Anthony: 

A few hours later dinner was in the finishing stages, his apartment was cleaned and his art displayed. He watched his cousin as she set the table humming a song under her breath. It was one that Anthony found to be very sad and well, something that shouldn’t make her smile; “Whiskey Lullaby” by Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss. Anthony remembered when Maia had first introduced him to the song, back before they stopped talking. 

Although sad, the song had given him plenty of ideas for his art. 

He walked into the kitchen with his hands in his pockets, stopping next to the oven he smiled. Maia had always loved to cook and it had been a while since he had a good home cooked meal, as most of his dinners came from fast food restaurants or frozen packages. 

“What is it?” he asked, peeking into the oven.

“Lasagna with chicken, alfredo sauce, vegetables, ricotta cheese and mozzarella, you’ll like it Tony.” She assured him before shooing him from the kitchen. “Why don’t you go and get Cassie and her cousin?” Anthony nodded like a kicked puppy but felt a bit better when George decided to go with him so he could pick up a few things. 
It was awkward walking with the man down the street, knowing that his cousin had never said “hey Tony I’ve got a boyfriend!” 

George was nice enough but Anthony never thought that Maia would go for the heavily tattooed, tall, well-built type that looked like he could snap Anthony in half. George was far bigger than lanky Tony, in both height and weight. But Maia had clued Anthony in on a few things about the burly man: he liked Disney Princess movies, Titanic makes him cry and he’s fond of singing Mariah Carey songs in the shower, in the car or when he’s at work. 

“So Tony,” George said, glancing at the man next to him. “Maia said that you’ve got a girl friend.” 

Instantly Tony’s face heated up and turned a darling shade of red. “She’s not my girlfriend—“ He was interrupted by George’s deep laugh. 

“No girl friend, just a friend.” 

“Oh…Yeah, Cassie’s a really nice girl. She’s got a cousin too—“Anthony’s mouth went dry once they arrived at the store, the designated meeting spot since well he didn’t feel comfortable going to Cassie’s apartment like some sort of stalker. George smirked and crossed his arms over his chest, “A cousin? Never pegged you for the man whore type.” 

Anthony could have died of embarrassment but George didn’t press the matter and soon they both fell quiet until George spoke up about getting something from the grocery store.

Maia:

Once the Lasagna was done she pulled it out of the oven and smiled. The dining room table was finally being used and she made it presentable with a vase of fake flowers and paintbrushes. 

Maia grabbed a small present for Tony from her large purse, well duffle bag really. 

Setting it on the counter for safe keeping, she’d give it to Tony after dinner.