NOTHING BUT A BAD TASTE. (✓)

16. UNFAITHFUL.

( unedited )

FEELING A DIFFERENT KIND OF BRAVE, Reuben planted his tongue inside Maya's shocked mouth, with every intention of getting his woman back.

Like a missing jigsaw piece, he fit. Years had separated the two burning flames, but nothing significant had changed between them. He could still rope her in without being too sincere, despite her adamance that she was 'happily' married.

He felt her ice shield of defiance melt beneath him, as his hands were caught inside her messy curls, wrestling with each curly lock. She was a savouring taste that his dry lips had missed, but couldn't forget, as her sticky gloss saturated his own.

Maya was way too grounded in the salacious lips of her ex to even realise what she was about to do next.

He grumbled out a low groan, as soon as he caught a slow wave of her wet tongue rolling with his. If she was happy like she said she was, she wouldn't be kissing him with this type of heat, out in the open.

Sold on a one-way ticket to Lust, Reuben started to palm the swell of her breasts, seeing how far he could take this, before the return of her common sense.

His uncoordinated hand crushed her globes in a single hand grab, causing parts of her deep-dark areolas to peek out, and pull away from her unpadded bra.

"Uh," That was all Reuben managed to drive out, stuck like a rusted anchor, to her lips.

It was like Maya suddenly awoke from spending minutes being stuck on autopilot, reclaiming ownership of her body and her lips. Reuben fell languidly onto his back foot, his cubic face stapling a wily grin that effectively proved his point.

Her fingers brushed her lips, but even that couldn't hide her obvious regret, "Shit. What did I just do?"

Reuben gave her the short answer, "You kissed me."

Maya's voice was a beacon of cynical correction, "No I didn't. You kissed me, Reuben."

"Even if I did, you still kissed me back." Reuben's husk confidently floated but Maya's tone (for obvious reasons) was a lot more sombre, more contrite.

"I know," Her fingers were stuck, wiping his gritting scent off her lips, as if that could undo the damage.

Maya found herself chewing her bottom lip, hard, trying to mask the fact that she had been unfaithful even without the drunken nudge. And this wasn't some random kiss with a stranger to call in the New Year or a slobbery kiss after having way too much to drink. It was a passional, heart stirring kiss that had woven more complicated ties.

And to make matters worse, she was stone cold sober when she had done it, giving herself no excuse.

The mood etched on her face seemed as though she blamed herself, he looked... vindicated.

"And you said you were happy." Reuben resumed his lax standing slouch, steering his eyes — a burning shade of wild red mixed with rust green, into hers.

This was about to get dangerous.

"I am happy. I still am. What we... just did doesn't change a damn thing." Maya rebutted back, a wet pash that went on for a few seconds at best wasn't strong enough to flip the tide into his favour.

She had grown tired of the inevitable merry go round that came with Reuben, and owed it to herself to be treated like a priority and not as property.

"You didn't feel nothin?" He wasn't asking because he needed her to reassure his bottled feelings.

He knew the hard, cold truth and the fact was that this wasn't no temporary lapse in judgment, or a "moment of weakness." He was asking because he thought that she should at least have the decency to be honest with herself, if nothing else.

"Regret," Maya swallowed a tiny little bit of air, "That's what I felt, nothing else."

"Ouch, you wound me." Reuben feigned a glum face, placing a hand across his chest to try and compress the figurative wound that was still burning.

"That would imply that you've actually got a heart." Maya stalked a backwards step, she was getting way too comfortable with a dangerous man. Soon, she'd find herself adrift if she wasn't careful — especially when she was all too familiar with this feeling.

"What makes you think I don't?" Reuben's husk was no longer gravelly desperate, but Maya couldn't pin point the scent. She just knew that her legs were tangling — spelling the start of her impending drown.

"No one with a heart abandons their pregnant ex girlfriend, Reuben" Maya said with considerable calm, even if she only felt her chest rattle.

"I didn't abandon you — " Reuben attempted to stage an excuse, but was interrupted by Maya's finger wag.

"So, what do you call running out of our flat, at 3 o'clock in the damn morning to buck a blonde, whilst I bled out and lost our baby then?" Maya was turfing out a lot of baggage that served as a reminder that he had punished her, for being committed to him.

Purple plum was now visible in his cheeks, knowing he had no excuse and certainly no rebuttal.

"We... were in a bad sp — "

"Fuck you," There was no menace in Maya's dry voice, as she stuck out an offensive finger and held it towards the putrid face of the man who had (in simple terms) fucked her life up.

His lips curved into an lofty smile, "See you soon."

"Fuck off."

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As much as I really don't like problematic stuff, writing Reuben has been so fun. He's so chaotic, I love it. So, next chapter will spell the return of a certain someone. Stay wimme.