Page 95 of Connected By Stars
“Just in time, Mav,” Matt says, looking over at us as we walk toward them. “Let’s show Jax and Papaw how it’s done.”
“It’s on,” Mav says, grinning and taking the bean bags his dad holds out to him. “Do you two want to play the winner?” He asks, looking at Sophia and me.
“We’ll take that challenge. I know how competitive you are, so no crying later when we kick your ass.” Sophia laughs at my comeback and high-fives me.
His eyes hold mine, amusement dancing in them. “Care to make a side bet?”
“What do you have in mind?” I ask, holding his steady gaze.
“Winner gets a yes night.” Not tearing my eyes from him, I hear Sophia softly laugh next to me.
“You’re so in trouble,” she says.
“Yes, night?” Ignoring my friend next to me.
“It’s like a yes day but at night. The loser has to say yes to everything the winner wants to do.” Excitement flows through me. Technically, I can’t lose on this one. I either get to choose, or I let Mav decide. Either way, it will end up with me getting what I want...him.
“You’re on.” I hold my hand out to him. Grinning, he shakes it.
“You just made a deal with the devil,” Sophia softly laughs.
He winks at me, the dimples on full display, as he walks over to my dad to play the first round. My heart beats loudly in my chest. I mean, how bad could it be? I rub my bottom lip between my teeth, deep in thought of what he could come up with. I glance at Mav, and he softly laughs, knowing exactly what I’m trying to figure out.
I walk over to the cooler and get another Corona for Sophia and me before joining her on the towel to watch the game with Luna. Mimi and our moms bring their chairs over to sit next to us as they hand out sandwiches to everyone.
“What in the world happened to your back, honey? It looks like you fought a bear.”
I turn my head and try to look at what my mom is talking about. “What is it?” I ask, not being able to see it.
“You’ve got scratches all over your back.”
I hear Sophia stifle a laugh, and I shoot her a warning look to get her to stop. Maverick comes over to take a look. He looks concerned as he traces the scratches. “Does it hurt?” He asks softly.
“No, I don’t feel a thing. It must have happened when we,” I try to think of something. I know damn well how it happened as images of me up against the tree with Mav deep inside me over and over again until I thought I would die from the pleasure it brought. “When we went into the trees to look for shells. A branch must have scraped me.”
“You sure it doesn’t hurt?” He asks again.
“No, I’m fine. I promise.” He searches my face and must finally accept that I’m not hurting. He nods and then walks back to the game.
“What did the two of you do? Roll around in a sticker bush? Mav has scratches, too,” Mimi says, laughing and pointing at his back.
Oh God, I bite my lip to stop my laugh. I knew I clawed at him but didn’t think I had left a mark.
His eyes dance with amusement as they meet mine briefly before looking at Mimi. “I guess we both got scraped. We wanted to see if our old fort was still there.”
“The one you guys built years ago?” Maya asks, laughing. “You worked your butt off that day hauling every piece of driftwood you could find.”
“Yeah, I remember. I wanted it to last forever. Part of it is still there.”
“Well, next time, be more careful. You both look like you fought an animal off your back.” Mimi shakes her head at us and sits down to watch the game.
“They were animals, all right,” Sophia whispers in my ear. “Two animals in heat, to be exact.”
I laugh and look over at Mav. He’s grinning at me before heturns and focuses on the first throw. We watch and cheer while we eat. I'm not sure who I should be rooting for, but I'm secretly hoping Maverick beats my dad and Papaw so I can get a shot at him. Sorry, Dad.
Maverick’s competitive side reigns as he throws the winning bag and lands it in the hole for three points, pushing them over twenty-one and ending the game. He’s doing his dance in the sand and rubbing it in my dad’s face as Maya laughs at her son beside me.
Turning those emeralds on me, he grins. “You girls ready to take on the best cornhole players on this beach?”
