Page 52 of Shot to the Hart

I reach over, placing a hand on his arm, “You okay?”

Maverick has very few anxious ticks but his thumb is rapping along the steering wheel like crazy and that's a dead giveaway. “Uh, yeah, I guess I’m just a little nervous. I obviously trust my dad. Nothing’s ever happened, but that doesn’t mean something can’t go wrong. I know he’ll call if needs anything and that he probably won’t need anything, but I just feel bad for choosing togo out instead of being there with her.” His breathing seems to be increasing pretty rapidly, and I’m worried that if we don’t get it under control, he could have a panic attack.

“Mav, maybe you should stop the car for a second.” He looks surprised by my suggestion, but he throws the car into park while we’re still in the driveway. I turn towards him, “Can you take a breath with me?”

He chuckles nervously, pulling on the back of his neck, “Wha—what?”

“Take a breath with me. They will be okay, you deserve a night out with your friends, and we are only going to be twenty minutes away. In three, out three. Okay?” I repeat.

“Okay, yeah, that’s a good idea,” he relents.

“In.”One. Two. Three.“Out.”One. Two. Three.

I see some of the tension leave his shoulders and watch as his chest begins to regain its steady movement. “Can we do one more?”

“Absolutely. In.”One. Two. Three.“Out.”One. Two. Three.“Ready to go have fun?”

His smile comes a little easier this time. “Yeah, I am actually.” He puts the car in drive and we head to Lockout, where Dom wanted to celebrate his birthday.

I can see the line from the lot which gives me a little panic. The girls texted they already found the guys at the club and were excited to see me. Once the car is in park, Mav jumps out and runs around to open my door and help me out before I can get to it myself. “Thanks, Big Guy.” I grin at him, and he extends an arm to me, leading me past the line and right into the club via a flash of his smile and both our IDs to the bouncer.

Once inside, he takes my hand and leads me to the roped off corner of Lockout where all our friends wait for us. Pushing through the bodies, we ignore the looks we get whether people recognize Mav or are wondering who he’s out with. Squealserupt when my friends notice me, meaning they have probably done at least three shots, and as much as I want to drink with them, I need a clear mind going into tonight. I’m going to take one shot and then switch to water, just to give me the little kick in the butt I need to enact the plan. It’ll wear off before we get home.

“Hey, everybody!” I scream over the music and I’m greeted with nods all around.

Darcy grins and waggles a finger in Mav’s direction. Then her eyes slide over to Tatum, who is smirking at her.

Maverick smiles at everyone before taking a seat with the guys.

“Jesus, Kodi. You nervous or something? You’re basically vibrating with anxious energy,” Sin says directly into my ear so that I can hear her speaking.

“Um, absolutely I am,” I say, leaning in. My knee is bouncing vigorously now and Sin takes stock of that.

“I have to pee. Let’s go. Grab the other two,” Sin declares. And then we are headed to the bathroom with D and Harls in tow. Sin chooses the empty larger stall and directs us all in.

“Talk to us,” that’s all Darcy says. And so I do what I do best and start rambling, “He looks so handsome and what if he doesn’t care if I dance with Nik, or what if all he does is pull Nik off me and then storms off. What if he doesn’t want me the same way I want him? What if all I do is piss him off and he fires me? What if he does take me home and I’m not what he was expecting in the bedroom?” I let out the breath I’d been holding in all this time, not realizing how anxious I actually was. I think it had taken a backseat to getting Bella ready for the weekend and then ensuring that Mav was okay.

At this moment Harley grabs my face, making eye contact that makes me a little uncomfortable, but I can’t look away from her. “Kodi James Roscoe. That man looks at you with stars in hiseyes no matter how much either of you refuses to admit it. If he really pushes you away after this then we all need to go join a nunnery because hell hath frozen over at that point. I love you, you look hot, and you’ve got this. Let’s go get your man.”

30

MAVERICK

FUCK IT.

Iwonder if she knows what she’s doing to me in this outfit. A tight-fitting black lace corset with a green suit jacket that matches her eyes, a tight, black, fitted skirt and black combat boots drawing attention to the legs that I would love to have wrapped around my waist.

When we got into the club, after she was distracted by her friends, I turned away from her to the guys and practically growled, “You keep your hands off Kodi and her friends. If I catch any of you even looking at them with sexual intent, I will chop your dicks off. You hear me?” Mumbles ranging from “okay dad” to “it’s my birthday, man” come from my closest teammates, but I take that as their agreement.

I order a whiskey and coke from one of the girls working our area, she’s making eyes at me, but I just slide her a twenty and send her on her way. I only want one woman's attention tonight and I can’t have it.

That woman is now staring at me as she sips water. No, not at me, to my right just slightly, at Nik? Oh, fuck no. Sheand her friends are standing now, headed towards us, with an outstretched hand to Nik, and a saccharine smile, Kodi leans into Nik and with a sultry tone says, “We’re headed to the dance floor. Come with us.”

I know I’m glaring at Nik right now with clenched fists, he better keep to his word and say no. What does this dickhead do instead? He takes her hand and leads her and her group of giggling friends out into the dance floor. Dom and Collins follow suit, leaving me with Tatum filling the empty space on my other side of the padded bench.

Tatum is laughing like he’s in on a joke I don’t know about. “Dude, what are you on about?” I finally relent.

“Mav, you really aren’t that dense. She’s totally doing that on purpose. If you had to choose any of us to make someone jealous, who would you choose?” he asks as if it’s something I’ve thought about.

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