by Cotton, L A
“I already ate.” It was one fake smile away from making a reappearance.
“Oh, okay. So,” he cleared his throat. “How was it? Did Maverick get settled in okay?” Dad loosened his collar, the way he did whenever he mentioned Maverick’s name. Part of me wondered if he’d stop now my boyfriend was away at college. What did people say, ‘out of sight, out of mind’?
My stomach sank.
“Yeah, we helped him unpack.” I fought back the memories of what else we’d done. But from the way Dad’s face flushed, I guess I didn’t try hard enough.
“I know it’s not going to be easy with him gone—” His phone blared from the counter. “Crap. That could be David with the figures. I need to take this.” He rose from the table and squeezed Stella’s shoulder. “I shouldn’t be too long.”
Then he was gone, and it was just me and Stella, and a million unspoken things hanging between us.
“What your father was trying to say was...” Stella dabbed her mouth with a napkin and twisted her body around to me. “We know it’s not going to be easy with Maverick gone, but you have Laurie and Kyle, and school. And he’ll come home on the weekend or you can visit.”
“I’m tired. I think I’m going to go to bed.” As I started to make my way across the room, her voice cut me dead.
“Lo, please.”
I glanced back, hating the punch of guilt I felt when my eyes landed on her sorry expression.
“I know this has been hard on you. We didn’t want it to happen like this, but I’m here and you’re here, and well, I’d really like for us to try to get along. Maybe even become friends one day.”
I stared at her, the woman who wasn’t my mum, and sucked in a harsh breath. Stella wasn’t asking for anything unreasonable. She hadn’t swooped in and stolen Dad off me, or mum, or Elliot. But she was here now, and my mum wasn’t. It was something I couldn’t just get over.
No matter how much I tried.
“I’m sorry I interrupted your dinner,” I said flatly before going to my room.
It was ironic that a year ago I moved to Wicked Bay and felt like a stranger amongst my own family in their home. Now here I was, a year later, living in my own house and still feeling the same.
But it was true what people said. Home was where the heart was. Part of my heart was halfway across the world in an empty house, and the other part was twenty-five miles away in a dorm room at Steinbeck University. Which could mean only one thing.
I was screwed.
“A JOB,” LAURIE SAID. “But why would you want to do that?”
I shrugged. Not that she could see me as I made myself breakfast. “I don’t know. I guess I just feel like I need to do something to keep myself busy.” Jamming the phone between my neck and ear, I beat the eggs harder.
“He’s at college, Lo, he isn’t dead.”
“Way to go with the understanding,” I groaned, pouring the eggs into the pan.
“That was a sucky thing to say. I’m sorry,” she sighed. “I just hate that you’re already moping.”
“I am not moping. More, I’m just being realistic. Maverick’s at SU, you and Kyle are all set to apply for USC, and I’m...”
“Still deciding,” Laurie finished for me. “It’s okay to have no plan, Lo.”
“I know that. But getting a job isn’t only about having a plan. It’ll give me some money of my own. I can save it for college.” Or a place of my own now the house was overcrowded.
“Where will you look?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t gotten that far yet. Maybe I’ll check out the new shopping center down by the harbour. There’s that coffee shop, and the diner, or maybe the cute little bookshop that sells homemade cake.”
“Mall, we call them malls. And that’s not a bad idea. I bet you’ll get a staff discount and we can come and hang out and—”
Dad breezed into the kitchen and I lowered my voice, “I’ll call you later, okay? We can plan.”
“Sounds good. Laters.”
“Bye.” I hung up and flipped my omelette.
“You’re up early,” Dad said, helping himself to coffee.
“Couldn’t sleep.”
“Everything will be okay, you know, Sweetheart. He’s a couple of towns away; it’s hardly Outer Mongolia.”
My brows pinched. “It’s college, Dad. He has the team, and classes, and parties.”
And college girls.
I didn’t like to think of myself as insecure, but I was only human.
“Maverick loves you.” Dad frowned as I chewed the end of the spatula. “Wow, there’s something I never thought I'd hear myself say. But it’s true. That boy adores you. I know it’s hard, and I know it feels like the world is ending, but you will adjust, and life will go on.”
“You sound mighty sure of yourself.” I cocked a brow, and he smiled.
“I met your mother in the rainforest, remember?”
The mention of her name was like an electric shot through my chest. He felt it too, if his pale face was anything to go by. “Lo, Sweetheart, I—”
“Let’s not, Dad,” I said turning away from him, forcing down the acid rushing up my throat and focusing on my eggs.
“Lo, I’m sorry,” he sounded choked. “I know the move was sudden. I didn’t plan for it to happen like this. And I know you’re not ready to accept Stella and Bethany into our family, and that’s okay too. But please don’t shut me out again. Please, Sweetheart.”
“I’m—”
“Good morning,” Stella’s saccharine voice filled the room, sucking the air clean from my lungs. “Do I smell coffee? Please tell me it is?”
“Morning, darling,” Dad crooned, and my fingers curled around the pan handle until they turned white. “It’s fresh,” he added, “Lo made it.”
“Thank you, Lo.”
“Hmm,” I managed to garble as I slid my omelette onto a plate.
“So what are your plans for the day?” Dad just couldn’t let it go. All I wanted to do was eat breakfast and get out of here. At least when school started back next week, I could leave early to avoid this.
“Lo?”
“Huh?” I blinked up at the two of them as they stood, mugs in hand, watching me dissect my breakfast.
“Plans for today?”
“Oh, yeah. I thought I might look for a job.”
“A job? You don’t need to get a job, Sweetheart. I can increase your allowance if you need money.”
“It’s not about the money. It’s about doing something for me. Something useful.”
His brows pinched as he mulled over my words, but Stella chimed in, “I think that’s an excellent idea, Rob. There’s nothing wrong in wanting to earn your way.” She smiled at me. “If you need an extra pair of eyes writing your resume, I’d be happy to help.”
“I, hmm... I think I’ve got it covered, thanks.”
“Well, the offer’s there.”
I half-smiled because what else could I do? The woman was persistent, and not in an annoying or interfering kind of way, in a genuine way. She was making it increasingly hard for me to hate her.
Which only made me hate her more.
I SPENT THE MORNING wandering around the new shopping center—or mall as Laurie insisted I called it—next to the harbour. She’d wanted to come, but thankfully Kyle had plans that included the two of them and a day at the beach. I loved my best friend something fierce, but I wanted to do this alone. Especially when I realised I was way out of my comfort zone. It was fancy: all floor to ceiling glass windows overlooking the ocean, and with its expensive boutiques and designer stores, it wasn’t me at all. So I walked back into downtown where the little people like myself stood a chance at blending in.
An hour later, and I was beginning to think it was a sign the whole idea was stupid. The first three places I tried weren’t hiring, ending my dream of serving coffee and greasy burgers to the masses. I was just contemplating heading home when I spotted a ‘we’re hiring’ sign on the window of a
sports bar called Hitters. I grabbed the door handle just as I caught the ‘closed’ sign. Of course, it didn’t open for another hour and a half. It summed up my entire morning. I pulled out my phone to note down the contact details, but it started to vibrate, and I smiled at Maverick’s name flashing across the screen.
“Hey.”
“Where are you? Kyle said something about you looking for a job.”
“Hello to you too,” I groaned. “Seriously, Maverick, you called to see where I am?”
“No, I... I just wanted to talk. College is kind of dull.”
“Dull?” I stifled a laugh. “You’ve been there less than twenty-four hours. Give it a chance. I thought you were going to check out the library this morning?”
“I did. The place is huge.”
“You saw all the books and got scared, didn’t you?”
“Maybe. There was just so many of them. I got my reading lists too...” His voice trailed off, and I knew he was internalising stuff.
“Maverick, you’ve got this. You worked your ass off to improve your SAT, and SU know about your dyslexia. You’re going to do great.”
“I wish I had your confidence. I can’t wait to get on the court, but classes... it’s a whole different ball game.”
“It’ll be fine. I promise.”
“Yeah?” He sounded so vulnerable, I just wanted to wrap my arms around him and tell him everything would be okay.
But he was there... and I was here.
“Yeah. Besides, I can help you study on a weekend. If I remember correctly, you responded pretty well to my... methods.” I stifled a laugh, remembering how creative we’d gotten when Maverick was studying for the SAT.
“London,” it came out a low growl. A shiver rolled up my spine and my tummy clenched. “Where are you right now? Maybe we can finish what we started this morning?”
“No can do, lover boy. I’m about to go get me a job.”
“So Kyle wasn’t shitting me? You really are downtown?”
“Yup. I can’t sit around twiddling my thumbs all year. I need to do something, Maverick. Everyone has all these plans and I have...”
“Me,” he said with an air of annoyance. “You have me, Lo. We have plans. Or at least, I thought we did.”
“Maverick, that’s not what I—”
“I have to go. I’ll speak to you later.”
“Okay, by—”
He hung up before I could finish. While part of me wanted to smack him upside the head for being so pig-headed, the other part didn’t blame him. He wanted me to tell him I would apply for SU. He wanted me with him next year. But I still didn’t know what I wanted to do. If I even wanted to go to college. I couldn’t think so far ahead. Not when my life for the last fifteen months had been a rollercoaster that had far more lows than it did highs. No, I had to focus on the here and now. And right now, there was a job with my name on it.
Chapter 3
Maverick
I TOWELED MY HAIR AND checked my cell phone.
Lo: I miss you.
Smirking, I read the three little words again. I’d been really fucking pissed yesterday when Kyle called and dropped it out that Lo was looking for work.
Work.
She didn’t need a job; she needed to focus on her application to SU. Uncle Rob had money, and she was smart—real fucking smart. But it was as if thinking about the future paralyzed her. I got it, I did. She’d lost everything before moving here. Her mom. Her brother. Even a part of herself. But we were good, and if I had my way, we had a lot to look forward to.
I just needed her to see that.
After I’d cooled down, I had called her and apologized. I didn’t want to be that guy—the one pressuring his girlfriend to make decisions she wasn’t ready for—but now I was here, I needed a sign she was with me. That me being at SU wasn’t going to drive a wedge between us. Because shit, I’d done it.
I’d really fucking done it.
Dropping the towel and phone onto the counter, I braced my hands against the basin and stared at myself in the mirror. A few months ago, my dream playing college basketball seemed so far out of reach I never thought I’d make it. But here I was.
Steinbeck wasn’t UCLA, but it was a good school. And the Scorpions weren’t a bad team. They just needed a bit more direction and one of the best point guards in the State.
My phone buzzed again, and a half-smile tugged at my mouth. I was hardly surprised when I saw Lo’s name again.
Lo: It’s already happening, isn’t it?
Me: And what might that be?
I had a pretty good idea where she was going, but there was nothing more I loved than pushing Lo’s buttons.
Lo: Maverick...
Me: London...
Lo: God, I miss you so much already. How is that even possible? It’s been two nights.
Me: If it makes you feel any better, I missed you too. So did my dick.
Lorde’s Green Light blared out, and I swiped right not even getting chance to greet her as Lo shrieked, “You can’t say things like that to me anymore,” over the line.
“I can’t?”
“Not when you’re not here to do anything about it afterward.” Lust hung heavy in her words and my dick stirred to life. Not that it needed any encouragement where Lo was concerned.
“I’m pretty sure I don’t need to be there.” I swallowed hard. “Where are you right now?”
“In my room, why?”
I padded into my room and dropped down on the bed. “What are you wearing?”
“Maverick...”
“London... come on, it’ll be fun. Are you dressed yet?”
“I’m still in bed.” It came out breathy, and I knew I had her.
Flopping back onto the mattress, I squeezed my eyes shut, imagining her lying there. “Jesus, are you trying to kill me?”
“You started it.”
“And I plan on finishing it. Touch yourself for me, Lo.” I rasped, and she sucked in a sharp breath. “Are you—”
A loud knock at my door made me jolt upright. “Fuck, someone’s here.”
“Guess you won’t be finishing anything after all.” The dejected edge to her voice was like a jagged knife to my heart, and I rubbed my temples. This was so not the ending I had in mind.
“I’ll ignore them, it’s probably just the resident assistant or something.”
Lo sighed over the line. “The moment's over.”
“No, it isn’t.” It couldn’t be, not when I had a raging hard-on and the mental image of Lo naked in her bed. Okay, so she probably wasn’t naked, but in my head she was. “Come on, I’ll make you feel—who the fuck is that?” I growled at the knocking which was louder this time.
“You should go deal with that. I’ll text you later. Love you.”
“Lo, I... okay.” I conceded. She was right. The moment was over. Now I wanted to kill whoever was on the other side of the room. “I love you too. Later.” Stomping over to it, I almost ripped the damn thing off its hinges. “What?”
“Whoa, dude. I didn’t realize you were taking a shower. My bad.” The guy held up his hands, and I tightened my towel at my waist. “I’m Jamie. I believe we’re teammates as well as dorm mates.”
“What's up? I’m kind of busy.”
“It’s initiation day.” His brows knitted together as I stared blankly at him. “You do know about initiation day, right?”
“Am I supposed to know?”
“Well, yeah. Everyone does.”
They did?
Well shit.
“What exactly does initiation day involve?”
“Nobody knows, man. I know a couple of the senior players but they’re keeping it tight-lipped. I heard they made the new recruits do a naked gauntlet last year.”
“Fuck that.” I wasn’t going to take orders from anyone except Coach. And I definitely didn’t intend on being hazed by the likes of Zac Lowell.
Jamie’s eyes dropped to the floor and he clutched the back of hi
s neck. “I, hmm, they expect everyone to be there.”
“And if I’m not?” I hadn’t shown up Friday night and the world hadn’t ended. But something about the guy’s grim expression told me he believed everything he was saying.
“You really want to find out?” He met my narrowed gaze and rose a brow.
“Where and what time?” I folded my arms over my chest, pissed that I’d relented so easily. But he was right. I wasn’t here to make enemies. I was here to play basketball. And Coach Callahan had already warned me about Zac Lowell. So the least I could do was show my face.
“A few of us are meeting downstairs at six, if you want to come with us?”
“Yeah, thanks.”
His smile lifted. “Cool. I guess I’ll see you later then.”
I watched him walk down the hall with a spring in his step, then I closed the door and pulled on some clean shorts and my old Wreckers jersey. I had a whole day to kill before worrying about the likes of Zac Lowell, so I pushed him far from my mind and focused on the here and now.
Because I was at college, and it was the first step to making my dreams come true.
SU’S STUDENT UNION was buzzing when I arrived. Classes didn’t start for another week, but freshman orientation was well under way and I had a stack of flyers in my hands to prove it. The swim team wanted to invite me to their try outs, the debate team were looking for fresh blood, and the Chi Delta Kappa sorority wanted me to sign up for their first fundraiser. For someone who preferred low key, it was intense. By the time I reached Miss Bowman’s office, I was grateful for our appointment.
“Come in,” a voice filtered through the door as I rapped my knuckles against it.
“We have an appointment. I’m Maverick—”
“Prince. Come in, Maverick. Take a seat.” She pushed her glasses up her head and motioned to the chair opposite her desk. “I’m Jo Bowman, your student advisor.”
“Hey.”
“Don’t look so worried.” Her lips curved into a warm smile. “I don’t bite, despite the rumors.”
I ran a brisk hand over my head, unsure of how to answer that. She wasn’t what I expected. At all. I’d conjured up images of a stuffy middle-aged woman with photos of her grandkids on her desk. Miss Bowman didn’t look much older than me.