by Steph Nuss
“Maverick, this is Imani,” Harper said, waving her hand toward her driver. “Imani, this is Maverick Jones.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” I said, holding my hand out to her.
She shook my hand with a strong grip and smiled. “Nice to meet you, too, Maverick.”
I gave Harper a peck on the cheek and spoke into her ear. “I had a great time. Call me tonight, okay?”
“Okay,” she said with a quick nod. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Later.” I shut her door and tapped the top, and then they slowly pulled away from the curb and into traffic. I ran back up to my apartment, grabbed my keys and my phone, and then headed back out to hit the gym before meeting the guys.
*
Two hours later, I met up with the guys on the basketball court. Fletcher and Cash were stretching, and Carter and Justin were practicing their shots. After doing some weights and a nice long run on the treadmill, I felt loose and ready to play. I no longer felt like I was going to come in my shorts, thank god.
“Hey, Jones,” Cash said, holding his hand up for a high-five.
“Hey, man,” I said, slapping his hand and helping him up off the floor. I rebounded Justin’s shot and dribbled back out to the top of the key.
“So,” Fletcher said, lifting his leg back to stretch his quad, “How’d last night go? Didn’t you have a date?”
“You had a date?” Cash asked, curiously. Yeah, it had been a while since I’d been with a woman and they all knew it. “With who?”
“Are we doing three on two or what?” Carter asked, running up for a lay-up.
“Yeah, that’s sounds good,” I said, taking a shot from the three-point line. The shot went in and I smiled. “Let’s shoot for teams.”
As we lined up at the free throw line, Fletcher nudged my back. “You sound extra happy today. Did somebody finally get laid last night?”
“Just let it go,” I said, glaring back at him.
“No way, man,” he said, watching Justin’s shot go in. “You know me, I want details.”
“Yeah, so do I,” Cash said, mid-shot. “For starters, who?”
“What are you guys talking about?” Carter asked, scratching the back of his head.
“Cinderella here had a date last night and he won’t tell us who it was with,” Cash laughed, rolling his eyes. He looked over at Justin and shook his head. “Stop acting like it’s some big fucking secret and just tell us.”
Carter laughed and then took his shot. The ball rolled around the rim and then fell out. He passed the ball to me, and I took my shot; nothing but net. Fletcher ended up on Carter’s team since Cash and Justin and I made our shots. We took our positions on the court, and I checked the ball to Fletcher.
“Dude, we’re not starting until you tell us,” Fletcher smirked.
I shook my head and stood up straight out of my defensive stance. “Seriously? We have to do this now? Can’t we just play?”
Fletcher spun the ball on his index finger and smiled. “Come on, at least just tell us who she is.”
I sighed and looked around at the other three. Cash was smiling like the nosy asshole he was, and Carter was standing next to him, now looking just as curious. Justin gave me a shrug and rolled his eyes, not giving one fuck who I was with last night.
“Fine!” I said, snatching the ball off Fletcher’s finger. “Yes, I had a woman over for dinner last night and we had a great time. No, we did not have sex.”
“And who might this woman be? Does she have a name?” Fletcher smirked.
I stared back at him, for once wishing he’d just keep his mouth shut. This wasn’t how I wanted Carter to find out about his sister and me, but I knew the jackass standing in front of me wouldn’t let it go. “Yes, her name is Harper Jennings. There, are you guys happy?”
“Ha!” Cash said, nudging Carter in the arm. “Bet you didn’t think he’d say your sister’s name! God, that’s great.”
Justin and Fletcher laughed along with Cash while Carter stared back at me, smiling and shaking his head. Wait, he’s smiling? He walked over to me and patted me on the shoulder. “Look, man, I don’t care if you date her. I’m thrilled actually. She needs a life outside of her work. I just don’t wanna know the details, all right?”
“Yeah,” I said with a nod, releasing the breath I’d been holding.
“Okay,” he said, looking around at the guys. “Now that that’s settled, let’s play.”
Chapter Seven
Harper
The following weekend, Maverick invited me out to Long Island with him and his friends, who were quickly becoming my friends, too. We’d seen each other almost every day since our first date, so when he asked me to come with him, I immediately said yes. He and Fletcher had reserved a Saturday at an indoor paintball arena for us, since paintballing was one of the to-dos on Elly’s bucket list. On the drive out here, they strategized about different team scenarios and whatnot, clearly taking paintball much more seriously than I thought they would. I’d never played, so I had no idea what all the excitement was about until we walked out onto the playing field made of turf and blue and yellow inflatable bunkers that created various obstacles for us.
Maverick helped me into my protective gear, and then he put his on. Black masks covered our faces and black gloves with the fingers cut out protected our hands. The thrill in his eyes was absolutely contagious now, and after he put a gun in my hands and showed me how to use it, I became even more excited about playing.
“Okay,” Fletcher announced, waving the seven of us around him. Paige couldn’t make it because of work, so it was me, Elly, Tessa, and the five guys. “So, we’ll split up into two teams of four, and the last team standing wins. If you get shot, you’re out. Getting shot is going to hurt a little bit, but that’s why we told you to wear layers.” Sounded simple enough. “Mav and I will be team captains of the blue team, and Carter and Cash will captain the red team. Cash, you get first pick.”
Their choices were between Elly, Tessa, Justin, and me—the noobs—as they referred to us, since we’d never played before.
Cash huddled with Carter, and their eyes roamed over the four of us. He tilted his head to the side as he listened to whatever Carter said, and then he pointed at me. “Harper.”
“What the hell!” Elly laughed, lifting her mask off of her head. She put her hands on her hips and glared at Carter. “I agreed to marry you, and you don’t pick me first?”
“Harper was captain of the archery team back in high school,” Carter said, shrugging his shoulders. “You’ve never played, babe.”
“This isn’t The Hunger Games; it’s paintball!” she quipped, pulling her mask back down.
The rest of the group laughed as I walked across and stood next to Carter. I looked over at Maverick, whose lips were pursed in a fascinated grin. “Archery team, huh? You failed to mention that little detail.”
“You never asked,” I flirted, smiling back at him playfully.
“Okay, our turn,” Fletcher said, rubbing his hands together. He didn’t even consult with Maverick before choosing. “Justin.”
Justin walked over to Fletcher’s side, and before Carter could pick the last person for our team, Elly followed Justin to the blue team with a competitive gleam in her eyes. “Now, I really don’t want to be on your team.”
“Good!” Cash cheered, waving Tessa over toward us. “Tessa’s scrappy.”
“I’m not scrappy!” she objected, wrinkling up her nose.
“Yes, you are,” Cash said, gathering us up in a huddle. Gazing around at the three of us, he lowered his voice. “Okay, so our targets are Mav and Fletch. They’re fast, and they’ve got a good shot, so just stay low and move quick.”
Taking the field, Carter glanced back at me. “Mav showed you how to shoot and everything, right? Quick fingers.”
“Yes,” I sighed, rolling my eyes. “I got this, Carter.”
“Okay,” he laughed.
Then a loud bell sounded
over the field and we all took off, running fast in different directions toward bunkers to take cover. Shots started firing all around me, and when a ball flew by my ear, nearly hitting me, I ducked even lower. Stay low, quick fingers.
Moving carefully across the turf on my hands and knees, I peeked around the bunker I hid behind and saw Justin trying to sneak up on Cash. Aiming my gun, I rolled my fingers against the trigger and hit him square in the chest, and he was out.
“Dammit!” he shouted, walking off of the field.
Cash gave me a thankful nod and then pointed to his left. Fletcher was creeping along the backside of a yellow bunker, with Carter clear in his sights. I ran across the turf quickly and hunkered down low next to Cash.
“I’ll cover you,” he said, pushing me forward.
Hauling ass past one of the black towers, I dropped down into a low squat on the opposite side of Fletcher and moved quietly. I heard Cash get shot behind me, and then watched as Elly got picked off by Carter. Tessa must not have seen Fletcher, as she tried escaping from Mav, running right in front of him for an easy shot.
Now, it was just Maverick and Fletcher versus Carter and me.
Crawling around the bunker, I waited behind Fletcher. He propped himself up on his elbows, aiming at my brother, but I powered off a shot before he could, hitting him right in the back.
He turned around, completely surprised, and shook his head. “Son of a bitch!”
“Bye, bye, Fletch!” I grinned victoriously, waving back at him.
“Say good-bye to your brother, too,” he laughed, pointing behind me.
Looking over my shoulder, I watched Carter join Cash and Tessa off to the side, so Maverick and I were the only players left.
“Oh, Harper!” Maverick sang, laughing triumphantly. “Come out, come out, wherever you are!”
I scoffed to myself and shook my head, determined to shut him up. He clearly underestimated how competitive I could be. Peeking over the bunker, I spied a piece of his shirt sticking out from a blue tower nearby. On my belly, I crawled to the edge of the bunker shielding me, and waited patiently for him to make a move as an eerie calm settled over the field. Glancing around the corner, I watched him move closer to me and willed myself to remain quiet, taking deep, slow breaths so he couldn’t hear me. I could see his shoes as he hid on the opposite side of my bunker in an attempt to sneak up on me from behind.
Not gonna happen, Jones.
Bringing my gun up to my right shoulder, I kept my sights on his shoes and aimed. With a quick roll of my fingers, I fired off four rounds, each of them painting his Nikes red.
“Goddammit!” he said defeatedly, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “I can hear you laughing.”
“Nobody likes a sore loser, baby,” I smiled, standing over him. Rolling onto his back, he lifted his mask off of his face, resting it up on his head, and I squatted down next to him. “I wasn’t archery captain for no reason.”
“Come here,” he growled, wrapping his glove-clad hand around my neck. He pulled me down for a hot, greedy kiss and then smiled. “That was quite impressive.”
“You ready for round two?” I asked, wiggling my brows, eager for more. I’d forgotten how fun and exhilarating shooting could be since graduating high school. The adrenaline rush alone drew me in, but hitting my mark was a sweet, sweet victory that always tasted divine. And spending time with Mav was an added pleasure.
“Oh, yeah,” he said, standing up from the turf. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me in close to his side, and turned to our friends. “Let’s get ready for round two!”
*
After five more rounds of paintball, we took a break for some food. We were starving after running off our breakfast, and the facility had concessions and a seating area with tables and benches where we could all sit and relax as we fueled up.
Maverick walked over to the table I was sitting at, carrying two bottles of water and our food. He sat down across from me and placed our items in front of us. “Two cheeseburgers and a thing of cheese fries because the cheese fries are amazing here.”
I laughed and grabbed a foil-wrapped burger from the tray. “Thanks! It smells delicious, and I’m so hungry.”
He smiled and set the fries in the middle between us, and then lifted one of them to my mouth. “You have to try ’em.”
I opened my mouth and he fed me a fry, his eyes glinting with excitement as he watched me chew it. Something about him feeding me, even if it was just a fry covered in deliciously smooth cheese, was so boyishly sweet and comfortable, I imagined him doing it for the rest of my life. He gave me a new appreciation for food.
“I don’t know what they put in the cheese, but isn’t it good?” he asked, taking a few fries for himself.
“It is really good,” I agreed, smiling.
We doctored our burgers with ketchup and mustard, and ate at a table for two while the rest of our gang took over the bigger table next to us.
Smiling, Maverick dipped a napkin in water and waved me toward him. “Come here. You have a little bit of paint on your neck.”
“Really?” I leaned toward him.
He brushed the dampened napkin against my skin and showed me the blue paint he wiped off. “Got it.”
“Thanks, babe,” I said, giving him a quick kiss on the lips.
Balling the napkin up, he tossed it onto the table and smiled at me. “So, are you having fun today, Miss Archery Captain?”
I giggled, nodding as I ate some more fries. “Today has been more than fun. I forgot how awesome shooting could be, and shooting paint at each other is even better.”
He nodded and took a drink of his water. “It is a lot of fun. You’re gonna have to teach me how to shoot a bow and arrow.”
“I can do that,” I offered, proudly. There weren’t too many people in New York who knew about my time on the archery team, but I loved that he was interested in it and that he actually didn’t mind letting a woman teach him something.
Reaching across the table, he laced his fingers with mine. “So, there’s actually something else I was hoping you could do.”
“Oh yeah, what’s that?” I asked, completely intrigued by the adorable expression on his face.
His smile widened as he rubbed circles on my skin with his thumb. “Harper Jennings, will you be my girlfriend?”
I laughed out loud at his sincere request, staring back at him with admiration, and nodded. “Yes, Maverick Jones, I will be your girlfriend.”
“Good!” he laughed, leaning across the table. He grasped the back of my neck and pulled me toward him. “Because I don’t want to be with anyone else.”
“Me either.”
And then he kissed me fervently, right there in front of all of the Saturday paintballers and our friends—a shoot-me-to-the-moon-and-back kiss; a kiss that stopped time and gathered an audience that hollered and cheered for an encore.
So, we gave it to them.
Chapter Eight
Two Weeks Later
Maverick
On the last Friday in January, I was standing in Elly and Carter’s living room, waiting for Harper to arrive. Elly had invited all of us over to their place to celebrate Carter’s birthday, even though his actual birthday wasn’t until Sunday. Harper and I agreed to meet up here since she was busy dealing with details for her upcoming show.
We’d been taking it unbearably slow for two fucking weeks now. We hadn’t had sex yet, but we slept together almost every night, either at my place or hers. I was in so much pain; it felt like my balls were in a permanent state of blue. I didn’t mind taking it slow, but damn, I was ready for us to speed it up a bit. I needed her¸ and I needed her fucking bad. Just thinking about all the things I wanted to do to her made me hard, and no amount of jerking off seemed to help.
I readjusted myself and got up to get another beer, but just as I turned to head into the kitchen, I saw her walk off the elevator. Determined, I walked over to her, grabbed her face and took her mouth wi
th mine. She relaxed against me and threw her arms around my neck. I hadn’t kissed her since before I left for the gym this morning, and that felt like forever ago. I just needed to taste her. I needed her to know that I couldn’t take this any longer; I needed more. I licked over her tongue and pinned her against the foyer wall with my hips. She tasted like bubblegum, and when I came across the chewy substance floating around in her mouth, I dragged it into mine.
She laughed and lightly shoved me back. “Gross! You took my gum!”
I smiled back at her playfully, chewing obnoxiously on her gum before swallowing it.
Appalled, her jaw dropped. “And you swallowed it!”
I laughed and then helped her out of her coat. “Did you get everything sorted out for the show?”
She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “Yeah, I think so. I know what each model will be wearing and how I want their hair and makeup to look. I just can’t decide on what music I want for the show.” I hung up her coat and followed her into the bathroom where she touched up her makeup and continued talking about work. “But besides the music, I’m all set. I talked to Lenny, my special effects guy, and he and I agreed on some cool lighting and effects for the show. Some designers like their clothes to speak for themselves, but I like to actually put on a show for the audience, you know?”
I nodded and watched as she reapplied lip stuff that I’d probably suck off again before we joined everyone back in the living room. I walked up behind her and caught her gaze in the mirror. “Your show will be amazing.”
“My shows are always amazing,” she said, smiling back at me confidently.
I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her back into me. My cock hardened inside my jeans as her ass rubbed up against me. Fuuuck. I moved her hair to one side and trailed kisses down her neck, all the while still holding her gaze. “You know what else would be amazing?”