Beyond Goodbye

Jared

Maya looked out the window on the way back home. It was such a predictable and boring party. Everyone was dressed to impress, but none of them looked genuine. Josephine was stunning, but this was not her lucky day. The birthday boy had found his mate and was ecstatic, but her friend was very discouraged, if not heartbroken. She had made it her life's mission to find the most handsome guy and somehow manifest him as her mate. It was all her aunt’s doing though. Josephine lived with her aunt as her parents had died in a car crash, and it seemed to Maya, her aunt couldn’t wait for her to turn eighteen and leave. Maya felt sorry for her friend. She was the sweetest girl, and would always earn her keep. She helped her aunt with basically everything, and Maya was sure she would miss her sorely after Josephine left. “Humans are very ungrateful by nature. They only realize someone’s worth after they lose them.” Maya told her friend over and over again whenever Josephine told her how useless and a burden she felt living with her aunt.

She thought about the alpha and how deeply in love he seemed when he saw his mate. She was always surprised when this happened. What changed at that particular moment that made people forget everyone else they had feelings for? This thought let her mind wander to Jared. He looked so handsome today, she thought, smiling at herself. Maya was careful not to show her expressions to her mother as she dreaded the onslaught of questions it would result in.

She had made such a fool of herself in front of him though. She blushed in embarrassment. Jared was Maya’s one and only crush and she could see no one. It made her lose all logic and reasoning, and would sometimes leave Mark feeling exasperated. He always told her how different Jared was.

“Okay, apart from his good looks, what else do you like? What do you think makes him so compatible with you?” Mark would reason.

Maya never had an answer, but she would roll her eyes.

“Who cares? He is kind and handsome, and he looked at me.” Maya wasn’t this dense, but when it came to Jared that is what happened to her.

Even now, as she sat in her car, looking out at the street lights and how they reflected on the raindrops on her window, she smiled when she thought of Jared. There wasn’t anything to smile about though, if Maya could think clearly. He had practically ignored her and in a way snubbed her in front of his friends. He was a handsome guy with lovely blond hair, and deep blue eyes that reminded anyone who looked into them of the sea. He was very popular, and many girls would fight over him. He didn’t give anyone of them any heed though. He only looked for the prettiest and most spoilt girls in town. The popularity had gone to his head, and he had become very arrogant. High school was like a fashion show to him, and he treated everyone he thought wasn’t popular enough, like s**t.

Mark was intent on making Maya see Jared for who he was. But all she did was swoon over him. She looked silly even, as swooning was not what Maya usually did.

“You are such an intelligent and kind girl, Maya! Jared is anything but that. He isn’t even smart. And look at the way he sneered at that boy who just passed him! As if he was a peasant below him. Does he think he lives in the medieval era or something?”

Mark would quickly point out whenever Jared did something that clearly showed he was an arrogant prick.

“Oh Mark, what do you have against Jared? Sure, you are not as handsome as him, but you are cute, you know. You don’t need all those pretty girls around you.”

Maya would laugh and tease her friend by telling him he was jealous.

The poor guy never knew what to say back. He would just grumble, “I’m not jealous.” That was far from the truth. He was jealous of Jared, but not because he was handsome or he had all the pretty girls, but because he had Maya’s undivided attention.

Mark was the sweetest person one could ever know. He was fiercely loyal and very gentle. He had a face that bordered on handsome and cute. One moment he would look very charming and the next he would look like a cute little puppy. He had such soft brown hair and those brown puppy eyes! Maya didn’t know what to think of him. But she loved her doting friend and his soft heart.

Maya made her wandering thoughts come back to Jared though. It was her favorite thing to do when she had no one to talk to. She thought about how the night could have gone if only she hadn’t made a fool of herself and acted charming in front of him. She had embarrassed him in front of his friends by coming up to him and trying to talk. She clearly interrupted him and hadn’t come up with anything interesting to say. This was far from the truth as Mark had pointed out, but all reasoning went out the window when Jared was involved.

Maya imagined how it would feel if Jared came up to her and smiled. Oh, those blue eyes. She would get lost in them.

“Maya…..Would you have this dance with me?”

“Of course I would love to.”

Jared held his hand out to her and she took it. He had large, strong hands, and he had a bulky built. He took her in his thick arms and held her close to his muscled chest. How warm she felt as he moved around the dance floor with her. He whispered in her ear, “I want to go to the balcony with you.” Maya shivered and nodded. He took her there and got closer to her.

She was looking into his eyes as he leaned down to kiss her full lips. She moaned and leaned into him as he held her. His hand slipped up her dress to hold her breast and started kneading it. She opened her mouth so he could put his tongue inside. She almost moaned out loud, and snapped out of her day dream as her mom parked the car at the gas station.

She was out of breath, sometimes her imagination felt so real. If this is how it felt when she thought about it, how would it be in real life? She would surely faint!

“Maya, could you grab a few things from the store for me?” Her mother handed her a list and some money.

“Sure mom.” Maya took it without hesitation, trying not to blush, still dazed from her vivid imagination. She thought a little bit of fresh air would do her some good.