“Quant?”
I try to hide my smile, but my lips betray me as I nod my head.
“Are you…dating him?” There’s a hint of surprise in his voice, and it makes me both embarrassed and annoyed at the same time.
“We’re—” I pause, because truthfully, I don’t know what we are. “We’reclose.”
“Ahh. I got it.” He nods his head like he just figured out some grand puzzle. “Say no more.”
“What do you mean ‘Ahh?’”
“You’re his tryst.”
“His what?” I squeak.
“His side piece. His Netflix and Chill. His wham-bam thank you, ma’am.” He flicks his wrist, causing his fingers to snap together and my jaw drops.
“Oh my God.” I shake my head in disgust. “No. I’m not any of those things.”
“You’re not his girlfriend. You just go over to his house and hook up. Do you prefer the term ‘friends with benefits?’”
“That’s not—” I sigh and shake my head. I might not have knownwhatNathan and I are for years, but I do know we’re notthat.“Forget it. You don’t understand.”
Maverick comes to stand across the table from me, propping himself up by his forearms on the back of a chair. He smacks his gum once before smiling and asking, “What don’t I understand?”
“I don’t know how you do relationships?—”
“I don’t,” he interrupts me.
“Okay, well, not everyone is in a relationship solely for the sex.”
“It would appear that Nathan is stayingoutof a relationship solely for the sex.”
My eyes narrow at him, and I debate how important it is to me to defend our relationship or even bother trying to define it.
“We like each other, but it just hasn’t been the right time. I helped him when he was going through some stuff?—”
“Like what?”
A breakup.
“It’s personal.”
He nods his head with a knowing smirk on his lips and stands up straight before rounding the table and standing in front of me.
“And now?”
I have to tilt my head back just to keep eye contact with him, and when he looks at me with those baby blues, I can’t think. I try to swallow, but it’s only when he lowers himself to sit on top of the table that I remember he asked me something.
“Football,” I breathe, forcing myself to look away from him. “His focus is on football right now, but I’m not a fair-weather girl, and I’m not going to bail on him just because we can’t be together right now.”
“Who’s to say you’ll be together when the season’s over?”
“He’s told me,” I answer a little too defensively.
Maverick studies my face, and although Nathan’s exact words were, ‘I’m not ready to be in a relationship right now, but if I was, you know, I would choose you,’ I tell Maverick what I think Nathan really meant. “He wants to be with me, it’s just not a good time.”
“He’s using you.”
