Page 28 of Maverick
“As in ‘America’s Little Rookie?’”
Maverick scoffed. “Yeah, that’s him. I won’t tell him you recognized him though. His ego’s big enough.”
“You can tell anyone anythingyou want, princess.”
“But this is your life as much as it is mine. I know we aren’t exclusive but that doesn’t mean you don’t have a right to your privacy.”
“I appreciate you being worried about me. I’m okay with people knowing, but our same rules apply: I just need you to tell me so I’m not blindsided.”
“Yes, Daddy,” he sighed.
We finished washing up and climbed into bed—only after Maverick demanded I open the window. The storm was raging now, with thunder shaking the house and flashes of light illuminating the walls. He insisted that I lay with him, even knowing that I might end up keeping him awake. He didn’t seem to mind, only drifting off to sleep once he was lying on my chest.
We won in Reno, which seemed to put all the guys in a better mood. From there, we came out on top in our next three games,traveling to Seattle, Minneapolis, and Little Rock before returning to Auburn.
Our rotten luck could have been explained away being reminded of our first loss, or the torrential rain that drenched us from head to toe and turned the entire field into a death trap. Regardless, that was when we started to fumble—literally. Players were falling over left and right and by halftime, we’d made three substitutions due to injuries.
And that was without the daggers that Reese and Maverick were shooting each other. To my knowledge, they still hadn’t spoken. I hadn’t yet summoned the courage to ask Maverick how Reese fit into… everything, and I was ashamed to admit that it was because I was afraid of what the answer might be. Would they end up getting back together? Or would it continue to be some sort of hate-fucking behind closed doors? Where wouldIbe involved?
As the minutes ticked down, our score crept higher, but it would take one hell of a miracle for us to pull this one off. At the start of the fourth quarter, I couldn’t help but notice that Reese was watching Maverick again. I wasn’t sure what was going on there, but I was determined to get to the bottom of it.
After the game.
The ball was in play, and I was going to bring us as close to a win as humanly possible. The game wasn’t over yet, which meant ourjobsweren’t over yet.
At the three-minute mark, however, the timer stopped due to a penalty. Confused, I glanced around the field and landed on two players screaming in each other’s faces—myplayers. Reese, small as he was, held his own against Maverick, who’d apparently had enough of whatever Reese was trying to tell him. Jake tried his best to get between them, but it wasn’t working. Our team was quickly headed for serious consequences if they didn’t chill. When Maverick snatched Reese right off the ground, I bolted over, shoving myself between them whether they liked it or not. Maverick dropped the smaller man, obediently taking a single stepback. “What the hell is the matter with you two?” I shouted, warring with the storm to be heard. “Do we need to bench both of you?”
My head swiveled between the two of them, waiting for either man to spit out an answer. “No sir,” Reese finally called, so I turned my attention to Maverick. Jake stood next to us, bewildered—Maverick wasn’t known to have a temper, and Reese had never paused a game due to an outburst.
“Crawford?” I questioned. For a moment, I wondered if he’daskto be benched just to get away from the situation.
He finally hung his head, shaking it. I let out a sigh of relief, making a mental note to figure out what the hell that was all about.
Jake approached from my side. “What was?—”
“Don’t ask,” I said, forcing a laugh to ease some of the tension.
Thankfully, the rest of the game went by without any further incidents. We lost, but at least it wasn’t because two of our defensive linemen were threatening to kill each other on the fifty-yard line. They still glared at each other as the coaches spoke to us in the locker room, andeveryonefelt the tension.
God, Ihadto get these two over whatever was going on with them. Maverick had been up front about their past, and it was clear that Reese wasn’t that same person anymore. I started to think that maybe he hadn’t made that clear enough toMaverick.
The crowd dispersed, and quite a few guys headed for the showers. There weren’t enough for all of us at once, so some headed home to wash up there while others lingered around until they got their turn. With men still all over the place, I didn’t dare walk up to Maverick. Jake did, and I was close enough to overhear the conversation—and to roll my eyes at Maverick’s weak explanation of not getting enough sleep. Jake cut his eyes at me as he walked away, a subtle sign that he didn’t believe a word of it either.
After I’d had my shower, Maverick wasn’t sitting on the benchanymore. I wasn’t sure where he went, but I needed to get him to figure this shit out with Reese before they cost each other their careers.
As I got dressed, the locker room door eased open, and Reese poked his head inside. After scanning the space, he let out a sigh of relief—then blushed when his eyes landed on me. “Sorry,” he muttered. “I forgot my headphones.”
Pulling a shirt over my head, I spun to face him. “Don’t be sorry. You want to tell me what all that was about on the field?”
“Maverick being stubborn as a bull,” he muttered, and I laughed. Reese gazed up at me, bright blue eyes full of… something I’d never seen in him before. “You know we were together before, don’t you?”
“I do.” I lowered myself to a bench. “But I fail to see how that translates to fist fights on the field.”
Reese sighed, pushing a hand through his damp, blond hair and falling into the seat beside me. “I fucked up—I know that. I’ve been trying to make it better but he just won’t… listen.”
I scoffed. “I can’t say I blame him if you tend to bring things up in the middle of a game.”
“That’s not why we were fighting. I think I can help him with some of his techniques, and he won’t let me.”
