Chapter 5
FIVE
“I’m gonna miss you, Mav”. Graham and Mav had spent the last four days together laughing and making love and getting to know each other.
Mav had taken a bunch of time off, the perks of owning his own business, he’d said, and Charlie had given him some comp time for working doubles during the snowstorm.
“I’ll miss you too, sweet.” Mav stroked his cheek. “But we have Zoom and FaceTime, and I’ll be back for a visit soon.” They had talked a lot about what came next, and they had both made some promises it might be too soon to make, but it felt right.
“It sounds amazing. You can have a nice stay. You don’t have to be at the hotel. We can explore.”
He wasn’t going to cry because that was just ridiculous. He was a grown man. They weren’t breaking up. They had plans to see each other again. But the simple fact was, right now it was a long-distance relationship.
That was nobody’s fault. Mav had a business and a house in Boulder.
Graham had a good job right now, and to be honest, it was too early to talk about things like him going to find a job in Boulder or an apartment in Boulder that he was never going to be able to afford.
He wanted to go see Mav’s space, sure, but right now he had to be smart.
“I would love that.” Mav’s gray gaze met his, that laser focus like nothing else on earth. “I want you to come to Boulder, too. Maybe you could come back with me after I visit you here.”
He snorted with laughter. “Are you subtly maligning my baby car?”
“Well, it does seem unreliable.”
Graham rolled his eyes. “It’s out of the shop now at least.” To his mortification, Mav had helped him with that because the repair on his car had cost more than he even had in the way of available credit card debt.
I had called it a gift. He had called it a loan, and he would pay it back every cent.
“It is, but if you want to drive to Boulder without me, let me know, and I’ll get you a rental.”
“I’ll take it under advisement.” Graham did laugh at the way Maverick’s expression changed. Totally an alpha in charge, used to having people do what he told them to do, Graham supposed.
“Okay, love.” Mav sighed, then bent to take a lingering kiss. “I really need to hit the road. I’ll call you when I get home.” Not that Mav was moving, and he seemed…pained.
“I’ll be waiting.” Actually, he would probably be at work, but that was okay. He still looked forward to hearing from Mav as soon as possible. He really had it bad. Like he was having to work to keep from begging Mav to stay or to take him along to Boulder. \
Like this was fate.
“Walk me down to my truck?”
“Of course.” Mav had spent the night at his apartment last night and parked his truck there so he could just leave from Graham’s place.
Holding hands, they headed down the stairs, Mav making sure he didn’t trip.
Which was nice because he was pretty clumsy when he was nervous or excited.
And he was nervous, not excited. He was worried that Mav would drive away and then never think of him again no matter what Mav had promised.
The light of day alone could be sobering.
When they got downstairs to the foyer of the apartment building, Mav kissed him again, stroking his cheek, staring right into his eyes.
“I will call you. I promise. I can tell you’re a little tense.
But don’t worry about it. I’m not the kind to leave somebody high and dry.
I know how shitty that feels, first of all. And second, I am so damn into you.”
“I wouldn’t blame you if you ghosted me.”
One of Mav’s eyebrows went up, his lips turning down at the corners.
“Don’t say that,” he said. “Don’t talk bad about yourself, baby.
You’re amazing. You’re beautiful. You’re funny, you’re smart, and I love being with you.
Being left on my own for Valentine’s Day might just be the best thing that ever happened to me. ”
Now, Mav was going to make him cry. Graham took a deep breath, keeping his eyes as wide open as he could so that the tears didn’t fall. “I’m really glad that you got stood up. Because, well, I can promise you I’m never going to let you down.”
He got a gorgeous, genuine smile, and another kiss.
They walked out to Mav’s truck, and he put his bag in the back of the cab.
Graham found another smile, even though it was watery. “You be careful. Call me if you get lonely. It’s a long drive. I bet you’ll be glad to be at your house, though.”
“I’ll be glad to be in my bed. I have to admit I kind of want you to be there, too, though.”
He reached up to touch Mav’s cheek as they smiled at each other, and he really felt like his heart was breaking.
It was so ridiculous. They’d known one another not quite a week.
But he believed in love at first sight, and he believed in the magic of Valentine’s Day, so he really didn’t want Mav to go.
“I don’t want to leave you here, baby.” Mav’s whisper was soft, but it echoed in his soul.
“I don’t want you to either,” Graham admitted.
Mav took a kiss right there on the street, right where everyone could see. And he rubbed their noses together. “Is it crazy that I want to ask you to come with me?”
“Do you? I mean… I don’t have a job in Boulder.”
“I own a company. I have a house. We could do this.”
His heart started to pound, and Graham wasn’t sure what to say.
He didn’t want to be a charity case or a kept man, but there had to be jobs in Boulder.
It was a tourist town and a college town, and he was really good at hospitality and hotel management.
“I’d have to give my notice here, work out my two weeks. I can’t just leave them in the lurch.”
“Let’s go to the hotel now and talk to them. You’re not the only concierge, right? Surely they could fill in with your co-worker while they find somebody else?” Mav looked so hopeful, his eyes alight, his cheeks red. It was stunning to him how excited Mav seemed.
He found himself nodding, swallowing hard. “There is, and we’re at the slow season. I could—if you’re sure, I mean… I really want to.”
“I’m sure. I really want you to come with me.” Mav squeezed his hands. “We’ll come back for anything you need later, your car, the rest of your stuff, but come with me right now. We’ll go upstairs, we’ll pack a bag, we’ll stop by the hotel.”
Mav grabbed him to pull him back inside, and he chuckled as they ran up the stairs to pack his stuff. He hoped everybody at the hotel would be happy for him, and he was pretty sure Charlie would just be okay with everything, but this was crazy.
It was crazy.
But it was what his heart wanted.