We even got into the conversation of love languages… the things we thrived on… the way we best received love. The fact that I could talk to him about things like this was a turn on. I loved spending time with him and talking to him and he said he loved the same things about me. What bothered me the most about him was his temper and what bothered him the most about me was my good heart. He further explained that he didn’t want people to think they could take advantage of me simply because of that. I was a very compassionate person and would be quick to believe a sob story… according to him.
After ordering our shrimp and grits from the brunch menu at Toasted Yolk Café, Maverick stretched his arms across the table. I slid my hands into his and smiled as he stared at me. “You’re so beautiful. I’m such a lucky man.”
“And you’re the sexiest man alive. I’m beyond blessed to have you, Maverick.”
He smiled, then released my hands as the waitress came back with our mimosas. I was ready for a drink. My cramps were finally mild enough to function and I tried to refrain from drinking at the onset of my period. Alcohol made my cramps worse than they already were and my attitude on ten due to the increase in estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. But none of that mattered at the moment as I sipped my mimosa. I closed my eyes and moaned in satisfaction. It was so good. “It’s good, isn’t it?” Maverick asked.
“It really is. So, umm… how do you feel about surprises?”
A slight smile made its way to his lips as he said, “I’m cool with them, depending on who they’re coming from. Who wants to surprise me?”
“Me.”
“Then I suppose I’m cool with it. Although, I really prefer to know. I only allow surprises from people I trust. Luckily you’re at the top of the list.”
I smiled and clasped my hands together. “Good. I have a surprise later around six.”
“A’ight, baby.”
He didn’t seem too excited, so I asked, “You sure?”
“Yep. I don’t wanna dwell on it, though, or it’s gonna drive me crazy trying to figure out what you got up your sleeve. Then I’ll get on your nerves so bad, you’ll just end up telling me.”
I giggled and left him to his mimosa. I couldn’t wait to see his face when we got to Texas Longhorn for his celebratory dinner with our parents. Even my dad was going to be there. He made it in town this morning. Surprisingly, my mama allowed him to stay at her house. When he told me where he was staying my eyes had widened. I couldn’t wait to talk to her and find out what had prompted this turn of events. Yulonda did not play about bullshit like this. So for her to be engaged in it had my curiosity beyond piqued.
When the waitress brought our shrimp and grits, my thoughts ceased. It smelled so good. It was impossible to think about anything else. That smell was distracting as hell. “Enjoy!” she said happily and walked away.
“Damn. This look good.”
“I knooow. And the smell. Let’s bless our food so we can get to it, Mav. I’m starving.”
He grabbed my hand and instead of waiting for him to pray, I began, “Thank you, Lord, for blessing us with this amazing meal. Thank you for the occasion and I pray that you bless Maverick with favor and compliance from his fellow employees. Allow his transition to be an easy one and continue to keep him under your protection. In Jesus’s name, Amen.”
“Thank you. That was perfect,” he said, then winked at me.
“You’re welcome. Now let’s get to it before I starve to death.”
He rolled his eyes, then took the first forkful and closed his eyes. But he’d rolled his eyes like I was the one being over-dramatic.
If looks could kill, Maverick would be an atomic bomb. I was nervous as hell when Mr. Harper walked through the door at Texas Longhorn to join us for dinner. Maverick’s dad was all smiles, excited to see his lil brother, while his son was about to detonate. Mrs. Beverly was nervous as hell, trying to keep Maverick’s attention elsewhere. How in the fuck didn’t Mr. Maxwell not know what had happened? My mama stood close to me and said, “Oooh, some shit gon’ go down tonight. Maverick look like he wanna kill his ass.”
“Shh. Let’s try to defuse this situation. Mr. Harper doesn’t know that Maverick knows, otherwise, he wouldn’t have shown up.”
I looped my arm through Maverick’s and pulled him to me. He wouldn’t look at me. His eyes were glued to his target. I put my other hand to his cheek and turned his face to mine. “Listen, baby. Tonight is about you and your achievements. Apparently, your mom forgot to tell your dad about the current situation. Forget about him. Let’s focus on you. I love you.”
I could still see the anger in his eyes as he exhaled slowly while staring at me. Leaning in, he kissed my lips, allowing it to linger a bit. He rested his forehead against mine and I could feel the release of air from his nose. “I love you, too, Yuri… so much.”
“Pierce party!” one of the hostesses said.
We all followed her just as my dad walked through the door. He’d had an errand to run before coming here, which was why he and my mom didn’t arrive together. Mr. Harper had made me forget all about asking her what was going on. I hugged him tightly, then introduced him to Maverick. “Daddy, this is the love of my life, Maverick.”
They shook hands as I continued, “Maverick, this is my first love, Calvin Joseph.”
“Nice to meet you, Maverick, and congratulations on such a great accomplishment.”
“Thank you. Nice to meet the father of the woman that stole my heart,” he said, glancing at me.
My dad smiled big and nodded. We turned to see where everyone had gotten seated, then went to join them. I was sure to seat Maverick and myself as far away from Mr. Harper as possible. Maverick’s reflexes were insane. When he’d hit Rocco, I’d never seen it coming that day. His gaze went to Mr. Harper as he laughed. He and Mr. Pierce were having a conversation, but he kept glancing at Maverick. I knew that he probably sensed that Maverick knew something. Before he could even greet Maverick, Mrs. Beverly had intervened. They still hadn’t spoken to one another.
Grabbing Mav’s hand under the table, I gently squeezed it, then released it and rubbed his thigh. He turned to look at me and a small smile made its way to his lips. “What are you doing?”
I leaned into him, “Trying to make sure you stay calm. If that means turning you on in the process, then so be it.”
“I can be turned on and angry at the same time. You know that, right? I was that way that night you showed up at my door.”
I slightly rolled my eyes. “Well, please, think about your reputation. Let that be the reason to control yourself.”
He rested his head against mine, then kissed my cheek. “I’m trying hard, baby. But if that nigga say something, I’m gon’ have to get at him. I’m not the type of nigga that let shit ride. So, I’m doing my best not to embarrass anybody.”
I put my hand to his cheek and kissed his lips. I could see Mr. Harper watching us and that bothered me. He was a shady muthafucka that seemed to be jealous of Maverick. I didn’t understand how Mr. Pierce couldn’t see it. Maybe he didn’t wanna see it since that was his brother. Whatever the reason, he should have considered Maverick before inviting him. Knowing that I’d only reserved a certain amount of seating, he should have asked me first. That was why we ended up having to wait.
When I pulled away from Maverick, Mr. Harper said, “Congratulations on your promotion, Maverick.”
“Thank you.”
Maverick was extremely tight-lipped. He took a sip of his water that was on the table. I swore I saw something in Mr. Harper’s eyes that said he was about to fuck with him, so I said, “Mr. Harper, how’s classes going?”
“They’re going well. Thanks for asking. I’m getting close to a promotion myself. Hopefully, it’ll happen sooner rather than later.”
“What type of promotion?”
“Dean of the college of arts and sciences.”
“Wow. Okay. That’ll be great.”
He smiled big a
nd said, “Yes. But enough about me. It’s Maverick’s night.”
Shit. Turning his attention to Mav, he asked, “So what is your position gonna be?”
“Foreman of operations. I’ll be pretty much over all the maintenance crews for the city.”
“That’s good. Is the city catching up with everyone else as far as how they pay their employees?”
“Oh no the fuck he didn’t,” my mama mumbled.
Maverick was already light-complexioned, so it didn’t take much to see when he was bothered by something. His face was red as hell. I began rubbing his leg again, hoping that it would calm him down, but he grabbed my hand and squeezed it as he said, “I wouldn’t know everyone else’s pay grade, but a six-figure salary tells me that they aren’t having to catch up with anyone.”
Mr. Harper smiled. I wished he would just shut the fuck up. He nodded and said, “That’s great. I’m happy for you.”
Lying-ass bitch. I almost wanted Mav to get at him, now. The waitress showed up at our table at the perfect time. I ordered a mixed drink as did almost everyone at the table. Mr. Pierce began engaging Mr. Harper in conversation again as my mom talked to Mrs. Beverly. My dad was seated on the other side of Maverick, so he made conversation with him as I sat awkwardly quiet. I was doing my best to stay level-headed as well. I’d never encountered such hatred. Mr. Harper didn’t like Maverick for whatever reason, and it was immature and hateful. He shouldn’t have accepted the invitation to come here.
I slurped up my strawberry daiquiri as soon as she set it on the table, almost getting a brain freeze. My nerves were on edge. Maverick glanced at me and I could see a smile grace his tight lips. I frowned slightly as he leaned over to me and said, “I need those sucking skills tonight. That straw would have been my dick, you would have sucked the fucking skin off it, girl.”
My face heated up and I had to be red. I wasn’t light-complexioned like him, but I wasn’t dark enough to hide my embarrassment, either. “Are you serious right now?”
He laughed, then kissed my cheek and went back to his drink. Mr. Harper glanced at me, then gave his attention back to Mr. Pierce. Jesus. The night couldn’t be over quick enough.
Chapter Sixteen
Maverick
If he said one more thing, I was gon’ shut him the fuck down. I was sick of that smug grin on his face. All that shit he said on the phone to me was bullshit. It was like he had to hate on everything I did. That congratulations was fake as hell and I could see right through it. This moment made me wish I would have handled this shit Friday. His best bet was to sit there and talk to his fucking brother and leave me the hell out of it.
Although Yuri was nervous, she was making me feel more at ease in this situation. For some reason, watching just how nervous she was, was funny to me. Her mannerisms were over the top and I couldn’t help but pick with her about it. She was on her third daiquiri. Lucky for her, she didn’t like fucking while she was on her cycle. I didn’t give a damn. I’d have her place looking like a crime scene.
Her love for me was keeping me in the pocket because Cedric was begging for an ass whooping. I saw his sneaky-ass glances at her. And when she called him Mr. Harper, I could see the nasty-ass wheels turning in his fucking head. This shit was taking a lot of self-restraint and after I finished eating, I was going to be done. Wouldn’t be no hanging around for dessert or none of that shit. We could go to Yuri’s mother’s house so she could spend time with her dad, but that would be it. Plus, I had to work tomorrow. So, I wouldn’t be out late anyway.
My dad seemed to be keeping him heavily involved in conversation so he wouldn’t try to talk to me. That was very much appreciated, although, he should have never invited him anyway. As I finished off my steak, I wiped my napkin over my mouth, then threw it on my plate. The food had been delicious. I loved a good steak. Yuri and I had been here a couple of times and she knew how much I’d enjoyed the food. Tonight would have been perfect. I appreciated her taking the time out to celebrate with the family.
I crossed my legs at the ankles under the table and put my arm across the back of Yuri’s chair as she finished her rice. I’d been wanting to try it, but it looked too spicy. I couldn’t be dealing with the aftermath of that. She glanced over at me and asked, “You wanna try a little bit?”
“Naw, I better not.”
She poked out her lip and gave me the eyes, causing me to slowly shake my head. She held a little of it up on her fork, so I opened my mouth. She happily brought the fork to my mouth with a huge smile on her beautiful face. It was delicious, but spicy as hell, just like I thought. “What do you think?”
“It’s too spicy for me, but it’s good. I wouldn’t be able to handle a whole order of it, though.”
She smiled and said, “Well, at least you tried it. I love it. I need to stay away from spicy food, too, but I couldn’t pass up their Jambalaya. It’s so good.”
I smiled at her, hoping she would hurry up before Pop ran out of steam. Cedric was waiting for an opportunity to try to get at me. I didn’t understand where this shit came from. We used to be so close. Maybe that was all a front. He might have just wanted to get close to me back then to get me to trust him. And I always trusted him. “So, when do you assume your new position, Maverick?”
I wanted to roll my eyes and just ignore him. However, I decided to answer. “Tomorrow, they’ll make it official and send out the company-wide email, so I’m assuming after I work with the foreman that’s retiring for the next two weeks, it’ll all be on my shoulders.”
“That’s great.”
I nodded, then took a sip of my Coke. “Look, Maverick, I know that you know of my infatuation with Yuri.”
What the fuck was he tryna do? I sat up in my seat, angling my body so if I had to snatch him up, I could reach him. He continued, “It was there before the two of you got together and I apologize for that. I can sense that you know about me going to the spa. I didn’t have any ill intentions. I just thought it was best if I did that in person. But I can tell that you don’t want me here and honestly, after the last time, I knew we would never be like we were. So, I’m gonna pay for my meal and head out.”
“Perfect.”
I didn’t have shit else to say to that nigga. Ms. Yulonda mumbled something under her breath, and I was sure I would hear about it later. He took forty dollars from his wallet and set it on the table, then left without another word. “Whew, shit, now I can relax,” Ms. Yulonda said.
Yuri nudged her and although I was pissed, it produced a chuckle out of me. I loved her mom and the more my mom hung around her, the more outspoken she was getting as well. My mama chuckled, too. “What are you pushing me for? You know yo’ ass was on edge, too. That’s why you were drinking all those damn daquiris.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at that one because it was definitely true. “Mama, I’m nudging you because some things just aren’t appropriate to say aloud. They should stay as thoughts.”
Yuri rolled her eyes as we all laughed. As the ladies got to chattering, my dad got my attention. “Son, I apologize. I had no idea. The last I heard, the two of you were getting along again. I’d witnessed you on the phone with him when I was in the hospital. What is it about him when it comes to you?”
“That’s a good question. But some things in life we’ll never understand and I’m content with never understanding why he can’t stand me. His actions only blessed me. I ended up falling for a woman that has become my everything. Had I still been hung up on the last one, Tika, who knows how my life would have turned out? All I know is he better stay on his end of Beaumont. I run across that nigga again, I’m gon’ fuck him up. Excuse my language.”
I glanced at Mr. Joseph and he had a slight smile on his face. “I think my daughter is in good hands. She’s so kindhearted. I’m always afraid of someone using her, taking her kindness for weakness. Just listening to how you speak of her eases my doubts. Not only that, but I can see how much you love her in your eyes. I can definitely tell t
hat she’s head over heels. When she loves, she loves hard. So, thank you for being good to her.”
“Yuri deserves the world and if I could, I’d give it to her. But you best believe, I’m gonna break my neck to make sure she has the desires of her heart. She deserves that and more.”
Glancing over at Yuri, I noted she was squeezing her temples. I leaned over and asked, “You okay?”
“Yulonda is gonna give me a heart attack. This woman is nuts and I’m trying to figure out where the woman who raised me has ducked off to. She was not this fun back then.”
I chuckled and went back into conversation with my dad and Mr. Joseph. They’d changed subjects and were talking about sports. My dad loved basketball, which was perfect for Mr. Joseph since he was a basketball coach. I could care less. None of it was putting money in my pockets. Once the waitress brought our tickets, Yuri picked up the tab for everybody. I hugged her tightly. “Thank you, babe. This was great, especially once Cedric left.”
She chuckled. “Yeah. I was on edge, hoping you didn’t snatch him across the table.”
“I was way too close, baby. Way too close. He would have had one more negative comment to make, I would have roughed his ass up.”
She shook her head slowly as the waitress brought back her credit card. We left the restaurant with plans to go to Ms. Yulonda’s house. When we got outside, I asked Yuri, “Did you ever find out what was up with your mom and dad?”
“Hell no. But I’m gonna find out when we get over there. I didn’t wanna embarrass them in front of your parents.”
I shook my head slowly, then opened the door for her to get in. I walked around to the passenger seat and got in as she cranked up. “I’m really thankful for tonight, baby. It was a wonderful surprise.”
“You’re welcome, Mav.”
She drove behind her parents and began following her dad’s car to her mother’s house. As she drove in silence, I asked, “You think they tryna get a lil something rekindled?”
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