to her, there were definitely moments when she felt the familiar stir of attraction for him. Especially the way he comforted her last night and carried her to bed.
A blush burned over her cheeks. She'd never been cared for like that besides Faye talking her down and she couldn't remember a time when anyone carried her anywhere.
And Mateo did it like it was second nature.
Shaking her head as she stepped in the shower. He was just fulfilling his self imposed duties as her muse. It didn't mean anything meaningful and as long as she remembered that, she'd save herself from being hurt.
Being with Mateo was just a temporary fix to fuck with Sven like he fucked with her and once this was over, she was going to give herself the time to love herself enough to find someone who saw her self-worth and loved her for real.
Maia tugged on a pair of jeans and mustard yellow sweater before she swept her hair up into a ponytail. Taking a deep breath, she emerged from the room and frowned at the pungent smell of burning meat.
"Fuck!" Mateo roared as pans clanked and clashed in the kitchen.
Maia picked up her pace to the kitchen to find Mateo dumping a pan of charred chicken into the trash. "Mateo? You alright?"
"Not really," he said, looking over at her and her heart clenched at the somber look in his eyes. "I'm sorry I ruined dinner, especially since you haven't eaten all day."
"That's okay," she said, stepping toward him and sliding a hand to his arm. "What's going on? It's not like you to burn food."
Mateo plucked a bag of chips from the counter and handed them to her. "It's not great, but you need to eat something. I know you're hungry."
"I am, but I'm more worried about you. What happened while I was sleeping? You seem out of sorts."
"I'm...I'm fine," he said, shaking his head. "You don't pay me to tell you about my problems."
Maia raised an eyebrow. "No, but I'm still your friend and since when do you throw that in my face?"
"I'm sorry." Mateo cringed. "That was shitty of me to say."
"It was," she said, grasping his hand and tugging him into the living room. "Come on, tell me what's going on while I munch on these chips."
Mateo sighed as they sat on the couch in front of her open laptop and she frowned at the cursor blinking on the last page of her draft. "Was my story that bad? Did it put you in this mood?"
"No, not at all." Mateo chuckled softly. "I loved what you've written so far."
"Well, that's good and thank you, but if it wasn't that, then what's got you burning dinner?"
"A few things," he said, rubbing a hand through his hair. "But before I talk about that, how are you feeling?"
"I feel good," she said, opening the bag of chips. "You were right, I needed to sleep, but I also realized that I need a break too." She sighed. "I spoke to my sister and the company is pushing my novel back by a year because my Damaged Royals series is being picked up by Paramount and they want to focus on that."
Mateo's eyes grew wide as a smile tugged at his lips. "That's amazing. Congratulations.
That's going to be so good for your career."
"Yeah it will and it means I can work on Donny and Tati's story at my own pace now."
"Right." He nodded. "Does that mean you don't need me as a muse?"
"No." Maia smiled. "It means I'll need to extend your contract, if that's okay?"
"I don't know," he said, looking away from her. "I might have to go back to my job soon. I don't think I'll be staying in Colorado for much longer."
"Oh," Maia said with her heart sinking. "Does your family need you to come home? Is...is that what happened today?"
"Yes, that was part of it," he said, looking over at her. "Sven came by looking for you."
"What?" she said, clenching the bag of chips. "He actually came here? To your house?"
"Yeah, he was worried about you and said I'm too dangerous to be with you because he couldn't find anything on me." Mateo smirked. "And then I threatened to kick him off my property with my shotgun. He didn't like that very much and said he was going to ruin me."
"Shit, I'm so sorry." Maia slid a hand over her mouth. "I knew he'd come looking for me at my house, but I didn't think he'd come here," she said, shaking her head as guilt washed over her. "Maybe this was a bad idea. I don't want him digging into your personal life because of me."
"He won't find anything on me and honestly, I enjoyed scaring the shit out of him." Mateo grinned. "And I'm still happy to do whatever you need to get him off your back."
"Are you sure? Because I found out the real reason he's here. He wants the lead in my films and he thinks if he and I are together again it'll give him a better chance at snagging the role."
Mateo raised an eyebrow. "And I'm guessing you want to keep playing up our relationship so that won't happen?"
"Yeah, pretty much, but I'd understand if you don't want to do this now. I'm sure you've got a lot to think about and a lot of shit to do if you're leaving for good," she said, rubbing a curl of her hair between her fingers. "I don't want to get in the way of that."
"I've always known I'd have to go home one day and I have a plan for that. You couldn't never get in the way of anything," Mateo said, taking her hand. "I want to do this with you. Being your muse and your fake boyfriend will be the only things keeping my mind off leaving."
Maia curled her fingers around his. "As long as you're okay with it," she said, squeezing his hand. "But why do you need to go home all of a sudden, if you don't mind me asking?"
"I don't mind. It's my dad. He wants me to go back to my old job and take on more responsibilities," he said, looking down at their hands. "I don't want to go back. I like my life here and I like working with you, but my duties won't allow me the time to be your muse."
"I get that. So, when are you going back?"
"My dad wants me back within a month, but I told him I had some things I need to do here first. So, if he allows me that, then I'll be leaving the same time you usually do."
"Oh thank goodness," Maia said as a wave of relief washed over her. "I thought you were going to say next week or something. I'm not ready to see you go so soon." Crested Butte wouldn't seem right without him now and the thought of him leaving made her realize just how dear he'd become to her.
"No," he said, chuckling softly. "I still have time. It's just the next time you come out here. I probably won't be here."
"Well, can we still be friends? I mean, we won't live too far from each other when I'm in Amsterdam."
"Yeah, of course. We'll always be friends and I'll try my best to visit you in Amsterdam."
"Or maybe I can come visit you. I've never been to Oost Den Burg."
"Yeah...maybe, but we don't have to figure that out now," he said, eyeing the bag of chips in her lap. "We should figure out what we're going to do for dinner."
"Mm, yeah," she said, sitting the chips on the coffee table. "Why don't we go out for dinner?"
"Really?"
"Mm-hm. You need a break, sir and I'd like to celebrate my near contract with Paramount, plus I think we could both use a night out to let loose a bit, don't you think?"
"Oh." He laughed. "Now it's a night out, huh?"
"Yep. Have you ever been out in the Butte?"
"Um, no," he said, raising an eyebrow. "I didn't think there was much of a night life here."
"There isn't, which is why I don't mind it. There's a chill little dive bar that the locals go to and that's about it," she said, patting his leg. "You up for it?"
"Yeah, why not? I wouldn't mind going out for a few drinks."
"Great, let's roll up a few blunts to smoke on the walk down there."
Mateo laughed, grabbing the wooden box sitting on the coffee table. "I'm really going to miss hanging out with you like this."
"Me too, but we have at least another month to make the best of it, right?"
The smile that spread across Mateo's lips and the joy that danced in his eyes made her heart flutter. "Yes we do, Miss Maia."
And tonight, she was going to simply enjoy herself in Mateo's company.
A/N: I'm glad Maia's being honest with herself about needing a break and needing to deal with Sven. But she NEEDS to be honest with herself about how she actually feels about Mateo because she seems to be dancing around that topic. And to be fair, Mateo needs to start being honest with Maia too, or else I see shit blowing up in both of their faces soon....or maybe some things will come to light on their night out? 😏🤷🏾♀️
I'm so sorry for the delay this weekend, but my day job has been hectic this week and I'm behind on a lot of things. BUT I passed the Life in the UK test last weekend so I'm on track to becoming a permanent resident in the UK! I'm hoping everything will calm down this week and I'll be able to bust out some more chapters for you!