Page 77 of Pit Stop

He pulls the door open, and a bell jangles above us. His hand falls to my lower back as he ushers me inside. An older womanis behind the counter, her graying hair pulled into a bun, her uniform slightly worn.

She looks up as we enter and arches an eyebrow.

“Mav, nice of you to finally come see me.” Her voice is hoarse, like a long-time smoker.

I turn my gaze up to Maverick and then back to the woman. “And I see you’ve brought your mate. Can smell you on him from here.”

Maverick sighs and then runs a hand through his hair.

“Yeah, Mom. This is Skye. Skye, this is my mom.”

I’m so shocked at this meeting that I just stand there, staring at her. What the hell? He brought me to meet his mom in the middle of the night while I’m still half horny. I didn’t even know he had any family around here. I don’t know anything about his family, to be honest.

Shit, does that make me a bad mate? I think it does. I should know more about him. Because it seems he knows everything about me.

“Hi,” I finally manage to utter, and Maverick’s mom gives a bitter laugh.

“Seems you picked a smart one too,” she says dryly.

“He is,” Maverick grunts. “He’s a lot smarter than us. He’s going to college.”

“Whoever needed college? Waste of money, if you ask me,” she says, and then throws a rag onto the counter and moves toward us. I can see the resemblance now, in the shape of her nose and the set of her eyes.

And maybe even a little in the gruff way she gives him a hug.

“Why don’t you two sit down over here, and I’ll get your order in a minute. Gotta take care of other customers. You’re not the only ones here.”

She leaves, and Maverick runs a hand across his face.

“I seriously cannot believe you brought me here to see your mom and didn’t tell me.”

He peers over at me. “Thought it made sense at the time. Wanted to rip the Band-Aid off.”

“Gods, Mav,” I say with a small laugh as he leads me to a seat at the counter and hands me a menu. “A warning would have been nice.”

“Yeah, I realized it was a shit idea after I stepped inside. But fuck, she’s my mom.”

“I didn’t even know you had a mom around here. I know nothing about you, I realize.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t see her often. She wasn’t very good at being one, and I only see her when I feel like it’s been a while.”

“And it’s been a while?”

He nods and then points to the menu. “Go on. Pick what you want to eat. My mom isn’t patient.”

I peer down and pick the first thing I see, a cheeseburger with fries, and then turn back to face him.

“Okay. Done. Now I want to know everything.”

“Doesn’t really seem relevant.”

“What does that mean?”

“That pretty soon you won’t need to know anything about me.”

Pain shoots through me, and I’m unsure if it’s him or me feeling that. But I don’t have time to evaluate it. His mom is back and barking at us.

“What do you want to eat? Gotta tell Carl so he can get started on it. I assume you both don’t wanna stay here for ages.”

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