Chapter 15
VONSHAE
The next morning, I woke up to an empty spot. I wasn’t a heavy sleeper, but Maja’s body was a drug that put me straight to sleep and kept me sleep all night. That was crazy, considering all I did was hold her.
Today would be a little different. Although the festivities were far from over, now that Maja was comfortable, it was time for me to get to know her.
She walked out of the bathroom fully dressed and clouding the air with her delicate, floral scent.
Sitting up, I scrubbed my hands over my face to play off the way my mouth hung open.
She wore nothing fancy, just denim shorts and a simple white T-shirt.
“Good morning,” she spoke. Her cheeks were stained from a blush. If I thought teasing her about blushing for me again wouldn’t have sent her back into a cave, I would’ve commented on it.
Instead, I replied, “Mornin’, baby. You feel rested?”
She nodded and came to sit on the edge of the bed. “What’s on the agenda for the day?”
Leaning over, I laid my head in her lap and wrapped my arms around her midsection.
She chuckled and placed her hand on my scruffy cheek.
This was our first morning together, and it felt too natural not to have more of this.
I hadn’t even washed my face, but she didn’t care.
This was growing old love type shit. Her skin smelled good, and her thighs were soft as hell.
“I’m kind of feeling like we should ditch everybody and spend the day by the lake,” I stated.
She shook her head. “Nope. You brought me here to have a good time with your people, and that’s what I’m going to do. Now, get your heavy ass off me, get up, and get dressed. I smell bacon, so that means your uncle is throwing down on the grill.”
I burst out laughing. “You ditchin’ me for some food?”
“I sure am,” she replied without missing a beat.
I held her tighter and said, “We’re supposed to be bonding.”
“We can bond over a plate of whatever your uncle is cooking with that bacon.”
Cackling, I rolled off her and stood from the bed. “Aight, I got you. Don’t complain that I don’t want to snuggle wit’ you.”
She smacked her teeth. “There’s plenty of time…” Her words trailed off as if she caught herself about to say something that she didn’t want to reveal.
“See, you fuck wit’ me,” I teased her.
She turned her gaze from me to hide a smile and shook her head. “You don’t play fair at all. You knew bringing me here would soften me up some.”
Shrugging, I admitted, “I prayed that it would work.”
We stared into each other’s eyes for a few beats until the squealing noises of kids interrupted us.
“This is genuine, Maja,” I stated. “I’m not gon’ let what I do for a living come between us. Now, if you get to know me, and I’m not what you want in a man, then we can move accordingly.”
She tilted her head at me, and her eyebrows slightly rose. “So, you’d let me walk away without any further contact?”
“I didn’t say all that,” I replied. “I said we could move accordingly.”
“Which translates to what, Von?”
“It translates to we go to couples counseling and figure that shit out,” I clarified.
Maja burst out laughing. “Couples counseling? For two people who aren’t a couple?”
“Yo’ ass was pressed all up against me last night, mamas.”
Her cheeks darkened prettily. “Shouldn’t you get to know me before making such bold declarations?”
Grinning, I said, “That’s what’s on the agenda for today. I want to get to know everything I can about you. Likewise, I want you to freely ask me whatever you want.”
“Do you miss stripping?” she asked, then grinned.
“Wow.” Amused, I shook my head while she laughed. “That was years ago, baby. I made some good money, too.” Tickled, she laughed, as I added, “I can’t show my body off anymore. I got a woman, and I’m quite sure she ain’t goin’ for that shit. Is she?”
Maja leaned back on the bed and stared at me.
Smirking, I went into the bathroom, rinsed my toothbrush, then applied toothpaste to it.
As I brushed my teeth, I stood at the doorway of the bathroom peering at Maja.
Her eyes were still on me, and she was still perched in the same position.
There was a silent tug-o-war between us, and I was determined to let Maja answer the question on her own.
I went back to the sink to handle my teeth and face, then turned on the shower to freshen up for the day. By the time I was done showering, moisturized, and dressed, Maja was on her feet standing at the window watching my family’s campground come to life.
Easing up behind her, I wrapped my arms around her waist and hugged her to my body. She turned in my arms and peered at me. Whenever she initiated eye contact, I got a little more excited.
“I hate everything associated with a badge,” she said.
“You’re here with me,” I stated.
“I’m not your woman, though,” she countered.
Honestly, that shit broke my resolve a little bit. I hid it well. “What are you, then?”
“An…acquaintance.”
Her response felt like a dagger. My visceral reaction to hearing her friend zone me shouldn’t have cut so deep. It did, though. Allowing my arms to hold on for a second longer, I finally released her and smirked.
“Aight, Acquaintance. Let’s go eat,” I stated.
Over breakfast, Maja and I exchanged glances and few words.
This wasn’t how I wanted this day to go.
She was supposed to be diving into my deepest secrets.
I was supposed to be peeling back the layers of who Maja was.
Instead, her wall seemed to be thicker than before.
Although she had little conversation for me, she was all smiles for everyone else.
Maja was chatty with my mama, and that cut a little deeper because my name never left Maja’s lips.
She wasn’t thinking about me, and I had to chuckle to keep from getting upset.
I played it off by doing other little shit like playing horseshoes with my brothers and darts with my pops. All the while, I kept my eyes on Maja.
By the time the rowing competition started, she joined me on the pier so that we could board our rowboat.
She’d been enjoying herself all morning, and I was almost tempted to rain on her parade and decline rowing with her.
Sucking up my lost feelings, I climbed inside the boat, then reached my hand out for her.
She boarded the boat and sat on the plank in front of me.
Once the first rower was in place, I pushed us away from the pier to install the other rower.
As we waded on the water for everyone else to join us, Maja peered at me over her shoulder.
“Are you okay?” she questioned.
A lie was about to fly off my lips. Hell, it didn’t matter how she took the truth, though. I was in the friend zone anyway. “I thought we were having a good time. However, you haven’t said much to me today, and I can only assume it’s because you’ve shut me out.”
She worried over her bottom lip before turning back around.
“See,” I stated. “Right there. What’s that about? Have I done something that makes you want to retreat?”
Maja’s sigh attached itself to the muggy warm air. “There’s nothing I’m afraid of, Von.”
“But you’re afraid of me,” I surmised.
“I’m afraid of what you represent,” she clarified. “My father wore a badge, and he betrayed me in the worst way.”
Swallowing, a chunk of my heart went out to Maja. I didn’t expect her to reveal her past so soon. Then again, she wanted me to understand how deep the hatred for my badge ran. She didn’t elaborate, and I didn’t pry. As my pops said, she’d reveal what she wanted me to know in her own timing.
“I hate that for you, Maja. Badge or no badge, a father should never betray his child,” I said.
“Being here with you makes me feel like I’m betraying myself,” she confessed. “I feel like I’m betraying…” Her words trailed off, and I didn’t prompt her to continue. As birds chirped and the sound of the water sloshed up against the shore, I glanced up into the sky for a sign.
“You made an oath to ya’self.” It was a guess.
She nodded. “Oaths aren’t meant to be broken.”
“Not even for love?” I quizzed.
Her light chuckle was followed by a shrug of her shoulders. “Would you go against your oath to the badge in the name of love?”
Rocking the boat a little, I leaned forward and wrapped my arm around Maja’s shoulders. I liked that she allowed me to hold her this way. Leaning her back, I kissed her temple.
“You’d be surprised what a nigga would do for love,” I whispered in her ear. Letting her go, I sat back just as everyone prepared to line up their boats.
As the horn blared for us to start rowing, water kicked up and tickled us in our faces.
Maja squealed and laughed, creating music to my ears.
Her competitiveness matched mine, and we were both pushing each other to make it to the finish line first. As we crossed into winning territory, Maja threw her hands up in celebration.
Although my mama and Amaré were good and salty, they joined everyone else in clapping for us.
As we headed back to the pier, I said, “I’m behind you, moving us in the same direction as you.
I’m not working against you. Nor am I hindering you.
Even though you can’t see what I’m doing back here, you’re trusting that I’m working in tandem with you.
What I’m sayin’ is, I understand being afraid.
All I’m asking is that you get to know me despite being afraid.
That fear will soon dissipate. You’d see just how many wins we could have together, Maja. ”
This time when she glanced back at me, her eyes searched mine. I was back in. There was no way I’d allow her to push me out again.