Maverick pulls us to a stop, threading our fingers together. “You were trapped as a recliner for fifty years. It’s natural for you to need some help now. I’m not rushing you. Besides, you cook and clean every day, so I don’t have to when I get off. That’s not using me; that’s being helpful how you can.”
I sigh and plant a gentle kiss on his lips. “You’re perfect.”
He blushes, the most beautiful pink creeping up his cheeks. “I don’t know about all that. I just don’t want you to be sad about something you can’t help.”
Almost as if my past wants to taunt me, a large barred owl flies overhead, landing on a tree branch nearby, its large yellow eyes landing on me before it takes flight again.
It’s not uncommon to see barred owls in the daylight—something I learned while I was Blossom’s captive, and she schooled me on pretty much every species of owl and why they’re so special.
After Blossom cursed me, I thought long and hard about the trick I played on her and her pets. It was beyond cruel, but I didn’t know the owl had a mate or the implications of if the animal had died because of me. My friends and I just thought we’d get a good laugh at seeing how frantic Blossom would get when she discovered her owl was missing.
It wasn’t smart, and it wasn’t right. Blossom isn’t a bad person—in fact, she’d never done anything to me, personally.But one of my friends, Denim, was always picking with her and brought us guys in to help him with his tricks.
Like Maverick said, peer pressure. But it’ll never happen again. Not only because it’s fucking wrong, but because I can’t be trapped as a fucking recliner again.
Maverick squeals and points at the owl’s retreating form. “Wow, I’ve never seen an owl in the daytime. Is that, like, an omen or something?”
Smiling shakily, I tell him all about barred owls, their sleep patterns, and mating activities. I’m surprised I remember it all, seeing as Blossom told me those facts when I was a freshly cursed recliner, but they all come tumbling out.
Maverick looks up at me, shocked, but with a cute smile tipping up his lips.
When I’m done, he says, “Wow, I didn’t think anyone knew that much about owls.”
I cough an almost distressed laugh. “Yeah, well, Blossom made sure I did.”
He frowns and snakes an arm around my waist. “Cade, I believe you when you say that you won’t do anything like that again, and you’ll apologize to Blossom, but I need you to know that I can’t be with someone cruel again. Walt was, in his little dipshit ways, and I only noticed after our breakup. I told myself I wouldn’t put up with that kind of behavior again. If you think?—”
For the second time, I stop our meandering and turn him to face me. “Maverick, I would never do anything like that again. I’m not a cruel person, though what I did says differently. But it’s not something I made a habit of. I promise I won’t do anything close to what your ex did. I plan to apologize to Blossom soon, I promise.”
Maverick is silent, his solemn eyes searching my face. I let him look his fill, not interrupting whatever he’s looking for.
Finally, he lets out a long breath and nods. “Good. Because I like you and want to keep you around.”
“I’d like to stay around,” I say, leading us down the path once more.
We walk in silence, enjoying the warm weather and the wonderful scenery.
When we come upon a bed of flowers, I skip over and pluck a pretty purple one with a yellow interior. Walking back over to Maverick, I tuck it behind his ear, my chest warming as a blush blooms across his cheeks.
“You’re breathtaking, Maverick.”
“God, you’re so sweet. Walt never—” He cuts himself off with a growl. “I’m sorry to keep bringing him up. He’s my only long-term boyfriend. I have nothing to compare to.”
“Can you tell me about him? Like the terrible shit he did?”
Maverick sighs and wraps his arms around his middle as we start walking again. “He wasn’t always so bad. In the beginning, he was really sweet—taking me on dates, listening to me when I talked, bringing me flowers. He was ideal. But after I moved in with him, all that stopped. And he started to get mean and jealous. Like he told me I was gaining weight working as a chef and I should join a gym. If I wasn’t already running three miles every morning to stay in shape, I would have believed him. I told Sawyer about it, and he said it was a thing some men did to get their partner’s self-esteem in the crapper so they wouldn’t leave them.”
A growl percolates up my throat, and I wish I could see this Walt motherfucker and deck him for trying to make someone as amazing as Maverick think lowly of himself.
Maverick’s lips tip up in a small smile. “Yeah, I called him out on it and he stopped. After that, it was little things—complaining about my work hours, how long I hung out with Sawyer, not paying him any attention, even if we were sitting on the couchtogether. Then I found him cheating on me, on the couch that I bought with money I saved.” His voice takes on a hard edge, his cheeks red with anger. “That’s why I wonder…” He flicks his gaze up to me and shakes his head. “Never mind. Anyway, after that, I left. I should have left way before the cheating, but I don’t know. I guess I was waiting for that push. Wish that push left my damn couch out of it.”
I let silence settle between us for a moment, giving Maverick time to calm down. He dropped a lot on me, and I know that kind of betrayal hurts, even if he already had one foot out of the relationship.
That kind of heartbreak is hard to get over. I should know.
Maverick shakes his head and scoffs. “No more talk about Walt. I’m over that asshole.” He looks over at me. “What about you? Did you have someone before Blossom cursed you?”
I nod, then shake my head. “I thought I did. In the seventies, it wasn’t very common for men to be together like it is now, but I thought I had something solid. But it turns out, Barry was the one that sold me out to Blossom. It hurt when she told me, but I can’t really blame him, I don’t think.”
