Conrad
The second I step inside it smells like freshly baked cookies. Maya must have been baking today, which means one of two things. She is either stressed or in a really good mood.
I stroll into the living room, and Maya is asleep on the sofa with a blanket over her. I smile and head over, kneeling beside the soft.
I gently stroke her hair, “Maya, sweetheart, I am home.” I say softly.
She opens her eyes and smiles tiredly at me, “Hey, my love.”
“Are you okay? I can smell cookies, and you rarely sleep at this time in the evening.”
She nods, “Yes. I am fine. I baked cookies because I was in a good mood. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” She snickers.
“As long as you are okay. How did your interview go?”
I haven’t spoken to her much today because I have been busy.
Maya slowly sits up, “I thought it went well, but they haven’t called me. Someone else must have gotten it.”
“I am sorry, beautiful. They could still call tomorrow.” I smile.
She shrugs, “I guess I will need to wait to find out.”
“You will find something,” I say, kissing her softly.
“I am sure. Sorry, I did plan on cooking us dinner, but I fell asleep.” She sighs.
I tuck the hair behind her head, “It is fine, my love. We can make something together or order in.”
“Okay. We can cook. We ordered in last night.” She laughs.
“True. I’m going to grab a quick shower, and then we can decide what to make.”
I peck her lips and nip into the kitchen to snatch a cook.
“Hey, don’t you fill up on cookies, or you won’t finish your dinner.” She lectures.
I return to the living room, “Yes, ma’am.” I chuckle and shove half of it into my mouth.
“Tut, tut.” She says, waggling her finger at me.
I smile brightly before stuffing the rest into my mouth and disappearing for a shower. Her cookies are so good. I will end up eating way too much of them tonight. I drop my things off in the bedroom and strip down for my shower. I won’t be long since it is quite late, and I don’t want to have dinner too late at night.
I step into the shower, and a couple of minutes later, a pair of arms come around me from behind, and warm lips are over my shoulder. I smile, reaching for her, and bring her around to the front of me.
“Can I help you?” I chuckle.
“I miss you, is all.” She smiles.
“I missed you too, angel.”
Maya snakes her arms around me and buries her face in my chest. I wrap her in my arms and hug her against me, allowing the warm water to fall over us. She doesn’t speak a word; she only clings to me.
“Is everything okay, Maya?” I ask softly.
She glances up at me, “Yes. Do I need a reason to hug you now?” she whispers.
“What, no, of course you don’t, angel.”
“Then why ask if I am okay because I am hugging you?” she asks, confused.
I shake my head. “No reason. I just wanted to make sure you were okay, is all.”
She nods and reaches up to kiss me. She turns away from me after that. I hope I didn’t upset her. I dip down and kiss over her shoulder before reaching for the shampoo to wash her hair. She likes it when I do it for her.
We don’t stay in long. Maya gets out before me and disappears to the bedroom to change. I sigh, following not too long after her. I can’t help but wonder if something is wrong and she isn’t telling me. It might be because she didn’t get the job. If she wants to open up to me, she will. She would tell me if it was something more since we agreed no lies or secrets. Maya is sitting at the bottom of the bed, seemingly in her own world.
“What is on your pretty little mind?” I ask.
“I am trying to decide what we should make for dinner.”
“We need to check what we have. We haven’t been grocery shopping yet.” I reply.
“No, we haven’t. I will go tomorrow. I am sure we can throw something together.”
Maya dries off and changes into her pjs before she leaves the bedroom. I do the same and find her in the kitchen when I return through.
“Stuffed peppers?” she suggests.
“Sure. We haven’t had them in a while.” I nod.
“Great! Dinner is sorted.” She replies.
We always have fun cooking together. It takes us nearly double the time it should because we end up messing around or stealing kisses, distracting ourselves from what we are supposed to be doing.
****
Maya and I climb into bed, exhausted at midnight. She has been strangely quiet and extra needy tonight. I haven’t brought it up because I don’t want to risk upsetting her. I will put it down to disappointment about the job because other than that, things have been great recently for us.
The second I lie down next to her, she rolls over, draping half herself over me and resting her head on my chest. I switch the light off and slip my arm around her, bringing the covers over us.
“Conrad, do you ever wonder what would have happened if we hadn’t met?” she asks.
“No, not really, because I truly believe we were destined to meet. Why would you ask that?”
“No reason. I am thinking aloud, is all. I believe that, too.” She says, kissing over my chest.
It is a strange question to ask, but I won’t push. I tickle the small of her, “I love you, Maya. You would tell me if something was wrong, right?”
“I love you too. Yes, I would. I am fine. I am tired, is all.”
I wasn’t sure if I believed it or not. I need to trust her and her words. I can only hope this hasn’t to do with Callum. He has been quiet recently, too quiet. No, it can’t have anything to do with him. She would have told me. I sigh and pull it together. I am overthinking. She told me nothing was wrong and that I should accept that answer.
“Okay, my love. You should sleep.”
She nods against me, burying her face in my neck, and silence fills the room. It doesn’t take long for her breathing to even out, and she snores lightly. I chuckle. It is cute when she snores. I kiss the top of her head and close my eyes, hoping sleep will take over me as easily as it did Maya. I have another busy day ahead of me tomorrow. This entire week will be hectic, so much so I will need to work on Saturday, too, which sucks. I wanted to spend the weekend with Maya, but I didn’t have much of a choice. I will try to work it out so I can have Sunday and Monday off. We haven’t made any plans yet, but I will make some for us.