“Mav.”
“Fine.” He sighed, annoyance lacing his voice. “It’s Curtis.”
“That’s not… ” I faltered as I held back a smile. He didn’t look like someone I’d ever associate with the name Curtis. “That’s not a bad name.”
“Yeah, and your middle name?” Maverick demanded, and I knew he was doing everything he could to deflect from it.
“It’s Christopher, after my father,” I told him.
“That’s not terrible.”
“It’s better than Curtis.”I couldn’t help myself.
“Fuck you,” he said, but the laughter in his voice overrode his attempt to be mad at me.
We fell into an easy silence as he awkwardly rowed us out to the middle of the lake. He fumbled a few times, sending us in circles and making us both laugh. It was almost enough to make me relax the death grip I had on the bench beneath me.Almost.
By the time he stopped and brought up the oars, the tension had seeped from my muscles. While I wasn’t exactly comfortable, I wasn’t dying inside either. And I knew whatever happened, I was safe with Maverick.
“Lay down with me,” Maverick said. Any feeling of safety flew right out the window as he haphazardly moved like the small boat wouldn’t capsize with us in it. I let out a sound of protest while I tried to balance the boat. He sprawled out, one handbehind his head and his knees thrown over the bench I was on. “Come on, princess. We’ll be fine.”
“This is crazy,” I muttered as I forced my body to move. I stopped every fraction of a second when the boat swayed and rocked dangerously.Okay, maybe not dangerously, but it sure as hell felt dangerous.I was going to die.
“You’re not going to die, Harley,” he scoffed, and my ears burned hot with embarrassment.
“Did I say that out loud?” I asked pathetically. I settled next to him, my body rigid with anxiety.
“You’re cute when your filter breaks,” he told me.Only one of us thought that.His free hand settled on my thigh. “Now, look up.”
I had nowhere but up to look. Still, I stared up at the dark sky. Stars scattered across the void stuck out like diamonds. Really bright and cold diamonds stuck in the sky.
“You know what’s cool about stars?” Maverick whispered. “The stars don’t give a fuck about who has what. We all get the same stars at the end of every night.”
“I don’t get it,” I replied softly. He made a small sound of curiosity to prompt me to keep talking. “I’m not fascinated by the stars at all.”
“Why not?”
“They’re cold and distant and just… there.”I had way too much experience with cold distance and just existing.When my gaze flicked in his direction, I found him watching me. While I couldn’t quite make out his expression in the dark, I could imagine how confused he looked. Or maybe judgmental. I had to sound like an idiot to him. To make up for it, I offered, “I like the quiet that comes with stargazing.”
As if understanding what I was trying to do, Maverick squeezed my thigh for reassurance. The weight of his hand was a comforting kind of pressure, and warmth blossomed in my core.How I desired him was still such a foreign feeling to me. It both confused and excited me, as did all of the firsts I was suddenly having with him.
“Can I ask you something?” I said.
“You can ask me anything, except what my favorite color is because that’s such a dumb question.”
“Red.” The word was nearly out of my mouth before I could even think about it. The boat swayed slightly as he very carefully rolled onto his side. Blushing, I said, “Your room had a lot of red years ago, and it does now, too, which makes me think your favorite color is red. Though I could be wrong.”
“You’re not,” Maverick told me. A little bit of pride weaseled its way through my chest at the fact that I’d gotten that right.
“I like you in red,” I admitted
“I’ll keep that in mind.”Hopefully.“What’s your question, princess?”
Oh, yeah… that.
“There was a thing that we should’ve talked about the other night,” I began slowly, my heart pounding uncomfortably fast as the anxiety won out. “I don’t want you to think that I think anything about you… but I’m not an idiot. I know you’ve had other partners, and that doesn’t bother me… I just probably should’ve checked… or asked… before we…”
“Before we fucked?” he finished for me. “To answer the question I’m pretty sure you’re trying to ask: yes, I’m negative. I hook up sometimes with the out-of-towners, but I’m always careful. I can’t afford to catch anything. Do you know how expensive the clinic is when you don’t have health insurance?”
