“And wait, this is your wedding ring?” Ginny touches the red hair tie.
“It was a whole thing,” I say, blushing as I recall a hazy memory of him fucking me against the window of our Vegas suite, my wrists bound by the flimsy elastic.
“Do you love him?” Reagan asks.
I stare at my hands and nod. “I do. I really, really do.”
39
Johnny
If I had it my way, I would have left to win Dakota back days ago, but Blythe has filled my schedule with media and promotions, so instead, I spend the week fulfilling obligations, moving anything scheduled the following week, and planning. I’ve never planned so much in my life. I think I have a real knack for it, though.
So far, I’ve sent flowers, chocolates, balloons, gifts that somehow reminded me of her, and approximately one million photos of Charli and me with accompanying I’m so sorry, please forgive me texts.
Dakota hasn’t responded to any of them, but I didn’t expect her to. I fucked up bad. A few gifts aren’t going to make her forget that. Besides, we need to hash this out in person. The gifts and texts are just to make sure she knows how sorry I am.
Saturday morning, I wake up to knocking on the door and someone yelling on the other side.
“Nobody’s home,” I yell and roll over. I’ve slept on this awful pink couch every night just to feel closer to her. I’ve probably jacked up my back permanently. It’s so uncomfortable.
“Open the door, Maverick.”
I still, the disdain and amusement drip off his deep baritone, and recognition dawns. My pulse races, and I sit up. Charli, the traitor, jogs to the door and actually looks happy as I open it for Dakota’s dad.
“Hi, Jerry. Good to see you, sir.” I run a hand over my bed head and sneak a glance back at the messy apartment.
“You’re missing a shirt,” he muses and steps inside.
“Uh, come in. Dakota’s not here.”
“No kidding.” He looks around the place while I find my T-shirt and pull it on. He zeroes right in on the empty liquor bottles in the kitchen.
“I wasn’t expecting anyone,” I say.
“Clearly.”
“What are you doing here?” I toss a bunch of empty take-out containers and bottles into the trash.
“I came to get her furniture.”
“Oh.” I nod. “I would have gotten it back to her.”
He wastes no time finding her room and taking the nightstand out first. He’s got old man, freaky-strong muscles, the kind that have been developed over a lot of years of constant use, but I remember how his back hurt him last time, and I jump in.
He lets me, wordlessly, and together we load up her furniture in the trailer attached to his truck. I step back on the curb, hands in my pocket. It feels so final now. I always knew she had to go back for school, but I guess maybe I hoped that was the temporary thing and not us.
“Dakota told me what you did,” Jerry says, and my heart drops to my stomach. “How you got her the internship and the endorsement contract.”
“Oh.” I guess of all the things she could have told her dad that I did, that’s the safest one. “She deserved it. She’s a hard worker and so smart.”
“It’s difficult not to be able to give your kid everything they want. Some things are just out of your control. Thank you for what you did.” He stares at the ground as he delivers the words. It hits me—Jerry’s uncomfortable thanking me. Somehow that makes me feel worse. I don’t deserve his thanks, and he wouldn’t be giving it if he knew how I ruined it for her.
“She did an incredible job.” That much is true.
He watches me with those parental I know things eyes. “I’m hungry. Somewhere around here to get breakfast?”
“Yeah, there are quite a few places within walking distance.”
He hits the lock on the key fob and starts down the sidewalk, stopping a few feet away. “Are you coming or what?”
I take Jerry to the café where Dakota and I came on several Sundays with Charli. He orders the same thing she always does, too, but I keep that to myself.
“So, you screwed up pretty good, huh?” he asks, catching me off guard again.
“You know?” Oh shit. Maybe he brought me here to kick my ass with an audience.
“No. She didn’t tell me anything, but she’s not here, and you look like shit. I’m old, but I’m not stupid.”
Man, he doesn’t hold back. So I decide not to either. I tell him everything. Okay, almost everything. I give him the short version of how I got her the job and then how I ruined it for her. I leave out how we decided to be slam buddies all summer. And truth, it was never just that. We both knew it. Keeping the focus on sex made it easy for us to give in. The traditional route was never going to work for us. We are different. She’s right about that, and those differences would have kept us from seeing how alike we really are underneath.
“I love her, and I miss her something fierce. How is she?”
“She’s back in Valley. Sounds okay. Sorry if you were hoping she was crying her eyes out over you every night.”
“I don’t hope that at all. I don’t ever want her to feel like this.” I wave a hand in front of me.
He chews his food, watching me carefully.
“I’m going to win her back. Or at least try. I would have already left, but I had a few commitments here I couldn’t bail on.”
With a thoughtful nod, he says, “Sometimes people need to come around on their own.”
“Are you saying that I shouldn’t go see her? Because I don’t think I can stay here hoping she’ll change her mind. I need her.”
“No. I’m not saying that. But what she might need is time.”
“I respect that, but I have to tell her how I feel.” I drop my gaze to the table. “Tradition and family, I know they’re important to Kota. She talks about you so fondly. And her mom. That awful pink couch.”
He actually laughs, just a tiny bit.
“My parents… we’re not close. But Kota, she’s like family. That’s how much I love and need her. I screwed up. I did. That’s kind of my thing. Just ask my dad. I ruined her job, but I have to make it right somehow.” The pit that’s been in my stomach all week grows. “It was so dumb. I wanted everyone to know she was mine. She asked me not to, but I did it anyway, and she paid the price.”
I don’t know why I’m telling Jerry this. He’s never going to approve of me, so he might as well hear just how big of a fuckup I am.
“Have you ever been so excited about something you just couldn’t keep it to yourself? You had to tell someone, or you’d burst?” I don’t wait for his answer. “That’s how I felt. I didn’t think. I just wanted everyone to know how much she means to me.” I shift in my chair, remembering that morning and wishing it had gone differently.
“If she’d have just told them we were married, they couldn’t have fired her.” My head snaps up. Oh shit.
Jerry’s brows raise, and his fork clatters on his plate. “I’m gonna need you to repeat that. Start from the beginning and don’t leave anything out this time, Maverick.”
40
Dakota
On Sunday morning, otherwise known as the end of my sanity, I wake to Heath and Ginny in the kitchen making breakfast together. Well, Ginny is. She was so excited about moving out of the dorms and into an apartment where she could cook something besides noodles that taste like cardboard.
Her boyfriend sits on the counter next to her while she fries bacon in a pan.
“What are you making?” I ask, standing on the other side of the counter and flipping through yesterday’s mail.
“Omelets. Want one?”
I shake my head as I pull out an envelope addressed to me from my high school. Looks like they finally found me. Not that I wasn’t getting the mail they were sending my dad, but I felt like I could pretend I wasn’t. I open it and read the letter inviting me to a Hall of Fame inductee ceremony at halftime of the homecoming football game in two
months. “Anything else come?”
They exchange a look before Ginny says, “That’s it.”
Huh. The flowers and gifts from Johnny have stopped. Nothing new has come since Friday. Maybe he’s finally given up. I wish I felt better about that outcome. I’ve started to call him so many times, but part of me needs to give him space to see if he really wants me or if he just fell into this thing because I was his little piece of home.
“Oh!” my friend exclaims, breaking me from my thoughts. “We’re going to the movies tonight.”
“To see what?”
Neither answers right away.
Heath clears his throat. “There’s this new action movie.”
“Pass,” I say, and Ginny smacks her boyfriend on the arm.
“He meant a rom-com.” She turns and gives me a pouty lip. “Please? You have to come. We’re all going. It’ll be fun.”
“I’m not really in the mood for a big group date. Besides, I’m working at the Hall of Fame.”
“Tonight?”
“Yeah, there’s some sort of event for the basketball team. Anyway, thanks for the invite.”
I take the letter to my room and put it on my desk. Maybe it’s time to face the past and move on. That’s the thing about having your heart blasted to smithereens—all the other cracks and fissures you’ve been walking around with seem a lot less significant.
When I arrive at the Hall of Fame, I’m able to jump right to work and put everything else out of mind. The Valley basketball team is having a fancy party for a promotion on the coaching staff. There’s dinner and cocktails and lots of laughter.
I weave through the guests, making sure everyone is happy. I could have left already. I only needed to stay for setup, but my friends went to the movies tonight, and sitting home by myself sounds worse than working.
I smirk when I see the man of the hour hiding in a corner away from the people who came to celebrate him. I grab a beer from the bar and take it to Wes Reynolds, the new head coach of the men’s basketball team. He’s the youngest head coach in the history of the school.
“Thanks. Thought I was going to have to decide between abandoning my spot in the corner and grabbing a fresh drink.”
“No problem. Any particular reason you’re hiding? Is there something we can do?”
“No, this is great. I’ve never had a party dedicated to me. It’s a little overwhelming. I wanted a few minutes to take it all in without having to talk to anyone.” He stares out at the party. I can’t read his expression—excitement, nerves, amazement?
“Congratulations, Coach.”
My boss beckons me from across the room.
“Enjoy tonight,” I tell him. “Don’t hide out too long. A lot of people want to share this with you.”
“Thanks.” He doesn’t move. “Maybe just five more minutes.”
Laughing, I head over to my boss, Regina.
“I thought you’d already left,” she says with a smile. She hasn’t said a word about the extra hours I’ve been putting in or even asked why I’m back early.
“I decided to stick around. I timed out. Don’t worry.”
“No, I’m glad you’re here. We need to preview a new video for the hype room, and I’m all tied up.”
“Tonight?”
She hesitates. “We have an early tour in the morning, and I’m hoping to use it.”
“Okay. Sure. I can do that.” Really, what is my other option, go home and sulk? Pass.
“Thank you, Dakota.” She hands me a tablet. “I labeled it Dakota Preview.”
“Should be easy to find,” I say with a small laugh.
I punch in the code to get in the hype room, and the door slides open. It’s a little weird being in here by myself. I’ve done it before when we were testing something or working out kinks, but usually, we just preview the videos on the computer. Or maybe Regina does this, and I’ve just never had to.
Whatever. I select the Dakota Preview video. I didn’t even ask her which sport it was for. They’re all pretty great. These hype videos could make a sports fan out of just about anyone.
The music comes on first. It’s a slower beat than the others, but with the heavy bass. I’m digging it. Also, it’s familiar, but I can’t put my finger on it.
When the first image fills the wall of screens, I gasp. It’s me. I’ve never seen the photo before, but it’s from the summer. I’m sitting on the pink couch with a playful smirk aimed at the person taking the photo. Oh Johnny, what did you do?
Photos from our summer together, so many that I’m shocked by how many he took, display before me. They’re more than just random images of two people over eight weeks of their lives. They’re a montage of two people falling in love. It hits me seeing it like this that I never stood a chance. I would do it all again, even knowing the heartbreak that was coming. I’d risk everything for him. No, I did risk everything. And sure, I can blame him for the way it ended, but I knew what I was doing, and I decided he was worth it. Why was that so hard to remember when everything I feared would happen did?
Three minutes and twelve seconds. That’s how long it takes for me to fall in love all over again. Tears in my eyes and a smile on my face, I have to punch in the code twice because my fingers are trembling.
I already have my phone to my ear to call him as I exit. I come up short when I spot him. I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me that he might be here, but I’m so glad he is. Johnny stands alone in dark jeans and a white T-shirt, hair combed and styled. His jaw is tight, and brows slanted with nerves as he watches me.
I spent a summer seeing him in so many different ways—dressed up, casual, shirtless, at home, at work, out with friends, playing with Charli, and just the two of us. I’ve seen him mad, sad, happy, serious, content, playful, tired, hurt, and a million others. He gave me all of him, always. He never holds back.
So neither do I. I run to him and throw my arms around his neck, breathing him in. “Johnny.”
“Kota.” His arms wrap around my back, and his mouth covers mine. He apologizes over and over again as he kisses me softly, hands roaming over my back and my hair, and then framing my face. “I am so in love with you. Tell me I didn’t blow my only chance. I need you too much.”
I need him too. I need him despite his ridiculousness and because of it.
“I love you too. Like a really crazy, wild, ridiculous amount.”
He grins. “And all the rest?”
I don’t have the answers, but I know I’m not giving up on us without a fight. “We’ll figure it out, but right now, take me home, Johnny Maverick.”
We don’t come up for air until the following afternoon.
“I’m sorry,” I say quietly, tracing the outline of a new tattoo on his chest. A pink sofa and my name in cursive along the edge. His first colored ink.
“For what?” He threads his fingers through my hair.
“I shouldn’t have left. It wasn’t just because of everything with the Wildcats. I was scared. It all felt too fast, and I wasn’t sure how much was real and how much was this Maverick-induced, crazy, fun lifestyle.”
His deep laughter shakes his chest. “I know. I’m a lot.”
I lift up so I can stare into his hazel eyes. “I love you. I’m sorry I didn’t give you more credit. You might be a lot to handle, but you’re also the most genuine and reliable person I know.”
He places a hand on my forehead as if he’s checking my temperature. “Do you have Maverick fever? Did we have sex so much you’ve overdosed on the D?”
“I’m serious,” I say when he pulls me down onto him and cinches his arms tighter around my waist. “The things you do for people, the way you make them feel, it’s big, and it’s important. You are a good man. The best, actually.”
I angle my face to his, and he kisses my already swollen lips.
Eventually, I fall back on his chest, head resting over his heart. “When do you have to go back?”
“Tomorrow.”
; “Let’s stay here all day then.”
He kisses the top of my head. “Can’t. We have a lot to figure out.”
I groan.
“Look at you, avoiding planning. Never thought I’d see the day.”
“Can’t we just enjoy today without talking about how I’m never going to see you again?”
“Reagan is the drama queen, babe.”
I sit up. “I’m serious. I’ve seen your schedule. It’s nuts.”
“Yeah. So?”
“So?” I laugh. “We’ll never see each other.”
“Phone sex. Remote vibrators. Weekend trips. Dirty letters. Sexting. The possibilities, babe. We’ve barely scratched the surface.” He looks so genuinely excited about all of it that I can’t help but smile.
“Aren’t you looking forward to life as a big-shot NHL star? Traveling and puck bunnies and, I don’t know, threesomes galore?”
He barks a laugh.
I straddle him. “What if you start to resent having a ball and chain a thousand miles away?”
“I won’t.”
“We could do what we did this summer.”
“Fuck like bunnies in spring?”
“When we’re together, yes, but all the rest of the time you’d be free to do what you want.” I’m slammed with visuals of social media capturing his hookups and I have to hold on to my resolve.
“And you’d get to do the same here in Valley?”
“Yeah.” I shrug. Where does one go after Johnny Maverick? Who could possibly compare to him?
“Fuck, no. I don’t have the kind of money I’d need to bail me out of jail every time a guy hit on you. And truth be told, I don’t want to be free to do whatever I want on the road. I want you. It’s only a year. Then you can be my trophy wife.”
I raise a brow.
“Or girlfriend. Whatever you decide.”
“I want to work.”
“Fine.” He sighs. “I was really looking forward to a 1950s type housewife that answers the door in high heels and an apron with a beer in her hand to ask me about my day.”
Wild Love (Campus Nights Book 4) Page 25