“About what?” I asked, somewhat lost, watching the little floating pieces of dust above the bed.
“About you and me…” Her voice went very quiet. “You know…together.”
I swallowed hard and willed my heart to stay right where it was and not jump into my throat. Before I could process exactly what she was saying, my mouth opened.
“Yes.”
I couldn’t take the words back, so I stuck my head underneath Mayra’s pillow. She tried to pull it off, but I gripped it tightly and held it against my cheek.
“Are you going to come out of there?” she asked after a few minutes.
“No.” Frankly, it was kind of nice under her pillow. It was soft, warm, and smelled like Mayra. It was also dark, and my face was hidden so Mayra couldn’t see me after my admission of thinking about having sex with her.
I could hear her deep sigh and feel her fingers rubbing the spot between my shoulder and my neck. I was still sore there, and it felt good.
“You’re being silly.”
I shrugged, causing the blanket to fall off my shoulder. Mayra pulled it back up.
“It’s not like I don’t know where you are!” she said with a bit of a giggle. I shrugged again, but she kept the blanket in place. She trailed her finger down over my shoulder and upper arm. It felt a little like it did when she ran her fingers through my hair, and I felt myself relax.
“I have too, you know,” Mayra said quietly.
“You have what?” I asked.
“Thought about you,” she said. Her voice dropped lower. “While I was here…in bed.”
I swallowed hard and closed my eyes even though I couldn’t see anything from where I was anyway. I understood what she was saying, and I definitely remembered what I had done while in bed, thinking about her.
She traced farther down my arm with her finger, and my hand gripped her side reflexively. She slipped her hand off my arm and onto my hip. With her palm placed firmly against my thigh, she rubbed against the material of my jeans. I had to swallow again, trying to decide if I was hoping she would move her hand around to the front or hoping she would just send me home.
“Mayra,” I said as I finally pulled my head out from
under the pillow and glanced at her face, “I want to, I do…but you are scared.” I took in a long breath, still not knowing if I really agreed with what I was about to say. “On top of that…well, I…I…Mayra, I’m not ready.”
She stilled her hand and let it lie on my leg for a moment before she brought it up to my face again. She cupped my cheek and tried to get me to turn to face her, but I was more likely to dive back under the pillow than meet her eyes at this point.
“Why do I feel like we’ve reversed roles here?” Mayra said with a soft laugh. “Isn’t the guy supposed to be trying to talk the girl into it?”
I shrugged again.
“I don’t know,” I answered. “But Mayra…I’m still trying to get used to the idea that I have a girlfriend, especially one as beautiful as you are. I don’t want…”
My voice trailed off, and I tilted my face back toward the pillow. Mayra’s hand stroked my hair.
“Don’t want what?” she asked quietly.
“I don’t want”—I gritted my teeth and made myself say it—“I don’t want to disappoint you.”
This time, when I wouldn’t turn my head toward her, she ducked down and pushed her face into the pillow beside me, pushing down the fluff and exposing my face. She moved forward until our noses touched.
“I don’t know what to do either,” she told me. “But I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t disappoint me.”
Our lips brushed softly together before Mayra settled back and closed her eyes. I wrapped my arms tightly around her, pulling her close against my chest. A few minutes later, she was asleep.
~oOo~
Mayra and I ended up sleeping away most of Sunday, not realizing the story of our attack had gotten to the local news. Henry knew, but he must not have thought to tell either of us. Maybe he just didn’t want Mayra to think about it so she could sleep that night. Regardless, when we got out of Mayra’s car on Monday morning and started walking toward the front doors of the school, everyone stopped and looked at us.