I quickly try to find one of his, at least physically, but come up short.
He shakes his head while a lazy finger runs over the handle of his mug—not even gracing me with a verbal response.
A shrill laugh breaks my concentration on him. I glance over to where the guy from earlier pulls one of the girls onto his lap. It nearly causes her to spill some kind of ugly green drink all over both of them.
My eyes find Maverick once again. I wrap my hand around the cold cup of my drink. The condensation from it attaches itself to the skin of my palms.
He sighs. “I’ll start then. My name is Maverick. I’m a senior here, majoring in poli-sci. Future lawyer.”
Of course he is.
“I am originally from Kansas City,” he continues, “which is only about forty-five minutes from here. My twin sister Lily goes here as well.” He taps against the wood of the table, and I notice ink stains down the side of his left hand.
I briefly wonder if he’s left handed as I take a long drink out of my straw. “Will she be one of my new roommates?”
His lips pull up in that taunt of a smile. “You say that like you’re confident we’ll take you in.”
My nose scrunches. I shift in my chair, flipping my long, blonde hair over my shoulder as I say, “You say that like I’m a stray dog.”
He lifts his shoulders in a shrug, a smirk forming on his lips. “Well if the shoe fits…”
I kick him under the table in the shin with the heel of my boot. He winces, immediately bending to rub where my heel just hit him. The sudden movement causes him to spill coffee all over his hand.
“Shit,” he mutters, quickly dropping the coffee mug onto the table. It makes a loud thump in the process. He scowls at me while he licks the coffee off his fingers.
I give him an innocent smile. “I don’t take well to being insulted.”
He continues to clean himself up before he glances back at me, nodding. “Noted.”
I sit back in my chair and hum, the smile on my face most likely making it blatantly obvious to him that I find joy in his displeasure. My fingers trace shapes on the condensation of my cup as I wait for him to clean up the mess he’s made.
After he does so, the chair underneath him groans as he adjusts into a new position. “No, my sister is not one of our roommates.” He takes a long sip from the mug then adds, “Lily and Aspen would literally kill each other if they shared the same roof over their heads.”
“Aspen?” I ask.
“Veronica, meet Aspen.” His long finger points to a different corner of the shop, and my eyes follow it.
I can’t help but be a tiny bit surprised when I notice the guy from earlier. He still has the one girl from earlier placed in his lap as he laughs with one of his friends.
“That man-whore over there is my best friend, and unfortunately, my roommate,” Maverick clarifies.
“You can’t be serious.” Color me actually shocked. Somehow it didn’t even occur to me that Maverick would be friends with someone like this Aspen guy.
Then again, I hardly know Maverick. And I certainly don’t know his obnoxious friend. But something tells me Aspen is more of an open book than my good friend Maverick here is.
Maverick chuckles as his hand runs through his hair again, simultaneously showcasing the lean muscles that wind up his arm while I fight another eye-roll at what seems like a display. “Unfortunately, I am dead serious,” he says. His gaze travels to where Aspen finally takes notice of the two of us across the coffee shop.
I stare in disbelief—or is it fascination?—as Aspen deftly shoves the girl off his lap and crosses the space. “Maverick!” he calls.
Aspen’s long legs take him quickly across the coffee shop. I’m not shocked to find a pristine pair of boat shoes attached to those legs. Maverick stands up to do that odd greeting guys do before Aspen plops down in a chair too close to mine.
“And who is this beautiful creature?” Aspen asks, his arm stretching out to rest on the back of my chair.
My chair makes a loud screeching noise as I push it farther away from him. “Uninterested,” I state.
I stare him dead in the eyes before the biggest grin spreads over him. The smile takes up so much of his face. I wait to see what his reply will be, but he just shakes his head and whispers something to Maverick.
My eyes cautiously watch them exchange words. The two are different in many ways. Maverick has a calm, confident demeanor about him. From the ten minutes I’ve already observed Aspen, he has more of an in-your-face air of confidence. Maverick’s dark hair is longer on the top, buzzed at the sides. Aspen’s is blond and buzzed all the way around his head. As I stare at Aspen, I notice his face is made of soft edges, like his peaked nose. Maverick’s face is completely made of straight lines and hard edges. I begin to compare their eyes when I realize Maverick is staring at me. The corner of his lip pulls up when Aspen says something else in his ear.
I huff in response. “Care to enlighten me on what you boys are talking about?” My coffee makes a slurping sound as I finish the rest of my iced latte. I shake the ice around to try to get one last sip of the caffeine before I plop the cup back on the table.
“I was asking my good friend Maverick about his new friend.” Aspen waggles his eyebrows.
Maverick stays still.
Yup. Very different.
Deciding what the hell, I stretch my arm out in Aspen’s direction. “Veronica Cunningham. Can’t say it’s too nice to meet you.”
His eyes light up like those of a dog that’s just had a bone placed in front of him. He takes my hand in his and shakes it. “Aspen Bellevue. And I can say it’s nice to meet you.”
His fingers latch around my hand. I decide I’ve been nice enough for one day and pull my hand back, setting it in my lap.
“Veronica here is going to be our new roommate,” Maverick chimes in.
He’s been so quiet during this encounter I almost forgot he was there.
Aspen’s eyes shoot to me as he ponders over his friend’s words. “I think my year was just made.”
Maverick shakes his head as he takes a casual sip of his coffee. His phone vibrates on the table and he quickly reads over the words.
“This will be interesting,” I exhale, not quite sure what I’m about to get myself into.
I expect Maverick to comment on the fact I had just pretty much agreed to move in with them, but he stays fixated on the iPhone he holds.
“Everything okay with Selm?” Aspen asks, a serious tone taking over his just-playful voice.
One of the girls who’d previously occupied his lap starts to walk our way across the shop, but after one serious look from Aspen, she turns around and sits back down with her group of friends.
Maverick’s eyes catch mine for a brief second before he pushes his phone into the pocket of his joggers. “I gotta run. Aspen, will you get Veronica’s number so we can set up a day for her to move in?”
Aspen nods, a concerned look written all over his face.
My jaw hangs open as I wonder what the hell is going on.
And who is Selm?
Maverick reaches across the table, laying his cold fingers across my hand that’s sitting on the table. “It was nice to meet you, Veronica. Looking forward to having you in our place.”