Deceitful Romance: Loved by a Manipulator

Chapter 3

Maia Adler considered herself to be average looking. But when you add the oversized clothes and the out-of-fashion designs she wore, she looked like a homeless girl from the slumps. As she dressed the big, white sweater that went loose around her body, she confirmed that she wouldn't be as hot as the previous days. The material was rather floppy so the air would be getting through, plus the tiny holes on it let her skin breathe. The sleeves were a perfect length, covering her whole arms and her hands and thus making her look like a cute fifteen-year old.

She sighed.

This was the best that she could do.

Turning on her heel from the human-sized mirror, she exited her apartment with a small goodbye to her roommate. She wasn't sure if the girl had answered, or the low rumble of someone's voice came from the old lady that was trudging down the stairs. Nonetheless, Maia was happy to go outside and away from her childish partner, who seemed to be overly ecstatic about going for a group trip with her college friends. When she returned yesterday, Maia didn't go to sleep until late in the evening because the girl kept on rambling about her perfect plans for the upcoming weeks. She had to listen and being the good relative she is, she refused to give up and finally, at around ten in the evening, she earned her privacy.

Stopping at the station, she climbed the red bus and off she went to her class. It was dreadfully hot today, so much that it made Maia reconsider her choice of clothing. The sun was blazing and the heated ground made the air suffocating and hot. She was sure that, if she took off her shoes and stepped barefooted onto the pavement, her skin would burn and peel off. In the distance, from the rear window of the bus, Maia could see how the ground shimmered in the sun, confirming the forty degrees that made everyone in the city stop to catch their breath.

She hopped off the bus and walked to her destination, the music blasting in her ears. Luckily, yesterday's euphoria had lasted all throughout her morning and now her path to college. She was fervent. Happy to be with her ‘friends’ again and to be in class, surrounded by silence as the professor talked and taught.

Entering the campus, she went straight to the auditorium that was right before the small bridge and the stand where the lunch ladies were. She entered, the loudness of other students blocked out by the beat of the song that was playing in her ears. The room was vast, consisting of two floors and two entrance ways. She searched for the girls in the middle rows, finding them sitting just at the center of one on the right side of the room.

Strolling, she admired the faces that decorated the walls.

They were, apparently, all the great language geniuses and some professors who had made history in the college grounds. She didn't know any of them, but sometimes the way they all stared straight to the second floor, she was terrified. The more she looked at them, the more she expected for their eyes to suddenly snap open and glare down at her. Shuddering at her own imagination, she climbed the stairs and slid to the seat next to Sky.

“Hey there girly.”

“Hey.”

“We were just discussing how the professor doesn't know how to turn on the projector.”

Lina snorted and giggled, covering her mouth while fiddling with her pen.

“We came here like twenty minutes ago and he still didn't turn it on.”

She added. Maia's eyes traveled to the guy who was teaching them. He was just a few years older than them, fresh out of major, someone she had found weirdly interesting throughout his past lessons. His hands were trembling and his face was uncomfortably contorted in confusion and focus. He obviously didn't know what was happening or what he was doing, semi-bald head coated in salty drops of sweat that slid down to his cheeks.

“Are you sure? It looks like something is wrong.”

Maia commented and turned sideways to take her notes out of the bag. Laughing again, Lina whispered in Sky's ear and the two erupted into a fit of restrained laughs that echoed through the auditorium and mixed with the gurgle of other humans. Shaking her head, she prepared herself for the class and slumped in the seat.

The dull ache in her right thigh reminded her of the rainy night. She faintly smiled and rubbed the spot, deep in her thoughts and entering her shut-down faze. Sky, out of the corner of her eyes, noticed that Maia was gone from the world and turned around to entertain Lina.

Maia sighed unintentionally and looked up to the ceiling. She was feeling so good today, so happy and fresh. As if nothing had happened. As if it was all a dream. She could relish in these moments and slowly she would prepare herself for the next rainy day that would cloud her mind and her thoughts. Soon enough, she brought herself down from the daydream and rested her head on her arms. She looked at Sky and Lina, who were giving her respective time, were still giggling over something they had found strangely funny.

When the professor's voice echoed through the auditorium, Maia and the others turned their attention to the short man.

“I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but it seems that the projector isn't properly set up or, rather, broken. I will have someone from the IT come over and fix this, so please, use this time to revise and prepare for the lesson.”

Maia pursed her lips and turned her head to the slightly surprised girls. Lina, who scratched the back of her neck awkwardly, shied away from her stare and pretended to interest herself in her notes.

“I told you so.”

Sky, who was keeping quiet, snorted.

“Yeah, Yeah.”

“You should apologize to the man.”

“Oh, yes. I'm sorry, my dear bald, young sir, for laughing at your distress and sweaty, egg-like head.”

Sky acted out mock-sympathy, clutching her pearls and shaking her head with a sad, puppy look. Maia let out a breathy laugh, pushing the girl's shoulder in order to make her stop. Charismatic. Funny. She liked that about the raven haired girl.

Ten minutes after the bald professor's announcement, the door to the auditorium opened. In waltzed an overweight guy whom Maia had seen several times when the teachers were confused over technology. His fat belly flopped and jiggled as he walked and, although he was quite the average height for a man, he reminded her of a big teddy-bear. Then again, all thick guys reminded her of big teddy-bears.

He walked over to the baldy and they exchanged a couple of words before the IT guy turned to the monitor of his laptop. From her right side, Maia heard a faint gasp and an overly excited squeal come from the angel girl. She looked past Sky, who was being shook by the goldilocks, and at Lina's excited expression.

“That's him!”

“Who?”

“The god!”

“Oh- holy s**t…”

Maia let her eyes drag across the path the overweight guy took and to the tall male that walked through the entrance door. Her eyes significantly widened and even though she had expected for the said man to be very beautiful, she hadn't expected the power of confidence and dominance that she felt from just the steps he took.

She let herself stare, feeling as though she had quite the right to admire the godly sight just like everyone else.

He was broad-shouldered, with long, muscly arms and big hands. Broad back and spacious chest that painted the big part of his Adonis body. He was fit, with strong legs that connected to the perfect waist. No chicken legs, as most fit guys had, and no muscly thighs that looked like they were about to pop. They were just right. Or so she thought from what she could see. He had a perfect neck, slim but strong, that connected to the sharp and defined jaw. His face was diamond shaped, with a plump bottom lip. The top lip fitted the heart shape his mouth took, but it wasn't as thick as the bottom. His brows were prominent. Hair as black as the night, making his pale skin stand out.

But those eyes.

They were the color Lina had described, but Maia saw more than that rarity. They were glimmering, radiant and showing how incredibly agile, dominant and powerful the man was. He was smart. Maia could instantly tell. He was in his early twenties, possibly two or three years older than herself. As he took his place at the computer and his fingers moved at the impossible speed she had never seen, she confirmed her assumption and figured that he would be the one to c***k the mystery of the broken projector. He was focused. Intense. His form rigid, but guarded and his shoulders straight.

She, in all her teenage years, never had the chance to admire such beauty and authority. She had only seen men with that body on i********: and in movies. When her brain realized that the scene of her being baffled and astonished by the man's brilliancy looked as if she was the typical girl from a romance novel, she tore her gaze away and stared down at her notebook.

Lina was right.

He was definitely one of a kind.

But that was none of her business.

In a split second, Maia fetched her phone and unlocked it. She occupied her mind and for the rest of the time the male had worked on fixing the problem, she busied herself with the game she had installed yesterday. Of course, she wasn't able to stop her train of thoughts from going in the direction of the god. Strange. A girl's mind was simply programmed to have the hots for a good looking guy that would never gaze upon her. She kept her eyes glued to her phone, but she couldn't help but feel guilty. A long time ago, she promised herself to never be swayed by someone, or to let herself feel dignified to admire a man.

I am not qualified.

Nevertheless, it was unnecessary to be captivated. With her problem and college studies, she had no time to worry over a relationship. No time to be tied down. There was no expectation in that department. Slowly convincing herself, she pulled away from the possible disappointment the rest of the girl population in the room would fall into and finally, she looked up from the screen.

Lina was staring as though she had found treasure.

Sky had furrowed her eyebrows and was openly glaring.

Unbeknownst to them, Maia was over the little surprise and was ready to participate in the lesson that was soon to start. She was spot on when the god sat up from the chair and the image on the tapestry of the projector came alive. Opening her notebook, she clicked her pen and her eyes glided over the words she had written in the previous lesson. There was nothing she found too hard and nothing that seemed to be forgotten.

Slumping in her chair, she glanced at her friends who were fidgeting. Lina's face was fiery red and Sky's eyes were wide in embarrassment. That detail had thrown Maia off. Sky wasn't the type to be easily shy or embarrassed. In fact, she had never seen her in that state. And Lina, regardless of being shook by a simple butterfly, was never as beat red as she was now. Confused and baffled, Maia tried to figure out why the two were suddenly so reserved.

When it clicked, her head snapped to the side and her body, which seemed to be asleep, jerked with a shockwave of surprise.

Her grass green eyes met the steel silvery ones of the god.

The sudden nervousness erupted in her stomach, but for the love of all things that appealed to her, she could not look away. Especially when his stoic face was slapped by the same amount of abrupt shock.

Her hands began to sweat.

She considered him staring at someone else, but there was no one in the lower or upper rows of seats that was close enough to be on the same level. There was no one beside her and his eyes were directly boring into her soul.

She felt exposed.

As though she was naked in front of him.