Love Me Anyway

Chapter Seven

AN: First chapter of the new year!! Happy reading!💛

Maya

"I don't get it." Carina huffed.
"What do you not get?" I paused the TV and focused my attention on her.
"She's a child! How can she do all this?"
"Because, 'In every generation there is a chosen one. She alone will stand against the vampires the demons and the forces of darkness. She is the slayer.'" I said dramatically.
"But to fall in love with a vampire? What is that crap!"
"Rina, baby. Have you seen Angel? He's hot. And Buffy isn't bad looking herself." I chuckled as I turned the TV back on. "How do you know they fall in love, we're not even on episode five." I asked.
"Google." Carina shrugged and laid her head on my shoulder.

We heard the front door open and shut, and Mason walked into the living room.
"Hey bub. Have fun?"
"Oh yeah. We played a few rounds of poker. I ended up winning fifty bucks off of them." He handed me the cash.
"Keep your money Mason." Carina told him.
"I told you guys I was gonna repay you. This isn't even half, but it's a start. I have an interview tomorrow, so hopefully in a few weeks I can start paying more."
"Mase-"

"Hey, are you guys watching Buffy?" He sat down in the chair next to the couch.
"Remember us sneaking to stay up late so we could watch it and not get in trouble?" I asked with a laugh.
"Oh, God. Dad was so pissed when he found us watching it. I think it was that episode where Willow and T-"
"Aht! Don't spoil it! Carina hasn't seen it yet." I put my hand over his mouth.
"My bad. Hey, why don't I cook dinner tonight? You guys can relax."
"We're gonna order Chinese. Rain check for tomorrow night?" I asked.
"For sure. You two care if I stay and watch this with you?"
"Only if you make popcorn." Carina flashed him a smile.
"Deal."
He stood up and walked to the kitchen.

"Bambina?"
"Yes my love?"
"Can we invite some friends over?"
"Who you thinking?" I sat up slightly.
"Andy, Victoria, some girls from the hospital, maybe have a girls night?"
"That sounds good to me. I'll text Andy and Vic and ask them to pick up the drinks." I grabbed my phone.
"Ah... should we have drinks here?" She whispered and nodded towards the kitchen.
"I mean... his problem was with drugs... not alcohol. But should I ask if he's comfortable with that?"
"Sì."

"Alright. One order of popcorn." Mason walked in and handed Carina a bowl.
"Grazie."
"Hey Mase, do you care if we have some friends over?" I asked.
"This is your house Maya." He laughed.
"Our house. I guess what I'm getting at is if it's okay if we drink?"
"May... I'm sober. One hundred percent sober. I'm comfortable enough in my sobriety to be around stuff and not feel tempted."
"I'm proud of you Mase." I gave him a smile.
"Thanks. Should I go hang out with the guys again?" He asked.
"Or you could invite them over? We're gonna have a bunch of girls come over." Carina offered.
"I'll send them a message." He grabbed his phone and started typing.
"Who all are you inviting?" I asked as I looked at the group chat that Carina had created.
"Amelia, Kai, Teddy, Jo, Maggie and Levi." She smiled up at me.
"Jo and Levi? I thought you were inviting the girls?" I questioned.
"Bambina, Josephine is my student. She's brilliant. And Levi, well. He's Levi." Carina laughed.
"Should I be worried about this Levi guy?" I joked.
"Only if I had a penis bambina." She kissed my cheek gently.
"Jack and Dean are game. Everyone else is busy." Mason told us.
"Andy and Vic are coming, they're bringing drinks."
"Amelia, Kai, Teddy and Jo are coming. They all said they'd bring pizza for everyone."

I tapped her leg and stood up to start cleaning the house a little bit.

"Oh! Before I forget. Kai uses they/them pronouns." Carina added.
"Okay, cool. Hopefully I don't fuck that up. I always worry I'm gonna call someone the wrong pronoun."
"They'll understand if you mess up. Just try to correct yourself. Kai is really nice."