Always Into You

Unspoken - Chapter 11

Maico’s POV

I was getting too comfortable.

That was dangerous.

At first, it was just small things. Watching over her. Keeping her distracted. Making sure she ate properly. I told myself it was just responsibility just making sure Joanna didn’t return to a wreck best friend.

But it wasn’t just that.

Not anymore.

I noticed it in the way my chest tightened every time she looked a little too sad. In the way my mood soured every time she brought up him. In the way I had to stop myself from reaching for her hand just because it felt like the natural thing to do.

And worse?

She was starting to notice, too.

“Tanya.”

She looked up from her laptop, blinking at me. We were sitting in her apartment, a random movie playing in the background, neither of us paying attention.

“What?” she asked.

I hesitated, realizing I had called her name for no reason. I had just been staring at her for too long, lost in my own thoughts.

“Uh… nothing.” I scratched the back of my head, looking away.

She narrowed her eyes. “Weirdo.”

I smirked. “Takes one to know one.”

She rolled her eyes, but I caught the small smile she tried to hide.

I pointed at her laptop. “You’ve been staring at that blank document for thirty minutes.”

“I’m thinking.”

“You’re procrastinating.”

She gasped dramatically. “How dare you accuse me of such a crime?”

I leaned back against the couch, crossing my arms. “I dare because I have evidence, your honor.

Exhibit A: That coffee you made twenty minutes ago. Untouched.

Exhibit B: You’ve refreshed the same fashion blog five times now.

Exhibit C: The way you’re aggressively avoiding eye contact with me right now.”

“I hate you.” Tanya said

“No, you don’t.” I said

She huffed and slammed the laptop shut. “Fine. Maybe I am procrastinating.” She grabbed a pillow and threw it at me. “Happy now?”

I caught it effortlessly, smirking. “Ecstatic.”

“Jerk.” Tanya said

“Slacker.” I said

She lunged for another pillow, but I was faster. I reached out and grabbed her wrist, stopping her mid-throw.

For a second, neither of us moved.

Her eyes flickered down to where my fingers wrapped around her wrist, her breath catching just slightly. I felt it the shift in the air, the way the playful energy suddenly turned into something else.

I let go.

Too fast.

She pulled her hand back slowly, looking at me like she was trying to figure something out.

I forced a look. “Admit it, you suck at getting work done.”

She squinted at me, but the tension had passed. “I will kill you in your sleep.”

“Bold of you to assume I sleep.”

She groaned and threw her head back against the couch. “Why are you like this?”

“Gifted from birth.”

She let out a dramatic sigh, but I saw the small smile tugging at her lips.

Moments like these where things felt easy, normal I didn’t want them to end.

But I knew better.

Because no matter how much I tried to ignore it, the truth was still there.

I cared about her.

More than I should.

And the worst part?

She had no idea.

Later that night, she almost caught me.

I was standing in the kitchen, watching her from the doorway as she sat cross legged on the couch, flipping through her phone.

She was humming.. humming some song under her breath, looking so at ease that it made my chest ache.

I shouldn’t have been staring.

But I was.

“What?” she asked, raising an eyebrow without even looking up.

Shit.

“Nothing.” I turned toward the fridge, opening it like I had some grand mission in there.

“Just wondering if you actually eat real food, or if you survive off coffee and sheer spite.”

“Both,” she said, not missing a beat.

I snorted, grabbing a water bottle and leaning against the counter. “Figures.”

She yawned, stretching out her legs before looking over at me with a lazy smirk. “You should be honored, you know. I don’t let just anyone hang around me this much.”

I raised a brow. “Oh? So what makes me special?”

She tilted her head, pretending to think. “Hmm… I guess because you don’t annoy me too much.”

“Oh, so it’s a low bar.”

“Extremely low.”

I let out a fake gasp. “Wow. And here I thought we were bonding.”

She laughed, tossing a couch cushion at me. “Don’t push it.”

I caught it mid-air and smirked. “You’re lucky I like you, Brixton.”

For a second, something flickered in her eyes.

But then she rolled them and snorted. “Obviously. Who wouldn’t like me?”

I chuckled, shaking my head as I took a sip of water.

If only she knew.

Yeah. Only..