I'M NOT YOUR WOMAN. (✓)

05. ambush.

|◁ II ▷|

olivia rodrigo — driver's license.

SOMETHING HAD TURNED Maya's usually drab East London street into a promenade of cameras, and held the entire street hostage. Cameras flashed at anyone who stalked up and down those flat steps, wanting a scoop about the particular tenant in flat 205B.

The tenants — Maya included, had an intense dislike for being under constant surveillance when her life was hardly that important. She frequented at two places — mainly her lower-class apartment and Havana, and didn't understand the reason as to why her life had suddenly become interesting.

"Why won't they just go... away?" Maya said harshly to herself, watching the crowd of paparazzi camp outside the steps in search for her. It was like fate heard her loud and clear — as community police officers patrolling the street dispersed the crowd to prevent an overcrowding.

Finally.

Finally, she had been left undisturbed — just sitting by herself in an air of silence. No Blaze, no incessant camera clicking; nothing but peace and quiet.

"MAAAAAAYAAA?"

She cursed herself for speaking too soon.

Her small feet began charging down the corridor; body and mind focussed on stripping Maya from the comfort of her bed. She leant against the door hinge — and was welcomed with a pellet of pillows as all Maya wanted was to halt her excited chatter.

She ducked and watched the air-bound pillow go flying, "You need to work on your aim... It's shit"

"Go away" Maya groaned with a tick.

She nestled a space for her ass to sit on the bed, gleaning that Maya didn't wanted her there; holding a crinkled single newspaper that had obviously been ripped from its bundle.

"What do you want now?"

The volume in her grating voice seemed offended by Maya's curtness as she smothered her with unmasked excitement, "I have... news, Pooh!"

Blaze watched how her hazel green glare was auto positioned in a moody eye roll, not at all convinced.

She started to try and convince her but knew she'd have to turn on the gears — as Maya wasn't so easily impressed, "It's good news. I promise?"

Blaze wore an excited buzz on her white, porcelain face but couldn't rally Maya out of her slouch which had been fueled largely by a lack of sleep.

Her mahogany, wide eyes sassed at Maya, somewhat offended by her apathy, "You can at least.... pretend that you're happy to see me?"

Happy? Maya found herself grimacing bitterly at the reason why she couldn't sleep and wanted to do unspeakable things to her — but snapped herself out of the sag of fatigue.

There was a tense, thirty-second long pause that left them both staring down the pools of each other's eyes with unknown curiosity before Maya broke protocol.

"I'm not"

Blaze's lips dropped into a rueful pout, internally hating the fact that her feelings hadn't been spared, "Ouch — that stings!"

Maya grated, impatiently, "What is so urgent that you needed to scream the house down to tell me?"

Her smile stretched and had a hint of wickedness. She liked making her tenantive, it was a superpower.

"I ran into Samuel last night at Sobo in Knightsbridge. He said that he want — "

Samuel? she questioned her cluttered mind that couldn't focus on anything as she was operating on four hours of sleep within a forty eight hour stretch and all she thought about was Reuben.