In the last chapter of "Before and After You," we saw Maya and Caleb from the very beginning of their relationship. In this chapter, chapter two, Maya is with a new guy: Liam. Who is Liam? How did Maya get to New York? And what happened to Caleb? Here, we are introduced to Maya's life two years after high school... And after Caleb.

Chapter Two

“Sam? Are you even listening to what I am saying? I feel like you aren’t listening to me. Can you put that down and just talk to me? I don’t know what you’re thinking all the time. I’ve thought about everything, about what we talked about last week. I know I was caught up in the moment, but realities hit and I just don’t see how I can move right now. I mean, you can’t just expect me to up and move to Europe with you. I have a life here, I have a job, I have my family and my friends. I love you so much but I can’t start over like that. I’m 44. Where would I even work? Would I just sit at our apartment all day waiting for you to come home from your new life? I want this for you, I want this new life for you, but I can’t be a part of it. I don’t see how it’s possible for me. I would never ask you to not take this amazing opportunity, but I’m asking you not to expect me to go with you. Sam? Are you even listening? Please say something, Sam?"

I feel tears running down my face that I hadn’t noticed before. Wiping them away, I look at Liam. He is sprawled out on the couch, his long legs reaching the coffee table that is a fair distance away from him. He has a big smile on his face, like always. “That was amazing.”

As the final words of the scripted monologue leave my lips, I feel dazed. It was always like this when I would get into an emotional scene. The vulnerability of it makes my cheeks glow a light pink, the reality of each word hits me harder each time I rehearse them. Coming back to my surroundings, and gaining back my every sense, I throw the script on the table, tired of looking at it all day. “You think so? These people aren’t looking for just good, they are looking for flawless, authentic, abstract. I need to be good on steroids.” I say this as I flail my arms in the air to prove my point that much more.

Liam just laughs and wiggles his eyebrows at me like an idiot, knowing that it makes me smile. I roll my eyes, turning away from him to hide my grin, and I look around our cramped yet cozy loft. The entire layout has an open floor concept, the only door leading to the bathroom. Our queen-sized mattress lies in the corner, adjacent to the windows. The windows are the focus of the room. Grand for our little loft, they reach from the top to the bottom of the wall. Our “living room,” if you can call it that, consists of an old television elaborately placed in front of the hideous coffee/kitchen table that didn’t match a single thing in the entire room. I didn’t even know grape mold had its own color until I bought this table. We try to hide its hideous hue when friends come over, and we routinely cover it with a sheet that started out lavender and has now faded into a yellowish mustard tint. This probably indicated that we most likely needed to purchase a new sheet, if we had either the money or time.

I move toward the kitchen to occupy the only other sitting space in the small room, and I sit on one of the two chairs at the island-style counter. Running my fingers along the cracks in the worn-down granite, I survey the length of what is the kitchen. The few counters, being my favorite part of the loft, are a soft yet vibrant brown. They have many scuffs and marks -- Liam just says that tells the story of their many years of use. One night, when we first started to move in, we made up stories of previous owners of the loft. The single mom, Janet, and her lovely young son would bake brownies, cookies, and cakes on the weekends. An old retired couple, who bought the flat to explore the depths of New York, cooked each other all sorts of exotic foods on these counter tops. Looking past the counters, I saw our cooking supplies spread throughout: The microwave, blender, coffee maker, pots and pans, and the many miscellaneous spatulas and utensils. I scan the fridge with the many magnets of places we’ve been and funny ones that we have found over the years. My favorite magnet is a picture of Liam and his mom under a well-known tree in the local park everyone went to in his hometown back in Oregon; he talks about it all the time.

Although the kitchen isn’t very big, it filled the room, breathing life into our small home. Of course there are other things spread about: Lively plants, gloss posters with amusing quotes from movies and books, pictures of our families and friends, countless books for me on the few shelves we could fit into the room that are also shared with the many vinyls that Liam owns.

It's definitely cozy, but because I'm so tidy, it makes the room more spacious. I don’t care that our place is so small -- I love it. It is perfect for just the two of us. Considering it's our first place together, it's pretty great.

Liam's voice pulls me out of my trance. His voice always did that to me, tugging me toward him, effortlessly, even when I don’t have a recollection of what he actually said. I have to ask, “What did you say?”

“You’re going to be late to your audition.”

I look at the clock on the microwave and it reads 4:00 back at me. The audition is at 5:00 but it is a couple dozen blocks away and city traffic is never reliable. I rush around the loft, grabbing my script, purse, putting on my converse shoes while hopping on each foot, and head out the door too distracted to even close the it behind me.

I hear Liam calling after me, “Good luck! I love you!”

I yell back, “I love you, too! I will text you how it goes!”

I race ahead throughout the building. Hallway, corner, hallway, corner, corner, elevator, down, down, down, lobby. I hurry to get outside, feeling the sun against my dark skin. I wrap around the building to the back parking lot, locating my car and striding toward it. Unlocking my car is quite the process; I have to simultaneously jiggle on the handle and twist the key in the lock at the perfect angle. Once I get it unlocked, I slide into the driver's seat of my red rusty jeep and set all my belongs in the passenger seat that has a small indent from Liam. Starting my car, I pull onto the bustling streets of New York City and drive in the direction of my audition.

Next chapter will follow Maya and Caleb in the past, on their first date, getting sundaes after the football game.