CHAPTER 3:ALMOST
1127 Words
Day 3. 8:00 PM. Reception.
Music. Dancing. Cake.
Maya was hiding behind a pillar with water. Her heels were already killing her.
“You’re avoiding me,” Levi said.
“I’m avoiding everyone,” Maya said.
“Same thing,” he said. He handed her a plate. Cake. Chocolate.
“You don’t have to,” Maya said.
“I know,” Levi said. “I want to.”
She took it. Their fingers brushed. She didn’t pull back fast enough.
Rule #1: No kissing.
Rule #2: No touching unless we have to.
Rule #3: Leave early.
All 3 felt shaky now.
Day 3. 9:15 PM. Aunt Carol.
“Maya! Levi! Photo booth!” Aunt Carol shouted over the band.
“No,” Maya said.
“Yes,” Aunt Carol said. Dragged them in by the wrists.
Curtain closed. Small space. Hip to hip.
Levi: “This is a bad idea.”
Maya: “I know.”
Flash.
Aunt Carol: “Again! Kiss!”
“No,” they said together.
Flash.
Aunt Carol opened the curtain. “You two look like you’re in love or in trouble.”
“Trouble,” Levi said. Too quick.
Aunt Carol winked. “Mmhmm.”
Day 3. 9:40 PM. The Drink.
Maya drank too fast. Wine. Nerves. The whole thing.
Levi took the glass from her. “Slow.”
“I’m fine,” she said.
“You’re not,” he said. “You’re looking at me like you want to break Rule #1.”
Maya blinked. “I’m not.”
“Good,” he said. “Because I’m trying not to.”
He was too close. He smelled like cedar and the speech he hadn’t given yet.
Day 3. 10:05 PM. The Outside.
Maya needed air. Vineyard again. Cool night. Crickets.
Levi followed. Of course he did.
“Go back in,” she said.
“No,” he said.
“Why are you here, Levi?” she asked. “Really.”
He looked at the string lights. “Because you asked. And because…”
He stopped.
“Because what?” she said.
“Because you laughed at me,” he said. “At the coffee shop. No one does that.”
Maya stepped closer. “You’re intense.”
“I know,” he said.
“You’re also… here,” she said.
“I am,” he said.
That’s when she noticed his speech notes folded in his jacket pocket. Half-written. crossed out. circled.
“You’re going to speak tomorrow?” she asked.
He nodded. “I don’t do fake toasts.”
Maya’s stomach dropped. “Levi—”
“I won’t ruin her wedding,” he said. “But I’m not going to lie either.”
She didn’t know what that meant. Not yet.
Day 3. 10:11 PM. The Kiss.
It wasn’t planned.
It wasn’t soft.
It was 2 seconds.
Maya’s hand on his chest. His hand at her waist.
Then they pulled back.
Both breathing hard.
“Rule #1,” Maya whispered.
“Broken,” Levi said.
“Off-script,” she said.
“Yeah,” he said.
Neither moved.
Behind them, a branch snapped. Aunt Carol? No. Just wind. But Maya jumped.
Day 3. 10:12 PM. The Pretend.
Maya stepped back. “It didn’t happen.”
Levi nodded. “Right.”
“We go back in,” she said.
“Right,” he said.
They walked in. Separate. 10 feet apart.
No one looked.
Except Aunt Carol. And Mateo, watching from the bar.
Day 3. 10:30 PM. Aunt Carol’s Look.
Aunt Carol cornered Maya by the cake.
“You kissed him.”
“No,” Maya said. Too fast.
Aunt Carol: “I’ve been married 40 years. I know a ‘we’re pretending’ kiss.”
Maya said nothing.
“Is it real?” Aunt Carol asked.
“I don’t know,” Maya said. Honest.
“Good,” Aunt Carol said. “Real is messy. And messy is where the good stuff lives.”
She pressed something into Maya’s hand. A small envelope.
Day 3. 11:00 PM. The Hotel.
Two doors. Again.
Maya: “We don’t talk about it.”
Levi: “Okay.”
Maya: “Tomorrow’s the last day.”
Levi: “I know.”
Maya: “Night.”
Levi: “Night.”
Door closed.
Maya leaned on it. Hand on her mouth. She opened Aunt Carol’s envelope.
Inside: one line.
Day 4. 7:00 AM. Text.
Maya: Last day. Brunch. 11 AM. Then we leave.
Levi: Got it.
No mention of the kiss.
But he added: Wear blue. I need to see you.
Maya stared at it. Then she did.
---
Day 4. 10:30 AM. Brunch.
Family. Big table. Mimosas.
Mateo: “You two okay?”
“Yes,” Maya said. Too loud.
Levi: “Yes.”
Aunt Carol watched. Said nothing. But she kept glancing at the small podium being set up.
Day 4. 11:30 AM. The Mom Talk #2.
Mom pulled Maya aside. “He looks at you.”
“What?” Maya said.
“Like he’s not pretending,” Mom said.
“Mom,” Maya said. “It’s fake.”
“Is it?” Mom asked.
Maya didn’t answer. Because she saw Levi at the podium, tapping the mic. No notes. Just him.
Day 4. 12:00 PM. The Packing.
Hotel room. Maya’s stuff in a bag.
Knock.
Levi. “You forgot this.”
Her sweater. From the chair.
“Thanks,” she said.
He didn’t come in.
“12 hours left,” he said.
“I know,” she said.
“Do you want to pretend it didn’t happen?” he asked.
Maya looked at him. “Do you?”
Levi thought. “No.”
“Then what happens after the toast?” she asked.
“That’s up to you,” he said.
Day 4. 1:00 PM. The Drive.
Back to the venue. Quiet.
Maya: “We should say it was a mistake.”
Levi: “It wasn’t.”
Maya looked out the window. “Then what was it?”
Levi didn’t answer. But his hand rested on the console. Close to hers. Not touching.
Day 4. 2:30 PM. Austin. Venue.
He parked. Engine off.
“72 hours,” Maya said.
“Yeah,” Levi said.
“Contract’s over,” she said.
“I know,” he said.
Maya opened the door. “Thanks, Levi.”
He didn’t get out. “Maya.”
She turned.
“Kiss me again,” he said. “Or tell me not to.”
Maya stood there.
Her phone buzzed. Mom: So? Is he real?
Maya didn’t look at it.
“Choose,” Levi said.
She didn’t. Not yet.
Because the MC tapped the mic. “And now, a toast from the groom’s brother, Levi Cross.”
Levi’s eyes didn’t leave hers.
---
- Writer
