Chapter 29

Maverick

The knock on my front door has my heart racing, and I hope it's Ava and not my idiot friends first. I just need two minutes alone with her before the day begins. I'm severely let down when I open the door to see Ava is here, but she's not alone. Maria and Joe are standing before me.

"What's with the face? You want me to leave?" Ava asks.

Maria raises a brow, pushing past us and walking into my house. "I bet he was hoping you'd be alone. Even for just five minutes, am I right Maverick?"

This woman knows me better than I thought. "You're absolutely right. Can you two wait outside? Maybe in the car. With the music on. And make it ten minutes," I retort, and she smirks while Joe enters behind them carrying bags of food.

"Mav, what did I tell you about being patient?" Ava saunters inside carrying presents and leans up on her toes, giving me a sweet kiss. "Now, behave. And if you pass the test, I'll reward you later," she whispers to me .

"I'm a slow learner, what can I say?" I help them all with the items they brought, and we're arranging things in the kitchen when I hear another knock. Wes, Hazel, Jay, and Nina enter without me having to greet them.

"Ho, ho…hoes! Merry Christmas to all!" I roll my eyes at Wes's entrance but catch Hazel's smirk at his comment.

"You better watch who you're talking to, bruh. We're in mixed company."

He laughs, clapping me on the back. "Am I hitting a nerve?" He raises a brow, waiting for me to say something more.

"Ava!" Nina yells out. "What are you doing here?" The question is asked in the most sarcastic tone and I laugh. The girls run and hug each other, talking excitedly.

Jay helps himself to a beer, popping it and making a big show of leaning against the counter and crossing his legs. "So, not that I'm not happy to see Ava, but I am wondering why she's here in your house, Mav." He drinks from the bottle, eyeing me the whole time.

"She's been in my house." I stand a bit taller, wanting to let the not-so-secret secret out so badly. Ava comes up beside me, wrapping her arms around me. "We've been seeing each other for a few weeks."

"I knew it!" Nina exclaims.

"You knew it because Ava told you!" Jay yells back.

"Don't act like you weren't spreading that info too Jay," I say to him.

"No, I knew you two were going to get together. After meeting Ava in person and knowing you forever Maverick, I knew you guys would be perfect for each other—if you'd let it happen. And after seeing you two dance around your fake annoyance for one another, it was obviously just a matter of time."

"Don't you think it's about time she fell for a real guy and not a book boyfriend that doesn't actually exist?" I ask.

"Maverick!" Ava laughs. "We're still making you into a book boyfriend. You've been doing really well, and Maria thinks you're in the number one spot." She gives me a smug grin and a wink.

"I mean, he clearly is if he scored with the teacher." Maria smirks. "I saw Maverick had a thing for my cousin right away. And I'll let everyone know that, when Ava came back from the Read-a-Book event here in your town a few months back, she kept talking about the hot guy with all the lines. But when I saw how they were pretending to hate each other, I knew I had to step in. Nina, good call on getting him signed up."

"What did you do?" Ava asks inquisitively.

"I didn't do anything but lay the foundation. You two found each other all on your own," Maria says.

"I was messing up dates becau?—"

"Wait. Do I want to know how he messed up dates?" Jay looks at him skeptically.

"No!" we say in unison, and Maverick snickers.

"Let's just say I was more Ice and less Maverick. I wanted to show Ava her classes didn't work. But when she was going to push me off on someone new, I made her be my personal teacher."

"And the Warriors game sealed the deal?" Jay asks.

"It definitely put him at the top spot, until he got us kicked out of the stadium!" Ava says.

"Maverick! Jace gave me those tickets as a personal favor. What did you do?" Jay says.

I wave my hands around. "It doesn't matter, she got my jersey in the end."

"Mav, I need you to know, in all the times Ava and I spoke about you, she never once said she wanted to make you into someone else. Those classes taught confidence and they showed who you really are. She was only trying to see how she fit with you. And I think you two fit just right," Maria says.

"I think we fit perfectly." Ava snuggles into my side and we gaze at each other.

A clearing of the throat by Jay pulls me from my stupor. "Don't even think about racing me to the altar," he says in a menacing tone.

All we can do is laugh. "Relax, tough guy, you'll still be first. We're going to enjoy graduation day first."