Page 24 of Crack the Ice

“No.” I smile around my straw.

His chest begins to heave, nose flaring as he holds my gaze. I’m not going to back down, but I can’t deny that pushing his buttons like this is fun. It’s been a while.

“I have to go anyway,” Hix says, breaking us from our stare-off. “I’ve got a bunch of angry college kids to whip into shape.”

I give him a soft smile. “Cool, I’ll walk you to your car.”

“No,” both he and Mav say at the same time.

“Jesus, you’re a caveman, Maverick Reed.” I hiss, pulling him by the arm away from everyone else. “Have a good day, guys.”

As soon as we’re far enough away from prying eyes, I turn and look at him. “What is your problem?”

“A date?” he asks through gritted teeth.

“I don’t see how that’s any of your concern.”

His hands wrap around his biceps, fingers squeezing hard enough that the skin beneath them turns white. “Are you serious, Cess?”

I take another sip of my coffee, buying myself some time to figure out how I want to play this. Be scared and do it anyway. Meg’s voice cuts through my thoughts at the most inconvenient time.

“It wasn’t a date, Mav. I was here with Lana, and Hix showed up. She and Lake were too busy sucking face like they don’t do that at home all the time. So we came out here. Relax.”

He does, in fact, relax. His shoulders fall away from his ears, fingers loosen where they were strangling the muscles I’d like to trace with my nails.

“You don’t own me, though, Mav. If I do decide to go on a date, that’s none of your business.”

“Go on one with me.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

Because I’m scared. Because if I let myself fall again, I’ll never be able to pick myself up. Because there’s kids involved this time, and I can’t give you what you want. I can’t be what they need.

“I’m not the girl I was then. You don't know me anymore... And I haven't let myself know who you are for a long time.”

His lips tick at the side. “Isn’t that the point of dating?”

A disbelieving laugh falls from my lips before I can stop it. One hand wraps around the elbow of my opposite arm while my coffee dangles from the other. I swirl it a bit, looking down at the ground before I look back up at him through my lashes.

“We tried this once already, Mav. It didn’t work.”

“Maybe it was just a case of right person, wrong time.” This time, he does reach up and tuck a piece of hair behind my ear.

His fingers trail down my cheek, making my body break out in goosebumps that have no business covering my skin in the heat of the day.

“I don’t know, Mav. Friends, maybe. Not a date.”

He reaches out his hand, extending his pinky to me, and my breath stalls in my chest.

I hesitantly reach up and wrap my pinky around his, and he drops them between us, holding us together the way we used to do. “Fine, I’ll take friends. For now.”

Shit on a freaking stick. He’s going to ruin me, and I just might let him.

EIGHT

MAVERICK