C12

"Didn't you hear what I said?" Maya inquired, breaking him out of his thoughts as he dried his hands with a dishcloth. "About my hair and the fact that I don't need a haircut anymore..."

He paused mid-way through drying the cup in order to turn towards her and stare at her. "Huh?"

Maya placed her hands flat against her hips and raised her eyebrows inquisitively, asking him with a tone of concern: "Aren't you listening to me?"

"Oh, sorry," he responded apologetically. "I was just thinking."

"Thinking about what? About our future?" she suggested as she bit on her bottom lip, looking away from him before adding in an uncertain tone: "Or is it possible that you were thinking about some other woman?"

His cheeks instantly burned crimson in embarrassment and his ears felt hot as he took the towel away from his hand and stared into space blankly. What would he possibly say if she asked him what he was thinking about right then and there? Would he admit that he'd been thinking about her since she walked into his house on Sunday night and that he had been fantasizing about her ever since they first met? Was he imagining having sex with her in the bathroom that morning before they went to work together? Had he hoped that she would come back later that day so that he could kiss her passionately before having sex with her in the bedroom afterward? How could he deny that those thoughts crossed his mind as he gazed deeply into her eyes, admiring her body as she lay naked underneath the sheets, her legs spread wide apart as he slowly entered her from behind with his throbbing erection, thrusting repeatedly while moaning softly and biting onto the back of her neck as his cock slid inside of her wet pussy and filled it with pleasure? Could he explain to her that he'd dreamed of her every single day while working late hours and masturbating alone during the night, imagining having her suck his dick as he licked and sucked her sweet lips as her tongue danced wildly against it?

And the most humiliating thing was that he couldn't help but wonder what she'd been doing while they were separated by hundreds of miles and thousands of kilometers for nearly ten months. Did she miss him? Did he think about her often? Did he think about her constantly? Did he think about her when he jerked himself off each night, picturing her bending forward to lick her own nipples, squeezing one of her breasts between her fingertips while sucking hard on her erect nipple, pinching it lightly while watching his mouth descend to her chest, licking his way down to her stomach and kissing it while teasing her clit with his tongue and gently nibbling on her tender flesh, sliding two fingers inside of her tight vagina while fingering her G spot with his thumb, causing her to moan loudly as her body stiffened uncontrollably, pushing her pelvis upward against the bed and lifting her butt off the mattress as she climaxed strongly and powerfully, riding him cowgirl style with her hands gripping the baseboard beside the wall as she bounced up and down on top of him while he pounded her wet pussy harder and faster with every thrust and watched intently as her beautiful ass lifted off the ground with a loud squeak, bouncing up and down as she fucked herself vigorously against the air while he held her firm and steady with both hands, fucking her relentlessly.

"Daniel!"

"Yes..."

"You're staring at me again..."

"No... I mean yes..."

"Then stop staring."

"I'm not staring..."

"Yeah, you are..."

"I'm just... Thinking..."

"Stop thinking..."

"Why does it bother you so much when I think about you?" Daniel whispered, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Don't you trust me enough to know that I wouldn't betray you like that?"

"You lied to me! You told me that you were divorced but then you showed me proof that you weren't."

"Because I'm not divorced yet..."

"So you have no intentions of filing for divorce any time soon?"

"Of course not," he replied confidently. "It's just going to take some more paperwork. But I'll be filing for it shortly."

"How long?"

"Two weeks maybe," he shrugged indifferently. "But I'm confident that everything will go smoothly once it starts getting approved and processed by my lawyer."

Maya shook her head in confusion as she tried to comprehend what he was saying, wondering if she was understanding him correctly. "... Wait... So you still haven't filed for divorce? Even though we've been together for almost four days already... Four whole days?! That's insane..."

Her jaw dropped open in disbelief before she quickly snapped her mouth shut and glared at him, crossing her arms across her chest in defiance as she scowled at him disapprovingly: "You're kidding me, right?!"

Daniel looked at her in silence for several seconds before smiling sheepishly and nodding silently before responding: "I guess you got to see quite a few pictures..."

"I guess so..." Maya sighed heavily, shaking her head again while she continued glaring at him and fidgeting nervously on the couch. "This is crazy... This can't possibly be real... Is this what it feels like to have a crush on someone? Because it definitely seems like it... Except that this is more than just a crush... It's beyond that... It's a very strong desire that I've never experienced before... But... How can that possibly happen...? Can it really be true...?"

"I suppose it's possible... If only you had a photo or something that proves that I'm actually here... Then I could show it to you."

Maya shook her head, a look of frustration on her face as she glanced over to the kitchen counter where the cell phone was sitting next to the coffee table. The device had been charging overnight, plugged into the wall outlet and plugged into the car charger. She reached out and picked up the phone, opening up the camera application and taking several photos of herself holding the mobile device with Daniel standing next to her, smiling warmly and looking directly into the camera lens with his left arm draped casually over the backrest of the sofa, leaning forward slightly while resting his hands on his knees and looking down at the floor while Maya smiled brightly and waved happily towards the camera with both hands and leaned toward him, waving cheerfully with both hands while laughing joyously and giggling playfully with his right hand covering his mouth and his elbow propped up on his knee, looking genuinely happy. She zoomed in on him while he stared blankly at the floor and captured several close-up shots of him. After capturing all the necessary photographs and videos, she handed him the phone and waited for him to view them.

"Is this okay?" she asked anxiously as she shifted uncomfortably on the couch, hoping that he would like the images and approve of them. "Are these good enough?"

"Yes... They're perfect," he nodded, turning away from her and staring at the photos and video clips that she'd taken of him. He was pleasantly surprised at how nice they came out considering that she didn't have the best camera available or the highest quality lenses. However, the images and footage clearly displayed the happiness that they shared between themselves. Her smile was contagious and infectious and her laughter was so genuine that he found himself smiling along with her even though he hadn't laughed aloud or let out a single chuckle or giggle since they first met. He loved hearing her laugh; loved seeing the pure happiness that glowed from within her. His heart raced in excitement as he watched the playback of the short video clip of him playing his guitar, singing the song 'Crazy' by Gnarls Barkley. The video lasted for less than five minutes but the emotion was evident as Maya sat entranced by his voice for nearly three minutes straight without blinking an eye as she listened closely to his deep baritone, mesmerized by his talent as his smooth vocals flowed through the speakers of the smartphone while he played the chords to the familiar melody effortlessly. It had been an incredibly difficult decision for him to upload the video online for everyone to watch because of his insecurities regarding his musical ability; however, the positive response from Maya after watching it convinced him to share his music publicly for the first time ever. The comments and feedback he received on YouTube from other viewers inspired him to continue posting new songs as well as uploading his live performances of the older songs that he used to perform for his family and friends when he was younger in hopes that people would listen to them and appreciate his passion and determination to follow his dream of becoming a musician. And now that he had finally released his debut album onto iTunes and Amazon Music, he was hopeful that people would pay attention to what he was trying to accomplish rather than focusing solely on his personal life. He had wanted to release the entire album as one single file with all fifteen tracks in one continuous track in order to make it easier and cheaper for his fans to download and stream it. Unfortunately, due to copyright laws and royalties and licensing issues, he wasn't allowed to do that legally without permission from the record companies that owned the rights to those particular recordings. Therefore, he chose instead to release the individual tracks separately in hopes that it would provide greater flexibility for people to purchase and enjoy the material without having to buy the complete CD. Of course, the cost of creating such files individually on a computer program was high which caused the digital sales to fall flat. Despite those setbacks, he hoped that the positive responses that he received from the people who downloaded the albums were encouraging enough to convince others to check out the songs and perhaps encourage more downloads. In addition, the fact that the media sites had picked up on the story of his sudden rise to stardom after releasing his debut album and sharing it with their readers and audience members gave him hope that word-of-mouth advertising would eventually lead to increased sales and success in the future. For the moment, he decided to focus on enjoying the present day and living in the moment.

He smiled to himself as he remembered the night he spent with Maya. He'd never felt so relaxed and comfortable around anyone before. There was a natural ease between them that made it seem effortless. It was as if they knew exactly how to compliment and complement each other while also respecting and accepting each other's differences and flaws. Although he'd done this before, Daniel had never truly enjoyed himself as much during a sexual experience with another person until meeting Maya. Perhaps it was because of her unique personality or maybe it was simply because of her physical attractiveness combined with her willingness to please him sexually in ways that nobody else could possibly understand. Either way, it worked wonders on him and it seemed like she did too...

Maya couldn't believe how quickly things developed between them. She couldn't imagine her life being any better than it was right now: she was spending time with her favorite person in the world, she was doing something she'd always dreamed of and she was making progress on her career goals thanks to the advice and guidance of her new mentor. On top of all of that, she was experiencing a sense of fulfillment unlike anything she had known or experienced before... But it didn't matter because she realized that she didn't need all of those external factors to feel content or to be happy. All she needed was her connection and communication with Daniel to fulfill her needs. And while she might not have thought she'd find that kind of comfort with someone like him in the beginning, she soon discovered that it was there waiting for her... Hidden beneath layers and layers of emotional baggage that she had been carrying with her throughout her entire life; hidden behind the walls built by a series of poor decisions and mistakes in judgment over many years. She was determined to change those negative experiences into something that brought joy, love, happiness, excitement, pleasure, satisfaction and pride for herself and for herself alone... Not caring about what anybody else thought about what she did or who she was or what she liked.

Maya turned away from him, gazing out of the window and thinking about his words earlier:

"Don't worry about what happened in your past. Focus on what you can control now and what lies ahead in your future. Don't be afraid to be yourself and don't be ashamed about what you want to become."

She had already started working on changing her outlook on the events from her childhood, but now she began to wonder if he was right: Could her inability to forgive herself for her mistakes be the reason why she was struggling with self-confidence and confidence in general? Would it be better for her to accept her mistakes as part of her journey in order to move forward? Or should she try harder to overcome them? Did the truth really matter anymore? Wasn't it possible that some situations were just destined to remain unresolved? Maybe that was the reality: nothing ever really changed whether you acknowledged it or not. You could spend the rest of your life trying to solve every problem you encountered in one single lifetime or you could simply accept the situation as is and live with it... Accept it and learn to embrace it... Just like how Daniel had taught her to. He showed no signs of remorse over the pain that he caused and the problems that he created. Instead, he embraced it all and learned to deal with it the best that he possibly could. As far as Maya was concerned, that's what she wanted most out of her own life. To simply live.