2. Chapter Two
Maya
“ Y o Maya!” I turned to see who had called out my name as I walked through the Quad—the center area between four of the buildings of the university.
Kara hurried after, adjusting her backpack strap on her shoulder.
“Hey girl!” I greeted my new friend with a smile. “How you settling in?”
Kara grinned. “Good, good! Look, I hate to ask, with us just meeting and all, but any chance I could catch a ride with you next time you head back to Mourningside or Creekton?”
I laughed and nodded, knowing it was the way of freshman year. “Yeah, for sure! No problem. I don’t head back all that often, though, to be honest. Me and the folks don’t get along that great, but I’m always down for a road trip.”
“Thanks girl. I appreciate that. Where you headed?”
“Library, you?”
“Same.”
“Tis the life.” I chuckled.
Music blared, and Kara and I sung along.
The sun was shining, and both of us acted like we didn’t have a care in the world.
I knew that was far from the truth, though.
We may have been going home because the campus shut down for the entire week of Halloween, but we were still laden down with homework from professors that thought we had nothing else to do.
The heavy metal song ended and switched to something lighter, a pop-punk band that had been popular when I was in middle school. It had us both laughing and singing along. “I fucking loved this song!” Kara said, before she launched into an off-key rendition, hitting every word.
“Yeah, get it girl!” I cheered.
Kara finished the song with a laugh. She took a sip of water from a bottle she brought with her before she asked, “What are your plans this week? ”
I shrugged. “My sister is moving to Chicago this week. She took a job up there. So I’m gonna help her move and hang out in her new place.”
“That’s awesome. Good for her.”
“Yeah, good for her.” I sighed.
“Leaves you alone with the ‘rents then?”
“Yeah, and we’re not always good.”
“Are you heading straight back to school from Chicago, or are you coming back down this way?”
“Oh, I’ll be back down by next weekend. I’m only staying with my sister until Thursday. She starts the job that night. Night shift.”
“Oof, that’s rough. What’s she doing?”
“She’s a doctor. She’s finishing her residency. She has a year left. She was doing it down in Bloomington, but wanted more action, you know? Plus, she’s hoping to get into the fellowship program up there.”
Kara nodded, “I could see that. After law school, I’ve thought about moving to Chicago for a bit, getting some experience at a big firm, before I head back home. I want to work with families that don’t have the means to pay for a lawyer.”
I smiled. “That’s good of you. So many people become a lawyer for the money, it feels like.”
“Yeah, I know. Then growing up in Creekton Villages, you just saw a lot of shit, you know? A lot of heart break, and single mothers, a lot of families just barely getting by. I was lucky. My brother wanted better for me, so he busted his ass to get me into Mourningside Prep.”
“He sounds amazing.”
“He is…and he’s an ass too.” Kara chuckled. “Brothers.”
I laughed lightly and let the conversation drift off as the song changed again.
“Oh,” I gasped, freezing in the doorway as I walked back into the cozy living room of Kara’s small apartment. I had gone to the bathroom while I was waiting for Kara to be ready to head back to school, and I came back out to find a large man in the living room who hadn’t been there before.
Dressed in a black hoody and dark wash jeans, the man was broad-shouldered and tall. He had a short black hair was buzzed closed to his head and a thick but trimmed goatee that did nothing to hide his chiseled jaw. His brown skin and dark brown eyes suggested he was of Mexican heritage.
His gaze snapped to mine, those dark eyes roaming over my body.
I wasn’t wearing anything special, a pair of beat-up blue jeans and a purple long-sleeved top that hugged my curves.
My curly, golden blond hair was pulled up in a messy bun, but the way he quickly looked me over and then let his gaze roam over my face, sent a shiver down my spine at his intensity .
“Hi, I’m Maya,” I introduced myself, trying to break the heavy silence that had descended between us.
“Marcos.” He moved forward and held out his hand to me. “I’m Kara’s brother.”
My heart fluttered in my chest as I listened to his deep voice. His palm was warm in mine and butterflies erupted in my belly as I shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
There was a spark between them, and I found myself getting lost in his dark eyes.
“Oh good, you’ve met,” Kara said, interrupting the moment.
I quickly dropped his hand and stepped back, looking over my shoulder at my friend. Kara had come out of her bedroom with her duffle slung over her shoulder.
“Marcos, Maya’s the one who’s been driving me back and forth to Northern,” Kara explained. “She’s a junior.”
Marcos gave a nod of recognition. “Nice to finally put a face with the name, I’ve heard a lot about you,” he said slowly. “Thanks for driving her. It’s stupid that freshmen can’t have cars on campus.”
I smiled. “I know. My freshman year I at least had my sister on campus.”
Marcos smiled in return. “You live in Creekton still?”
“Not anymore, my parents moved to Mourningside after I left high school,” I explained, brushing a stray hair out of my eyes.
“What are you doing here?” Kara asked her brother .
“I thought I would stop by and see you before you headed back to school,” Marcos said.
Kara rolled her eyes. “Then you should have come by yesterday for lunch, like we planned and not have blown me off.”
Marcos scratched at his eyebrow with his middle finger, as he tilted his head slightly, watching his sister warily. “I’m sorry, Lil Manita,” he said before he continued in Spanish. "Ya te dije que surgió algo con el trabajo.” I already told you something came up with work .
Kara sighed. “Alright brother, but we’re heading out.”
He nodded once. “Right. Well here,” he reached into the pocket of his hoody and pulled out an envelope, before he handed it to Kara.
I glanced away, not wanting to intrude on the moment between siblings. I gathered up my coat and keys, while Kara spoke softly in Spanish to her brother.
When they finished up, Marcos turned to me and said, “It was nice to meet you. Next time you’re in town, we should all get together for lunch.”
I glanced at Kara who rolled her eyes, before I said simply, “Sure.”
Once we were in the car, Kara turned to me as I started backing out of the parking spot. “So, I totally walked in on a moment back there.”
I flinched and quickly looked at her, slowing the car to a stop and shifting into drive. “I uh—”
Kara laughed. “Don’t worry about it. I won’t be mad if you end up dating my brother, or sleeping with him, or whatever.”
“I don’t—”
“I’ll just warn you that he’s ten years older than me, putting him at twenty-eight. And he’s kinda a whore.”
A startled laugh burst out of me. Too shocked to say anything, and still confused by the moment I had shared with Marcos, I kept my mouth shut and pulled forward in the parking lot, heading for the exit.
A few minutes down the road, I finally asked. “You wouldn’t be mad?”
“Oh gross!” Kara groaned dramatically, before laughing.
I couldn’t help but laugh as well. “It’s college, right? Slut era?”
“Slut era.” I held out of my fist and Kara bumped it with hers.