Horribly unedited but figured yall wouldn't mind too much. Enjoy.
I park my car outside of my dorm building and hurry to get upstairs. I've been looking forward to this nap from the minute I woke up. As I practically jog to the stairs, I hear my phone ringing from the depths of my book bag. I dig around for it and answer when I see that it's Maya. "Are you up to work on the project today?" she asks in a peppy voice as soon as I answer.
"Sure," I reply while balancing the phone between my head and my shoulder. It's not like I have anything better to do. It's Friday so I don't work and I also flat out ignored Kelsi and Jess's texts asking if I was down to go to a party with them tonight. They left out the part about me driving them there, spending the night alone, and then bringing them home.
"You can come over whenever. I don't work today so I'm completely free," she explains without skipping a beat. "And my asshole housemate is at work so you won't get distracted."
"Is four okay?" I wonder after deciding to ignore her slick comment. I trek up the stairs to my dorm and barrel down the hallway. "I am preparing for hibernation."
"Yeah, 4 works for me," she concludes while I search my key ring for the one to my dorm.
"Great," I confirm as I reach for the doorknob. I stop when I hear the noises that typically accompany Danica's extracurricular activities. "Are you kidding me?"
"What happened?" Maya questions from the other end of the phone.
"My stupid roommate," I grumble as I walk back down the hall in the direction I came.
"Sexiled again?" she quickly catches on.
"Yeah," I inform her through gritted teeth.
"You can come over now," she comments, which I already planned on doing. "You can nap, too. There's the couch...my bed...Asa's bed; I know'd like that."
"You can't see me but I'm glaring right now," I scoff as I jog down the steps. I'm secretly relieved that she'll let me sleep there.
"I'll wake you up before he gets back," she continues to joke.
"I hate you," I mumble, even though I'd secretly get a kick out of seeing what his room looks like. "I'm on the way."
"I'll see you when you get here. The doors unlocked. You know the drill," she remarks before hanging up.
I arrive to the familiar apartment and take the usual route upstairs. Just like she said, the door is unlocked so I let myself in. I rush down the familiar hallway to the living room only to come up empty. After peeking my head into the kitchen and finding an empty room, I figure she's in her room. I push open the already cracked door and find her passed out on her bed with her phone inches from her face. I take it upon myself to remove my shoes, drop my bag on the floor, and join her.
I eventually wake up four hours later to shuffling outside of the room. "I'm not waking her up," a deep voice I recognize as Asa's complains.
"Just do it. I have to set the table!" I hear Maya's response from further away. "She better be awake by the time the plates are down."
"If I wake her up, it's going to be by snatching the blanket off of her," he threatens from a much closer distance than her.
"Don't be a jerk," she replies in an annoyed tone.
I groan noisily in an attempt to alert them that I'm awake. I sit up, blink a few times, and lock eyes with Asa, who stares back with an emotionless expression on his face. Abruptly, he turns and heads in the direction of the kitchen. "She's up."
"I made dinner," Maya tells me once I join them at the table. I rub my eyes and adjust my hair, which I can tell is a poofy mess. "How was your nap?"
I look at Maya and sigh noisily. "Still tired," I mumble while fighting back a yawn.
"Maybe eating will help," she responds and places a water bottle in front of me. I rest my head on my arms and shut my eyes. I feel myself dozing until Asa noisily pulls his chair from beneath the table and drops into the seat across from me. I lift my head to glare at him but he pays me no mind. Grumbling quietly, I take a long sip of my water and wait for the meal to be served.
"So..." Maya trails as we all help ourselves to the pots of food she put on the table.
"So what?" Asa retorts as he takes two pieces of chicken.
"So how were your days?" she prompts a conversation. She looks between both of us with her usual cheery smile.
"Fine," we both answer simultaneously. This gets a chuckle out of Maya, who looks from me to Asa with an entertained glimmer in her eye.
"How was your day?" I repeat in an attempt to further the conversation. He may be an asshole but I'm not. She's trying so I'll try, too.
"Good, actually," she explains with the same excited smile. "I'm happy to get a break from working. I don't have to do anything until Sunday afternoon."
"Are you guys going out tonight?" Asa inquires hopefully and I look at Maya. I wasn't even supposed to stay for dinner, I don't think. I came over to study but I practically died on her bed.
"Do you have plans for tonight?" Maya questions and I shake my head.
"No," I vocalize as I take a sip of my drink.
"Do you want to go to a party?" she proposes and I bite my lip in thought. I don't feel like going out but I will if she wants to. Noting my dubious look, she turns to Asa. "We're going to chill here and watch a movie."
"False," he starts with a shake of his head. I note the way his curls bounce as his head moves. "Those are my plans for the night."
"We can all hang out together," Maya suggests as she looks between the two of us expectantly. I feel a nudge beneath the table and I narrow my eyes at my plate. This is her trying to formally introduce us.
"Who said I want to hang out with you guys?" Asa retorts in a dry tone. Ouch.
"Fine," she retorts with a shrug. "I was going to be kind and buy us all ice cream. I guess you won't be having any."
"I can get my own ice cream," he remarks with a roll of his eyes.
"And risk leaving the apartment?" she questions with a devious head tilt. "I was going to leave Ivy here to protect the couch from you. But if you leave, who's going to protect it from us?"
He narrows his eyes at her. "Fine, whatever. But I pick the movie," he concludes, which gets a small smile from Maya. She tries to hide her satisfaction though by waving her hand between me and her.
"Two outweighs one," she retorts in reference to choosing the film.
Twenty minutes later, Maya and I join Asa in the living room. He finished eating before us and began the search for a movie. She sits on one side of him, giving me no choice but to sit on the other. I leave a gap between us as I drop onto the couch and lock my eyes on the screen poised on the wall. Maya's gaze also falls on the TV and she immediately shakes her head.
"No, hell no," she starts when she sees the genre he's flicking through. He grins maniacally at her as he continues to search through the scary movies.
"Why not?" he asks in a knowing voice.
"No, no, no," she dismisses when he lands on one. I read the description and find myself slightly intrigued. She leans over him and stares at me pleadingly. "You have my back, right?"
"Actually..." I trail quietly as I stare at the ratings. 8/10? This movie has to be good.
"Come on!" she hisses and Asa presses the play button.
"Two outweighs one," he repeats her own comeback quietly. I hear Maya whimper quietly when she sees that the movie is based on a true story. Her eyes flit to me and Asa to see our reactions before she presses herself as far as she can into the couch. She grabs a pillow, clutches it to her chest, and uses it to hide half of her face.
Maya basically watches the movie from behind her pillow, squinting and jumping at every little thing. We're barely thirty minutes in when the music starts to build, which results in Maya jumping up anxiously. "Okay, okay, that's it. I'm going to get the ice cream. I can't watch this anymore," she caves.
Asa laughs loudly and pauses the film. "Get chocolate," he insists with a playful grin on his face. I'm surprised at how happy he seems. Given, he's finding pleasure in Maya's pain.
"I'll get whatever the hell I want," she comments angrily.
"You're going to walk?" he questions in pretend shock. "In the dark?" She glares at him and he holds out his keys, swinging them like a pendulum. "You can drive if you agree to get chocolate."
"Whatever," she snaps as she snatches the keys from him. She turns to me with pursed lips and lowered brows. "Flavor, traitor?"
"Chocolate works for me," I agree with a sheepish smile.
"Two outweighs one," she mumbles mockingly as she grabs her hoodie from the kitchen chair. "Absolute bullshit." She grumpily storms out of the apartment and Asa just laughs before playing the movie again. We continue to watch the film, awaiting Maya's return for nearly twenty minutes.
"Okay, so I got-," Maya says from beside me and I jump nearly three feet into the air. Even Asa turns away from the movie to look at me. I clutch my chest tightly and exhale deeply.
"You can't do that Maya!" I snap as I hug myself. "You just popped out of nowhere and started talking like you weren't gone for a half hour."
"That's what you get for choosing this movie," she retorts with an angry pointed finger. "Anyway, I got plain chocolate ice cream and mint chocolate chip."
"Gross," I mumble at the latter and she looks at me with furrowed brows.
"You sound like Asa," she notes as she starts in the direction of the kitchen.
"I definitely don't scream like that," he remarks as he pauses the movie and goes after her. I follow close behind, feeling a little nervous at the idea of being left alone.
"Are you sleeping here tonight?" Maya asks curiously as I help myself to a bowl of chocolate ice cream.
"No, my roommate went home for the weekend so I'm going to enjoy the room to myself," I reject the offer. I'll probably call Aaliyah before bed and talk to her to calm myself down.
"All dark and alone and ominous..." Asa murmurs from across the table. I glare at him with the spoon in my mouth.
"Who said she'd be alone?" Maya asks suggestively.
"Gross," Asa notes before perking up. "Wait, does that mean I get the apartment to myself tonight?"
"No," she replies in slight confusion.
"I'll be fine alone in my own bed tonight," I clarify as I take another spoonful of ice cream into my mouth.
"I think I'm going to call Zack over," Maya trails as she glances at the paused movie. "He'll spend the night here and ensure I don't get attacked by any crazy axe wielding maniacs."
"Who's Zack?" I ask curiously.
"He's the guy she calls to cuddle at night because she doesn't want to call a girl and lead her on," Asa clarifies before taking a large bite of his ice cream. "He'd be your competition if he was a girl."
Maya points her finger at him and purses her lips. "He's not completely wrong. But Zack is also one of my closest friends," she explains before turning to me. "You should meet him. He's a very nice guy."
"Is he funny?" I ask, which is now the determining factor in whether or not I'd build a friendship with someone.
"Yeah," she confirms before turning to her friend. "Right, Asa?"
"Eh," he responds with a weak shrug.
"Don't let him fool you. He's just jealous that Zack rose as high as he did in the ranks of my friendship. They're friends, too," she elucidates with an eye roll.
"I wouldn't go as far as to say friends," he grunts as he stirs his ice cream. It slowly begins to form a thick milkshake texture.
"Well, either way, he's cool. You guys would get along great," she assures me with a nod.
"Introduce me," I suggest as I watch Asa continue to mix his weird ice cream/milkshake meal.
"I will. I plan on having a party soon if Asa will give me his blessing," she responds with a perked out lip. He stares at her with a scowl on his face before going back to his dessert.
"You had three parties during syllabus week. Give me some time to recover," he grumbles before staring in satisfaction at his creation.
"That was forever ago!" she disputes with a small gape.
"That was literally three weeks ago," he reminds her. She rolls her eyes dismissively before turning to me.
"Either way, I'll introduce you to all my friends. They'll like you," she convinces me with a smile.
"Oh they'll like her alright," Asa mumbles as if he knows something I don't. She shoots him a glare and I give him a quizzical glance.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I prompt him to explain.
"All of her friends will try to get in your pants- girls and guys," he tells me.as he scoops up a bite of his ice cream. "Unless she claims you as her girlfriend by then, it's fair game."
"That's not true," Maya retorts defensively. "My friends are flirts, that's all."
"What about that one girl? Emma, was it?" he questions as he leans in slightly.
"Amara, actually, and she just thought you were cute and had a little too much to drink," Maya corrects with a small frown.
"She tried to give me a lap dance," he clues me in with a deadpan look on his face. "No words, either. I was sitting down and she just came over and tried to grind on me."
"I know. I'm still sorry about that. I don't invite her over anymore for that same reason," Maya mutters apologetically. I stare at the two of them with slightly wide eyes. She quickly turns to me and waves two hands around as if physically clearing the air. "But none of them are like that, I promise."
I look at Asa, who slowly shakes his head at me. "They sound like fun..." I trail awkwardly as I turn my attention to my ice cream. Then again, my friend group from last year only ever used me for my car and I only got the balls to stop letting them this semester. Also, my roommate, who used to be my friend, continuously kicks me out of the room to have sex with different guys. So who am I to judge people's friends?
"So are we going to finish the movie?" Asa wonders as he quirks a brow at Maya.
"I'm scared," she confesses as she tilts her head back and lets out a quiet groan.
"So is she," he says as he nods in my direction. "And she's going to go back to her dorm alone."
I bite my lip as I think about the drive back to my building and then sleeping in the pitch black room by myself. "I'm texting Zack now," Maya grunts as she takes her phone from her pocket.
"Can you do it in the living room? As we finish the movie?" he insists and she lifts her bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream. Asa jumps up and she trails right behind him. Again, I'm at their heels, glancing over my shoulder at each window as I do. It may be the fifth floor but who knows what can climb up here? I join them on the couch and clutch my bowl to my chest as I wait for Asa to resume the film. He stretches out into a relaxed position and presses play, meanwhile Maya's gaze is locked onto her phone.
The movie comes to a surprising end twenty minutes later with a very thought provoking plot twist. I'm left staring at the blank screen with a melted bowl of ice cream in my hands. Perhaps I shouldn't have agreed to watch the film about a mass murderer hunting people in the streets. "Eh, it wasn't that great," Asa concludes as he removes his feet from the table.
Maya looks at me from behind her pillow with wide eyes. "Why did you agree to that?" she whispers as Asa brings his bowl to the kitchen.
I give her a weak shrug. "I don't know," I confess as I think about the walk from the parking lot to my building. Then there's the dark stairwell up to my dorm. Not to mention the fact that I'm going to have to sleep all alone in my scary room. I turn my attention to Maya, who taps away on her phone urgently. "Hey, Maya?"
"Yeah?" she mumbles back while slowly tearing her eyes from her phone.
"Do you mind if I crash here tonight?" I request quietly while rubbing my elbow.
"I think that'd be better for everyone if you did. There's safety in numbers, you know?" she agrees. "What if he's out there?"
"What if who's out there?" Asa asks as he returns to the couch with another bowl of ice cream.
"The killer," Maya clues him in with a nervous glance towards the hallway.
"It's just a movie! It's fake!" he retorts dismissively.
"Actually, it's based on a true story," she reiterates as she rolls her neck. He scoffs loudly and shakes his head.
"It's dramaticized significantly to entertain us," he elucidates as if that's supposed to make a difference. When he sees that our expressions don't waver, he scoffs. "Babies." Maya ignores him and leans around his lap to talk to me.
"We can have a slumber party," she says in a hopeful tone.
"You're sleeping here now?" Asa asks as he glances at me. I nod sheepishly and he slowly shakes his head. "There goes my night of television."
"She can sleep in my bed. Zack's not coming; he has to work at seven tomorrow," Maya replies before putting on a playful grin. She nudges him lightly to get his attention. "Do you want to hang out with us and be apart of our sleepover, Asa?"
"Why the hell would I want that?" he mumbles as he takes another bite of his ice cream.
"Because it beats watching movies all alone," she replies in a serious tone this time.
"What would we even do?" he questions and Maya starts to grow excited. I watch as he slowly starts to cave when he sees the smile on her face.
"We could paint our nails and talk about boys," she insists girlishly as she wiggles her fingers a few inches from his face.
"None of us like boys, Maya," he replies matter-of-factly as he stirs his ice cream.
"What are you talking about? Ivy does," Maya says as she nods in my direction. He turns to me with furrowed eyebrows.
"You like boys?" he questions in slight disbelief and I offer him a slow nod. "Just boys?" I nod again and his eyebrows tug together in confusion. "Then why are you always here?"
"Friendship," I answer as I look to Maya. He scoffs at my response and shakes his head.
"Escape while you can or else you'll get stuck living with her," he advises quietly and she shoves his shoulder. He sways a little bit but stays solid for the most part.
"So are you going to hang out with us or do you want us to get out of your way?" she inquires as she looks at him hopefully. He stares at her before heaving a loud sigh.
"I don't care," he replies, which gets a large grin from Maya. Normally, that'd be a bad response from an average person but because this is coming from Asa the Pessimist, I'm assuming it's a good one. Maya jumps off the couch and drags the table from it's place on the rug. Asa's legs fall to the ground with a loud thud and he lets out a strand of swears. Without so much as a glance in his direction, she drops to the carpet, crosses her legs, and stares up at us.
"Come on," she insists as if we're dogs. I get up and slowly join her, creating a partial triangle. We wait patiently for the last piece - Asa.
"I'm not getting off the couch," Asa declares and Maya glares at him. They stare at each other for a minute and Maya shifts threateningly as if preparing to drag him down to the ground. He exhales loudly and throws his head back in defeat. Slowly, he lowers himself to the ground and stretches his long legs out. One almost knocks into me but he redirects it so that it's a few inches away from my knee. I wait for us to engage in conversation but Asa's eyes slowly drift to the muted television. Maya snatches the remote from his hand and turns it off. "I was watching that."
"No distractions! Undivided attention is always given at sleepovers," she informs him as she waves a scolding finger.
"You've got to be kidding me..." he hisses as he tilts his head up to the ceiling. I watch the way his adam's apple shifts when he swallows.
"So..." Maya trails in an attempt to gain his attention back.
"So what?" he retorts as he pulls his knees up and places his arms on them. The look on his face tells me he's bored and yet again, he appears like he'd rather be anywhere but here.
"So are there any special ladies in your life?" she prompts with a suggestive wink.
I listen curiously, glancing between the two of them. Asa narrows his eyes in surprise. "You seriously meant it when you said we'd be talking about girls?" he asks dubiously.
"Yeah, that's what girls do at sleepovers," Maya explains as if it's obvious. She waves a hand around to press him for an answer.
"You know the answer to that," Asa retorts with a roll of his eyes.
"Ivy doesn't," Maya responds as she points to me, successfully putting me on the spot. "No secrets at sleepovers."
"Seriously, Maya?" he groans in annoyance while giving her a long blink.
"No secrets," Maya reiterates like a manager who can't help but enforce the rules.
"If there was a special girl, do you think I'd be sitting here with you two on a Friday night?" he retorts with a dismissive wave of his hand. This suffices for Maya because she turns her gaze on me with the same demanding look in her brown eyes.
"What about you, Ivy? Any special guys?" she inquires with a mischievous grin.
"No," I answer with a slow shake of my head. I decide not to give her any issues in answering.
"Learn from her, Asa. Simple response and no attitude or insults," Maya guides him as she places a hand on my calf. "Now, I know you're all wondering what's going on in my love life, so I'll spill the beans. You can both live vicariously through me seeing as both your dating lives are insufficient. So I'm talking to this one girl named Emma but my coworker Rebecca might be flirting with me so maybe I'll pursue her. But there's also a girl named Desirae..." she lists as she tilts her head in deep thought.
"I think it'd be easier for you to tell us who you aren't sleeping with," Asa mutters and I can't help but gasp. I look between the two of them in surprise but Maya looks unphased.
"No judgment at sleepovers, Asa!" she reminds him as she reaches one of her short legs out to kick at him. He swiftly dodges it and represses the urge to smile.
"For something that's supposed to be fun, there sure are a lot of rules," he acknowledges as he taps lightly at the floor.
"Next topic!" Maya insists and I watch her wrack her brain for something to talk about. "Do you guys have any ideas?"
"How'd you two become friends?" I inquire and Asa doesn't even bother to hide his annoyance. Should I not have asked?
"Can I tell the story?" she pleads as she practically shakes in excitement. He stares at her with a straight face before sighing. "I'm going to tell the story."
"Whatever," he concludes as he tunes out of the conversation.
"We met in high school," Maya starts and I'm already surprised. I wasn't aware that they went that far back. "He was madly in love with me." My eyes widen substantially as I look between the two of them and Asa's head snaps up.
"Except I wasn't," he corrects while rolling his eyes.
"Okay, so he wasn't in love with me," Maya dismisses with a short wave. "But anyway, it was 11th grade health class. We were learning about sex-." Asa decides to cut in.
"Okay, I'm not going to let you fill her mind with lies," Asa announces as he prepares to take over. "I'll tell the story."
"Take it away, Asa," she encourages with a wide grin. I can tell this was a part of her plan to get him involved in the conversation.
"We met in high school. I was friends with her brother-," he starts but I stop him by turning to Maya.
"You have a brother?" I question even though the answer is quite clear. Asa cuts in before she can reply.
"That's what I said, right?" he bites sassily. I blink in slight surprise at his attitude before he continues. "Anyway, like I was saying before I was rudely interrupted. I was friends with Aidan and we were hanging out in his room. It was my first time there so I wasn't sure which room was which. I ended up walking into her room instead of the bathroom and caught her making out with her 'best friend,' Sadie. She demanded that I not tell anyone, not even Aidan, and made it clear that she, Sadie, and I were the only ones who knew. From then on, she would threaten to kill me whenever she saw me to ensure that her secret was safe."
"Okay, it was accurate up until that last part. He'd actually see me around at school and ask how my secret relationship was going," she clarifies with a small smile.
"Do your parents know now?" I wonder aloud and she thoughtlessly scoffs at such a concept.
"No..." she says with a very long head shake. "They would literally disown me."
"Really?" I mumble with a small frown.
"Yes," she assures me with slightly wide eyes. "They're very traditional."
"Does your brother know?" I question, hoping that she at least has someone in her family that accepts her.
"I think he has an idea. We were close growing up so I'm sure he noticed," she replies with a vague shrug. "He's never asked about it though so I never say anything."
"At one point, she was having secret relations with her best friend in her room after school. Now look at her..." Asa mumbles, surprisingly lightening the mood. "A monster."
"Shut up," she replies with a laugh as she slaps his chest.
"Are you still friends with her brother?" I ask Asa with a head tilt.
"Yeah," Asa says with a little nod.
I stare at Maya for a second and she grins widely at me as if encouraging me to ask any questions I may have. "When did you know?" I question as I sit on my hands.
"I always knew," she attempts to explain, "but I didn't know for sure until I sat down and admitted it to myself. All my friends liked boys. They all had boyfriends. I never liked a boy so I didn't get what all the hype was about. Then I realized, 'Maya, you idiot, that's because you like girls.'"
"How'd you get into a relationship with Sadie?" I ask and Asa laughs loudly.
"Tell this story. I want to hear it again," he insists with a wide grin and Maya purses her lips.
"This is embarrassing so you'll have to tell me an embarrassing story, too. So...I liked Sadie for a year before we became friends. I always saw her at school. She was a grade above me and was captain of the debate team and was a star soccer player. She was also a waitress at a local diner where I forced my friends to eat at least once a week. Not to mention, she was absolutely gorgeous. She had strawberry blonde hair and freckles and she was the perfect height and-," she continues to ramble so Asa cuts in.
"Okay, we get it, she was pretty and you stalked her," he summarizes quickly.
Maya narrows her eyes at him before huffing. "Anyway, we had a class together and we were partners for a project. With my wit and charm, I managed to reel her in. Of course I didn't tell her I liked her; that would've made things weird. As a young gay girl in a non-gay world, I knew better than to pursue her. I was completely satisfied with just being friends. We're going to fast forward a bit. Now, at this point in the story, we were friends for about a month or so. We skipped school one day and went to her house to hang out because what else do 16 year old girls do? We go up to her room and she changes out of her clothes. I look at her but only for a second! And it wasn't in a creepy way or anything!" Maya says defensively.
"Pervert," Asa coughs as he rests his arms on the couch behind him. I bite back my laughter as I continue to listen.
"I look for a split second and she asks me, out of nowhere, if I was gay. Of course I said no! That was not a safe situation to say yes in!" Maya explains as she waves her hands around in disbelief. "She just said okay and finished changing. She asks if I wanted to drink and I said sure because I figured it'd be fun to do bad things with the girl I liked. Sue me."
"Creep," Asa whispers and Maya tries to hit him with a pillow but he dodges it. I repress my laughter at his commentary.
"She comes back with some of her parents alcohol and we drink it. Mind you, it's ten in the morning. We clearly did not have our priorities in check. But she asks me again if I'm gay. I didn't have nearly enough alcohol in my system to reveal that dark truth about myself. I said no and she said that I was lying!" Maya exclaims, which gets a look of surprise from me.
"Oh man," I say as I lean forward a little, anticipating the rest of the story
"So I tell her that I'm not, as I should. And she tells me to kiss her to prove that I'm not. I know- what the hell kind of logic is that? That's exactly what I said, too. So I agreed, you know, to prove myself. I pecked her on the lips because I had some restraint. It was awkward; my face was red and looking back, I laugh because it was so obvious that I liked this girl. She kissed me again and things kind of just escalated from there," Maya replies as she stares reminiscently at the carpet.
"You slept with her?" I ask Maya with wide eyes.
"I liked her for a year! Give me a break!" Maya responds and I immediately fall into fits of laughter. I glance at Asa to see his reaction and he's smirking at Maya in a state of merriment. I admire the curve of his pink lips and the crinkle of his eyes. It's an odd but pleasant sight seeing him happy and it makes my stomach clench in a way I've never felt before. I wish I could feel it more. He seems to notice my gaze because his head snaps in my direction. We hold eye contact for a second before I turn to Maya, who watched the entire interaction with a knowing smirk.
"Was that your first time kissing a girl?" I inquire like an idiot. Of course it was. I just needed something to say to avoid being called out for staring so hard.
"It was my first everything with a girl," Maya answers. "All in one day, taken by Sadie. Just like my heart."
"Ouch..." I mumble.
"Yeah, she was very...inconsistent. I'd call it cheating but we were never officially in a relationship," Maya describes. "Anyway, time for your embarrassing story."
"Okay..." I trail in thought. I skip the last two years of my life, knowing better than to delve into a story of my ex. I jump back to eleventh grade and find a good enough story to fall into. "The first job I got was the summer before my junior year of high school. My dad's friend owned a coffee shop and agreed to give me a job for the break. I was excited for a lot of reasons: I'd be making my own money; I had something to keep myself busy; and most importantly, my dad's friend's son was working there and I had a huge crush on him," I start. I'm suddenly aware that Asa is also listening to me and most likely judging me.
"What'd he look like? What was he like?" Maya pesters me and I envision him in my head.
"His name was Wyatt. He was an inch or two taller than me, had locs, a nose piercing, and was a senior," I explain. I leave out the part about his complexion, knowing that'd sound all too familiar. "A little disclaimer: one of my brothers was working there, too. He vaguely knew Wyatt. He did not know that I had a crush on him."
"What's your brother's name?" Maya asks.
"This one is Ian," I refer to my twin. "Long story short, I sucked at the job. I think it was because Wyatt made me nervous. I could make the coffees and everything but I was slow at it and caused a lot of hold ups. His dad told him to watch me and make sure I was doing things right but that only made things twenty times worse. Wyatt was nice and would try to help me get better but I just couldn't concentrate with him around me."
"I know we passed his description but can you show me a picture of this kid later?" she butts in with a small smirk.
"Can you let her tell the story? Please?" Asa snaps at Maya and I bite back the smile that threatens to show. He's interested in what I have to say- that's a first.
"Sure, Maya," I agree. "Like I was saying, it also didn't help that my brother would watch my every move around this kid. Anything I said or did around Wyatt was under extreme scrutiny. Ian is very, very protective and eventually caught on to the fact that I had a crush on Wyatt."
"I hope I don't get second hand embarrassment," Maya complains quietly as she nibbles at her thumb nail.
"Now let's fast forward three weeks into the summer. This was arguably the worst day of my life, by far. It was a sunny Saturday morning and the shop was extremely busy. It was almost the end of our shift so people were preparing their stations for the next wave of people to come in, which included my brother. Basically, I was the only person making coffee for a good half hour. I was trying to go fast to shorten the line but they just kept coming. Clumsy me, hot coffee, and a fast paced environment- a pretty deadly combination," I explain.
"I can see where this is going," Asa comments as he listens in amusement.
"Wyatt was behind me and didn't say anything so I whipped around with a large, scorching cup of coffee without a lid and I spilled it all over him. He was screaming like it was melting his skin, so obviously I started screaming, too. I helped him to pull off his wet shirt. I guess I got some on his pants too because he started to take those off. Mind you, we were still screaming like it was acid instead of coffee. Basically, he was in his underwear in the back room and I was standing beside him with a half filled cup of coffee and a horrified look on my face. Then, his dad and my brother walked in. So yeah, I quit that job early on and avoided Wyatt for an entire year."
Maya removes her hand from her mouth to say something but laughter comes out instead. I watch as she falls over in a fit of giggles, clutching her stomach as nothing but wheezes leave her lips. I look at Asa to find him repressing a grin by lightly biting his upper lip. I wait for Maya's laughter to stop but it only triggers Asa's. He lets out a chuckle before another one slips out. Soon he's full on laughing, which is a strange but nice noise.
"What happened to no judgment?" I grunt as I watch Asa tip his head back and cackle. I am definitely not as annoyed as I'm putting on.
"We're not judging you," Maya assures me through chopped laughter.
"I am," Asa admits and I roll my eyes at him. They eventually stop laughing enough for Maya to formulate a coherent sentence.
"Your turn to tell a story," Maya tells Asa, who quickly shakes his head.
"Nope," he responds as he lets out the last of his chuckles.
"It doesn't have to be about a crush," she reassures him and he shakes his head again.
"Why would I embarrass myself in front of you guys?" he scoffs.
"Because we embarrassed ourselves," Maya replies as she motions between me and her.
"I already knew your story, Maya," he debates with the hint of a smile on his lips. "Besides, I told the story of how we became friends."
Maya narrows her eyes at him and sighs. "Fine," she gives in.
We talk for an hour, and by 'we' I mean mostly Maya. She carries the conversation and I occasionally pipe in. Asa only comments when he's judging us. She eventually fights through a series of yawns and points to her room. "I'm going to go to bed," she resigns as she slowly stands up.
Asa grins mischievously up at her as she reaches out to ruffle his hair. He endures her affectionate hand. "Make sure you lock your windows," he encourages and she groans noisily.
"I hate you," she grumbles as she rubs her eyes. She walks off to the bathroom, leaving Asa and I alone. He rises to his feet and heads in the direction of the kitchen while I get up and move to the couch. I learned a few things about Asa today. One, he can keep a secret. Two, he and Maya are much closer than I previously assumed. Three, he probably isn't as mean as I make him out to be.
"I'm going to watch TV," he announces once he returns to the living room. He grabs the remote and turns to face me. It takes me a second to realize this is his way of asking if I mind without saying those exact words.
"Okay," I reply and he drops onto the recliner. I turn my attention to the crime show he puts on as he swings his legs over the arm of the chair, stretching out and relaxing. He watches half an episode before glancing at me. When he sees my eyes locked on the screen and my body folded into a fetal position, he gets up from his spot and walks to the hallway. He reappears a few seconds later and throws a large mound of items on top of me. I gasp at the sudden weight before I realize it's a folded up blanket and pillow. "Thanks."
He doesn't bother replying and just returns to his place on the recliner and watches his show. He finishes the episode, gets up, and turns off the television. I stare at his shadowy figure travel across the room. "Asa?" I blurt.
"What?" he replies, coming to halt in front of his door.
"Can you turn on the lamp?" I ask as I tug the blankets up to my neck.
"We don't have a lamp in here," he informs me.
"Oh...night," I mutter as I stare at the ceiling. I watch as he goes into his room, shutting the door behind him. I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as I think about the movie. I contemplate going to sleep in Maya's room. I don't think she'd mind. I mean, she was more scared than me.
A few minutes later, Asa emerges again and I watch him stand beside his door for a few seconds. Suddenly, a dim light shines across the living room and he rises from his crouched position. A smile makes its way onto my face when I realize what he did. "Thank you," I say. He doesn't reply and walks down the hall to the bathroom. I stare at the light and chuckle to myself. I was right. He's not as mean as I thought.