Dear Reader,
Thank you for joining me for the next chapter of Maya and Tarik's story. And thanks for your patience (though some of you were rather impatient, but I'll take that as a compliment) as I worked to get this up. After the last chapter had such terrible ratings, I went back to try and make the rest of the story better. But I am very busy so it took me some time. I'm hoping now that this next chapter will fare better and that you will enjoy it.
A note before you dive in. There are five parts to this chapter, and these are a bit longer than previous chapters. This chapter continues to focus on a lot of details and world-building for Maya and Tarik, along with additional character development, which is partially why it's filed under "romance". There are still lots of juicy bits, don't worry. But if you aren't a big fan of the additional detail, you may wish to move on. I won't be offended if you do, after all, I know why you're *really* here. ; ) I'd much rather you skip the story than give it a bad rating because it wasn't "sexy enough."
If you are new to these stories, I suggest starting at the beginning with "The Journey", followed by "Them" and returning to "The Test."
Without further ado, I hope you enjoy this next installment.
--II--
Victor arrived at the Marcus property bright and early on the first day of the project. His crew was due in less than an hour, and he couldn't wait to get started. Tarik met him in the foyer, and they settled into chairs at the table in the dining area to go over the final plans Victor had drawn up over the weekend. Victor kept all of Maya and Tarik's plans plus the ideas they had come up with on the walkthrough. Victor also produced the contract with the final estimate of the work now that the plans had been finalized. Tarik was amenable to everything, signed readily, and wrote out a check for â…“ of the cost.
Victor was thrilled. Not only to start working but to have money coming in right away. Tarik and Maya were going to pay him a substantial amount for the work, and Victor couldn't help but fantasize about what he'd be able to do with the money. After expenses and his employees' salary, there would be plenty of money left over for many other things. Victor sighed with relief after the final papers were signed but couldn't revel in the moment very long. His crews had started to arrive and were itching to get to work. This would be their first job in weeks, and boredom had long set in for everyone.
Tarik showed Victor where the guest bathroom was, cleverly hidden in the wall off the dining area and accessible from the deck. He also showed Victor the utility room, behind the kitchen, opposite the dining area. It, too, was tucked into the thick outer wall and opened out onto the back of the house, and the crew would have easy access to it while they worked. Tarik and Victor briefly said goodbye as Tarik headed into the city for a day of classes at the yoga studio.
"Well, Victor, I leave our house in your hands for the day and for the foreseeable future!"
Tarik was very excited this morning, robustly clapping Victor on the shoulder.
"Please let us know if you run into any problems. You have all our contact information, and I'm pretty easy to get a hold of when I'm not in class. And, of course, Maya will be here to help you as well. She should be around here somewhere." Tarik glanced toward the backyard, then back at Victor, giving him a crooked smile. "I trust you both will get along just fine together."
"Oh, shit," Victor thought, "he knows I've got the hots for his wife! Be cool, man, BE COOL."
"Thank you, Tarik, I'm sure everything will be fine, but I will definitely let you and Maya know if we run into any problems."
The men shook hands and parted ways as Tarik left out of the front of the house.
Victor exited the house by way of the deck to show his crew where to start setting up equipment. As he gave directions, he saw Maya come around the house from what would eventually be the rose garden. She had on loose-fitting jeans and a ratty sweatshirt, both covered in dirt and bits of dried leaves. Maya saw Victor and waved, walking toward him. He chuckled and called out to her.
"I see you're getting a head start!"
"Oh, haha, yes. Sorry. I just love digging around back there."
Maya laughed, brushing the dirt and leaves off her pants.
"There was this branch brushing against the wall of our bathroom last night, just driving me nuts. And once I got started on that, I just kept messing around. But now, I will leave it to the professionals and get back to my own work."
Maya mock bowed toward Victor, chuckling as she rose, brushing more of the dried leaves off her sleeve.
"Well, Maya, I hope that the crew and I don't disturb you while we work. If we make too much noise, please let us know. We will start with the big digging projects closest to the house to have that finished first so that we may move our noise farther away as we work on the rest of the property."
Maya gave him a reassuring smile and rested her eyes on his face.
"Oh, I'm sure you will be no disturbance at all. As you can see, I do not sleep late and will mostly be working in our office or the shed. I probably won't hear a thing."
Just the way she looked at him sent shivers down Victor's spine. He once again had to fight back his desire and keep his cool.
"If I need to, will it be alright to come and ask you questions as we work?"
Victor found that as he said this, he had leaned towards Maya, and he was inches from her. He practically held his breath as she looked him dead in the eyes, her voice still calm and even, her stare unwavering as she reached out and gently touched his forearm.
"Victor, if there is anything you need or want, do not hesitate to let me know."
The way her voice lowered caused Victor to shiver.
Moving past Victor, Maya said brightly, "Feel free to use the kitchen for lunch, and it looks like Tarik already showed you the bathroom and the utility room. Holler if you need me!" waving behind her as she walked back into the house.
Victor stood motionless for a moment processing the sexual desire he was feeling. He wasn't sure what to make of himself. Was he too obvious? Was she picking up on his flirtation? He hoped that if she was, it wasn't making her uncomfortable. But at least, if she did notice, she didn't react, a testament to her professionalism, but his behavior clearly a poor reflection of his own.
He really needed to get himself together. But for some reason, everything she said or did overwhelmed him. Victor had never felt this way before. He felt lost in how to act around her. He knew that it could go no further than a little flirtation on his part, and he could not pursue a married woman. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more Victor realized that flirting with Maya was not okay, no matter how much or how little. He continued to berate himself in his thoughts, mostly to try and talk himself out of the feelings for Maya that he felt already beginning to blossom.
Venturing into the kitchen, Victor splashed some cold water on his face to help him regain his composure. After a few minutes, he went out to where most of the crew was assembled, ready for a full briefing on the project. Esteban had seen the whole encounter between Victor and Maya, including Victor's reaction, and strode over to Victor, walking alongside him.
"Looks like you've got the hots for the boss's wife, bro."
"No way, man. I'm just being nice. Nothing is going on."
Feeling embarrassed that Esteban had noticed how he acted around Maya, Victor pushed past him, more determined to focus and keep his feelings in check.
Victor gathered his crew in for a debriefing, doled out work assignments, and they got right to work. They all worked for several hours and accomplished a great deal in a short amount of time. Victor looked at his watch and saw that it was time for a break. He called out to his crew and let them know that they should take an hour break for lunch, either eating outside, or there was plenty of room in the kitchen, which they were welcome to use so long as they cleaned up after themselves. Everyone seemed a little nervous to go inside, so they all found places outside to lounge and eat.
Victor and the guys were spread out around the deck and garden when Maya came back outside, obviously taking a break as well. She had showered and changed into jeans and a t-shirt. It was clear that when Maya wasn't on campus, she liked to dress more casually. Even in these casual clothes, she still looked amazing. Her dark hair was pulled up in a loose bun atop her head, curly tendrils framing her face.
She padded out onto the deck, carrying what appeared to be last night's dinner, a mix of fruit with meat and vegetables. As she walked over to Victor, he started to stand to greet her. She waved him to stay sitting, mumbling something to him through a mouth full of grapes.
"Mmm..sorry.." she mumbled as she finished chewing. "No need to get up. You must be enjoying your break."
The crew all had their eyes on her, and she looked around and smiled at everyone, joking that they should get back to their break and not worry that the boss was outside. They laughed and went back to working on their lunches. Victor sat back on the deck's steps and watched Maya as she walked down the stairs and slipped off her sandals to stand on a big piece of sod that had been tossed on top of the exposed dirt. Victor gave her a quizzical look, and Maya laughed, blushing a little as she wiggled her toes.
"I guess this looks weird, but we haven't had good grass in so long, I couldn't help it. How's it going so far?"
Maya crunched on her fruit while Victor filled her in on some of the tasks that they had started. As Victor spoke, he let his eyes land on different parts of Maya's body. Her jeans were loose, but he could still see her curvy shape underneath them. He noticed for the first time a few tattoos on her forearms, and he smiled at her gold-painted toenails peeking out from between blades of grass. The day was somewhat cool, but the sun shone brightly and the light brought out the gold and silver flecks in Maya's hair, just as when he first saw her at the market.
As he studied Maya, Victor couldn't help but notice that she didn't appear to be wearing a bra. Her loose t-shirt draped over her breasts and her nipples were slightly hard underneath the fabric. As she spoke and gestured with her hands, her soft breasts moved gently and Victor tried not to stare too much, but the sight of her like this was overwhelming. To keep from openly salivating, Victor tried to focus on telling Maya about the work in between shoving bits of his lunch into his mouth. Eventually he had to tear his eyes away from her, casting his eyes toward the ground. Maya was pleased to hear about their progress and was getting excited about how everything would turn out when it was all done.
"Well, I better get back to work."
