I was rendered speechless momentarily because he caught me off guard. We’d only met a week or so ago, so how was that possible?
Jamie’s voice was the only thing that filled the silence of the truck. I wasn’t sure what to say, and Onyx probably thought he said too much.
“What makes you say that?”
“This might sound crazy, but from the moment I pulled you out of your smoke-filled room, I haven’t been able to get you off my mind. I have this need to protect you from whatever, and I don’t know where that shit is coming from. My apologies if I’m being too straightforward, but I don’t believe in beating around the bush.”
I could practically hear my heart beating through my ears. It was a lot, and any other time, I would have thought it was a lie, but for some reason, I believed him. I couldn’t explain why if I tried.
Fuck.I spoke way too soon and probably scared her off. A few minutes passed, the song changed, and Maverick hadn’t uttered a single word.
“I’m sorry.” I shook my head. “Feels like I apologized too many times, and we haven’t even made it to our destination.” I chuckled to hopefully lighten the mood. “I just couldn’t help myself. Not with just the kiss at your house, but saying what I just said, even though I meant it. It’s just a different experience for me, and I had to let it be known that I’m not here to waste either of our time.” I kept my eyes on the road because I was low-key nervous to look at Maverick. “I can take you back home if you want me to.”
I didn’t want to, but I wasn’t going to force her to continue with the date if she didn’t feel comfortable.
After a minute or so had passed, Maverick grabbed my hand that rested on the middle console.
“Onyx, I don’t want to go back home. I want to continue on the date and get to know you. What you said may have been a little crazy, but I feel the same. I hadn’t stopped thinking about you since you walked out of my hospital room. I’m not going to lie; I was nervous about the date, but just because it’s been a minute, but I’m good.”
I released the breath I held, and my heart rate returned to its normal pace.
“Glad to know it, especially because we are here,” I told her as I pulled into a parking spot.
She looked out the front window, then back at me. “An arcade?”
“Yes. You like games, I like games. I’m sure you’ve had a rough couple of weeks, and I wanted to do something fun and not too much pressure. Are you cool with that?”
I didn’t shut the truck off in case she wanted to go somewhere else, but I did turn a little to face her.
She looked at me with a cute little smirk playing on her lips. “I thought you wanted to have dinner?”
“We can have dinner here, or wherever you want to go.”
Maverick giggled as her eyes sparkled. “This is perfect. I hope you know I’m competitive.”
I turned the truck off and took the keys out of the ignition. Relief filled me since she agreed on the location.
“And so am I. We can make a few wagers if you want.” I raised an eyebrow and opened the door.
“What do you have in mind?”
I got out of the truck and walked around to her side.
“I’m not sure yet,” I told her as I helped her out of the truck.
“I’m sure we’ll come up with something.”
I closed the door, then grabbed her hand. I wasn’t a hold-hands type of guy, especially on the first date, but the shit felt natural with Maverick.
We walked inside the building, and I paid the fee to play all the games we wanted to.
“Has anyone ever told you that you have a baby face?” I asked as we walked over to the first game.
“I get that all of the time, but I am a full-grown adult.” She looked up at me with a bright smile.
She looked every bit of a grown woman in the jeans that fit her perfectly, with a sweater and boots.
“Do you mind if I ask how old you are?”
