Davis, Liz - Slivers of Moonlight (Siren Publishing Classic) (2 page)

“Hello?” Her voice was filled with irritation.

“Hey, babe, what’s up? I was waiting for you to call me. Are you okay?”

“No, not really.”

“Why, what’s wrong?”

“My car was having some trouble, so I had to get it towed.”

“Oh man, sorry about that. When did this happen? Maya, you should have called me.”

“I
did
call you, but you weren’t available.” Feeling self-conscious, she was trying to keep her voice low.

“Oh, well, I must have been busy or something because I don’t remember the phone ringing.”

“Yeah right,” she responded flatly.

“No, really. Listen, I’m sorry I didn’t pick up, okay?” He gave a pause and then asked, “What’s that noise?”

“I’m getting a ride home in the tow truck.”

“Oh, okay. So when will you be home?

“I don’t know, half an hour maybe. What does it matter?”

“Babe, please don’t get mad at me. This isn’t my fault, okay? So don’t take it out on me.”

“I’m not, it just would have been nice if you had answered the phone.”

“I said I was sorry about that. Look, when you get home, call me, all right? Maybe we can hang out or something.”

She knew what the words “hang out” meant. To Dylan, hanging out consisted of coming over and having sex, then waking up in the morning and expecting her to cook a full breakfast for him. No way, this time she wasn’t going to give in. She was not in the mood for it tonight.

“No thanks, not interested.” She said it with an air of indifference.

“Maya, come on. I just want to—”

Cutting him off, she said, “Just leave me alone, okay?”

Then she flipped the phone closed. All he had to say were lies, anyhow. She was done listening to him.

“Bastard.” She said it quietly under her breath so that it came out as barely more than a whisper.

Evan glanced over at her and offered a look of concern. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She turned her head to look out the window, watching the scenery of the town pass by.

Unsurprisingly, her cell phone began to ring once again. This time she switched it off before it could make it to the second ring. She continued staring out of the window, hoping they would arrive at her house soon. It had been a long, difficult evening, and she just wanted it to be over.

As if to cut the tension, Evan cleared his throat. “Listen, I know it’s none of my business, but if that guy’s harassing you, there are ways to get him off your back.”

“How’d you know it was a guy?” She turned her attention from the window to look at him.

“Well, I just assumed. It was, wasn’t it?”

She nodded. “Yeah, my ex-boyfriend.”

“Glad to hear he’s your ex. He doesn’t seem like he cares very much about you.”

Even though it was the truth, it still hurt for her to hear it. The words stung a little.

“How would you know how he treats me? I’m sorry, but you have no idea what our history together is like.”

“Well, that is true, but having some experience with relationships, I can tell when someone is being taken advantage of. I’ve been in your shoes before.”

She didn’t say anything, only stared ahead as they made their way down the highway. He was the first to break the silence.

“So you are in a relationship with this guy, then.”

“What do you mean?”

“I thought you said he was your ex.”

“He is, sort of. We’re just going through a rocky time right now, but we’re still seeing each other.”

“Oh, okay.”

She could hear the puzzlement in his voice and knew he was probably wondering what the heck she meant by that. Even she realized what she’d just said hadn’t made much sense.

“What I mean is we’re in a strange place. Sometimes we’re together, and sometimes we’re not.”

“On and off, huh?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

She didn’t know why, but she felt comfortable opening up to him. Although he was a complete stranger, there was something about him that made her want to share her troubles.

“Been there, done that. Just got out of a relationship that nearly drained the life out of me. If I can give you some advice, it would be to leave and don’t look back. It really isn’t worth it.”

“Sometimes that’s easier said than done.”

“Yeah, I know it takes time. Believe me, I know. Just don’t let him take advantage of you. You deserve better.”

Her eyes came to rest upon him once again, and this time she realized that his interior was just as attractive as the physical features he had been blessed with.

“That’s nice of you to say. I appreciate it.”

“Well, it’s the truth.”

As the truck pulled off the highway and onto the street, the sound of the Pet Shop Boys singing about West End girls floated from the speakers. When they came to a stoplight, she couldn’t help noticing from her peripheral vision that Evan’s eyes were studying her. Every few seconds he would look away, but then she would feel him watching her once again. Feeling too shy to meet his gaze, she pretended as if she didn’t know that he was looking at her. She knew she wasn’t currently in top form appearancewise, and found herself intrigued by his interest in her.

Her hair was wet and clipped into a messy updo, and nearly every trace of makeup had been washed off by the storm, so all that was left was Maya in her bare, natural state.

If there was something to be thankful for, she supposed it had to be her smooth, flawless skin. It was of a medium-brown color and her even-toned complexion allowed her to still feel comfortable without wearing any foundation.

Moving her hand up to her neck, she began to toy with a brass locket which hung there. Her fingers slid over the fan design which was engraved in it, and she gave a little sigh as her mind began to recall events which were long past.

“Nice locket.”

As Evan’s voice cut through her thoughts, Maya turned her head to look at him. “Thanks.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, who gave it to you?”

Maya held the keepsake in front of her eyes and gave it an admiring glance. “My aunt. It was one of the last things she gave me before passing away.”

“Sorry to hear.”

She was touched by the sincerity in his voice. “It’s one of the few things I have to remember her by.”

“You must have been pretty close to her.”

“She was the only family I had.”

“What happened to your parents?”

The words he asked caused a feeling of unhappiness to wash over her, and she retreated into a gloomy silence.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked you that.”

Glancing out of the window, she stared into the stormy night. “It’s fine. I wasn’t bothered by you asking.” She allowed a few moments of silence to pass between them and then said, “My dad split before I was even born, and my mom abandoned me when I was six years old. She just dropped me off at my Aunt’s house one day, and then never came back.”

“That’s awful. I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

Following the directions on the GPS, Evan made a right onto Delancey Street and pulled up in front of her apartment. He exited the cab to release her car from the flatbed, and she waited patiently as he did it. As she watched him work, she found that she was actually hoping to see him again. She checked her purse to make sure the business card he had given her was still in there, and saw that it was. She was definitely looking forward to taking her car in tomorrow.

Once her car was off the flatbed, he climbed back inside and began to fill out a form which was attached to a clipboard. Once he was finished, he handed it to her so that she could sign it.

Glancing at her fancy signature, he was just barely able to make out her name. “Maya. That’s a nice name, I like it.”

Her face heated up from his compliment. “Thanks.”

“You know, I could just tow your car into the shop right now, if you want. You said it was having some issues with the brakes, right?”

“Yeah, but I think I’ll be okay to drive it tomorrow. It’s not supposed to rain, so I can bring it in.”

“You sure?” There was concern in his warm brown eyes.

“Yeah. Thanks for asking, though.”

As he finished filling out the papers, she found herself sneaking little peeks at him and realized that he wasn’t just handsome, he was gorgeous. Besides his looks, there was something else about him that drew him to her. She supposed it was the fact that he’d seemed genuinely concerned about her. In fact, he seemed to be the exact opposite of Dylan.

She found herself wondering if he had a girlfriend, and if so, what did she look like? Maya was curious about the type of women he went for. She didn’t know why she wondered this, because it wasn’t like they were ever going to be together. It was a foolish thought, and she knew it.

He tore off a copy of the papers and handed them to her, then said, “Well, I guess that’s about it.”

“Yep.” She stuffed the paper into her purse then opened the passenger door.

“Wait.” Placing his hand on her arm, he looked into her eyes, fixing her with an intent gaze.

“Yes?” There was hope in her voice, and she felt her heart jolt a little from his touch.

“Will you be coming by the garage tomorrow? I’m just wondering so I can tell my uncle that you’re stopping by. We can get pretty busy sometimes, so I just wanna make sure that we have space for your car.”

“Yeah, I’ll stop by. Probably not until the afternoon, though.”

“Okay, cool. I’ll see you then.” He offered her a soft smile.

“Yep, later.” She hopped out of the cab and onto the pavement, then closed the door behind her.

Maya could still hear his truck idling as she unlocked the door to her apartment, and it wasn’t until she made it inside that she heard him put the truck in gear and take off down the street. She was touched that he’d actually waited to see that she was safe before driving away, and was impressed by the fact that he seemed so gentlemanly. It wasn’t a huge thing, but she did notice small things like that about a person. Feeling an urge to look outside, she walked over the window and parted the curtains, glancing out just in time to catch sight of his red taillights as they faded into the distance.