Maverick

“MAVERICK, COME IN.” Miss Bowman smiled up from her desk and I took the seat opposite. “How are things?”

“Okay.”

“I’ve been having a look at your professors notes and everyone seems pleased. Classes are going well?”

“Some better than others.” I’d lucked out with Professor Foley in Intro to Sports Management. He made the content interesting and there were lots of discussions. But Sports Marketing was going to be a struggle. Lucky for me, Jamie was in that class and he wasn’t wrong when he said he was a note-taking whizz kid. 

“Well, your professors all seem happy with your progress.” She leaned back in her chair, sweeping her hair off her shoulders. “How’s things with the team? Pre-season kicks off next week, I believe?”

I nodded.

“You’ll be practicing a lot. Training harder.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” I said, unsure where she was heading with this.

“Listen, Maverick, I get it. I do. Professional basketball is the dream. The end game. But things don’t always go to plan and for a lot of guys, competing at college level is as good as it gets.”

I scoffed, scratching my jaw. “Aren’t you supposed to be the one telling me that having a disability shouldn’t hold me back?” My brows quirked up.

“This isn’t about being dyslexic, Maverick. It’s about having your eyes open to the possibility that basketball might not be in your long-term future. You’re good. You know that, I know that, and Coach Baxter knows that. I don’t doubt you’ll have a successful college career out on the court. But you’re also here to get an education. Consider it a Plan B.”

When I didn’t answer she laughed softly. “Let me phrase it another way. If the NBA doesn’t come knocking, what will you do with your life Maverick Prince?”

Well, shit.

She sounded like my mom. Only hearing Miss Bowman say it was different.

“Well?” She pushed when I didn’t answer.

“I- I don’t know.”

Basketball was the plan.

The only plan.

Okay, that wasn’t entirely true. My plan involved basketball and Lo. I didn’t want, or need, anything else. But now she’d said the words, I couldn’t get them out of my head. I knew what she was doing. She wasn’t trying to get me to let go of my dream—the dream—Miss Bowman was pushing me to have a back-up plan.

“All I’m saying is, Maverick, things are about to get crazy. You’re going to be thrust into the limelight and everything that comes with being a Division I athlete. Your dream is going to become a reality. You’ll get a taste of it and you’ll want more. That’s okay. That’s how stars are born. But don’t drop the ball with your classes. Work hard, play hard.” The corner of her mouth lifted. “How does that sound?”

Actually. it sounded pretty damn good.

“I can do that.”

“And if things get too much; if the balance starts to tip, you’ll come to me?”

“Yeah.”

“I want you to succeed, Maverick. I want you to visualize your goals and go after them with everything you've got. But I also want you to have options outside of basketball. Okay?”

Options outside of basketball.

What did that even look like?

My whole life I’d struggled to keep up in class. But I’d managed. With the help of friends and my sister, I’d trudged through. I’d worked my ass off to get the required score on the SAT to apply for SU. But I’d done it all to pursue my dream of one day playing in the NBA.

That was the dream.

The end goal.

I’d never allowed myself to sit back and think, what if? What if college basketball was it for me?

What then?

~

“I AM SO READY FOR PRE-season to kick off,” Jamie said as we carried our lunch trays to a free table.

“Same. I’m itching to get on the court regularly.” Jonas was hungry for it. He’d been unable to train with us after the paintball incident. Even now he winced during our conditioning sessions.

“Any word on whether or not Kawinski will be back?” I said and they all gawked at me.

“Maverick, he ain’t coming back. You need to let that shit go.” Darnell shrugged and shoved a wedge of apple into his mouth.

“It just doesn’t feel right,” I grumbled. No one had heard from him. It was like he'd disappeared off the face of the earth.

“Some guys just don’t have what it takes.” The second the words left Jonas’ mouth a low growl rumbled in my chest. “I’m just saying,” he stuttered. “The guy was too soft around the edges.”

“Dude, he pissed himself in front of us, had to clean it up, and then—”

“J,” I scolded, throwing him a ‘shut-the-fuck-up’ look. He ducked his head and went back to his salad.

“I heard the party tomorrow is going to be something else. Apparently, the house goes all out.”

Darnell caught my eye across the table. Jonas saw it, latching on to our silent communication like the rabid dog he was. “What? What’d I say?”

“Nothing, man.” Darnell fielded him. I didn’t dislike the guy, but I would have preferred to keep our circle tight. Me, Darnell, and Jamie. I couldn’t risk him poking around. Making connections that weren’t there to be made.

Jonas let it go, launching into a rundown of what he’d heard about the pre-season kick-off party. “I invited this girl from home, Callie. But she blew me off to babysit her neighbor’s dog. Can you believe it?”

“Probably didn’t want to spend the night watching you get hit on by the Chi Delta Kappa sisters,” Darnell deadpanned, and Jamie snickered over a mouthful of his lunch.

“You think?” Jonas sat taller, puffing out his chest.

“No, I don’t think, jackass. I’m being sarcastic. Do you really think they’d want you when they could have a piece of the D-man?” Darnell waggled his eyebrows.

“D-man... seriously?” I quipped, and he grabbed his napkin, balled it up and threw it at me.

“Lo’s coming, right?” Jamie switched the conversation, and I nodded. “I asked Jenna to come, but she’s not sure.” His easy smile slipped.

“Well, tell her Lo, Kyle, and Laurie, will all be there. They can take her under their wing.”

“Cool, I’ll ask her again. I thought... nah,” he hesitated. “Doesn’t matter.”

“Hey, J,” I said. “Everything will work out.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re right. Oh shit.” He glanced at his wristwatch. “I have my one-to-one with Coach. I’d better make tracks. Jamie grabbed his tray and took off.

“Okay, that was—” Darnell started, but I jumped in. “Cut him some slack. I think he’s finding it hard being away from home.”

“Really?” Jonas asked. “I fucking love it.” He stretched back on his chair.

“Who invited you?” Darnell shot back and the two of them traded insults while my mind went to Jamie. He’d said his girlfriend, Jenna, was small-town. What would she think of all this? The parties, the seven-thousand strong crowds on game day? Jamie was good. I’d watched him during our conditioning drills. Lithe and quick, he was one of the best small forwards I’d ever seen. But I hadn’t heard him once say going pro was on his radar. He just wanted out of his hometown, and part of me couldn’t help but wonder if Jenna was holding him back.

“Yo, Maverick.” Darnell’s gruff voice jolted me from my thoughts. “Want to hit the gym after class?”

“Yeah.” It was the only thing conquering the tension radiating through my muscles lately. Twenty-three days without touching Lo. Without being buried deep inside her. I was a walking talking hard-on. Jacking off didn’t come close to it. But I only had to wait one more day, and then I intended on making up for lost time.

One. More. Day.

~

“PRINCE, GET OVER HERE.”

I cussed under my breath. Fuck. On my way back to the dorm from the store at the student union, Zac and his guys appeared out of nowhere. I tried to double back and avoid them but he’d already spotted me.

“Hey.” I greeted them, and Vinnie and Balor tipped their heads.

“What’s doing, man?” Zac eyed the bag in my hand.

“Just needed a few supplies. All set for tonight? I heard it’s going to be big.”

“Too fucking right, it is.” Zac smirked. “We can count on you to be there.”

It wasn’t a question.

“Of course,” I said.

Talk about a fucking one-eighty. Ever since I’d walked into the Delta Pi house basement and handed Zac my white flag, he’d backed off. I hadn’t been invited to anymore inner circle stuff after sharing a beer with them that day and hanging out, but he didn’t look at me with war in his eyes anymore either.

“Good. Tonight is about the team. Don’t be late.”

Shit. There went my plan of stealing an hour alone with Lo before we headed to the party.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” The words soured on my tongue and Vinnie cast me a strange look.

“Are you bringing anyone?” he said.

“My girlfriend, stepbrother, and his girl, are coming.”

“The more the merrier.” He held my gaze for a second. It felt like he was trying to tell me something. It had been the same right before he beat the shit out of me. But it wasn’t like I could just come out and ask him. Not with Zac constantly breathing down his neck.

“Abso-fucking-lutely.” Zac clapped him on the back. “We’ll see you later.”

I nodded and started off toward my dorm but in typical Zac-fashion he had to get in a final word. So it was no surprise when my name cut through the air.

“And Prince?”

“Yeah?” I glanced back.

“Remember, bros before hoes.” The fucker winked, and my blood boiled underneath my skin, but I forced myself to keep walking.

Truth was, I wanted Lo nowhere near Zac. But I couldn’t keep putting her off coming to visit, and I needed to see her before I lost my fucking mind. So the plan was to stick to her like glue. Laurie and Kyle would be there too, and we’d hang with Jamie and Darnell.

Everything would be fine.

Zac’s mission to humiliate and conquer the new recruits had died down. He still liked to give some of the guys a hard time in our training sessions, but what team captain didn’t? I could only hope my public beat down and Kawinski’s disappearing act had satisfied his narcissistic ego.

I turned off the main path through campus and my dorm building came into view.

“Maverick?” My name curved on Lo’s lips as she spotted me. Fuck. She was beautiful. Her hair was longer, swept over her shoulder, revealing the tattoo winding around her arm. Her smile grew as we began walking toward one another. Each step a step closer to home.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hey. You’re early.” It wasn’t even four yet.

“We wanted to surprise you.”

The air crackled between us. But then I was reaching for her, drawing her body against mine, sealing my mouth over hers. Lo mewled into my mouth. A sound caught between pain and sweet relief. And I got it. I fucking got it. It hurt to be apart. To spend days and nights without the person who had become your everything. The relief that washed through me the second my eyes landed on her was powerful. A bolt of lightning right through my chest.

“God, I’ve missed you.” Lo peppered my face with kisses, smoothing her fingers over my jaw. She eased back, staring at me. Her eyes sweeping over every inch of my skin. And I knew what she was doing. She was checking for fresh bruises, for any signs that I was hurt.

“I’m fine.” Crushing her to me, I buried my face in the crook of her neck.

“I’ve been so worried.”

Her words hit me square in the chest, reaching into my chest cavity and squeezing my heart. I’d done that. I’d pushed her away to spare her any more heartache while I was healing.

“Is it wrong I want to drag you straight to my room and bury myself inside you?” My words brushed against her ear and I felt the shiver roll through her. Lo’s fingers curled into my t-shirt and she laughed softly.

“Do we have time?”

“To do all the things I want to do to you? Never.” I’d need at least a whole night. Maybe even a day too.

“Hmm, guys,” my stepbrother’s voice forced its way into the bubble Lo and I had created. “This is beautiful and all, but I’d rather not see my stepbrother dry-fucking my cousin in public.”

“Kyle.”

“What, babe?” Kyle choked. “It’s true. Look at them, they’re—”

“Stone,” I growled, meeting his eyes over Lo’s shoulder.

“Prince, looking good.” He smirked, silent understanding passing between us.

Kyle was worried too. He’d told me as much more than once. But Kyle knew me well enough to know not to push.

Stealing one more kiss from Lo, I tucked her into my side and we walked over to Kyle and Laurie.

“Hey,” I said trying to keep their eyes on me and not on the tent in my shorts. But from Laurie’s flushed cheeks it was too late.

“Maybe we should give the two of you some—”

“Actually, I have plans. For all of us,” I said, glancing down to Lo, hoping she was cool with what I was about to say. “I made reservations at this new place in town.”

“Awesome, I’m starving,” Kyle declared, his stomach rumbling on cue.

“And then we’ll head to the party. And then, you two can give us some alone time.”

Kyle rolled his eyes and shuddered.

“Sounds good to me.” Laurie smiled. At least I’d won her over. She could deal with Kyle.

I turned Lo in my arms and stared down at her. “Is this okay?”

“Of course.” She beamed, and I dipped my head bringing us eye level.

“I know it means waiting until...” I cleared my throat, my heart drumming in my chest. “But I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”

Desire flashed in her eyes as she said, “You’d better.”