Chapter 14
Fourteen
Earlier that day
Why am I so damn nervous?
It's not like I haven’t hung out with Peyton before, but this feels different.
It’s been so long since I’ve actually hung out with a girl and not just acted on my physical needs.
For once, I'm trying to do this the “right” way.
I want to do this the right way. This feels like it could, in time, actually be something, and that thought has all sorts of anxiousness filling my head.
Because you actually have feelings for someone beside Shay.
I have about ten more minutes before she gets here, and instead of trying to calm my nerves, I'm currently pacing the living room.
“Yo, what time is she coming?” Nola asks while walking to the kitchen to rummage through the fridge.
“Should be here any minute.”
Nola waggles his eyebrows at me. “Where are you guys watching the movie? Up here, or in your room?”
Shit, I didn’t even think about that. Would she want to hang in my room?
“I think I’ll let her decide.”
“Smart man. Let her take the lead. You good? Looking a little nervous there.”
“Who’s nervous?” Hudson asks as he comes down the stairs and joins him in the kitchen.
Fucking great, he’s home too.
“Our boy, Mav, looks nervous,” Nola fills him in.
“Fuck off, I'm not nervous. We legit hung out all summer. We’re just watching a movie.”
“What movie are you watching?” Hudson asks. Thankfully, he’s not commenting on the fact that I clearly look anxious as hell.
“I'm torn between Happy Gilmore 2 or Remember the Titans.”
I hear the front door open and close, and I look at the time. Still have five more minutes till she gets here, so that means it’s yet another one of my roommates. Of course, tonight, of all nights, they all seem to be home.
“Wow, guys, place looks super clean. Do we have a service I wasn’t aware of?” Willow asks as she hangs her bag on one of the hooks by the door.
“No, ma’am,” Nola says, coming up beside me and slinging his arm around my shoulder. “Mav here has a date. Seems to have lit a fire under his ass to straighten up the place.”
He’s not lying; I did clean the shit out of the place all day. Not that we usually keep it a mess. I lucked out with my roommates, since everyone tends to pick up after themselves. That being said, I did go a little overboard with the mop today.
“Oooh, who’s the lucky lady?” Willow asks.
“Howler Girl,” Nola informs her before I can reply.
A devious smile spreads across Willow’s face. “Interesting.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “What’s that look for?”
Her smile grows bigger at my question. “Oh, nothing.”
The doorbell rings, and I point to each of them. “Don’t. Make. This. Weird.”
Ignoring their denials and murmurings, I head to the door. Thanking my lucky stars, Cash and Bellamy aren’t here, knowing they’d give me an even harder time.
When my hand touches the doorknob, I release a long breath. Nothing to be weird about…you’ve hung out with her before.
But not since I decided to give this a chance as something possibly more than friends.
I'm greeted by Peyton’s shy smile and rosy cheeks. “Hey!”
“Hey, come in. Let me grab that for you.” I reach for the bag of takeout she has in her hand.
“Thanks.”
Peyton follows me in, and I drop the bag onto the island, and everyone says their hellos.
“Oh man, I smell the Wolf Pack’s garlic-honey glazed teriyaki wings,” Hudson says as I begin to open the bag.
“Well, that’s a fucking weird flex,” Willow teases as we all laugh.
“I think I might be addicted to them,” Hudson confesses.
Peyton nods along in agreement. “They really are amazing. Imagine how hard it is to resist while living right above the restaurant.”
“Sounds like heaven,” Hud says as he stares off dreamily.
“Oh, man. Now I'm hungry. Oh, Brooodyyy, what’s for dinner?” Willow asks as she tries to peek over his shoulder at what he’s whipping up on the stove. The sight is quite funny, considering he’s at least a foot taller than she is.
“Been here barely two weeks, and you’re already calling me by my government name. Damn, girl… How about you cook me something for a change?” Nola jokes.
While Willow pouts and starts ranting about how she’s a liability and will most likely burn the whole place down, I turn to Peyton.
I was going to let her decide where we'd hang out, but my mind’s already made up. “Want to eat in my room? We can watch the movie there, too.”
“Sure,” she says and picks up one of the cartons. I grab some napkins and plates, and the other containers, and she follows me upstairs.
We lay everything out on the small coffee table in my room and settle onto the loveseat.
She raises a wing in the air to cheers. “To us, killing it this semester, and getting an A on our presentation.”
I copy her and tap my wing to hers. “Hell yeah! All thanks to my amazing co-host. You made my summer classes a hell of a lot more enjoyable.”
Peyton beams. “Just think what it could’ve been if I hadn’t bumped into you that morning.”
“Couldn’t even begin to imagine.” I wink, and she blushes. I really like that reaction from her. I'm realizing more and more how aware I am of her little quirks.
“Alright, movie time… Are you in the mood to laugh, or for something more serious?”
She bites her lip while she thinks on it for a moment. “Hmm. I don’t know… Let’s go with a comedy.”
“Perfect. Happy Gilmore 2 it is.”
“Oh, yay! I didn’t get to see it yet.”
I eye her suspiciously. “Really, you haven’t? Being such a diehard, I thought you would’ve immediately.”
“Nope.” She smiles, then settles in a little bit closer to me. Unable to ignore the warmth it sends through me.
“I think Bad Bunny might have been my favorite character in that whole movie,” I admit as I pass the last of the Skittles to Peyton.
“Yeah, Kelce was pretty good, too. See, this is what I love about Sandler’s movies; you never know who’s going to make a cameo,” Peyton says, sporting a big smile.
She starts to tell me some of her favorite cameos. She’s adorable when she talks about something she’s passionate about, with her animated facial expressions and hand movements. I can't help but watch and listen intently.
After a few more minutes, she pauses and stares at me with an embarrassed look on her face. “I'm sorry, I went off on a tangent there, didn’t I? Ugh, I tend to do that.”
I shake my head. “Don’t apologize. I like hearing your tangents. You're so animated when you talk about something you love.”
I behaved all night, even though it was pure torture sitting so close to her on my small couch as I watched her lick her fingers clean from the wings. I'm sure I missed more than half of the movie.
Visions of how her lips would feel cross my mind. How easily her body would melt into mine as we kissed. In the past, thoughts of Shay have always prevented me from going for that connection. But I know where I stand in Shay’s eyes, and it’s time I stopped denying myself.
Peyton dips her head to shy away from me, but I tip her chin back up and stare into her eyes, then down at her lips. “I'm serious.”
Before I know what’s happening, Peyton’s lips are on mine.
I don’t know who closed the gap between us, but either way, I'm glad one of us did. The tension that’s been building between us has officially become too much to bear.
I pull her onto my lap, so her legs straddle me, and groan when I feel her nails grip my shoulders.
My fingers tangle in her hair, and she sucks in a soft gasp. As I tentatively tease her with my tongue, she opens up willingly. Peyton moans into my mouth as she grinds down on my growing erection.
This feels so good. It's been too damn long since I’ve felt a rush like this.
After a few moments, Peyton pulls away, her chest heaving as she tries to calm her breathing. She looks at me sheepishly, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. “I need to use the bathroom real quick.”
I smile at her, watching as the blush creeps up her cheeks. “No problem, it’s right there,” I say, pointing to one of the doors on the other side of my room.
As she shimmies off my lap, I barely stifle a groan at the friction. She giggles, then playfully swats at my chest.
Peyton leans over and gives me another soft kiss before walking to the bathroom. I watch as her ass sways back and forth across the room.
I stand up, tuck my erection, and walk around my room. My palms are itching to be on Peyton’s hips once more.
The sound of my phone vibrating on the coffee table has me walking over and checking it. Mrs. Moore’s name scrolls across the screen, and dread fills my stomach.
“Hello,” I say tentatively while clearing my throat.
“Maverick? Oh, I'm so glad you picked up.”
“Is everything alright?” I blurt out, unable to keep the horrible scenarios as to why Shay and Joey’s mom would be calling me.
“I'm so sorry to bother you, but I wanted to let you know Joey’s been in an accident,” she says, and my knees go weak. With my heart in my throat, I sit down, thankfully landing on the couch.
“He’s going to be okay, just banged up. They are prepping him for surgery now, so we’re just waiting in the Ridge Crest emergency room until they move us… He was asking about you, so I–I wanted to give you a call.” She sounds so distraught. I wonder how Shay is handling all of this.
Is she already there, or is her car still parked next door?
Did he drive her?
The door to my bathroom opens, and Peyton walks out, concern etched on her face. Her presence distracts me from the phone call for just a moment.
“I don’t want you to worry. Just thought you should know…” Mrs. Moore’s voice sounds through my phone, snapping me back to the situation.
Joey’s hurt… He needs me.
“No, it’s fine. I'm glad you called. I’ll head up there right away.”
“Thank you, Mav. It means a lot…”
I can’t help but wonder if there’s more meaning behind that statement, but I ignore it.
“See y’all soon,” I reply before ending the call.
Before I even get a chance to explain, Peyton’s at my side, reaching for her shoes. She looks up at me with a worried expression.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, Coach Moore’s son, Joey, got into an accident. They’re at Ridge Crest now.”
“Shay’s brother Joey? The one you do the lessons with?”
I nod.
“Oh, geez, Mav. I'm so sorry. I know how much he means to you.”
“From what his mom told me, he’s a bit banged up, but he’s going to be alright. I hope you understand, but I gotta get up there. He was asking for me.”
“Of course. I completely understand,” she says, her chocolate eyes boring into mine.
My eyes bounce between hers, hoping she understands how much I enjoyed our time together up until that phone call. “I'm sorry to end our night like th—”
She cuts my words off with her finger to my lips. “Please, don’t be sorry. He needs you.”
“I’ll drop you off on the way there,” I say, standing to grab my wallet and keys. My mind is whirling with the what-ifs.
At this point, I don’t even know where Shay is or if Jordan will be there with her. All I know is, Joey needs me… I’m on my way, buddy.
I'm on my way.