Chapter 30 Maya
Maya
The release day for Sweat had finally come.
The cover was high resolution.
The synopsis was grammatically correct.
The prices were fair.
And once she’d triple-checked, Maya closed her laptop, muttered a hoarse “thank you, Jesus,” and carried her ass right back to bed… where she slept like the dead until noon.
When she woke up, her phone was chaos.
A stream of texts from Simone:
Numbers are already moving!
You’re featured on FOUR lists this morning!
And at least fifty social notifications she didn’t dare open yet.
Maya closed her eyes and rested her phone on her chest, her heart thudding in slow, deliberate beats.
This was it. The book she’d worked on for the last year was complete and no longer belonged to her.
It was out in the world now, ready to be consumed, judged, loved, hated… whatever readers decided to make of it.
She was finished with Yvette and Paul.
“I fuckin’ did it,” she murmured to the empty bedroom. She threw a weak fist into the air before rolling onto her side for a few more minutes of sleep.
The doorbell wouldn’t allow it.
Maya groaned into her pillow. “Noooooo.”
It definitely wasn’t Simone. Her assistant always retreated back into remote work after release day, emerging only for their weekly in-person meetings or to text a frantic string of updates.
The bell rang again.
Maya kicked off the covers and shuffled down the hall, her bonnet half-on and her T-shirt twisted from tossing in bed. If this was someone selling energy plans, they were about to meet God.
She yanked the door open—
And found Theo standing on the other side, holding two coffees and a paper bag that smelled suspiciously like fruity scones from Ray’s Bakery.
“Happy release day,” he said softly, his mouth curling into a lovely smile.
For a second, she just stared, her brain buffering. “Did you—wait, did you drive across town?”
He shrugged like it was nothing. “Your book baby’s out in the world. Figured I’d come check on the mom.”
Maya blinked, heat creeping up her neck, and stepped aside to let him in. “If you’re trying to make me cry before caffeine, Theo, it’s working.”
As he headed for her kitchen, he gave her a quick once-over. Probably noticing the bonnet askew, wrinkled T-shirt, pillow crease on her cheek. “Did I wake you up?”
“Yes,” she said around a yawn, pointing toward the coffee bag like it was her salvation. “So take your shoes and pants off before you bring those goodies to my bed.”
Theo barked out a laugh, shaking his head as he kicked off his sneakers. “Yes, ma’am.”
She watched him move through her space so comfortably: setting the coffee down on the counter, putting the scones on a plate, and grabbing two mismatched mugs without asking. Like he belonged there.
By the time he joined her in the bedroom, he was down to his boxer-briefs, carrying coffee in one hand and pastries balanced in the other.
“God, you’re good at this,” Maya muttered as she scooted over to make room.
Theo climbed in beside her and handed her a mug. “Don’t thank me yet. Wait until you try the blueberry scone, it’s still warm.”
She sipped, eyes closing in bliss, and let her head fall briefly against his shoulder. “You know I come from a peach scone family… but I guess you can stay.”
“Generous of you,” he teased, tearing into his own pastry. “How’s it feel, knowing your book baby’s officially out in the wild?”
Maya exhaled slowly, watching the steam rise from her coffee. “Honestly? Relief. But also like I might puke.”
Theo leaned back against the headboard, glancing sideways at her. “Then we’ll drink coffee, eat sweets, and scroll Goodreads together. You panic, I’ll pace.”
She laughed, warm and quiet. “Oh, no, baby… we don’t read anything from that cursed website in this house.”
He smiled softly, bumping her knee with his. “Ahh, so that only leaves drink coffee and eat sweets?”
“Hmm, and cuddling.”
“And smooching?” he added.
Maya yawned, stretching against the pillows. “Possibly.”
Theo hesitated for a beat, then shifted, his voice a little quieter. “Well… I want to tell you something before you fall asleep again.”
The tone was enough to make her glance up at him, blinking through the haze of her yawn. “What’s wrong?”
He shook his head, taking another bite of his scone. “Nothing, baby.” He chewed, swallowed, then added more softly, “I just… want to share something.”
Reaching for his phone, he thumbed open the podcast app and angled the screen toward her. “Do you want to hear my latest episode?”
Her brows lifted slightly. “You finally recorded?”
Theo gave her a slow nod, lips quirking like he couldn’t decide if he was nervous or proud. “Yeah. I figured you should hear it.”
Maya settled back against the pillows, curling into Theo’s side as he queued up the episode. He set the phone between them, its screen glowing faintly in the soft afternoon light.
“You’re making me nervous,” she teased, resting her chin on his shoulder.
“Good,” he murmured, brushing his thumb over her knee. “Then we’re even.”
The familiar Dead Airwaves intro hummed low through the speaker, dark and atmospheric…but instead of diving straight into a story, Theo’s voice came warm and steady:
“Before We Begin…” She could hear his soft inhale as he settled closer to the mic. Maya could see him in the booth.
“…I wanted to take a minute to talk directly to you, the listeners.
“I know there’s been… a lot of chatter. About the audiobook. About my voice. About whether this somehow means I’ve ‘sold out.’
“So let me make this clear. I started Dead Airwaves because I love horror. I love the kinds of stories that keep you up at night, the ones that crawl under your skin and don’t let go. That hasn’t changed. That’s never going to change.
“But I’m also a storyteller. And storytellers explore.
“So when an opportunity came up to try something different, something a little terrifying in its own way, I took it. And I’m proud of what I helped make.
“If it’s not for you, that’s okay. But if you’ve ever connected with my voice here, if you’ve ever trusted me to bring a story to life, maybe give this one a shot, too.
“The audiobook is called Sweat, by Maya Brooks. It’s out today. You’ll find the link in the show notes. It’s a damn good book, with plenty of heat and heart. Maya’s characters are just as compelling in audio format as they are on the page.
“But if you’d rather stick to the monsters, the ghosts, the dark corners… don’t worry. Dead Airwaves isn’t going anywhere. The nights are still long. The stories are still strange. And my voice will always be right here.”
There was a quiet pause before he exhaled.
“Alright. Let’s get to the scary stuff.”
Maya blinked at the screen, her throat tight as the episode’s eerie theme music began to build beneath his voice.
“You…” She swallowed, shifting closer to him. “You didn’t have to do that.”
Theo’s arm tightened around her, his lips brushing her temple. “I wanted to.”
She let herself curl into him fully, letting his words settle in her chest. She was completely awake now, aching for the closeness that he promised.
And Theo Ward promised so much.
“How are listeners reacting?” she murmured, her fingers tracing idle patterns along his forearm.
He tightened his arms around her, pulling her flush against him until the blankets tangled at their waists. His voice was teasing but threaded with heat as his mouth brushed her ear.
“I have no idea, my love,” he whispered. “I’m too busy at the moment.”
She shivered, pressing her thighs together beneath the covers as he trailed a slow line of kisses along her temple, down to her jaw.
“Theo…”
“Mm?” He hummed against her skin, teeth grazing lightly before his lips soothed the spot. “We can check comments later.”
Maya let out a soft, shaky breath. “And what exactly are you doing now?”
“Smooching,” he said simply, catching her mouth with his.
The kiss started lazy, unhurried, but deepened quickly, his hand sliding beneath the hem of her T-shirt, palm warm against her bare waist. The coffee on the nightstand cooled. The rest of the world, the charts, the posts, the noise… it could wait.
Right now, Theo was busy keeping every promise he’d made.