CHAPTER 5 : AFTER THE WEDDING
1087 Words
Day 11. 9:00 AM. No Contract.
Maya woke up to a text.
Levi: Coffee? My place. No agenda.
She stared at it. Then typed: On my way.
No rules. No 72 hours. No contract folded in her bag. No fake name tag.
Just coffee. And him.
Her apartment was quiet. No wedding chaos. No Aunt Carol at the door.
She wore jeans. Not blue. Not for him. For her.
Day 11. 10:00 AM. His Place.
Clean. Minimal. One plant. Alive.
Levi handed her coffee. Black. No sugar.
“You remembered,” Maya said. Both hands on the cup.
“I pay attention,” he said.
They sat on the couch. Not far. Not close.
The silence wasn’t awkward. It was new.
Maya: “So. Real.”
Levi: “Real.”
Maya: “Terrifying.”
Levi: “Yeah.”
He reached out. Took her hand. Laced their fingers. Didn’t let go.
His palm was warm. No ring. No act.
Day 11. 12:00 PM. The Question.
Maya stared at their hands. “Can we keep pretending?”
Levi looked up. “What?”
Maya: “Like… friends. With benefits. No feelings. Easier.”
Levi let go of her hand. Slow. “No.”
Maya: “Why not?”
Levi: “Because I’m not pretending anymore. Not even a little. Not with you.”
Maya’s chest got tight.
Levi: “I choose real. Or I choose nothing. There’s no middle. I tried middle. It sucks.”
Maya nodded. Because it did.
Day 11. 2:00 PM. The Choice.
Maya stood. “I’m scared I’ll mess this up.”
Levi stood too. “Me too.”
Maya: “What if you leave when it gets hard?”
Levi: “What if you do?”
Maya breathed out. “Then we both stay,” she said.
Levi pulled her in. Forehead to hers.
“Real,” he said.
“Real,” she said.
He didn’t kiss her. Not yet. He just stayed.
Day 13. Work.
CrossTech. Glass walls. Stares.
They didn’t hide it. They didn’t flaunt it.
Meeting. Levi: “Maya, your slide.”
Maya: “Levi, your tone.”
Everyone stared.
Then they both smiled. Small. Just for each other.
Boss: “...Continue.”
After, Sarah from HR stopped her. “So it’s real?”
Maya: “Yeah.”
Sarah: “Good. The fake thing was exhausting to watch.”
Day 14. The Plant.
Levi showed up at her apartment with a plant. Not dead. Green. Big leaves.
“For your kitchen,” he said.
Maya: “You’re keeping me alive.”
Levi: “You’re keeping me here.”
She named it “Patience.” Put it by the window.
Day 15. The Fight.
Product vs Marketing. Again.
Levi: “This campaign is bad.”
Maya: “Your product is boring.”
They walked out. Separate rooms. Cold silence.
Maya ate lunch alone. Levi didn’t text.
Text at 8:00 PM: Come over?
Maya: Yes.
They fought on his couch. Loud. Honest.
Then they ordered tacos.
Then they made up on the floor.
Day 16. The Morning After Fight.
Maya: “I hate that we do that.”
Levi: “I hate that we stop.”
Maya: “So we don’t stop.”
Levi: “Deal.”
Day 18. The Mom Talk #3.
Mom: “Are you happy?”
Maya: “Yeah.”
Mom: “Even when it’s messy?”
Maya: “Especially then.”
Mom nodded. “Good. Real is messy. Fake is clean. I like messy.”
Day 20. Aunt Carol.
Aunt Carol texted: So. Wedding date?
Maya: No.
Levi: No.
Aunt Carol: Good. Real is better than fast. Also, I’m babysitting when you have kids.
Maya laughed for 5 minutes.
Day 22. The Coworkers.
Mateo: “You two are gross now.”
Zoe: “But in a good way.”
They had lunch as four. No contract talk. No pretending.
Day 25. The Trip.
No wedding. No event.
Just them. Hill Country. Same vineyard. Empty.
Maya: “We started here.”
Levi: “We start again here.”
He kissed her. Under the oak tree.
No audience. No mic. No contract. No countdown.
Day 28. The Doubt.
Maya texted at 2 AM: You sure about this?
Levi: Yes. Go to sleep.
Maya: You sure?
Levi: Maya. Yes.
Day 30. The Note.
Maya left it on his desk.
_Day 30.
No contract.
No pretending.
Just you.
M_
Levi kept it. In his wallet. Behind his work ID.
He didn’t tell her.
Day 33. The Friend Test.
Zoe: “Do you like him or the idea of him?”
Maya: “Him. The grumpy, coffee-remembering, plant-buying him.”
Zoe: “Good answer.”
Day 35. The Bad Day.
Maya missed a deadline. Levi got blamed in a meeting.
He came to her apartment mad. Tired.
“Was this all a mistake?” he asked.
Maya: “No. The mistake was pretending.”
He stayed. They didn’t talk. They just ate ice cream. Vanilla. Two spoons.
Day 38. The Apology.
Levi: “I shouldn’t have asked that.”
Maya: “I shouldn’t have missed the deadline.”
Levi: “Tacos?”
Maya: “Tacos.”
Day 42. The Makeup.
Levi showed up with two coffees. And tacos.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“Me too,” she said.
They didn’t say more. They didn’t need to.
Day 45. The Plant Grows.
“Patience” had a new leaf.
Levi: “You’re good at keeping things alive.”
Maya: “You too.”
Day 50. The Real Life.
Late nights. Early fights. Coffee. Tacos. Plants that lived.
Levi met her deadline. She met his mood.
He learned her coffee order. She learned when to shut up in his meetings.
She kept his hoodie. He kept her lip balm.
They weren’t perfect.
They were real.
Day 55. The Family.
Dad: “You’re still with that Cross boy?”
Maya: “Yeah.”
Dad: “He seems… less CEO. More human.”
Maya: “That’s the point.”
Day 60. The Question, Again.
Maya: “Can we keep pretending?”
Levi: “No.”
Maya: “Good.”
He kissed her. Slow. Like he meant it.
Because he did.
EPILOGUE — 6 Months Later
_CrossTech: Still rivals. Now in love.
Aunt Carol: Still asking about weddings. Ignored.
Zoe & Mateo: Baby girl. Maya is Auntie.
Levi’s Plant: Alive. Named “Maya’s Patience.”
Maya’s Plant: Alive. Named “Levi’s Soft Side.”
Rules: 0.
Kisses: Too many to count.
Contract: Expired. Love: Didn’t._
THE END
- Writer
