Maya

 

 

"You didn't even bother to sit down?" I motion to the bar stool next to me. "Sit here and tell me what was wrong with him."

Tilly slips onto the stool next to me. "There wasn't anything wrong with him, but he definitely wasn't the same age as the guy in the picture I saw online."

That's one of the reasons why I've never been into meeting men online. I've heard Tilly tell me over and over about how many men don't use an actual picture of themselves, or if they do, the image is decades old. She unwittingly ended up having dinner with a seventy-year-old man a few months ago.

She had a good time but not in the traditional sense of a date. It was more a granddaughter, grandfather connection.

"Let's talk about you." She takes a sip of my martini. "Do you do anything other than work? Did you ever see the cufflink guy again?"

I start with work because that's easy. "This month is the most amazing I've ever had in my career. I'm close to selling an apartment on Central Park West and if I can sell that penthouse at the Bishop Hotel, I'll have the opportunity to sell eleven more suites there. The commission alone is enough to pay off my mortgage, Tilly."

"Seriously?"

"It's ridiculous." I chuckle. "I'm selling properties that I'll never be able to afford, yet it feels completely natural to do it."

"Do you have any interested buyers in the Bishop Hotel place?"

I sip on my drink. "There's this sweet older couple. They're moving to New York to be closer to their son and his family. They loved the place. They're coming back to Manhattan before the month is over so I'll show it to them again."

"That's a great sign, isn't it?"

It is. It's promising. I've had clients who've looked at properties once and have made an offer. Others have toured apartments more than a dozen times before declaring that it's not for them. I'm hoping Tom and Irene will fall even more in love with the penthouse the next time they see it.

"I'm crossing my fingers that it'll work out with them."

She finishes my drink in one swallow. "This is good. We should order two more."

I hold up two fingers to the bartender. He nods.

"What about the cufflink guy? Did that amount to anything?"

I'm hesitant to talk about Julian because I know how much Tilly wants to find someone to share her time with. She's not the jealous type, but seeing Frannie happily married with children, eats at Tilly in a way I don't fully understand. I can't empathize because I'm not at the stage where marriage or children fits into my life.

"Spill the beans, Maya. I want to know."

I pick up a pretzel from a bowl on the bar and pop it into my mouth. I take that few seconds to consider exactly how to phrase what I'm about to say.

"Did you sleep with him?" she asks with a glint in her eye. "I don’t want details, but is it like that? Are you involved?"

I nod. "We kissed and then spent most of that night together. Things have happened since then too."

"Maya." She grabs hold of my forearm. "It sounds serious. Is it or is it more a fuck buddy thing?"

I feel a rush of relief when the bartender sets our martinis down in front of us. I gulp half of mine in one swallow. "He's not a fuck buddy type, Tilly. We're exclusive. We decided to date just each other."

"You have a boyfriend?" She lifts the glass to her lips before she sets it down without taking a drink. "What's he like? Tell me his name."

It's inevitable. I can't hide this from her. I don’t want to even though I know she's going to put two-and-two together.

"I'm dating Julian Bishop, Tilly."

"You're not." Her mouth falls open before she slams it shut. "You're dating a client?"

"He's an amazing man. He's so different than anyone I've ever known." I feel my face flush. "Everything about him is perfect."

She stops me with a hand on my shoulder. "He's not perfect, Maya. Don't go into this expecting him to be perfect. He'll disappoint you."

She's right, of course. There isn't a perfect person walking the face of this earth, but Julian comes damn close. "I know that, Tilly. I meant he's good for me. He treats me right."

"He better." She waves her closed fist in the air. "If he hurts you, he's going to have to deal with me."

"He won't hurt me, "I say it even though a part of me is still scared that he will. "I pray he won't ever hurt me."

 

***

 

"I'm taking the subway. Do you want to come with me?" Tilly wraps her coat tighter around her. "Where the hell did this wind come from?"

"You have Mother Nature to thank for that." I glance down the street. "I'm going to walk for a bit and then I think I'll catch a taxi."

"Suit yourself." She pulls me close to her. "I love you, Maya. I'm happy for you. You're getting everything you deserve."

I want the same for her. I know that she loves her work and her friends, but I see the sadness in her eyes. Tilly has so much to give, and one day, a man is going to walk into her life and see that. Hopefully, it will be a man who isn't trying to pass off a picture of someone else as his own.

"I love you too." I squeeze her tightly. "Text me when you get home, so I know you're safe."

"If you'd let me live with you, I'd always be safe."

I hold up my phone. "Text me, Till."

She nods before she darts down the street toward the subway.

I start the walk down Third Avenue. Since I've moved to New York, I've become accustomed to the unique nuances of every neighborhood. It was an important part of the learning curve for my job. It's near impossible to help anyone find a property if you don't know the type of community they crave.

I stop to look in the darkened windows of shops and I read the posted menus on the windows outside two restaurants.

It's when I reach the third that I stop and stare inside.

I'll never get over how handsome he is. Julian is sitting at a small table with two other men. They each have a bottle of beer in front of them and a plate of food. They're dressed casually and it's easy to see that it's not a business meeting.

These must be his friends. This is a part of his life I want in on.

He looks happy and all I want to do is stand here all night and soak in that smile, but I bundle my coat around me and take off so I can go home and dream about him.