Lo

“SO I PUT THE ORDERS over there?” I flicked my head to the service counter and Gus nodded.

“You got it. Open orders go here.” He pointed to the row of tickets. “Once you collect an order, tickets go on that pile.”

“Got it. And I have tables one thru five?”

“That’s right. Once you’ve found your feet, you’ll get a bigger section, but I don’t want to scare you off on your first proper shift.”

I smiled, running my hands down my black and red trim apron. It was only waiting tables, but I felt oddly excited at spending the next four hours on my feet. Hopefully it would be busy enough to keep my mind off other things. Like Dad and Stella... and Maverick.

He’d tried to call me this morning, but I’d ignored him. Part of me didn’t want to hear all about his first college party and the other part didn’t want to fess up about my new job. Kyle was going to kill me when he found out I still hadn’t told Maverick. I would do it eventually, but for now I was just a regular eighteen-year-old enjoying her first shift at work.

“It’s usually slow until about five and then we get a rush, but Sarah will show you the ropes. She should be here any minute. And Liam works the bar for me most nights. Ah, speak of the devil.”

The door marked private swung open and a guy carrying a crate entered the room. 

“Liam, put those down and get over here to meet our new server.”

He gave Gus a little nod, his eyes passing right over me.

“Today, Liam, not tomorrow or next week.”

“Chill, old man, I’m coming.” He stalked over to us, raking a hand through dark brown hair. “Hey, I’m Liam.”

“I already told her that. This is Lo. She’s going to be working a couple of evenings for us.”

“And a weekend,” the guy said flatly.

“And a weekend,” Gus confirmed. “You know everyone takes their turn.”

“Some more than others.” He grumbled, dragging his thumb over his mouth. “Well, this has been a hoot and all, but I have shit to do. Lo, you need anything just holler, okay?”

“Yeah, thanks.” I watched him go back to the bar and start unpacking the crate. I don’t know if it was his height, or his dark hair and bright blue eyes, but Liam reminded me of my brother, Elliot. Not enough to freak me out or send me into a tailspin but enough to make my heart flutter at both the loss and the memories.

“All set then?” Gus’s gravelly voice was like a bucket of ice water.

“Hmm, yeah. I think so.” How hard could it be taking orders and delivering plates of burgers and fries to people?

“Great, you’re going to do fine. Just remember, take the order, pin it to the service hatch, and ring it through at the end.”

“Got it.”

“Good because Sarah’s late and your first table just walked in.” He pointed toward the door with a reassuring grin plastered over his face. “Knock ‘em dead, Lo.”

~

I UNTIED MY APRON AND folded it into a neat little square. “All done.” I approached Sarah.

“You did good tonight.” She smiled as she wiped down a table. “You’re a natural with the customers and you didn’t miss a beat with the orders.”

“Thanks.” I ducked my head feeling a warm glow at her kind words. It hadn’t quite been the walk in the park I expected. Once the place filled up, I was covering five tables. But I managed to keep on top of things, and Sarah had been on hand when things got too confusing.

“Are you okay getting home?”

“I’ll be fine.” It was only a twenty-minute walk back to the house and it was still light out.

She nodded. “I think Gus has you on the rota for Thursday.”

“Yes, I’ll see you then?”

“Sure thing. Now go, get out of here.”

Sarah flung her towel at me and I caught it, dropping it onto the table next to me. “Bye.”

I gave Liam a little wave, and he saluted before going back to whatever it was he was doing behind the bar. Looping my bag over my neck, I left Hitters with a smile on my face and a spring in my step.

“Maverick?” I gasped at the sight of my boyfriend leaning against the hood of his car. “What are you—”

He stalked toward me, buried his hands in my hair, and kissed me. Deep and slow and full of unspoken promises. Our tongues tangled together as he guided me against the side of his car, pressing into me, showing me just how much he’d missed me.

“Maverick,” I murmured, curling my hands into his t-shirt.

“Fuck, I’ve missed you,” he breathed between kisses.

When he finally pulled away and stared down at me with those dark intense eyes of his, my mind cleared. “Why are you here?” I arched a brow. Although I wanted to believe it was because he missed me and just had to see me, there was something else glittering behind his heavy stare.

“I missed you,” he repeated.

“Maverick...”

His walls slammed up and he narrowed his eyes. I let out a weary sigh, able to see straight through him. “Kyle told you, didn’t he?” 

“It should have come from you.”  He gave me a pointed look I felt all the way down to the pit of my stomach.

“That’s not fair.” I stepped back, running a hand through my hair. “I called last night to tell you and you were—”

“Shit, I know.” He tilted his face skyward and let out a long sigh. “This, me being away, it’s harder than I thought it would be.” When his eyes met mine again, my shoulders relaxed, the annoyance ebbing away. 

“I know. We both need to give it time.” I slid my fingers through his belt loops, pulling us together. “And we both need to relax a little. I can’t freak out every time you go to a party and you can’t freak out about me working here.” 

He stiffened, but I yanked harder. “Maverick.”

“I won’t pretend to like it, because I don’t.” His dark gaze flicked behind us to Hitters. “But I trust you, Lo, and I know you need this.”

“Thank you.” I leaned up, pressing a kiss to his jaw, but Maverick dipped his head, capturing my lips in a breathtaking kiss. 

“Maybe we should take this somewhere else,” I whispered, my tummy clenched with longing. “Unless you have to get back to SU?”

“I don’t need to be back until morning. You have me all night.” His voice was thick with need, and it softened something inside of me.

“Perfect. I’ll text my dad and let him know we’ll be at the pool house.” 

His eyes danced with desire as he kissed me again and then opened the door for me. I slid inside and waited for him. There was so much I wanted to ask but I didn’t want to ruin the moment either. So I sat quietly while he drove us back to his house. 

“I can’t believe you’re here,” I said as he pulled into the driveway and cut the engine. 

“I wanted to see you.”

“Wanted to or needed to?”

“Both, I guess,” he admitted, reaching over and sliding his fingers into mine. “I’m not going to lie to you, Lo, I was pissed when Kyle told me about Hitters. But mostly, I was pissed it came from him and not you.”

“Maverick, I—you’re right. I should have told you. I should have made you listen. But Gus is good people, and Sarah and Liam seem really nice. And it means I don’t have to be there so much.”

His expression softened. Maverick didn’t need me to spell it out for him, he knew how hard things had been since Stella and Bethany had moved in a little over a week ago. “Come on, let’s go inside. We’ve missed you.”

“We?” I asked as I climbed out of the car. Maverick smirked, holding out his hand for me.

“Yeah, me and him.” He dropped his eyes to his crotch, and I rolled my eyes.

“Oh my god, you’re turning into Kyle.”

“I thought you dug that cocky humor he has going for him?”

“Gross.” I smacked his arm. “That’s my cousin you’re talking about.”

“When you say it like that...” Maverick grimaced and pulled me into the yard.

The Stone-Prince house had become my second home over the summer. Which was weird since I once hated the place and everything it stood for. But now I kind of loved it. Not to mention the fact it housed three of my favourite people. 

“Should we go inside and say hello?” I flicked my head to the main house, but Maverick was already pulling me toward the pool house. 

“We can say hello later, or in the morning.”

I couldn’t hide my smile at that. Even if it was only a flying visit, Maverick was home and didn’t want to waste a single second of it.

~

“MAVERICK,” I BREATHED out barely able to catch my words. “I need to pee.”

“Stay.” His arm tightened around me as he dragged my body closer to his.

“Again, already?” I asked when I felt him grow hard against my bottom.

“I told you. We’ve missed you.” He started to kiss my shoulder, working his tongue and teeth up my neck, nipping and licking.

“Maverick, I really need to pee.”

“Fine.” He released me, rolling onto his back with a weary sigh. “But hurry.”

Glancing back at him, I traced my eyes over his tanned torso, already feeling the familiar tingle deep down in my stomach.

“London,” he said smoothly. “I suggest you go use the bathroom.”

I chuckled making my way to the door. “Don’t fall to sleep without me.”

“You’re kidding, right? I don’t intend on us getting any sleep.” His reply filtered down the hall after me as I closed the bathroom door.

God, it felt good having him back. But I knew saying goodbye again tomorrow would hurt. Don’t think about that now.

When I entered his room again, I paused, watching as he read his phone, brows furrowed with irritation. “Everything okay?”

His eyes snapped up but then his expression warmed as he flung his phone back on the nightstand and patted the space beside him. “Yeah. Just team stuff.”

“At ten o'clock on a Tuesday night?”

“Don’t ask.” He pulled me down, curling his body around mine.

“Maverick...”

“It’s Zac Lowell.”

“The captain of the team?”

Maverick had mentioned him at the beginning of the summer after Coach Callahan warned Maverick about him.

“Yeah,” he said tightly, and I rolled in his arms, meeting his conflicted gaze.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

“Nothing. I just... he’s going to be a problem. The guy is on some kind of power trip. Has the new recruits doing all these initiation tasks. It’s lame and you know I don’t buy into that shit.”

“The party the other night.”

Maverick pressed his lips together and nodded. It was enough to make me sit up on my knees. “Did something happen?”

“What? No! You think I’d let some jerk off jeopardize my place on the team, or us?”

“I know you wouldn’t, but I can tell you're worried about him which makes me worried.” Maverick worked so hard to earn his place at SU. I couldn’t bear the thought of someone trying to hurt that.

“It’s nothing I can’t handle.” He leaned up, looping his hand around my neck and pulling me in for a kiss. “Everything will calm down once classes start, and practice gets going.” There was an uncertainty in his voice that did little to ease the tight knot in my stomach.

“Okay, but don’t get pulled in by any games. Promise me, Maverick.”

“I promise.” He sealed it with a kiss. But part of me couldn’t help but wonder if he was trying to distract me rather than reassure me.

Maverick caged me in his grasp. Arms tight, legs entwined, he kissed me like I was his air. His salvation. And I knew the feeling. We’d been through so much to get to this point. I wanted to believe he could do it—that he could be a basketball-playing-college-student, but I knew Maverick. If someone gave rise to him, it would be like a red flag to a bull.

I slid my hand to his jaw and forced him away from me, staring him dead in the eye. “You worked too hard for this, Maverick.”

He swallowed, his silence speaking volumes. He knew what was at stake. College was already going to be hard enough for him, without starting something with Zac Lowell.

“What if I can’t do it?” The whispered words were like a fist to my stomach.

“You can do anything you put your mind to.” I said softly. “And I’m right here.” Running my nose along his, I kissed him. “I’m here.”

“How did I get so lucky?” His wicked smirk tugged at his mouth and I knew the serious talk was over. Maverick was good at brushing things under the rug.

Too good.

“You must have been a saint in a former life.” I smiled, nestling closer to him. “I’m glad you came tonight.”

“Me too. Tomorrow is going to suck.” He squeezed me harder.

“Maybe every time we say goodbye it’ll get easier?”

“Hmm.”

“There’s Thanksgiving weekend, then the holidays. Before you know it, it’ll be spring break. It’ll fly by.” A hollow pit formed in my chest. That’s what our relationship would be now. A series of countdowns.

He didn’t reply, and seconds ticked by.

“Maverick?” I eased out of the crook of his arm and smiled. He was asleep. Brushing the hair from his eyes, I pressed a kiss to his temple. “I love you. Always.”

Because although everything Kyle had said yesterday was crazy; all that talk of babies and the future. I wanted that. Maybe not now or next year or even in five years. But deep down, I wanted it.

Even if I was terrified to let myself dream of it.