Her mom - or Mama Sefina, as she insisted I call her - was a weapon in my arsenal I didn't know I needed. I had no issues with charming women - young or old; it didn't matter. I could delight them with a single wink or compliment.
When I had come out of my shower to find Sofia missing, Mama Sefina had given me a kind smile before placing my coffee mug in front of me.
I thanked her with a smile, and before I finished taking my first sip, she bluntly asked: "Do you like my daughter?"
I spluttered, cursing when a drop of scalding liquid splashed my arm.
Mama Sefina lifted a disapproving brow before I flushed at my profanity. "Sorry, excuse my language."
She nodded in approval before placing a washing basket on the counter. "You like Sofia?"
I took a cautious sip of my coffee, stalling for time. I could hardly tell her I had explicit and frequent fantasies of boning her daughter.
"She's a wonderful woman." It was a diplomatic answer, yet true.
She nodded before placing clothes into the basket and hitching it against her hips. "My daughter is a good girl," her accented voice firmly told me. "Are you a good man?"
I felt like a choir boy being asked by a priest if I ever had impure thoughts. It didn't help that a pair of Sofia's skimpy panties were sticking out among the clothes in the basket.
"Uh, yes," I finally croaked through a dry throat. "I am a good boy." Shit, that sounded wrong coming out of my mouth, especially to Sofia's mom.
But she didn't seem to notice me internally sweating. She surveyed me shrewdly, her dark eyes assessing me for any chinks in my armor. She seemed satisfied by what she saw as she nodded and tapped the lid on one of the containers she had brought.
"Help yourself. You need to eat. Not good to drink too much," she chastised me before gliding away.
As I stuffed one of her delicious mini pineapple pies into my mouth, I realized how true I wanted my statement to be. I wanted to be good. Well...good enough not to feel like I was lying when I said it.
When I finally reached Sofia's floor, I hurriedly pushed through the fire exit in my impatience to see her again. But that feeling soon gave way to dread when another door swung open a second later.
"Ugh, fuck," I swore under my breath when I saw the familiar figure step into the hallway and close the door behind her.
Maria stopped in surprise when she spotted me. Her eyes widened before a slow, smug smile crossed her face.
"Come crawling back, have we?"
"Uhh..." I searched around for an exit. Maybe a fire alarm I could smash and run. Guilt and shame slammed into me as I was confronted with one of my mistakes. One of my not-so-good choices. I didn't regret my history with Maria. We had some good times. But I regretted how it ended. I should've ended things when I started feeling attracted to Sofia, and when I started using Maria's proximity to her as a reason to keep coming over. And I should never have slept with Lissa.
The other reason for feeling a little sheepish was that I hadn't considered Maria at all before coming here. I'd been to Maria's apartment multiple times, but not once did I think about her when I pulled up to the apartment building today. All my thoughts were focused on seeing Sofia again.
"I was just about to head out." She stepped closer to me, her eyes taking on a sultry glint. But I can cancel." Her voice was low, the underlying meaning clear.
This is the part where I would've taken her up on the offer. I would've guided her back into her apartment and had her top whipped off in two seconds.
But only one woman seemed to tug on my interest lately.
I rubbed the back of my neck as I shifted on my feet. "Look, Maria. I'm sorry, but I'm not here to see you."
The smile dropped from her face. "Then who -"
She abruptly stopped. Her head jerked towards Sofia's closed door. "Are you fuckingkiddingme?!"
I winced at the high decibel. "Look, I'm sorry -"
"You're fuckinghernow?!"
"Look. I'm sorry about how things ended between us -"
"I don't give a shit!" She sneered. "You can take your apology and shove it up your ass! I hope you know you've downgraded."
