Davis, Liz - Slivers of Moonlight (Siren Publishing Classic) (15 page)

Shifting his body so he could face her, he gave her a look of disappointment. “I’m sorry, sweetie, but there’s no way I can get out of this. There’s no one else to work in my place, so I’m gonna have to take this shift.”

As sound of discontent slipped from her lips. “I understand. It sucks that you have to leave right away, but I know that you need to work.”

“I’ll make it up to you, okay?
Promise
.” He gave her a soft, sweet kiss, and then rose onto his feet and slipped into his boxers. Then he headed for the bedroom so that he could retrieve his clothes.

Maya rose up from the couch and put her robe on, following behind him, and as she reached the room, she saw him slipping into his pants. He put his uniform shirt on next, and then he gathered his hair into a ponytail. She grabbed him by the hand and they made their way toward the front door, and as they reached the entryway, he took her in his arms, enveloping her in a tight hug.

“What time will you be off?” She glanced up at him with sleepy eyes.

“My shift ends at six a.m.”

“I guess that’s not too bad, it’s only five hours away. Will you come back once you finish work?”

“Sure, but won’t you be sleeping? I don’t want to wake you up.”

Loosening herself from his embrace, she walked over to the kitchen counter and rifled through a large ceramic bowl. Once she found what she was looking for, she headed back over to him and placed a pair of keys in his hand.

“Just let yourself in once you get back.”

His lips tugged into a smile, and he pulled her back up against him. “I’m already counting the hours.”

“So am I.”

“I’ll keep my cell phone on, just in case you need to contact me.

“Okay.”

He brushed a lock of hair from her cheek, and then captured her lips for one last kiss. She gave a little sigh as their mouths reluctantly parted, and then she released him from the hug. As he pulled the door open to leave, a bitter wind blew inside, causing her to shiver in response. She watched from the doorway as he made his way down the pathway away from her apartment, and once he made it to his Jeep, he offered her a wave, and then got inside the vehicle. After he started up the car and pulled away from the curb, she shut the door and locked it, and then headed for her bedroom.

* * * *

Once she was in her room, she headed straight for the closet so that she could change into her bed clothes. After locating a floral print nightgown, she shrugged out of her robe and changed. She was about to slide the closet door closed when a large container on one of the top shelves caught her eye. Recognizing it as her memory box, Maya pushed herself up onto the tips of her toes and reached for it. She grabbed hold of the box, then lifted it off the shelf and carried it over to her bed. After she was comfortably seated cross-legged on the mattress, she lifted the top of the box and peered inside. The first object her eyes landed on was a book that was written in French. It was a collection of stories she’d received as a gift for her fifteenth birthday, and had been given to her by her now deceased Aunt Mildred. Opening the cover of the book, Maya flipped through the pages and casually read a few of the paragraphs. It had been quite some time since she’d last spoken or read the language, but as her eyes glided across the fancy script, she found that it easily came back to her.

Aunt Mildred had died only a year after giving Maya this book, and as a result, it was one of her most sentimental possessions. Maya’s mother had abandoned her at the age of six, and her father had been absent since before her birth, so her aunt had stepped in to become her legal guardian. During her years with Aunt Mildred, Maya had grown incredibly close to her, and considered her to be the only true mother that she had ever had. Her aunt had been an avid learner, and shared her knowledge about various things with Maya. It was because of Aunt Mildred that Maya knew how to read and speak French, and she’d also learned a number of other things as well.

When her Aunt Mildred died, everything had been thrown into a tailspin. Aunt Mildred’s sister, Laurie, ended up inheriting the house, and this was when everything in Maya’s life began to change. Laurie saw her as nothing more than an inconvenience, so to make things easier for herself, she’d just thrown Maya out of the house. No one else in the family had cared, so she had to learn very quickly how to survive on her own.

The book of French stories was one of the very few things she’d managed to grab before leaving. Nearly everything of value had been raided shamelessly by various members of her family, so the only objects she had to remember her by were this book and a couple of seven-inch Jazz records, which were currently out of her possession. She felt a flash of disappointment as she remembered why she no longer had them, and she recalled the events which had led up to her no longer having the albums.

Before moving into the place where she was currently living, she’d stayed with Dylan for a two week period. They’d still been a couple back then, so she’d thought it a good idea for them to spend some solid time together while she searched for a new apartment. Yet as always, things had turned sour between them, and on the very day that she’d moved into her current residence, they’d gotten into a terrible argument and broken up. She’d managed to remove most of her stuff from his apartment, but being the jerk that he was, he’d refused to relinquish all of her possessions.

He’d been well aware of just how much she treasured the vintage records, so he’d purposely hid them from her so that she couldn’t get them back. She’d called him numerous times since then, as well as made a few visits to his house, but when Dylan didn’t want to be bothered, he made sure that it was impossible for her to find him. Releasing a displeased sigh, she put the lid on the memory box and returned it to the closet.

She desperately wanted those records back, and not just because they had been given to her by Aunt Mildred, but also because she had something tucked into one of the record sleeves. Unbeknownst to Dylan, she had three hundred dollars taped to the inner piece of cardboard that held one of the records. After a night of waitressing, she’d return back home to Dylan’s apartment with generous tips, and after a few instances of finding that a couple of twenty dollar bills had gone missing, she’d decided to hide her stash of nightly gratuities in a place he would never think to look. This led her to concealing it in one of her record jackets, and for the past six months those bills had been stashed safely in their hiding place. Or at least she thought they still were. She couldn’t be for certain that Dylan hadn’t found the money, but she knew he had no interest in old records, nor did he even have the equipment to play them on. So chances were pretty good that her money was still there.

Maya grabbed her cell phone from off the bedside table, and then dialed Dylan’s number. She knew it was late and that he would most likely not be awake, but she could still leave a message for him on his voicemail. As she’d expected he didn’t answer, but she did leave a voicemail letting him know that she still expected to get her records back, and that he needed to contact her as soon as possible. After hanging up, she placed her cell phone back on the table next to the bed.

She was about to get under the bed sheets, when her gaze fell on a red-and-black flannel shirt that was lying on the floor next to her bed. Recognizing it as Evan’s she leaned over to pick it up. She’d noticed him wearing it over his uniform shirt when he’d first arrived at her apartment, and realized that he must have forgotten to put it on in his hurry to get dressed for work. Wishing to feel the shirt against her bare skin, she took off her nightgown, and then slipped her arms into the sleeves of his flannel. She then pulled it over her shoulders, and buttoned it up so that her chest was fully covered. It was large, and the hem of it reached all the way down to her knees, so she knew that it would keep her nice and cozy through the night.

Slipping beneath the covers, she rested her cheek against the pillow and uttered a contented sigh. She could smell Evan on her sheets and in the fabric of the shirt she was wearing, and even though his body wasn’t there lying next to her, she was still comforted by the vestiges of his presence. Deeply inhaling his scent, she burrowed herself further beneath the bedsheets and closed her eyes, drifting into a deep sleep.

* * * *

The feel of a palm against her cheek woke Maya from her slumber. As her eyes fluttered open, the first thing they focused on was a bare chest, and then they roved upward to rest on Evan’s face.

“Morning, sweetheart.” He brushed a lock of hair from out of her eyes.

She stretched her limbs and offered a sleepy murmur. “Mmm, what time is it?”

Evan took a glance at the clock. “Half past seven. Hope you don’t mind that I took a shower.” He rubbed a blue towel back and forth against his damp hair and then draped it over his shoulder.

“Of course I don’t mind.” She sat up in bed and, rested her back against the headboard.

Evan rose onto his feet and headed for the bathroom so that he could hang up the towel. While he was in the other room, Maya glanced at her bedside table and noticed there was a small box wrapped in shiny red paper. She reached over to grab it, and flipped open the note card that was taped to the front of it.

“What’s this?” Her voice was laced with curiosity.

He gave her a wide grin. “It’s your birthday, isn’t it? Open it.” He got onto the bed and sat down on the mattress beside her, resting his back against the slats of the headboard.

“Wait, but how did you know? I never told you when my birthday was.”

“The last time I was at the restaurant, I asked one of your coworkers. I know I could have just asked you myself, but then you probably would have been expecting it, and I wanted to make sure this was a surprise for you.”

She was touched by his thoughtfulness, and the corners of her lips tugged into a smile. The last thing she expected was for him to go out and buy her a gift. And the fact that he went out of his way to find out the date touched her even more.

“Evan, this has to be the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for me.” She leaned in toward him, and sealed her lips against his in a soft, sweet kiss. “Thank you, baby.”

“It’s no big deal. Now open it.” His eyes glittered with excitement, eager to see how she would react to the gift. Maya tore the wrapping paper off and tossed the lid aside, then pulled the tissue paper back to reveal what was beneath it. Her fingers clasped around a silver pendant, and she lifted it up by its chain, letting it dangle in front of her eyes. The pendant consisted of two hearts, which were entwined, and as she closely studied them, she saw there were some numbers inscribed on the larger heart.

“The numbers represent the date that we met,” said Evan, watching as she traced her finger along the inscription. “And the hearts, you see how the smaller one is inside the larger?”

Maya nodded her head, admiring the gleam of the silver.

“Well, I like to think that the larger heart represents me, and you, of course, would be the smaller one. It probably sounds corny, but that’s the way I see it.”

“It isn’t corny at all. I think it’s incredibly sweet. What a beautiful present.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

“I love it.”

Evan gave her a pleased smile. “Good, so glad you do.” He took the necklace from her hands, and then looped the chain around her neck so he could fasten it into place.

Placing a finger beneath his chin, she guided him toward her for a kiss. Their tongues tangled for a few moments, and then parted. Although their mouths were no longer touching, their faces remained in close proximity, each gazing deeply into the other’s eyes. They stared wordlessly, silently communicating feelings that couldn’t quite be put into words. It was one of those blissfully content moments where everything seemed so perfectly in place. And then suddenly, before she could stop herself, Maya spoke those three little words.

“I love you.”

As soon as the declaration passed her lips, she instantly regretted it. Her cheeks grew flushed and a sheepish expression crossed her face.

Evan’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. “What did you say?”

Although she knew it was useless, she still made an attempt to backpedal. “Nothing. Just forget it.”

Evan gave a slight laugh. “What do you mean, just forget it?”

“I didn’t mean to say it aloud. I know it’s too soon.”

“Is it?”

Giving a shrug, Maya responded, “I don’t know. Look, sorry to put you in this position. I know it’s awkward having someone say those words when you aren’t ready to say them back.”

“It’s not going to scare me away if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“It won’t?”

“No, why would it?”

“Well, it’s pretty much up to the guy for him to say it first, isn’t it?”

“I never heard that before.” He gave her a funny little half smile.

“Come on, it’s, like, an unspoken rule.”

Evan shrugged his shoulders. “I guess, but who cares about those so-called rules? Just do what feels right to you. And you did, so that’s good.”

Laying her head against his chest, Maya began fingering the heart pendant, sliding it back and forth across the chain. Moments passed as she anxiously waited to see if he’d say the words back to her, but when he didn’t, she began feeling very awkward. Now she was left regretting the fact that she’d spoken the words at all. She’d never declared her love to guy without him saying it to her first, but for some reason, something inside of her had just urged her to do it.