Golden Hour

10: Infatuación

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Infatuación

(n.) infatuation

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By the time Maya arrived home, the sun was about to set. On the walk home, she was able to see the sunset blossom across the sky. The party kept her mentally preoccupied most of the time, but when she saw the sunset, the different hues calmed her down. 

When she entered her apartment, it was empty per usual. Besides a few items that were not scattered by Maya, it looked like Javier was out of the apartment once again. An unwelcoming imaged flashed through her head: Javier, laying on his dark sheets, hair mussed, and cheekbones hollowed. 

You need to get laid Maya grumbled to herself, shaking her head to scold at her self and walking to her room. 

She opened her drawer to pull out a the nearest lehenga that her mother bought for her when she visited India a few years ago. It was Maya's favorite outfit. She spent hours obsessing over the gold encrusted skirt, glittering against the pitch black fabric. She pulled out the matching gold top that fell right above her midriff. She wrapped the dupatta around her shoulder, allowing the scarf to fall over her body. 

While she was applying her makeup, she thought about whether her family was doing. Her parents always picked her and Priya up to bring them back home, surprising them with their favorite sweets. She wanted to text her Dad more and find out.

And for what? For us to pretend it was okay? 

She didn't think it was worth it. 

***

"Yes! Finally you got your ass here!" 

Maya didn't have to turn her head to know who that was. She saw Jay in an orange kurta,  the long sleeves rolled up his tan arms. His face glistened with sweat, like he has already been dancing for a long time.

"You threatening to come to my place was to compelling to ignore," Maya teased, referring to the text message Jay sent when Maya was running late. 

"Bullshit. You know you want to come," Jay insisted. He looped his arm around Maya and led her across the crowded room. "They are going to start doing performances soon. Come join the table." 

The ballroom at the top of the student building was dim, strobes of light appearing from all angles. The room was crowded with a variety of gem encrusted attire. Bollywood music filled the room, some people were dancing, others were eating and talking. 

Jay led her to a table of familiar faces Maya hasn't seen in months. It was everyone from the dance team. 

"Maya!," a person got up. Before Maya could process, a girl few inches shorter than Maya reached out for a hug. Maya wrapped her arms around the figure, careful not to get her bangles tangled in the girl's pink embroidered tops. "It's been such a long time." 

Maya smiled. "Diya, it's so good to see you."  

Diya gestured to other familiar faces from the team. Others joined and talked to catch up with Maya. The warmness of the team fell on her like a warm blanket. It felt like old times, reminding Maya of the countless hours spent hanging out and having fun. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sreya and two strangers next to her, all wearing their gem encrusted churidars. Maya always got bad vibes from Sreya, who always seemed to try to put Maya down. Maya didn't care as she thought Sreya was a bitch and didn't want to give her time of day. As Maya expected, Sreya only glanced at her direction before turning to talk to her friends.