The Taste of You and Me

I knew there had to be a downside to finding a proper place to stay - I just fricking knew it.

For the past fortnight whilst having been in San Diego (I had just spent a year living in NYC with a boyfriend who I hoped to never see again; originally hailing from England, though half-Filipino) my temporary home had been a small hotel on the outskirts of the city. The majority of my belongings had been shoved into storage to avaiod having to look at.

Large amounts of useless crap depresses me.

Now, having procrastinated moving any of my useless crap, I was faced with having to carry a damn lot of boxes up twelve flights of stairs.

The goddamn elevator had to break down today.

I frowned despairingly at the mountain of cardboard boxes and suitcases. Maybe I could try using the Force...

"Uh, excuse me?" Someone tapped my shoulder. I stopped gnawing at my lip and turned around, eyebrows raised.

"Yes?" I replied, trying hard not to snap. A tall, muscular guy smiled down at me from quite a height at my puny five foot five. His handsome tanned face was framed by dark, mad spikes of hair, and his smile was open and even.

"We couldn't help but notice - you have quite the situation here." He motioned from himself to his friend, then to the boxes before us.

"Yes, thank you. I had noticed that too." I said politely, trying not to spit sarcasm in his face. His friend choked back a alugh, catching my attention: he was tall too, with tattoos covering his entire arms from what I could see, with ink on his neck too. Smiling timidly from under his snapback cap, he waved a little awkwardly.

"Hi, I think Jaime was trying to say, if you want, we could help you." he offered. I quirked an eyebrow and looked up at both of them.

"Well...that's really nice of you, but I live twelve floors up." I said.

"Even more reason to help," Jaime piped, "We've gotta help a damsel in distress. Or else you'd be stuck here all day, trying to use the Force."

"Hey!" I exclaimed indignantly, "I wasn't trying to use it - I was using it!"

They both looked at me incredulously, arms folded over chests, eyes narrowed.

"What?" I insisted. The guys with spiky hair - or Jaime - frowned scepitcally.

"Do you actually know what the Force is?" he asked. I scoffed and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Are you questioning a Jedi master?" I replied sharply. Jaime chuckled and nudged his friend.

"Sassy." he remarked, grinning widely.

"Damn straight." I said, deadpanning. They both sniggered like schoolboys.

"Alright, we'll cut you a deal. We help you move your stuff, and you, in turn, show us your lightsabre." Jaime offered. I looked at the two of them studiously.

"Yeah, alright." I conceded after a moment. They both smiled and nodded.

"Great. This is Tony, by the way." he said. I smiled at them and offered my hand to shake to each in turn.

"Cool. Jaime and Tony. I'm Maya." I said, catching Tony look quickly away as I glanced in his direction.

*

"I am never going to move into an apartment block this high - ever - fucking - again!" I huffed, dumping the last box in front of the the front door. Jaime bounded over a pile of boxes and whooped.

"Yes! High five! We done it!" he exclaimed, holding his hands up to Tony and I. We both looked at him, then each other, shaking our heads simultaneously.

"You both suck." he snapped sourly. We both chuckled and I pushed the sleeves of my hoody up to my elbows.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about that, is there?" I sighed, grinning. "If you are hungry, though, I can order us a pizza - y'know, as a reward for all your effort." I offered. "You will have to excuse the state of my apartment though. It's pretty ugly, as you can see." I gestured to the living room, in all its cluttered misery.

"No, don't worry about it at all." Tony piped, shaking his head. I rolled my eyes, hands on hips.

"Yeah, alright, shut up. I'm going to get myself one anyway, and I can't finish it on my own. You guys might as well join me." I explained. Tony looked over at Jaime, who nodded.

"Yeah, why not. We can hang out at our friends' apartment - they're in this building. We can split the cost." Jaime agreed.

"If you bring your lightsabre." Tony added.

"Sorted." I chuckled, nodding. "What floor's your friends' apartment?"

"This one, right here." Tony replied, knocking the door opposite mine.

How convenient.