Midnight Sun Challenge Chapter 1.22 "Eyes Wide Opened"

Eyes Wide Opened

Maya had been completely thrown off balance by the arrival of Ian into her newly established life and she couldn't understand what his thoughts or his motivation was.  There had been no real discussion between the two of them at all.  No confrontation, no accusations, no anger.  It was not at all the way she thought their first encounter would be.  She had wondered why she never heard from him after she left, why he didn't call or come running to bring her back.  From that she surmised that he was just too angry with her, and she figured he must have decided to never speak to her again.  But these kind gestures?  How was she supposed to deal with that?

It had been five days since she had received those flowers and in that time she had only heard from Eddy once.  Two days into his travel time to his next concert, the tour bus had broken down on some back country road.  No residents in site and no cell phone service, the group had walked half a day before they came upon a small town with an ever smaller garage.  It was quite late by the time they arrived and as there was no hotel, the owner of the shop offered them the rooms in the back for the group to stay.  Joe, the owner of the shop made arrangements the next morning for the bus to be towed to his garage.  It took 2 days to fix but by then, Eddy's cell battery had died and the shop owner didn't allow for long distance calls.  They finally got on their way far too late on that second day, so Eddy waited till the following morning to let Maya know where he was.

Maya was beside herself with worry.  It wasn't like Eddy to be so inconsiderate and in that time she had convinced herself that something horrible must have happened.  She envisioned all kinds of terrible scenarios, and worse, doubts about Eddy started creeping in.  At first she blamed it on Ian.  She was perfectly happy until the day he came back into her life.  She considered calling him and asking him to please leave her alone, but every time she went to pick up the phone, she just couldn't do it.  She rationalised that Ian really wasn't doing anything wrong.  He hadn't actually done anything to interfere with her life.  These insecurities were all her problem and she needed to work on herself before blaming anyone else.

Maya has spent much of her time while Eddy was gone, working on her school work and practising her painting skills.  She had greatly fallen behind and because of that, she began to decline all offers sent her way.  She had received a request to do a bathing suit photo shoot and to co-host at a celebrity awards show.  Eddy thought she was making a mistake, but she wouldn't allow him to change her mind.  She felt a break was greatly needed to help ease her troubled mind.
"You don't just drop out of the spotlight like that Maya.  People are easily forgotten.  Do you want to lose your celebrity status?" Eddy asked.

"Well no, but,"

"No buts Maya.  Are you in or are you out?  That is the question you have to ask yourself here."

Maya was frustrated with Eddy's reaction to her decision.  Since the third day of university she had been thrust into the spotlight in every way imaginable and she just needed a break from it all!  She was absolutely exhausted and felt no matter what she did, she just couldn't seem to catch up.  The exhaustion just persisted , which told her it was truly mental exhaustion.  Now she understood why celebrities ended up in rehab for drug use.  They probably started down that path to help them cope. The better they coped, the more they did until the drugs no longer worked and put their lives in danger.  Well, that was not going to happen to her.

The one invite she decided not to turn down was from the hospital in Sunset Valley.  The hospital was re-modelling their children's wing and had asked Maya to paint a mural in the ward.  Maya was thrilled the the invitation, because it meant that she would get to use her painting skills for a good cause.  She couldn't wait to get started.  She had arranged to do the painting over the Christmas break when school would be out for the term.  That gave her about two weeks to fully plan the mural from start to finish.  She had asked Chloe to go with her, but she was eager to go home and finally see her boyfriend, whom she hadn't seen in three months.  Maya was disappointed but understood.  It was just that she had never been anywhere on her own and she was feeling very nervous about it.  Eddy was going to be in Bridgeport for Christmas playing 3 more added shows to his extended tour.  She was really happy for him and the band but she longed to see him as well.  So when he invited her to come to his next show, she jumped at the chance.  She couldn't wait to put on a bikini and soak up some rays for the weekend.  It meant getting on a plane but she didn't mind flying and it wasn't as if she couldn't afford it.  With all her schoolwork caught up and her plan for the mural well established, she packed her bag to head off to Sunlit Tides.

Eddy had sent a car to the airport to pick her up and bring her back to the house the band was renting for the month.  They all came out to greet her when she arrived but she only had eyes for Eddy.  She leaped into his arms and kissed him soundly before he even had a chance to say hello.  The band mates behind her were all chuckling and saying hey Maya and hi Maya, but she just waved at them behind her head and kept kissing Eddy senseless.

"Well, hello!"  was all he could say when she finally let him go.  "Miss me?"

"You have no idea! I'm so glad you called and invited me.  I don't know how I would have gone another three weeks without seeing you."

"Well, maybe we should make the most of our time then." Grabbing her hand, he raced her through the house and up the stairs to the master bedroom. There it was his turn to kiss her soundly as he tugged and pulled at her clothes.

When they were both finally naked he laid her back on the bed and continued to kiss her more passionately.  Their lovemaking was frantic, born from the need of two people long missing each others touch.  When it was over, they both lay back, hearts pounding in their chests and their breathing labored from their efforts.

"Wow!" was all Maya could get out.

"Oh yeah," Eddy replied.

" Where did that come from? I mean, just, wow!"

"A man's got needs baby!  All that pent up unused energy has got to go somewhere, " he said and then laughed.

After a few minutes Maya finally said, "So.  This is the bedroom. Got a kitchen in this house?"

"Uh huh," he replied and then yawned.

"Does it have food in it?"

"I think so. I dunno,"  and then all she heard was snoring.  So she got up, dressed and went in search of some food.

She found the guys hanging out in the music room right next to the kitchen.

"Soooooo,"  said Bob.  "How's it going?" and the guys all laughed.

"We didn't hear a thing.  We swear!" continued Johnny J.

Maya face turned beat red which had the guys in another round of laughter.

"Where's Eddy?" asked Blackhawk.

"He's still in bed," Maya replied.

"Is he still breathing?" asked Bob smacking his knee.

Maya was so embarrassed that she ducked into the kitchen and went about deciding what to make for dinner.  The kitchen was really lacking so she decided on mac n cheese.  But tomorrow they would have to go out and eat because there seriously was nothing there.  She called the guys in when it was ready and at that time Eddy came down too, his hair all mussed from either the nap or their wild lovemaking, she wasn't sure.

"Howdy stud!"  said Bob and the guys all started laughing again. 

Maya took that opportunity to duck out and go have a bath.  Neck deep in bubbles she had brought along, she could hear the guys laughing and joking through the floor.  When the steam and the bubbles made her too sleepy to stay awake, she drained the tub and dried off.  The guys were having a great time downstairs and had moved into the music room to practice a few of their songs.  Maya crawled into bed and fell asleep to the rhythm of the drums and Eddy's voice singing along.

The next morning Maya woke to Eddy gently shaking her shoulder.

"Time to get up sleepyhead."

"What time is it?" Maya asked.

"It's nearly nine.  You have to get up because we are going out."

"Out? Out where?"

"It's a surprise.  It's hot outside so dress lightly.  I will meet you downstairs."

While Maya took time to get washed and dressed, she could hear Eddy pacing the floor in the foyer at the bottom of the stairs.  When she finally joined him, he grabbed her hand and escorted her to the car.
"What's the rush?"  she asked.

Eddy never did answer her but drove her across town to a beautiful beach.  They started walking down and in the distance Maya could see a small gathering of people.  She was really curious until she got close enough to see what was going on.  She stopped dead in her tracks and pulled her hand from his.

"What's going on?" she asked sternly.  "That had better not be what I think it is!"

"Ok.  So it is.  But you have to listen to me.  I did this for you."

"Eddy.  I was very clear on the phone the other night.  I don't want this.  This is something I never wanted to do.  Why can't you just accept that?"

"Because I think it's just that you aren't seeing the big picture here. You can't just step out of the spotlight Maya.  Even for a little while.  It's a long hard road back once you do."

"This isn't the kind of spotlight I want Eddy.  Can't you understand that.  I don't want people to see me this way.  It's embarrassing and it's just not me."

"You're kidding right? Have you looked in a mirror lately?  Nothing there to be embarrassed about.  Look ok, you're mad.  I take responsibility for that.  But it's already set up.  Just be a good sport and go along with it anyway.  Please.  Do it for us."

Maya looked down the beach at the group standing there watching the two of them argue.

"Fine.  But I never want to go through this again.  Is that understood?"

"Yes. Yes.  Completely.  Think of it as fun.  It's going to be fun." and he started walking down the beach.

Well you can stick you fun where the sun don't shine, Maya thought to herself and started off after Eddy and to her doom.

Two hours later after Maya had been primped and fitted and had her makeup done in the dressing tent.  She was ready to begin.  She had no idea what to do or even how to find a place to start and she suddenly felt quite shy.  Eddy came up behind her and grabbed her from behind to tickle her.  The photographer started snapping photos.  It took the rest of the day to complete the photo shoot.  She had over eight clothing changes to complete the set.

When it was all done, they headed back to the house in complete silence.  Eddy kept glancing at her the whole drive home.  Maya continued to stare out her window and ignore Eddy in hopes that he wouldn't start talking.  She didn't want to fight, so she bit her tongue and fumed in silence.  When they got back to the house she immediately went upstairs to have a bath.  She locked the door, began the bath and turned to stare at herself in the mirror.  She felt positively dirty inside and out.  She never wanted to ever do that again.  She did her best to be a good sport to make Eddy happy but the whole thing just made her so mad.  She was telling the truth when she said she didn't want people to see her this way.  When she thought of celebrity life for herself, she saw elegance and admiration.  She wanted to be seen for her excellent fashion sense and for her very talented painting skills.  But not this.  She could still hear the photographer in her head as he made it very clear what he wanted.
'Be sexy.  Give me more, a little more.  Raise that leg higher, push your bottom out further, pout, give me that come hither look.  I want to feel the sex coming from you.'

Maya shivered in disgust.  She couldn't wait to get into the bath.  How could Eddy do that to her? And what exactly did he mean by "This will be good for us?"

Maya was so distraught by the time she finished her bath, she decided to skip dinner and go straight to bed, falling asleep to tears on her pillow.

The next morning, Maya woke just as the sun was starting to rise. She tiptoed from the room and went in search of breakfast.  She found the house completely silent, so when she finished she decided to take a stroll down the beach, while she contemplated what she was going to do.  She was still pretty angry with Eddy and she felt like the whole weekend had been ruined.  She thought back to that day at the lake and realized that she had been right.  Since Eddy had left to go on tour, they just weren't in sync anymore and she didn't know what to do about it.  It's like he had forgotten exactly who she really was.  The person she was without the celebrity status.  She wanted better than this for herself and he had better understand that quick.

It wasn't long before Eddy found her, sitting on a rock with her feet dangling into the water as it lapped up on shore.

"Good morning beautiful.  Sleep well?" Eddy asked her as he sat down beside her.  Maya scooted over to give him more room. After a moment of silence she finally decided to have her say.

"What were you thinking Eddy!  Did you see how that went yesterday?  That is why I specifically never wanted to do that.  What are people going to think of me now?"

"They will think of you exactly the way I think of you.  Beautiful and sexy as hell!" He started to reach for her but Maya slapped his hands away and looked at him incredulously.

"Really Eddy.  Seriously.  That is how you want people to look at me?  Look at me and see sex?  That's not who I am.  I thought you knew me better than this."

"I see you just fine princess.  It's you who I think doesn't accurately sees yourself.  You walked into my world knowing full well what it was like.  If you are going to be with me than you have to play along."

"Play along?  What does that mean?  This is my life Eddy.  My reputation. I don't see that having a lot to do with you."

"That is where you have it back ass wrong.  Everything you do reflects on me.  We work this thing together.  My fans see me and see sexy.  It's what I want."

"Well its not what I want.  I can't even look at you right now.  As far as I am concerned this entire weekend is ruined.  I'm going home!"

"Fine!  Run away.  But you will be back.  I promise you that!"

Maya ran back to the house, quickly packed her things and left for the airport.  As far as she was concerned, she didn't care right at that moment, if she ever saw Eddy Mullins again.
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Mod the Sims Poses

by spladoum
http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=442566
http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=482106

Maya's Long Hair-Soldier by Anto Alesso
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