Page 11 of Maverick
“I’m sure it will when you get all those boxes unpacked.”
He groaned. “Don’t remind me. I don’t want to think about unpacking.”
“Stay here until you feel better. Then I’ll come over and help you.”
“You don’t have to?—”
“Maverick…”
He snatched a carrot stick from the plate and took a frustrated bite out of it. “Thank you.”
While he ate, I busied myself with cleaning up the kitchen. “Reese…” he muttered between bites.
Ah, right. There was clearly something there. As I’d told him, we’d all wanted to knock Reese Taylor out for one reason or the other, but it typically didn’t happen so quickly. It only took a few words before Maverick was knocking him to the ground. I hoped that, with time, he would open up about what happened between them, but I wasn’t going to force him to do so.
“We don’t have to talk about him.”
“He’s not your secret roommate, right?” Maverick joked.
I laughed. “God, no. That sounds like the bad plot of a romance novel.”
“My best friend does read a lot. I think he got into my head.”
With the dishes put away and the counter wiped clean, I leaned on the surface in front of him, meeting those gentle green eyes as I spoke. “I’m very particular about who I let in my space.”
When Maverick blushed, his freckles stood out—and it was the most adorable thing I’d ever seen. He only managed half the food before rubbing his stomach and pushing it away, so I packed the rest away before I led him to the second floor. “I’ll take the guest room tonight,” I offered, and the boy was so tired that he didn’t even argue. “You might feel more comfortable with the ensuite.”
After glancing around the space, he gestured to the open bathroom. “May I?”
“Of course. There are toothbrushes under the sink if you didn’t get a chance to brush after practice.”
Maverick muttered a thanks, tossing a sleepy grin over his shoulder. While I waited, I lowered myself into the armchair next to the bed, scrubbing a hand over my face. We hadsomuch to unpack, and I didn’t just mean boxes. I needed to figure out how to tell Maverick that Ididn’twant to keep things casual.
Typically, I didn’t do relationships. Being a pro athlete was hectic, and I often watched my teammates struggle with personal relationships as a result. All too often, those relationships crumbled under the pressure. I knew that if that happened, I wouldn’t be able to handle it.
But him? I didn’t stand a chance.
I hadn’t gotten him out of my head since I’d left Peaches. I should have turned back, demanded to give him the aftercare that I knew he desperately needed. It had gone against every instinct I had to do the opposite, but that had been what he asked for. Still, I hadn’t stopped thinking about my princess.
Mine.
There was something primal there. Maverick, despite his size and his status, carried a weight on his shoulders. There was something behind those green eyes that triggered a deep-seated need to protect him. His reactions to Reese’s presence only intensified the feeling.
A couple of minutes later, the bathroom door opened and Maverick stepped out, red in the face. He collapsed onto the edge of the bed, moving pliantly while I stripped him down to his underwear. “Did your food stay down?”
“Barely,” he muttered. “But I think I’m okay now.”
I nudged him onto the pillows, pulling the blanket over him. Even the summer in Alabama didn’t stand a chance against my air conditioning system, and I hoped that the cool air would help himfeel better. Eyes already heavy, he stifled a yawn through his next words. “Thank you, Quinton. For everything.”
The sound of my name falling off his lips sent a shiver down my spine—one that I ignored for now. That poor boy needed to sleep. “Don’t mention it, sweetheart. Get some rest.”
Maverick was snoring by the time I shut the bedroom door.
6
REESE
I didn’t remember driving home.I left the stadium and the next thing I knew, I was in my driveway. For a moment, I just sat in my car with cool air blasting in my face.
