Maya's Choice (4 page)

“I'm Viviana Vargas.” I reached over and shook her hand.

“Are you okay? Because you look like you could use a friend,” Toya said.

“I've seen better days,” I admitted. Her son placed his tiny hand on my knee. “Your son is handsome.”

“He's more like a handful, if you ask me.” Toya chuckled.

“What's his name?”

“Junior,” she answered.

“Why are you just sitting out here on these dirty steps?” Toya asked the obvious question. I shook my head and just started venting about everything. Before I could stop myself I realized that I'd shared way too much with someone I didn't know at all.

“You know what? I've seen days like that,” she said sympathetically.

“Really?” I asked, not fully believing her.

“Of course I have and I know what it feels like.” I didn't
say anything and Toya didn't continue on her way. The silence between us became awkward.

“Listen, why don't you come up to my apartment? You can sit around and watch videos on VH1 with me,” Toya offered.

“You don't even know me and you're willing to invite me into your house?” I glanced over at her to see if she'd lost her mind.

“You don't look like the type who'd kill someone.” Toya smirked. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my knife. I wanted to prove to her that she really didn't know me or understand what I'd do if I were backed into a corner.

Toya smiled, seemingly pleased with the fact that I was carrying a weapon.

“This is my protection against any fool who tries to hurt me or my mother. Especially that fool she's upstairs with now.” I glanced up at Martin's apartment window. I was still worried about my mother.

“My girl. I can tell that you and I are going to get along well. Come inside with me—I won't bite, I promise.” I don't know what made me go with her. Perhaps it was a combination of boredom and frustration but I was glad that I did.

MAYA

My
leg had completely healed up and I no longer needed to wear my hideous-looking orthopedic boot. Going to physical therapy was a real drag, but the therapist said she was impressed with how quickly I was recovering from my injury. In many ways I felt rather invincible, like no real harm could ever happen to me. From time to time my ankle would feel very stiff and would swell if I did too much walking. Whenever that would happen I'd just place an ice pack on it until the swelling subsided.

I'd tried to schedule a romantic time with Misalo at my house when I was still limping around with the orthopedic boot. But that didn't happen because Misalo had forgotten that he had to go to his summer soccer training camp, and right after that his family flew to San Diego, California, for a family reunion. I was so frustrated because I hadn't seen him in a long time and the last thing I wanted was for him to be on the other side of the country. With Misalo being so far away I was absolutely miserable. At night I'd pull out my iPod and listen to love songs because I missed him so
much—I missed his laugh, his cute face and all of the attention he showered me with. There were so many things that I wanted to do with him and even more things that I wanted to do to him. I'd never felt the way I did about Misalo with anyone else and I certainly couldn't imagine myself being with another guy. I actually told him that one night when we were having a late-night phone conversation. I was being extra careful to make sure the walls didn't carry my voice throughout the house.

“I have something to tell you, but you can't turn around and say the same thing back to me,” I explained as I got more relaxed underneath my covers and pressed the phone even closer to my ear.

“What is it?” Misalo whispered. He had such a smooth and romantic voice. I don't know if it's possible to fall in love with the sound of someone's voice, but I most certainly was in love with his. I could just listen to him talk to me forever.

I closed my eyes and gently whispered, “I never want to be with anyone else.”

“Neither do I,” he responded.

“You can't say the same thing that I just said to you. It cheapens the moment,” I griped, wishing he could take his words back.

“But it's true, Maya. I am so into you. It's like I'm drawn to you in a way that I just can't explain.”

After he said that to me I immediately forgave him. Just hearing how much he cared for me made my heart soar on the promises of true love. “Remember when we first met?” I asked, wishing he was near me so I could snuggle up in his warm embrace and inhale his scent.

Misalo chuckled. “Of course I do. It was during a school pep assembly for the homecoming football game. I was sitting on the bleachers directly in front of you and you began screaming like a psychopath when the band played the school spirit song. You were so loud that I swore you exploded my eardrum. Besides, I think you were the only one in the entire school who knew the words.”

“I did not scream that loudly,” I remarked playfully.

“Oh, yes you did.” He laughed.

“Whatever!” I forgot why I'd even asked him the question.

“I remember holding my hand to my ear and turning to look at you. I was about to say something foul until our eyes met. I couldn't stop looking at you.”

“I know. You gave me a complex. I thought I had a booger or something dangling out of my nostril.” I giggled at the memory.

“At that moment I remember thinking I had to know everything about you. I didn't care about the roaring crowd, or whether or not our team won or who was looking. Time seemed to stop for a moment. You were like an angel.”

I released a long sigh and then said, “It took me a moment to realize what the look you were giving me was for, but when I did, I felt the same way. Everything just seemed to stop. I remember thinking that I wanted to kiss you, but I didn't even know you.”

“I would've let you kiss me. Hell, I would've given you my virginity at that moment, had you asked for it,” Misalo confessed.

“Well, I would not have given you mine. Your eyes were
pretty, but they didn't have the power to make me want to do all of that.”

“Well, your eyes had that type of impact on me. It was truly love at first sight.”

“So, tell me how much you love me now?” I wanted to know if his heart was just as lovesick as mine.

“I love you so much that if you asked me for the moon, I'd snatch it from the stars and give it you.” Misalo's words were like a tender melody to my ears. My heart melted like ice cream sitting on a hot stove. “Really?” I wanted to hear him say it to me once again.

“Yes, really. I wish I could hold you right now, Maya. I wish I could look into your eyes and see your soul, which I know shines brighter than moonlight. I wish we could be someplace right now enjoying each other.”

I released a long exhale. “Oh, Misalo, I love you so much,” I said, surrendering all of my feelings to the moment. “I wish there was something I could do to bring us closer right now.”

“I have an idea,” Misalo said. “But before you give me a quick no, think about it and then give me a slow yes.”

“What do you have in mind?” I asked suspiciously thinking that perhaps he wanted me to talk like a nasty girl from one of those 1-900 numbers.

“Okay, you know I'd do anything to make sure that I always stay on your mind, right?” Misalo spoke confidently.

“Of course I do,” I whispered as I twisted a strand of my hair.

“I want you to text me a picture of yourself,” Misalo said.

“I'm in the bed and my hair is a mess. Besides, I don't have on any decent clothes. I'm not trying to scare you away,
baby.” I couldn't believe he wanted to see me when I wasn't looking my best.

“You're not catching my drift, Maya,” Misalo said in a smooth and calm voice.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Text me a naked picture.”

I didn't think I'd heard him right, so I sat up and repositioned myself before turning up the volume on my phone. “What did you just ask me to do?”

“Come on, don't be like that. Be a fun girlfriend and text me a sexy photo of yourself so that I can look at you.”

I was silent for a long moment as I processed what he was requesting. “No way.”

“Why not?”

“Because, what if the photo gets lost or something?” I said, trying to find a rational reason to deny him.

“It's not going to get lost.”

“Well, I don't want a naked photo of me floating around.”

“Maya, I just want to look at you. Then I'll delete it. I promise,” Misalo pleaded, his voice sounded genuine and assuring.

“Send me one of you and then I'll think about it,” I suggested, thinking he'd be too shy or embarrassed to actually do it.

“I don't have a problem with it because I love you and I'll do anything to make sure that I stay on your mind. Come on, Maya, just this one time.” Misalo was making me feel both guilty and obligated to fulfill his little fantasy. I didn't know what to do or say, so I remained quiet.

“Forget it. I'll talk to you later.” I could hear the frustration and disappointment in his voice.

“Wait a minute. How can you just cut me off like that?” I asked, wanting him to remain on the line.

“You're not going to do it for me. I know you're not. People do it all the time and it's no big deal. It's not like I'm asking you to make it your profile photo on Facebook. You make it sound as if I'm asking you to put on a pair of thong panties and record yourself doing some kind of stripper dance for all of the lurkers and perverts on YouTube. This would be something between two people who love each other. No one will know except us.” Misalo really made me feel bad for denying him.

“What do you want to see?” I asked, dreading the response he was going to give.

“Everything. Just go stand naked in front of a mirror, take the photo and send it to me. I'll look at it and then delete it.”

“You promise you're going to delete it,
right?
”

“Trust me, Maya. I will. I just need this. I need to see you.” Misalo begged for me to provide him with the freakiness he desired.

“Fine.” I reluctantly agreed to do it.

“Great, I'm waiting for it.” Misalo's voice once again sounded cheery and that made me even more uneasy.

“I'll do it tomorrow,” I said, suddenly getting cold feet.

“No. I want it right now!” he snapped.

“I look crazy right now, Misalo.” I hoped he'd hear how emotionally conflicted I was about doing it.

“I don't care. We're going to always be together and sooner or later I'm going to see exactly what you look like when
you're asleep and when you first wake up. I don't care how your hair looks. Just do it, Maya.”

I sighed, then reluctantly surrendered to his will. “Okay. I'll go do it now.”

“Cool. No one will ever see the pictures, I promise,” he said.

“Okay, I'll call you back once I've taken them and sent them to you. I want to make sure that only you receive the pictures.”

“I'll be waiting,” he said and hung up.

I exhaled as I got out of bed and turned on my bedroom light. There was a full-length mirror on the back of my bedroom door. I stood in front of it and thought to myself,
Maya, he loves you. He's not like other boys and it's the least you can do for the guy who saved your life.
I studied my reflection and I truly did not look attractive. I didn't have on any makeup, my hair wasn't styled and I certainly looked as if I'd just awoken. I went to the bathroom, and freshened up. When I came back to my room I shut the door and once again looked at myself in the mirror. Just as I was about to take off my pajamas and send him a nude photo I came up with a brilliant idea. My mom and I had recently been shopping. I'd purchased numerous pairs of matching bra-and-panty sets. Since pink was my favorite color, I decided that I was much more comfortable sending him provocative photos of myself in underwear. In my mind the photos would be revealing enough.

With those thoughts in my head, I took a number of playful photos. A kissy-face shot, the innocent girl shot, the who-you-looking-at shot, and another one looking over my shoulder and showing my tush. The final photo was of me
straddling the chair with some black high-heeled shoes on. All of the photos were tricky to get because I was using the full-length mirror to capture my reflection. However, I thought the photos I sent were fun and flirtatious.

The moment directly after I forwarded the final picture, panicky butterflies began prancing around in the pit of my belly. Feeling paranoid, I immediately called Misalo to make sure that he got them.

“Hello,” he answered his phone.

“Did you get them?” I asked fretfully.

“Them? You sent more than one?” He seemed pleased.

“Yes, I sent several,” I said as I started gnawing on my fingernails.

“No, nothing has come through yet.”

“Oh, no!” I freaked out, thinking that in my hastiness I had forwarded the pictures to someone else. Just as I was about to take a look at my sent file I heard Misalo say, “Hang on, something just came through.” There was a brief period of silence before I heard him say. “You're not naked.”

“No, but I'm close enough to being naked,” I said defensively. “What, you don't like them?”

“No, they're cool. I feel like I'm looking at an underwear model though.” Misalo chuckled.

“That was the idea,” I said, feeling very self-conscious. “Don't you like the color of my underwear? You know pink is my favorite color.”

“I wasn't paying attention to the color of your underwear. I'm more focused on your hot body,” he admitted.

“Okay, now you're starting to sound sort of like a pervert. Is this what I have to look forward to when we get old to
gether? Are you going to become a dirty old man who likes looking at magazines filled with women modeling underwear?” I asked because I really did want to know.

“Who knows what I'll be like as an old man, but one thing is for sure. I'll never get tired of looking at you.” Misalo made a kissing sound. My heart sort of melted at that point.

“Oh, I really like this over-the-shoulder shot. You have sweet-looking buns.” He giggled.

“Okay, time to delete those photos, just as you promised.” I reminded him of his promise to me.

“You have an awesome body, Maya,” Misalo said as he continued to ogle my photos.

“Hello! Delete them, Misalo!” I said with more authority.

“Okay, hang on.” Misalo remained quiet for a second before speaking again. “Okay, I've deleted the photos.”

“Are you sure?” I asked suspiciously.

“Yes, Maya. The photos are gone,” he assured me.

“Good!” I exhaled.

“I love you,” Misalo said sweetly.

I smiled and whispered back, “I love you, too.”

 

If it had not been for Keysha, I'm positive I would have totally lost my marbles from longing so much for Misalo. She finally convinced me to get out of the house and do something other than sit around staring out my bedroom window as if I were Bella from the
Twilight
story, waiting for Edward Cullen to return. Keysha said it was time for us to have a girls' day out so that we could really catch up on everything that had been going on, as well as do some shopping. I tried to get out of it by reminding her that I was unemployed and
had no money. She said money wasn't a problem because she'd just cashed her paycheck. That was the great thing about having a BFF like Keysha. She was so giving. If I saw something I liked but didn't have the cash for it, she'd buy it for me and I'd pay her back whenever I could. So, on a Sunday afternoon, after getting permission from my parents, I found myself standing at the corner of State and Randolph Streets with Keysha. We'd just exited one department store and decided to head south toward Old Navy.