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Forcing a smile to my face, I spin and face her, taking in her shorts and t-shirt, but it’s the ears on her head that pull my focus. Rose-gold Minnie Mouse ears stand stark against her dark hair, shimmering in the sunlight. The moment the realization hits, I’m flooded with guilt. “Shit, Mais, I—”
“You forgot.” She surmises, a sad smile on her lips.
“I’m sorry, I’ve just been so caught up lately.
“I know, don’t worry about it. I know you have been,” she says, understanding, as always, and it sends a rush of pain to my chest. “You can still come?”
Before I can open my mouth and come up with an excuse to not go, Nash throws his arm over my shoulder, hugging me to his chest. “Come. Please.”
“I, uh.” The others join him, Beck, Gray, and Harlow, while Maverick leans against his truck, his arms folded over his chest. He wears a plain white Henley, dark-blue jeans, and his signature baseball cap. “I think I’m gonna sit this one out, I’ve got some work to catch up on.”
Nash sighs, pressing a kiss to the top of my head before he says something to Maisie and starts toward Maverick. The others wave, saying their goodbyes before leaving me with Maisie.
“You really don’t want to come?” she asks, propping herself against the bench. “You love Disney.”
“I know, and I hate that you’re going to experience it for the first time without me, but I really do have a lot to catch up on here.”
She follows my eyeline, finding Maverick and Nash talking amongst themselves. Whatever it is looks heated as Nash throws his hands around, but Maverick only shakes his head, pulling his door open and starting his engine.
Harlow and Beck climb into the back while Nash hollers over to Maisie.
“Last chance … ” she says as she walks backward. I shake my head, chuckling at her attempt at puppy-dog eyes. She’s been spending way too much time with Nash. “Alright, but I’m coming over tonight. We’re doing pajamas, films, and face masks.” She points at me, her eyes narrowing. “And you are going to tell me what’s going on. I’m done giving you space. Be ready to talk.”
Sighing, I nod, and she seems to accept that, waving me off before spinning around and rushing across the parking lot to Nash’s car. They wave once more before pulling away, Maverick following after them.
With a final glance, I start back toward my dorm, more than ready to lock myself away and binge crime shows all day. Before I can make it across the parking lot though, a hand closes around my wrist, spinning me to a broad chest.
My eyes snap up, Maverick’s stormy grays staring down at me. He purses his lips a moment, his eyes wary, and mutters something I can’t hear.
“What?” I ask, pulling away from his hold. He doesn’t say anything, just stares at me. Heat coils in my stomach when his eyes dip, dragging over every inch of me. I fidget with the hem of my sweater, pulling at a loose string as my core pulses more the longer he looks over me. “Mav—”
“Fuck it.” He doesn’t give me a second to ask what the hell is going on before he bands his arm under my ass and throws me over his shoulder. He spins, stalking toward his truck. My fists pummel his back, but he doesn’t put me down until we reach the passenger seat. He places me inside, leaning over and clicking the belt into place before slamming the door in my face.
“Don’t say a fucking word!” he says to Harlow and Beck as he slides into his seat and pulls away. The locks click when my fingers close around the handle, keeping me trapped in the car. The motherfucker just child-locked me. My mouth opens, ready to demand he stop the car and let me out, but he turns to face me, and I clamp my lips shut. “That goes for you too, Bumblebee. Just sit there and look pretty with your mouth firmly closed.”
Chapter Fifteen
Beatrice
Bythetimeweroll up to the gates, my muscles are sore from holding myself so still. Maverick hasn’t looked at me since telling me to keep my mouth closed, and Harlow and Beck gave up on trying to lift the mood when he turned the radio up to almost deafening volume, effectively silencing us all in this cage.
The music still blares and the awkward tension is suffocating as he slips into the line of traffic. My heart races at the huddles of people already walking through the parking lot and heading toward the ticket booths.
My thighs bounce, my hands pressing against them to hold them still, but it doesn’t work. Not when Maverick slides into a parking space ten minutes later, and not when they start to get out of the car, or when Maisie squeals, clapping her hands, at the sight of me. “You came.”
Maverick lingers in the door, waiting for me to get out, but I can’t move. My legs won’t work, they just bounce, matching the speed of my heart as it threatens to beat out of my chest.
The passenger door flings open, and Maisie crouches down, her eyes watering as she takes me in. “Oh, no. Oh God, I’m sorry. I didn’t think, Bea. What do I do?” she rambles to herself a moment before pushing her hand behind my back and finding my phone which she pulls out quickly. “Shit, what’s your passcode?”
She fumbles with the device, her eyes darting between the screen and me, but I can’t answer. When my mouth opens, a whimper falls out as my throat begins to close. My eyes move over everything, but I can’t take anything in.
A scuffle sounds, and Maverick grabs my phone from her hands, punching in my passcode, and still, I can’t do anything but watch them through the blur of tears.
“What is happening right now?” he barks, his eyes flicking between Maisie and me. She shakes her head, not answering him as she thumbs over my phone, pressing down before popping it to her ear. “Seriously what is—”
“Beatrice?” Mom’s voice comes through the phone, and tears spring to my eyes, but still I can’t talk. I can’t fucking do anything.
“Hey, Momma Fletcher,” Maisie starts, panic laced in her voice. “I don’t know what to do. Bea is having an anxiety attack, and I don’t know what to do. She won’t move or talk. She’s just sitting here. What do we do?”
