His eyebrows bunch together, and of course he’s confused, nothing I’m saying makes sense. “I mean, not your friends, but just like this whole situation, and then being around them. I…I don’t know, I feel like they're all judging me.”
“Why would they be judging you?” he asks, leaning down on the railing next to me, arm brushing against my shoulder.
“Because we’re…I mean—” I struggle to say the words out loud, but it’s not like it’s a secret, and I guess it’s no more embarrassing than a make-shift diaper. “Because you’re pretending to date me.”
“They don’t know that.”
I whip my head to him. “You didn’t tell them?”
He shakes his head, eyebrows dipping just enough to say,why would I?
“Not even Noah?” Disbelief coats my tongue.
“You told me not to.” He shrugs like it’s obvious.
“Yeah, but—” My throat is dry, but I attempt to swallow anyway. I’ve felt terrible about what I said to Maverick in the locker room, about loyalty not meaning anything to him, but when I look at the man who has been nothing but overwhelmingly loyal to me, I feel downright sick.
I let my hands hang over the railing, taking another breath to simmer my racing thoughts. The backyard is now a blur of lights and sound until my sight lands on a bench in the corner where Nathan is sitting with his arm draped over another girl. Déjà vu all but knocks the wind out of me. Only this time, his attention is on me, and it’s not hurt or longing I feel, but alertness.
I’m hyperaware that he’s watching me, but when my chest tightens, it’s from an emotion I can’t make sense of.
Maverick’s gaze must follow mine because he exhales sharply before turning his attention back to me.
“What?”
“That’s the third time tonight that I’ve caught him watching you.”
“What?” I ask more surprised this time. “How? I didn’t even know he was here.”
He stands to his full height but his knuckles pale where he still grips the railing. “It pisses me off that he keeps looking at my girl.”
I dip my chin, so there’s no chance of my lips being read when I whisper, “But I’m not really your girl, so it shouldn’t make you mad.”
“He doesn’t know that.”
I nod, turning so that I don’t accidentally make eye contact with Nathan again. Maverick shifts with me, and just like hedid in the kitchen, he places his hands on either side of my body, gripping the railing that’s now at my back.
“Kiss me.”
If I were drinking, I would have spit everywhere. Instead, my mouth just falls open as I look at Maverick in shock.
“Chloe, I’ve never had a girlfriend, but if you want this to be believable, standing around, spectating a game of beer pong isn’t the way to do it.”
My heart hammers louder than the music, the only proof that I’m still breathing. I try to swallow but my mouth is bone-dry. Maverick’s eyes are locked on mine, so completely that I forget where we are. I forgetwhowe are. The way he’s looking at me isn’t just foreign, it’s unsettling. There’s both hunger and desire, and I can’t shake the feeling that I want more of it.
Leaning into the only defense I have left, I whisper, “You’re just trying to mark your territory.”
He grabs my lower back, firm and sure, pulling me flush against him. The surprise sucks the air from my lungs.
“Woof, woof, baby.” And then his lips are on mine.
For one long heartbeat, I don’t move. My brain can’t understand what’s happening, until all too quickly—it does. He’s kissing me. Maverick Hall is kissing me. And not just kissing me, he’s claiming me. His lips are warm and sure against mine, and he tastes like spearmint with a hint of something darker. He slowly parts my lips with his tongue, as if he’s asking for permission, and whatever hesitation I had leaves my body, as I lean in closer to him. My fingers clutch around the black puffer vest he’s wearing tonight, holding on for dear life as he deepens the kiss, making me dizzy in the process. His fingers tangle in the hair at the back of my head, and a low groan vibrates through him when I arch further into him.
He pulls back, just enough to take a breath, and enough for me to remember what we’re doing.
“I think we need a word,” I manage to get out through shaky breaths.
“Like, a safe word? Have you been holding out your kinky tendencies on me?”
