Chapter 17

Seventeen

Maverick

"So was that the best night of your life or what?" We're back in my truck, and I'm driving us back to her house in Charming.

"Until we got thrown out it was." She looks out the window but the lights passing catch her smile reflected in the glass.

"It's a story you can tell your grandchildren."

"Hm."

"But seriously, was it? Tell me I did something right!"

She turns to face me in the truck, the seatbelt pulling tight across her chest. Her breasts are outlined in the jersey she's wearing, and I need to force myself to keep from staring.

"Oh my god, it was amazing! Seeing Jackson Gage get into it with the ref will live rent free in my head for years."

I laugh. "That guy is as wild as they come when it comes to football."

"He is! Oh, and Jameson Winters! My dad followed his career as soon as he signed with the Polar Bears in Candy Cane Key. He knew he was something special. He'd call me up and send stats after each game." She sighs. "But as a writer, what really caught my attention was how he proposed to his girlfriend at the Super Bowl! Do you remember that?"

" Of course that's your favorite part," I say with exaggeration. "You wouldn't be a true romance author if that little bit of trivia got by you."

She reaches out and squeezes my arm. "I thought it was the most romantic thing ever. He messed up, then proclaimed his love in front of the world."

"A true grand gesture, huh?"

She leans closer to me. "I knew it! You do read romance!"

I laugh. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. I told you Jay has had Wes and I brainwashed since we were teenagers."

She gives me a suspicious look. "Sure. And I'm sure you were just born knowing how to do the door lean. You never read anything like it, right?"

I drive with my left hand on the wheel and angle myself slightly toward her, laying my hand on the seat between us. "I've watched enough porn to know how it's done."

"Maverick!" she exclaims, and I don't miss the way her face blushes as we pass by more lights that shine inside the truck.

"Princess! Are you blushing?" She moves away from me but I grab her thigh, holding her still and pulling slightly back toward me. "You, Little Miss Romance, cannot tell me you've never watched a porno while you write all those dirty words. I don't believe it for a second."

She doesn't pull from me, and I leave my hand on her thigh while I ignore the way my stomach is doing a flip flop just from touching her.

"I didn't say that, but—" She slaps my hand when I chuckle and squeeze her thigh again. "it's not something I talk about."

It's beginning to rain, and the traffic around me begins to slow down. "You've never watched a porn movie with your husband?" She shakes her head violently like I just asked if she wants to commit murder. "Ava! I'm shocked! "

"Why is that shocking? That just wasn't something we did. And he's my ex -husband," she says pointedly.

"Ex. Noted." I continue to push. "So you didn't watch because he didn't want to, or because you didn't want to?" She brushes her hair behind her ear, and I see her fighting for the right words. "Hey, don't plan your words. You're not writing a book with me, we're talking, getting to know each other. Isn't that what you've been teaching me? We don't plan things out, and tonight was all about surprise dates. So don't think, just talk. I'm not going to criticize you if your words aren't edited to your liking."

She turns her head from me, and we drive in silence for a moment. The rain is getting heavier, and I pull off at the exit, planning to take the long way home to avoid more traffic. But then I get an idea and slow the truck, pulling to the side of the road.

"What are you doing?" she asks nervously.

"Haven't you ever danced in the rain?"

She rolls her eyes. "Maverick, stop."

"Come on, Ava. Live a little."