Chapter 39
MAVERICK
Catching a pop fly sent straight to my glove, ending the last game of the season feels pretty fucking good, not gonna lie. And I’m learning to actually enjoy the attention, the cheers, and the backslaps from my teammates instead of wanting to avoid it all.
But when Willow walks into the locker room and tells us all to hurry up and get presentable before some VIP season ticket holders come through for a meet and greet, I’m annoyed. That’s beyond the limit of my peopling for today, and I just want to leave.
Standing in front of my locker, I stare at the snapshot of me and Sadie I taped up there last week. The guys gave me some grief, but it was good-natured. And honestly, I couldn’t care less. Getting to stare at her face whenever I’m here is worth the ribbing.
Except, I tend to get caught up in looking at her beautiful smile and tune out everything else.
Which is why, when strange voices filter in, I glance up, not realizing the VIPs are already here. A bunch of white dudes are walking around with their chests all puffed out, thinking they’re a big deal. Yeah, okay.
Lawyers. I remember Willow saying it was a law firm that paid for the locker room meet and greet. It goes to charity, so I’ll suck it up, I guess.
Until I see him.
Dirtbag Dirk.
He notices me, and his face turns an interesting shade of purple-red.
It’s fucking on.
I give him a wide grin, not hiding the malice behind it. Foregoing a shirt, I leave my muscles and tattoos on display as I swagger over to the group. Some other guy’s mouth falls open when he sees me, and I turn my attention to him first.
“Maverick King. Nice to meet you. Did you enjoy the game?”
“Yeah, man, it was awesome. Great catch at the end.”
“Thanks. Want a picture?”
The guy nods, and we take a quick selfie. Yeah, I’m shirtless and probably gonna end up on some idiot’s social media, but whatever.
I make a point of ignoring the fucker who was dumb enough to walk away from my Specs as long as I can.
But then I notice Monty walking up to him, and I see my chance to truly mess with the asshole.
Making my way over to them, I pitch my voice loud enough to be heard over the chatter.
“Monty, you know who this is, right?” I ask, draping my arm over my teammate’s shoulder.
He looks at me but manages to conceal his confusion.
I give him a wink before turning a sinister smirk toward Dirk.
“It’s Darren, right? Sadie’s ex. Gotta say, man, I’m glad you fucked around on her, it gave me the chance to lock down the best fucking woman I’ve ever met. ”
Monty coughs out a laugh, catching on quick. “Darren, did you say? Wow, I don’t know why anyone would screw things up with Sadie. She’s top-notch.”
“It’s Dirk, actually.” The asshole tries to appear confident, but his ears are still bright red, and he won’t look at me. “And Sadie —”
“Nah, Derek, I’m gonna stop you there. You don’t get to speak her name.
” I cut him off with a glare, moving away from Monty’s shoulder to fold my arms across my chest, knowing it makes my muscles pop.
By now, some of the other guys have drifted over, standing behind me.
“You don’t say her name and you don’t go near her.
In fact, it’s probably a good idea if you never come to the stadium again.
I mean, she’s gonna be at all my games, and I wouldn’t want security to have to toss your ass out for causing problems.”
“Wait, this is the guy Sadie used to date?” Kai chimes in, snorting out a laugh. “Damn, Mav, she leveled up with you, bro.” He holds out his hand for a high five and I slap it, never letting my stare drop from Dirk’s weasel face.
“Thanks, Yami.”
The bluster leaves Dickhead Dirk all at once, and he turns and slinks out of the locker room. And just like that, everyone goes back to whatever they were doing, not speaking of what just went down.
Of course, I know it was noticed. And not two minutes go by before Willow’s standing next to me as I’m putting all my shit into my bag.
“You’re really fucking lucky we didn’t have cameras on.”
I look over at the head of media relations with what I hope is an innocent expression. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She rolls her eyes with an amused huff. “Okay, Mav. Sure. Listen, the only reason I’m not giving you a lecture on how to properly handle VIPs is because that man is the worst scum of the earth and I absolutely loved watching you guys give him the shit he deserves.
That, and judging by the lack of reaction from his colleagues, we’re not alone in how we feel about him.
But —” She lifts one hand and pokes me in my chest. “If you ever pull that with anyone else, you’re gonna be in so much trouble you’ll wish you were back on the IL. ”
“Message received. But just so you know, that was a one and done. Sadie doesn’t have anymore trash exes I need to worry about, so we’re cool.”
I see Willow fighting a smile, but she eventually gives in with a shake of her head. “We’re cool.”
She walks away then, heading over to Sin and wrapping her arms around him. And I hurry to finish packing my shit so I can find my girl and get my own damn hug.
Soon enough, I strut out of the locker room, feeling really fucking good about things, despite it being the end of the season. Honestly, what just went down in the locker room with that twatwaffle was probably the highlight of the season.
Especially seeing as I get to go home with the woman he let get away.
Sadie’s waiting for me in the hallway, and I walk straight up to her and lift her up into my arms before kissing her. I can feel her smile against my lips, and it’s perfect.
“Hey, you. Good game.”
I set her down after kissing her again. “Yeah, always good to end with a win.” I sling my arm over her shoulder and we start to walk toward the car park.
“How did the VIP tour go?” she asks, and my grin widens as I start to chuckle. “What? What’s so funny?”
“Guess what company did the meet and greet?”
We reach my car and pause.
“I have no idea.”
“Stevenson and Schmidt,” I say, naming the law firm Dickface works for. Sadie’s eyes widen and I see her biting back a smile.
“No way.”
I nod. “Yeah. I know you want me to think before I act, but Specs, there was no fucking way I was gonna let the opportunity pass to tell him what I think, and just fuck with him. It was…” I kiss my fingers. “Perfection.”
Sadie throws her head back, her laughter ringing free. “I wish I had been there to see that.”
“You would’ve loved it. The guys all joined in. It was a thing of beauty, either way. Funniest shit I’ve seen in years. Although, I guess I should have thanked him. If he hadn’t been such a fucker, I wouldn’t have you.”
She pulls me in for a hug, nestling against my chest. “I love you, Maverick. Thank you for loving me back.”
“Always, Specs. Always.”