|◁ II ▷|

demi lovato — sorry not sorry.

THE KITCHEN WAS messy — real, real messy.

And so were Maya and Samuel who had broken into a fight, flicking specks of flour at each other.

"Take that!" Samuel shouted out of her view, flicking her with an arm dagger of flour.  She tried to duck from his swing but her legs were uncoordinated, buckling under the pressure.

Many of her shots had been misfired with flour littered on the countertops, the taps, the fridge door, on the cooker hood and the parts of the ceiling.

"Stand down," Maya attempted to declare a ceasefire, whilst on the lookout for her foe, who had been hiding — somewhere, in her kitchen.

She searched through the cabinets and unrhythmically opened drawers, praying for the opportunity to strike him first since he had her smothered in flour and he had hardly been bruised.

There was quiet — something that the walls of her apartment weren't used to. She took a quiet step, but  the lack of any movement was eery.

"Hello?" All she heard was her voice echo.

Her foot creaked along the floorboards as she petitioned him again to come out of hiding — but Samuel watched her every move, and found that he was more attracted to her than he had ever been.

He was tempted.

Tempted by her — to lunge out of the corner that he had sought refuge in from her flour throwing and forfeit this game, so that he could experience the astounding joy of having her collapse in his arms.

"Come out. I promise I won't bite" Maya laid down her mark, armed with a whisk as though it was sure to do something to him, "Unless you want me to"

His feet wanted to take the step to move but it was his pride that wanted to continue to wait.

"Samuel? I'm just gonna step out...." She began to reduce the sound of her footsteps to preempt him into thinking that the coast was clear.

With her back turned, he pounced, loading her lips with another helping of a light flour smack, "Aha!"

Maya was unsure whether to cry or hysterically laugh, but she was leaning to the latter. She had stood, pent-up, for a good few minutes — and Samuel seemed certain that the woman who always seemed to something to say; had become speechless.

She finally drew out a word, "You're dead."

His russet-brown reflected into hers, who stood unmoved to her empty threats, "Really?"

"Yes, really." Maya attempted to hold firm, but her body naturally responded to the impassioned linger of his eyes that didn't exude patience and had the same zeal as... Ebén.

Maya's skin ran hot — she needed to catch a breath.

But couldn't.

She reminisced, the deft movements of Ebén's tongue that swirled and licked her sweet spots and had her screaming mercy. The grip in his brown, muscled hands as he flipped her into different positions to allow him to blow out her back.

"I didn't expect you to call me," Samuel told her, not that he didn't believe in his own sauce — but because he always felt that there was some unfinished business brewing between Maya and Ebén.

He had never been one to go or to do things where he was susceptible to being under appreciated.

"I am sorry that I've been so off the grid. I've just been super duper busy."

Girl, the only busy you've been is getting your back blow out and getting your coochie eaten.

Thoughts of Ebén faded, settling Maya back into the reality that she had allowed her distrust of men to halt her from embarking on to the road of happiness.

"It's all good," Samuel understood, as his head tipped up at her with a nod, "I get it"

Maya's eyes were alight with suspicion, "You do?"

"Yeah," Samuel crowded her with his height, forcing her to inhale the husk of the gentle giant, "But are you free now?" She reciprocated his advance, breathing a slow yes to whatever his question his was — with his hands making a home in her curls.

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THE SOUND OF the opened door wasn't enough to pull Samuel and Maya from each other, their lips stuck to each other like magnets.

Maya's lips were rested on the corner of his mouth, "Are you going to help me clean this up?"

Samuel dodged her request for help, "Nope. I don't remember making the mess"

Blaze cleared her throat, and it was only then that Maya noticed Blaze's brown orbs that had the bold colour of disbelief in them.

"Oh hey, Blaze?" Maya breathed out guiltily, "Sorry about the mess. I'm trying to ge — "

The only movement that Blaze's face made was her jaw ticking. Eve's face was in slight contrast to Blaze, looking down at both Maya and Samuel with the lightest of smiles. There seemed to be a mood of sadness brought by their arrival but Maya stood, unsure, as to what had brought this on.

"Did someone die?" She used the front of her apron to wipe away the flour that had been transferred as a result of Samuel's lips.

Blaze stood, unreactive to Maya's insensitive cackle.

"Ebén's in the hospital," said Eve, which immediately caused Maya's body to shake up into gear with worry.

"Hospital?" Maya's voice choked at the thought of him hurt.

Whilst, she had made the active decision to chalk off their steamy, earth-shattering, back-breaking 24 rendezvous as a one-time thing — she wasn't that callous that she didn't care.

She did, so bad.

"Yes," Blaze's face was stripped bare, the bags pronounced underneath her eyes felt like she had gone days without sleeping.

The television confirmed the rest.

Ebén Cástro was stretchered off in the 57th minute. He was the unfortunate casualty of a nasty collision with Rüper, the ardent Burnley shot shopper. Reports coming from the club's medical staff is that it is a torn ACL and he looks set to be sidelined for the next eight to nine months; ruling him out for the rest of the season. This will undoubtedly hamper the club's bid to challenge for the title as the winger has been a central figure for the Gunners both home and away netting 23 G/A's in 31 appearances this season.

Maya hated the presence of the heavy pang of guilt that constricted her chest as she thought about him, lying in that hospital bed, alone.

"Blaze, can we talk?"  All Maya wanted the chance to explain herself, but Blaze didn't give her that.

Her tone was almost interrogator-esque, "Does... Samuel know about you and Ebén?"

"I think so?" Maya managed to get out, completely unassured, scooping her bare toes with one another.

"No," Blaze's tone became increasingly clippy, "I mean, does he know that you two... fucked?"

The obscenities in her tone made Maya feel shame at what her and Ebén had done. She had told her the details in confidence; and wasn't fond of this condension, especially from someone as sex-positive as Blaze. Beams of red clustered her cheeks, "You're judging me, aren't you?"

Her deferred silence inferred that she was, despite her protests, "I'm not? I'm really not. I'm just... asking, Maya?"  Blaze smirked briefly as Eve's petite head peered through the sliding doors.

It was the first time in forever that she called me by her name, instead of her personal moniker, Pooh.

"Sorry to interrupt," Eve said, "But ma chérie, how long will you be? Rhodes said the hospital has a policy of no visitors after 1am-ish so we better get goin" Eve hummed impatiently.

Blaze's head turned, as she boomed.

"Are you coming with us?"

Maya avoided her stern gape, "I can't — "

"There's a difference between can't and not wanting to. Which is it, Maya?" Blaze shot back.

Everything about this exchange felt so unfriendly.

"Both," Maya tried to laugh off her unsureness but Blaze knew her well enough to know that she was allowing that fear to guide her into making decisions.

"Maya, you can't keep blaming guys for the mistakes Reuben made in your relationship. You're not allowing your — "

"Mistake?" Maya had now had enough.

"Pooh — "

"Don't do that, Blaze" She groused, exhaling loudly. "I'm tired of people telling me how I'm supposed to heal, or even feel and you of all people, you should know that! He cheated on me. I lost my baby — "

"Maya," Blaze said softly, "Nobody is telling you can't grieve. I know. I was there. I just feel like if you keep pushing people away; you're going to end up... by yourself, with no one" Blaze threatened.

"I'm not holding you hostage, Blaze. You don't have... to be here" She hissed, gesticulating at her to leave.

"Fine," she sighed. "We're at the Royal Brampton, Floor 3. St Dukes, if you change your mind."

With that, she left — leaving Maya slumping slowly on the carpet, wallowing in her own anguish.

She had grown tired of the hand-holding and the nitpicking of her choices.

She was a grown woman.

With the capacity to make her own choices.

"You okay?" Samuel joined her on the floor, wanting to desperately protect her but knew he could no longer go about deceiving himself.

She had always been the woman of his dreams, but he knew that wasn't the man of hers.

"No, but I will be"

"Go," was the next word that Samuel uttered.

It was as if he had always known.

"Life is too short for you to love safe. Be free"

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A/N: Samuel really is right guy, wrong time. P/S — I've always wanted to have like a food fight with like your crush, omg the feels.