Page 55 of The Consequence of Loving Me

I’m about to complain more when I get an answer—in the form of a flip of his turn signal and a turn onto a dirt path. My back straightens in the leather seat as I try to get a better look out the window.

I pull on the bottom of my dress. Even though fall is in full swing in Kansas, it’s a warm day. My stomach growls beneath the fabric, reminding me I still haven’t eaten today. The smell of the pizza in the backseat only makes it worse. Maverick didn’t tell me where we were taking the pizza that he picked up on our way out of civilization, but he did ask what my favorite kind was.

“Just one more minute,” he says, adjusting his hips on the seat. Both of us jostle around as he drives down the unpaved road.

“For the record, I’m never agreeing to go somewhere with you ever again.” The last part comes out with a grunt because we hit a bump so large it causes my thighs to slap against each other in the seat.

Maverick chuckles, looking at me out of the corner of his eye. “Welcome to the Midwest, V.”

“You suck at surprises,” I mumble, reaching up to grab the oh shit handle. I’m two seconds away from telling Maverick to turn the car around while simultaneously feasting on a slice of pizza right here in the front seat. My mouth opens to say just that when we break through the tree line and end up in the middle of a field.

A field that surrounds a small lake.

Or is that a pond?

I don’t know what the hell to call it besides a small body of water seated right in the middle of a vast expanse of orange and yellows.

I look in every direction to take it all in. Maverick drives down the barely-there path before parking near the edge of the water. I’m too busy looking at my surroundings to hear what he says once the car stops.

I didn’t expect something so beautiful.

The water sits still in front of us, not a single crease marring the smooth surface.

Maverick puts his hand on my knee. “Veronica?”

“Huh?” I ask, looking away from the blowing wheat in the wind to look at him.

That dimple of his makes an appearance on his cheek. “What do you think?”

I look at his smile then back out to the land. “Oh, it’s okay.”

He takes his hand off my thigh. “Ready to go out there?” He reaches over me to pop open my door handle, his arm barely grazing over my chest.

As soon as my door is open, I’m hit with a smell very different from the ocean air I’m used to. This is clean, fresh, the scent of the wheat adding some musk to it.

The sound of Maverick’s door slamming causes me to jump. I look over my shoulder to find him opening the door to the backseat to grab the pizza.

I tentatively step one leg out of the car, making sure there’s solid footing underneath my foot before I completely get out. The dried grass crunches underneath my boots as I walk to the front of the SUV. A few yards away from us sits the calm body of water.

There’s a large forest to our right filled with various degrees of dying leaves, with some scattered about on the field. Some still cling to their old branches. I’ve always found it interesting that we find leaves most beautiful in the stages just before they die.

Maverick whistles, causing me to jump. When I look at him, I notice his hands are full.

He’s clutching a bag in his left hand, and something clinks around in it when he goes to shift the blanket that’s propped over his shoulder. He has the pizza box in his other hand. “Follow me.” He nods his head toward the water and I fall in step behind him.

“This land is actually owned by my grandfather,” Maverick says as he tries to kick a path for us through the tall grass. “It’s been in our family for generations. I spent so much of my life running through these fields with Lil.”

He stops directly in front of me, a few steps away from the peaceful water. I almost crash into him because I’m admiring the land, imagining him and Lily running around here as children.

Maverick juggles everything but the blanket in one hand as he uses the other hand to fluff out the blanket. I end up helping him before he almost drops the pizza box in the process. He’s brought us to a flat part of grass, the field a little shorter here by the water than where we parked. I help him lay the blanket flat, listening to him rattle on about how he grew up here. He mentions something about how many ticks he’s pulled off himself after playing in this field and I smile.

Once the blanket is flat, Maverick places his items on top of it before sitting down. He raises his eyebrows and smirks, waiting for me to follow his lead. I hesitantly look around the space, making sure there aren’t any visible ticks or creatures near me.

I sit on the edge of the blanket across from him, stretching my legs out in front of me and pulling the dress down my thighs at the same time. I cross my combat boots over my ankles, the pink toes of the boots resting right by Maverick’s knees.

“What do you think?” he asks as he props the pizza box open, the smell of the cheese and pepperoni making my mouth salivate. “Shit. I forgot plates.” Maverick looks at me, a grimace on his face. He cautiously watches me, like he’s checking if it’s a big deal.

I shrug and reach across the blanket to grab a pepperoni slice. My eyes stay trained on his as I take a large bite of it, not caring about a plate at all. I want to moan over the pizza it’s so good. My jaw slowly chews, savoring the flavor of what’s probably the best pizza I’ve ever had.

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