Richard

Am I cynical? Yes.

But afraid? Absolutely not.

I’ll prove it to Maya. I’m willing to put myself out there and be rejected if it shows her I don’t need to hide behind a mask. The person I was around her is the same guy I am today, and I’ll make sure she doesn’t have a reason to doubt me.She’s the first person I let down some of my walls for. Not even my brothers know me like she does, so I’m not about to walk away because she challenged me.

I sigh. Tonight didn’t go close to plan at all. The way Maya reacted to my hidden identity was anything but ideal. I might have been too optimistic about the potential outcome, expecting her to forgive me because she understood where I was coming from. But I didn’t have a real chance to explain my past and why…