Never Let Go

Chapter 22: A Friend of a Friend

"Can I get you any drinks?" Maya smiles as she hands me and Beth a menu.

"I'll have a glass of white wine, please." Beth smiles.

"Sure." Maya nods, and then looks at me.

I cant believe I went all this time without seeing Maya, and now I've seen her twice in one day. My heart is beating fast and my stomach is doing somersaults; not because I'm on a date with Beth, but because I'm seeing Maya again. I feel guilty because I should be feeling like this for Beth considering I'm dating her...

"Just a glass of orange juice, thanks." I smile.

"Sure, I'll get that for you now." She gives me a little smirk and glances at Beth before walking off.

"Do you know her?" Beth asks.

"Yeah." I nod and show a little smile as I glance down at the menu.

"Oh." She smiles. "How do you know her?"

"Um..."

Of course I'm not going to tell her Maya is an ex patient because that's personal, and I don't think Maya would appreciate me talking about her business like that.

"Is she an ex?" Beth smirks.

"No." I raise my eyebrows and laugh softly. "We're just friends."

"Oh." She nods.

"She's a friend of a friend... that's how we know each other."

"Aw, well she seems nice." She smiles and looks at her menu.

I see Maya up ahead, walking towards our table with our drinks. She smiles and I smile back at her.

"One white wine." Maya says as she places Beth's drink in front of her. "And one orange juice." Her eyes meet mine as she places my drink down.

"Thank you." I say softly.

"Have you decided what you'd like to eat, or do you need another 5 minutes?" Maya asks as she takes out a small notepad and pen from her pocket.

"I think I've decided, have you Michael?" Beth asks.

"Uh, yeah... you go ahead and order first." I nod.

I haven't decided. I haven't been able to focus since seeing Maya. I quickly scan through the menu while Beth orders. It goes silent, and Maya and Beth look at me, waiting for me to say what I want.

"You ready?" Maya chuckles. "I can give you more-"

"Sorry." I laugh softly and take another quick look at the menu. "Uh, I'll just have the... grilled chicken, please."

"Ok, I'll go place your orders now."

"Thank you."

Maya smiles and takes our menus before walking off. I realise I'm looking at her too much and mentally tell myself to stop. I focus on Beth and sip my drink. She shows a little smile and adjusts the way she's sitting.

We engage in conversation while we wait for our food, and I can't help but glance over at Maya every now and then while she's working. I notice from the corner of my eye she's been looking over here too. It's amazing to see her like this. To think she was once in a really bad way in a mental health facility, and now she's here. She's come a long way and it's really good to see her like this. She's still fighting on and trying her best, and I'm proud of her.

We aren't waiting too long before our food arrives. Maya carefully places our meals in front of us and smiles.

"Can I get you anything else?" She asks.