Still

26.

Chapter Twenty Six

She allowed Jourdan's words to run deep within her. They were as sincere as his eyes showed, but she couldn't help but see the small glimpse of hope in him. Yes, she was aware that Jourdan wanted what was best for her and what she thought made her the happiest. But, she also knew that there was a small part of him that hoped that she'd choose being happy with him. At a moment's notice, he'd take right back over on loving her, but the ball was always in her court.

"Thank you," she replied softly.

The two of them walked out of the kitchen. Maia was in front to be the first person that Zakari saw once she opened the door. He was standing there with a bouquet of beautiful white roses.

Jourdan looked between the two of them, before moving around Maia. Like a gentleman, he nodded in Zakari direction. Anything else, he felt like would be too much and he didn't want to ruin any of her chances.

"Hi," Maia greeted once Jourdan was safely out of her condo and Zakari was officially entering. She closed the door behind him and turned to face him as they stood in the small entrance way.

Zak looked down and took in her beauty. Her radiant glow was empowering and simply breathtaking. Not laying eyes on her in the last few days had been hard. He'd successfully gone the duration of her stay in Los Angeles, but he didn't expect to have to go longer with her right in the city.

"Hi," he replied, his deep baritone sending chills down her spine. He felt like a little kid in this moment. How does someone make you this nervous?

Looking down at the roses that he was holding on to, he peered over to her before speaking, "I bought these for you." He extended his arm out for her to grab ahold of the roses.

Graciously, Maia took hold of the bouquet and began walking away from him after inhaling in the smell of them. Fresh flowers were her favorite things ever. Zak followed behind her, taking in the beauty of her new condo. It was his first time ever visiting and the interior looked just as grand as the exterior. Based on everything that he'd known about the building and Maia, he was positive that she was not footing the bill for this place.

"Thank you. How've you been?" She asked him after placing the bouquet of roses in the same vase as the ones that Elijah had purchased her. She made a mental note to buy a new vase to separate the two of them. "Are you hungry?"

Zakari's eyes traveled down to the spread of food on her dining table. Based on the number of seats that weren't pushed in, he could accurately guess that she had a dinner with all of her friends. He shook his head, "No, I already ate," he replied. "I've been good, though. How have you been?"

Grabbing a hold of some of the plates, Maia began taking the food to the kitchen to put up. She didn't expect him to, but she wasn't surprised when Zak entered the kitchen behind her with more of the plates. "I've been good," she replied, giving him surface level answers.

Zakari began placing the food into the Tupperware bowls that she'd had laid out on the counter. Every time he saw her doing this, he always wondered what the reason was for, because she never actually ate the leftovers. When she stayed with him, he'd always end up throwing it away. "Is that your real answer?"

Mai smirked at the question. Her back was turned to him as she focused on getting all of the food in the different Tupperware. She made a mental note to return Brianne and Lauryn's dishes to them after washing everything. "Is that yours?"

"No," he answered quickly and truthfully. "Nah, it's definitely not my real answer."

Feeling his arms wrap around her waist from behind, Maia's breathing nearly got stuck. She exhaled deeply, before dropping her head down. Her eyes closed to shun the tears, but she knew they were coming anyways. Crying and vomiting had been her favorite things to do lately, but crying was definitely the bigger of the two.