Chapter 4

"...don't forget to hit the subscribe button and the notification bell to get notified whenever I post a new video. I love you all and I hope you have a wonderful weekend."

Maya smiled genuinely and pressed the pause button on the phone  before placing it down on the countertop next to her, 

"That wasn't so bad," On hearing this, she threw her friend a dirty look and strolled into the living room. Gabrielle had laid comfortably on the longest couch they had, her hair was a pile of mess on her head and she had dark circles below her eyes, 

A part of Maya felt bad for the girl but the other part was furious and she let Gabrielle know, 

"I can't believe you!" She plopped on the couch by her side and dug her fingers into the bowl of popcorn in their middle. 

"Hey!" Gabrielle whined and she ignored her. "I apologized, besides it's not like I did anything wrong."

Maya gave her an incredulous look, "I told you I had to shoot a video today, you know I'm always busy during the weekdays." Gabrielle avoided her gaze, instead staring intently at the muted television, "And don't get me started on the ridiculous text you sent last night-"

"Micah begged me to stay," Gabrielle protested, cutting off the rest of her statement.

"Anddd I begged you to come but guess who won?" Maya chewed the snack aggressively, 

"I'll pay you back."

"Of course, you will."

They fell into a comfortable silence, just staring at the animations on the screen. Maya's stomach grumbled loudly and she took out her phone,

"Want some breakfast?" She didn't wait for Gabrielle's reply before standing on her feet, "We're out of stock anyway and I intended on going grocery shopping."

It was a quick walk from their bedroom back to the living room, she made sure to grab her purse along with her phone.

"What do you feel like eating?"

Gabrielle raised her head and gave her a puppy look, "Pasta," She replied in a small voice and Maya chuckled.

"Of course." Maya examined her outfit, a pair of ripped denim shorts and a white tank top, deeming it appropriate due to the weather. "Anything else?" 

She was already at the door, one hand on the knob when she turned and asked the question, 

Gabrielle nodded, "Tampons and some pain relief."

She gave her a thumbs up and stepped out, closing the door behind her. Maya unlocked her car and slipped inside, cursing at the blazing heat, she quickly started it and luckily enough it picked up immediately.

"Okay, boy. Let's go." She patted the dashboard and rolled down the windows as she began driving.

As much as Maya loved her apartment, she also hated that it was so far from town. This meant, it took not less than a twenty minute drive every time they had to get groceries,  which was not often because Gabrielle insisted that they need to be more environmentally conscious when it came to the food supply.

After another five minutes of driving and ten minutes to find the supermarket, she parked in front of the store and grabbed her phone and keys. She closed the door and locked her car. It was still hot outside and she was grateful for not changing out of her clothes.

"Hey, mama!" 

Maya's neck turned to the voice, a buff man with tattoos  and piercings was waving to her with a broad smile, his long dark hair tied up into a bun, 

"Nice ass." He said again and she scoffed, rolling her eyes at him, he winked in response.

Maya raised her middle finger at him and walked into the supermart. Thankfully, the place was air-conditioned and she breathed a sigh of relief.

She noticed the store was relatively empty apart from a few people browsing through the shelves.

Maya grabbed a cart and set to work, grabbing a basket and heading toward the frozen foods department. She'd decided on preparing a chicken meringue pie tomorrow. The fresh produce section caught her eye as well and she made a mental note to go there next.

She continued shopping until her basket became heavy and her legs felt weak from walking all around the huge store. Maya was sure she'd gotten enough food to last them at least a month when she stopped at the pharmacy section and took a box of pain relief, she was about to head to the counter when she suddenly realized she hadn't gotten the tampons for Gabrielle, she cursed under her breath and scanned the store. 

She found the section for feminine hygiene luckily and began to search for the item. She knew Gabrielle only used one specific brand and would never use another one, it was too much hassle. Maya had always reached out to her about the usefulness of being versatile but her friend insisted it was that sole brand that worked for her. So, Maya let her be but now that she was the one actually searching for it, she was imagining a hundred different ways to torture Gabrielle later on.

With a victorious grin, Maya finally located the box of tampons and raced to the shelf. She craned her neck and let out an incredulous laugh when she saw the product resting peacefully, on the highest space on the shelf.

"Fuck!" She screamed loudly, earning a few glares from the women around her, "Sorry." She whispered apologetically and received a few eye rolls.

Mays set her basket on the ground beside her and rose to her tiptoes, stretching her arms as high as possible.

She huffed frustratedly when she couldn't even touch them. Maya stared down at them and bit her lip,

Who the fuck even came up with the idea of putting tampons that high up?

She huffed again and decided to try once more, she stood on her tiptoes and stretched even further, the tip of her fingers managing to graze the item. Her tongue slid out to the side of her mouth as she continued stretching, her fingers almost completely brushing the top of the pack. 

She moved to grab the pack when her nose bumped hard against the metal of the shelf and she stumbled, only for her back to hit the solid chest of someone, 

A small gasp escaped her and she would've turned to see who it was but the stranger had wrapped a firm hand around her waist. She saw his muscular arm reach above her hand and effortlessly grabbed the tampons. 

Her heart jumped to her throat,

The man released his grasp but left his hands at her waist. Maya felt his fingers trace along her rib cage then he pulled her closer and her body collided with his. He leaned forward and Maya could smell the scent of mint and something distinctly masculine.

"Do you make a habit of stumbling or is it one of your flirting techniques?"