Maya and I give each other the same worn-out look.
“Why wouldn’t he text her this morning to say he’s on his way?” Maya asks.
“Exactly. Something weird is going on with this guy,” I second. “We need to be careful with our hearts. Because once we give it over to someone, it’s out of our control what they’ll do with it. They could stomp on it. Or they could worship it. A witchy woman has broken many a man.”
“It’s not just men who end up brokenhearted. Many a woman has gone off the edge when she gave herself away to the wrong man.”
“Agreed. It’s like jumping off a cliff, in a way.” I grin. More musings for the little red notebook.
Maya smirks.
“What?” I ask.
“I talked to my mom yesterday, and I told her about you.”
“What did you tell her, exactly?”
“Just that I met a guy. And that I really like this one.”
“Whoa. You really like me? Moving a little fast, aren’t we?” Totally teasing of course because our relationship has accelerated like nothing I’ve ever expected.
Maya bites her lower lip. “She said if you break my heart in a bad way she’s going to drive here and go Michigan on your ass. Just thought I’d let you know.”
“Michigan on my ass? What does that even mean?”
“I don’t think you want to find out, but I think it has something to do with a shovel and a shotgun.”
I laugh. “I like your mom more and more with everything I hear about her.”
Maya shrugs. “I didn’t tell her who you were yet. But you should know, Grant. I do like you.”
“Do you think we should out ourselves to the campus?”
Maya rubs her foot against my leg. “No. It’s too much fun being a secret. We should run with this for as long as we can.”
“Are you sure? I’ve been thinking about this lately. I just want to confirm, I’m not with anyone else. Are you?” I ask.
“No.”
“So if it walks like a relationship and quacks like a relationship…it’s a duck. I mean a relationship.”
She grins. “I know. I’m enjoying this no pressure, best friends with a little more while we figure out what we are, though. Once we’re a campus item, I think it’ll be more pressure than both of us need, and gossip. Let’s just wait this out, maybe till spring term, and then reassess.”
“All right,” I relent. “So what are you up to today?
She shakes her head. “I’ve got a track thing today. And I’m probably flunking one of my classes, so I need to get to studying.”
“You’re flunking? What?!”
She waves a hand through the air. “Don’t worry about it. Just do your thing, Mr. Shaman. And I’ll do mine.”
We sit next to each other on the couch, lingering and staring at one another.
She licks her lips, and I feel my cock pulsate.
Her hand falls to my jeans and she pulls at my belt buckle. “Think anyone will know if we—”
Just then, we hear a door swing open from the suite. Maya’s hand shoots away from anywhere near my crotch area, and she pretends like she’s looking at her nails…and we pretend like we’re just friends once again.
26
Maya
The rest of February flies by. It’s one of the happiest periods of my life. Of course, a solid sex life, as well as putting your nose in the books and workouts will do that. Plus, I paint more and show Grant my work, even though I’m too shy to show anyone else. For now, I have to paint after class and track practice and it’s not as much as I’d like. But it’s a start and Grant loves my paintings, at least.
One day in March, I finally bring my head out of the forest and take a look at the trees, and Spring has arrived. The weather has warmed up, our practices are all outside. Winter term is over, and it’s spring break.
Oh, and in the meantime? Grant and I are doing quite the job of keeping everything under wraps…but still having lots of fun.
“Knock-knock,” Grant says and comes into my room the day after my last exam, when I’m still weighing whether or not I should head back to Traverse City, or just stay on campus for spring break. “What are you up to?”
I close the book I was reading and sit up. “Oh, I don’t know. You have any ideas?”
Grant sits next to me on my bed, and my body heats almost instantly. Clearly, I have a Pavlovian-like response getting turned