“Well?” he asks when I say nothing, and I slowly start to slide down my seat in an effort to hide from him.
“Beth, what are you doing?” he groans, shaking his head at me the way one would when watching a small child jump into a bucket of stupidity.
“Making myself invisible?” I groan back and he reaches over and pulls me back up by my belt.
“I’m being serious. You were against us going to California and now you’re beefing with breakfast. What gives?”
I stare out the window, then around our cabin, then finally into his face.
“I’ve never been on a plane before-”
“Yeah I got that,” he interjects.
“I wasn’t done talking.” I pout and he throws up both hands as a show of apology.
“My family could never afford to just pile onto a plane on a whim or even with planning. There was always something else. Something far more important to spend that money on. Never enough to just have this kind of fun.”
I can see him putting together the connection in his mind ahead of me and I don’t like the guilt on his face.
“When you suggested the trip, I thought you were joking. When you booked the tickets I couldn’t believe it was happening.”
“And then I just ordered a ton of food.”
“And in between all of that, you’re pretending like last night never happened.”
“We’ve talked last night into the ground,” he says.
“But all of that still happened.”
“So did the second world war. The past fucking hurts, Beth. I didn’t want to be wrapped up in that pain anymore…”
“And so you bought your way out of it.”
That wipes any hints of a smile straight off his face. I feel like an ass. Maverick can see it too, because he holds up his hand in a plead for me to hold off on the apology.
“For now,” he says. “But unfortunately, not forever.”
“You can’t keep running.”
“And maybe one day I won’t feel the need to. But right now, I need this. We were happy, I was getting everything I’ve ever wanted. I fucking knocked my game out of the park. I was happy, Beth. And then Jessica broke into my apartment. And then you asked me about my mom. And then everything just spiraled out of control.” He grips my hand in his and holds onto them like I really mean something to him. Like he wouldn’t let go if he didn’t have to. “And once I was done spiraling, you were there. So this…this is just my way of saying that…I don’t know…I guess it’s my way of saying I’m sorry and…If I ever manage to royally fuck things up between us, then at least we’ll have California. At least you’d have gotten something out of this agreement that you can look back on and be happy about.”
I stare up at him. Speechless. One hundred and ninety percent speechless.
“Beth?”
“Uh huh?”
“You’re crying.”
I wipe at my face. My hand comes up wet.
“I’m crying,” I say, and he laughs before pulling me flush against his chest.
A silence passes between us for at least a minute or two. In that silence, the only thing I hear is the pattering of his heart. It’s soothing. More soothing than it should be. My own heart, in comparison, is a mess of unsteady beats – beats that likely belong to Maverick and no one else.
42
The hotels in Beverley Hills have always been some of my favorites. There’s something about the luxury that they always seem to get right. They’re elegant without trying too hard. Comfortable. Private.
It’s everything Beth should want. Except she’s hardly said a word since we got off the plane. Right now, she’s sitting at the edge of the bed, pouting like only she can. It’s just as infuriating as it is appealing. I take my phone out and snap a picture of her and she looks up quizzically at me, but says nothing.
“Time out.” I sigh after a while and she glances up at me.
“What?”
“I’m calling a time out. I don’t want to be here if you don’t want to be here. It defeats the whole purpose of celebrating with you and that’s really all I’m trying to do.”
Her face slowly goes from pouty to neutral and I find myself hoping for a smile but neutral seems to be as good as I’m going to get.
“I’m sorry,” she finally says, and I sit beside her and start poking her side. “This is a lot. Like A LOT. And I’m just…taking it all in, I guess.”
A smile shifts onto her face and instantly, I feel a lot better. Crazy how we’re from two different worlds, completely the opposite of each other and yet, I feel like I fucking need her.
Crave her.
Want her like I’ve never wanted anyone.
I know it’s true, because right now, as calm and collected as I might look, I’m fucking nervous. I want her to have fun, to remember this, to experience every inch of this moment like it’s the last thing she’ll ever do. I want myself imprinted in a part of her memory that is filled with only the good stuff.
I steady her head between my palms and I kiss her. It’s a delicate kiss, yet rough. Soft, but hard. And when she moans into my mouth I know that it’s doing exactly what I intended for it to do – it’s reaching her heart.
“I have an idea,” I say, pulling back.
“Oh no,” she feigns concern and I roll my eyes at her.
“How about when we get back, we stay with your folks for a week?”
A look of horror crosses her face. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No. I realize that we’re from two different worlds. I’ve just dragged you into mine, so I’m giving you permission to drag me into yours.”
“We are absolutely not doing that.” Her hair swishes back and forth as she shakes her head.
“Why not?”
“We’re not having sex in my parents’ house.”
Of all the responses she could have given, that was not at all what I expected. I pretend to be offended by her comment.
“You only want me for my body?” I gasp and she falls over on the bed laughing at my damsel impression.
I hadn’t realized until now just how melodic her laugh is and something about it pulls me closer to her.
“So is that a ‘yes’ to the parents?” I whisper, sitting down beside her.
“A hard no.”
“How about,” I trail my fingers up her thigh, “If we rent a place for the week.”
“Maverick,” she protests, but I ignore her.
“You could lay down the law, tell me what to do, what not to do, be my tour guide.” I smile down and her and she shakes her head at me.
“You’d have to give up your sports car and ride the bus.” She raises an eyebrow at me and I can feel a frown deepen on my face.
“You’re right. It’s a dreadful idea.”
She laughs again and I find myself on top of her, staring down into her bright eyes.
“Stop laughing at me,” I warn her. She’s laughing so hard, there are actual tears rolling down the sides of her face.
I start tickling her side again. Weakly, she tries to fend me off. Watching her tiny arms trying to swat mine away and feeling her squirm beneath me, does nothing to keep my arousal at bay. I can feel my erection growing, fighting to get free.