He doesn’t answer, but his expression says everything.
The wind blows my hair around my face, and I tuck it behind my ears and then hug my knees to my chest. Despite the warm weather during the day, the night air is chilly.
“When are you leaving?” I ask, keeping my voice low in case our friends are now looking for us.
“Not sure.” He bends his legs and rests his elbows on his thighs. “You’re staying all summer?”
“Looks like it,” I say glumly. “I got another ‘so sorry we’ve gone with another candidate’ letter today from an internship I applied for.” The last one. I’m officially out of options.
“There’s gotta be something out there.”
“I’ve tried. I applied all over Arizona, and anywhere I thought my car could make it without breaking down. Either it’s unpaid, or it’s so coveted that they have their pick of the best candidates.”
“You’re the best candidate,” he says.
“Thanks,” I mumble. My grades are good, but since I quit track, the only other selling points of my resume are intramural spikeball champion and working at the Hall of Fame. It’s a great job, but at this point, I could do it in my sleep.
The phone in my hand lights up with a dating app notification. Wyd, sexy?
“I literally cannot.” I groan. It’s the last straw. I swipe the screen angrily and delete the app off my phone.
Mav’s upper body shakes, and he smiles, holding back laughter. “I take it online dating isn’t going well?”
“Every single conversation I’ve had goes the exact same.” I lower my voice. “Hey, girl. What are you doing? Wanna exchange pics?”
“I don’t trust online dating.”
“Afraid of being catfished?”
“Nah, it’s just a vibe when you’re with someone. You can’t know that through a few texts.”
He might be right about that. All I know, I feel nothing for these guys that I’m talking to. “Well, I’m done. Talking to guys is bullshit. Maybe you have the right idea. Hooking up, no feelings, and no chatting about hopes and dreams.” I glance up at him. He’s still staring at me, but he’s not laughing.
“It isn’t really like that.”
“What’s it like?” I humor him. “Tell me all your moves, Johnny Maverick.”
He stares at me intently. A small smile on his lips. Playful. Cocky. Charming.
Reaching out, his fingers push back the hair that’s blown into my face again. My breathing quickens as the calloused pads of his fingers scrape against the nape of my neck. He moves closer, and I swallow. The wind carries the sweet scent of liquor on his breath and something clean and masculine, his soap, I think.
For a split second, I think he’s going to kiss me. He doesn’t, of course. That would be crazy. Instead, he tilts his head to the side, eyes searching my face as his fingers are still on my collarbone spreading warmth across my skin and low into my belly.
The light flickers above us, and I quickly look up. I don’t know why, reaction, I guess. When I drop my gaze, he pulls back, and then Rhett’s voice slices through the night. “There they are. Behind the plastic.”
“They found us.” I’m thankful for something to say that breaks the awkwardness between us, but then Rhett’s words register. Really register. Oh my god. I turn to Mav, and he bites his bottom lip, and his eyes dip to my chest.
He totally saw when I flashed him.
4
Dakota
The following morning, I’m up making my morning smoothie an hour later than normal, thanks to the late-night party.
Life hack, a jug of protein powder, and a tub of peanut butter will feed you for weeks. Also, it’s cheap when you factor in the number of meals for the price.
I’m not exactly destitute, but money is tight. I have student loans that pay for school and the apartment, but my Hall of Fame money has to cover everything else.
Reagan stayed at Adam’s apartment, so ours is quiet. I take my drink to the couch and pick up my phone. Out of habit, I look for the dating app, then remember I deleted it. I toss my phone on the cushion. It is better this way. I was going to end up on one of those TV shows for women who snapped if one more guy asked me if I was DTF after the second text exchange.
A knock at the door gets me up, and I don’t even question who it is. You never know around here. But Maverick is the last person I expected as I pull the door wide.
“Hey. What are you doing here?”
He does a quick scan of me. I’m still in a tank top, no bra, and running shorts, and he isn’t bashful about soaking up every inch of bare skin.
“I have a proposition for you.” His deep voice rumbles down my spine.
I step back to let him come in, then cross my arms over my chest to conceal how much my nipples seem to like his voice and the way he scopes me out.
“Propositioning a girl this soon after one left your apartment is a bold move,” I say as I grab a sweatshirt draped over the back of the couch and pull it on. I sit, and he does too.
“Not that kind of proposition.”
I note that he doesn’t try to deny he took Vanilla home again last night. Whose name, I sadly learned, is Claudia, and now I feel bitchy calling her Vanilla. Shame. It was so catchy.
I angle my body to face him now that he can’t see my nipples saluting him. “What’s up?”
“How would you like to intern with the Wildcats this summer?”
“The Wildcats? As in the professional hockey team located in Minnesota?”
“That’s the one.” His mouth curves up.
“I tried the Coyotes and the minor league team in town, too. My adviser said those internships get hundreds of applicants and fill up early. The Wildcats have spots still open?”
He runs a hand over his messy, dark hair. “Yeah. They’ve already interviewed a bunch of people, but Blythe said if you sent over your resume this morning, she’d take a look.”
“Blythe?”
“She’s the VP of marketing. Seems cool.”
My lips spread into a wide smile. It’s dumb to get my hopes up, not to mention all the logistics of an internship in freaking Minnesota, but I can’t help the butterflies in my stomach. “Really? You’re not screwing with me?”
“Not screwing with you. She’s waiting to hear from you. They’re a couple of hours ahead of us, so I wouldn’t wait too long.”
“You did this?”
“I just asked. I had to call and get some information this morning, anyway.”
I lunge forward and hug him. “Thank you, Johnny.”
A few seconds pass with me squeezing him before he returns the gesture. I feel his laughter and the words as he speaks them. “You’re welcome.”
I pull back, stunned and giddy at the prospect of getting out of Valley for the summer. I need a change of scenery.
I glance at my laptop on the coffee table. I want to grab it and look up everything I possibly can about the Wildcats and Blythe, but he’s still sitting here, and it feels rude after what he’s done. He must be able to tell, though, because he juts his chin and says, “Go. I have to get to class anyway.”