Chapter 16

Sixteen

MAVERICK

I make my way to Ava's office thinking how much I can't wait to see her face when I show up unannounced. Yesterday's class got heavy quickly, but I had to say something. I needed to see how she'd react if I let a bit of truth out.

When Maria told me they'd be at the restaurant, I knew I had to make an appearance. Somewhere along the line, I've gone from wanting to engage with her to make her mad, to wanting to engage with her to see if she feels the same way I'm beginning to.

Maria has been dropping little hints, and after the Friendsgiving dinner, I saw it for myself. Ava is reserved because she has to be, because she feels she's going to get burned again if she doesn't keep a wall up. Hearing her tell me about her ex-husband while we were on our running date had me seeing red. I hate that a man made her feel inferior.

I knock lightly on her open door and walk in.

"What are you doing here?"

"Winning the surprise date." I strut inside the room and stand in front of her desk.

"Who's your second date?" she asks me.

"You are."

"Oh no. Maverick tha?—"

"I told you. I want to learn from the master herself. You're going to make me a book boyfriend, and I'm going to make you fun again."

She eyes me with a look of disbelief.

"Maybe this will change your mind." I reach into my back pocket and pull out the tickets, waving them near her. She looks at them, and I know the moment she realizes what they are.

She gasps. "How did you get those?!"

She stands and reaches for them over her desk but I snap them back away from her. "You're interested in a second date now?"

Her eyes narrow. "Are they real?"

"Shouldn't I ask you that?" I let my eyes drop to her chest briefly then back up. Her nose flares and she crosses her arms across her chest. I laugh. "You're too easy. Of course they're real." I shrug and fan my face with the tickets. "I know a guy."

"Bullshit."

"I do! The Carolina Warriors' GM is the uncle of a friend of mine."

"Bullshit!" she shouts louder.

"Ask Jay."

I watch the indecision over what to do dance across her face. "Maverick, it's too much. I can't acce?—"

"You can. You will. The game is at seven. I'm going to follow you to your home and?—"

"Oh, hell no! Is that your way of trying to see where I live?"

"Princess, we know the same people. If I wanted to know where you live, I'd already know. Anyway, I'm going to follow you to your house so you can get changed, and then I'm driving us to the game." I clap my hands twice. "Let's move, Costa! We don't want to be late!"

This is a bad idea.

Keep your hands to yourself today, Maverick. I'm chanting this phrase in my head over and over. We're driving to the game, and being inside this truck with her is dangerous. She smells too good. We went to her house, and she made me wait outside, and I warned her not to make us late. I prepared for a long wait but was pleasantly surprised when, not even ten minutes later, she came down looking like the girl next door with her hair in a ponytail, jeans that were painted on, and a Warriors jersey with the quarterback's name, WINTERS, spelled across the back.

For some reason, seeing her wearing a name that wasn't mine made me jealous.

And that worries me.

I shouldn't like a woman who's trying to make me into someone I'm not. After having that first date with Maria, which felt more like a come-to-Jesus moment, I left the restaurant spinning with my own thoughts. Maria was right. I left the class the first day and I didn't have to come back. I could have just stayed away, never sparring with Ava again.

But I like to spar.

And if I'm being honest, yeah Jay dared me not to quit, but I like the fight she gives me, so I would have stayed in the class either way.

I just haven't had a woman catch my eye long enough to imagine more.

Until Ava.

The fact that I went out of my way to score these tickets tells me everything I need to know. I'm falling for the gorgeous, yet aggravating as all get out, romance author.

"Are you okay?"

I glance at her, my eyes sweeping down her form as she rides next to me. "Yeah, why?"

"You're gripping that steering wheel so hard your knuckles are white."

I flex my hands and shift in my seat. "Why are you watching my hands, princess? Are you thinking about how they might feel on your body?"

She rolls her eyes and looks out her window. "You're so full of yourself. Ever think this may be the reason you don't get a second date?"

"Well, you're sitting here on a second date with me, so maybe you like my type."

"Again, I'm here out of obligation," she says dismissively.

I grip the wheel tighter. Obligation.

"Right. I forgot this is all for show. It's all to make us into someone else," I snap back.

"No, it's not about that at all! Why do you take my words and twist them all the time?"

I take a deep breath. "Let's not do this tonight. I want to enjoy this game. So for now, pretend to be on a second date for the sake of learning . Take some notes for your next book."

She stares straight ahead, essentially dismissing me. I know my words cut, but I don't know why she won't just loosen up. Being fun and flirty is who I am. Instead, she wants to take that and bury it, changing me into one of the guys from her books.

Newsflash. There's no one alive that can act and deliver the words like a book boyfriend.

We pull into the stadium, and the sounds and smells of the place make me forget all about the tense ride. I get out of the truck and round the front to the other side, helping her climb down from the passenger's side. "Can you feel it?"

She rolls her eyes. "If that's another question to get me to take the bait…"

I laugh out loud. "Damn, princess! Now whose mind is in the gutter? I'm talking about the excitement of the game! Haven't you ever been to a Warriors game before?" I check for our tickets and take her hand and we begin to walk. "If you're a die hard like you say you are, you have to know how alive these games are!"

"I've actually never been to a game." She says it quietly as her eyes dart all around the parking lot and over the enormous stadium in front of us. The logo and team name of Carolina Warriors are lit up in red and white and the music is playing. People are laughing and throwing footballs, drinking and eating, and the party in the parking lot right now is more intense than the one beginning inside the stadium.

I pull her to a stop and step in close to her. Brushing her beautiful brown hair back from her shoulder, I lean in and say, "You mean I'm the one who gets to pop your cherry?"

She laughs and drops her head, shaking it with exasperation. I tip her chin up so she looks at me again. "I'm honored to be your first, Ava." Our eyes hold for a moment longer than they should, but I can't seem to break the stare. I take in her green eyes and red lips and squeeze her hand that is tangled with mine. "Come on, let's get inside."

We walk through the gates showing our tickets as the music gets louder. Chants of ‘Warriors' circle around us. But the absolute best scene I will never forget for as long as I live is when we climbed the stairs that led to the balcony overlooking the stadium. Ava's mouth dropped and turned into the biggest smile. She ran to the divider and leaned over it, her head turning from side to side, taking it all in. Excitement coursed through me at the obvious love she had about being here. It made me feel ten feet tall to be able to give that to her.

It's the third quarter and the game is turning into a blowout. We've been dancing to the music, laughing with the other fans sitting around us, and I'm actually seeing a bit of fun ooze out of her. She was cheering when we scored, yelling at the ref for a bad call. And she was even drinking a beer.

"Let's go to the gift shop," I whisper in her ear and she looks at me with big round eyes.

"Yes! I need to see if there is a Gage jersey I can buy."

I stand and roll my eyes. "You want the coach's jersey? He hasn't played in years."

She crosses her arms indignantly. "So? When he did play, he was amazing."

"You know you're not supposed to talk about other men when you're on a date, right? Isn't that in your how-to guide?"

She brushes my comment away. "It's not like I'm going to actually meet the man, so I'm allowed to look."

We carefully make our way past the other spectators and down the stairs to the main floor. There are lots of people walking around, grabbing the last of the food before the end of the game. I decide to push her buttons a little, wondering if I'm breaking down her walls and finally getting to the fun side of Ava Costa.

"This way; it's a short cut." I pull her into a side door that says ‘Employees Only' but I stand in front of it, blocking it from view, and guide her into the quiet corridor. The door shuts behind us, silencing the outside noise.

"I don't think this is a short cut." Her voice echoes off the walls and her eyes get big. She tries to push past me and open the door again, but I usher her down the steps.

"Sure it is. It's faster this way. I've been in this stadium a bunch of times. Come on."

I take her hand as we jog down the steps. The lights are dim and her hand tightens on mine. I can't wipe the smile from my face or stop the excitement building inside me .

If we get caught, we're getting tossed out, and she's going to have a fit.

"Mav, I don't think we should be here."

"It's fine. Come on." I keep moving down the steps until we stop on the landing to the next floor. "Wait," I say as she freezes in her spot, looking at me in fear. "Did you hear that?" I ask.

"Hear what?"

"It sounded like the music to an opening scene of a porno."

She slaps my arm. "Will you stop it with the porn?"

I pull her close to me before walking us back to the wall. "Isn't this how they start? A dim, quiet hall. They're both so overcome with need, but the chance of getting caught makes it that much more exciting." Her eyes flare and the upturn of her lips gives me the green light to keep going. "I know you know what I'm talking about."

Her full-on smile and giggle make my own shine. "Mav, you're crazy!"

"But you're laughing and having fun, aren't you?" She runs her hands up my arms to my shoulders, and I move in closer. "And that scene usually starts with just the slightest kiss, doesn't it? And that kiss turns the whole story around." I lean down to take her lips as the door behind us opens with a bang.

"Hey! You two! How did you get in here?" We both jump at the intrusion. "Get out of here now!" His radio goes off, words and static mixing together.

"I'm sorry, man, we were just trying to beat the crowd."

The security guard gives me a dry look. "Leave now, and we won't have an issue."

I take her hand and lead us past him, back into the sea of people walking quickly to get to the parking lot.

"Everything is a joke to you!" She wrenches her hand from mine.

"Live a little, Ava. You were having fun, don't act like you weren't."

"What is wrong with you? God, you act like a frat boy. Can't you take anything seriously?"

"I can take things seriously when I have to, but why do you want to all the time? It's not good to go through life with a stick up your ass."

"A stick up–what did you say? That's twice you've said that, and I don't appreciate it. You're going too far, Maverick."

"I don't think I'm going far enough. I think you want to be pushed. No, you need to be pushed out of your comfort zone."

"Maybe I'm not ready for that."

"Then get ready, princess, because just as you're trying to teach me, I'm doing the same. And I won't stop until I win."

I know I'm pushing her. I know she's getting annoyed with me, more than usual, but I won't give up. The more time I spend with Ava, the more I like her. It's fun to see her get mad at my little digs or blush at my words. I think everyone needs a partner that is a little outlandish while the other is reserved. And together, they fit perfectly.

Fuck.

What am I thinking?

This is going to end at midnight on New Year's Eve, and what am I going to do then? I disparage her little building class then just go back to working every day with Jay and Wes? Then I just pretend she hasn't made me feel more alive than I have in years? I don't think I can do that, but if she doesn't get on the same page with me, it's exactly where I'll be.