MAVERICK
“So who’s the lucky guy? That’s one big rock.” Terzo was a handsome man. He wasn’t wearing a wedding ring, so I guessed he was single, but the way he said it, he was more curious than flirting with me.
“I’m lucky, too. His name is Lake.” I sipped my coffee while he had an espresso.
“He must be rolling in it.” A smile nudged at his lips.
“I guess you could say that. He came from both wealthy families, but he works hard.”
“That’s good, and he should treat you well. You deserve a good man who treats you like a queen.” His words seemed genuine.
I couldn’t help but smile. Despite that dark and mysterious persona and the intense look in his eyes, he seemed to be a good person.
“Enough of me. What about you? You’re not married. Is there someone special?”
“Nah. In my line of work, relationships can be complicated.”
“That seems sounds sad. What do you do for a living? If you don’t mind me asking.”
“You don’t wanna know.”
“Phew.” I tried to play cool as I eyed him. He intrigued me on many levels, and I wanted to peel each layer off his walls. “Let me guess, military or something that involves undercover.”
He laughed, really laughed. Wrinkles formed at the corner of his eyes. “Not even close, Maverick.”
“You want me to keep guessing, huh? I bartend at the Bazz. You should go there sometimes. Drink is on me.” I smiled. Although he barely told me anything, I felt I could trust him. “Why do you look so mysterious, Terzo? Where are you from?”
“Sicily.”
“Oh, wow. I can’t even grasp your Italian accent. You grow up from around here?”
“I went to college here in the US, but my family has businesses in Italy. And my father values his roots and never wants to leave Sicily.”
“My grandmother raised me. I never know my father. My mother left me when I was just small.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” His smile fell. I could see it in his eyes, almost in pain, but it was only for a second.
“It’s fine.”
“Can I ask you why are you upset?”
“I did something that made my grandmother angry.” It was even hard to talk about it, even to a stranger like Terzo, but he listened to me like he was paid to listen to people’s bullshit. Somehow, I felt grateful. A little ounce of heaviness lifted off my chest.
“I wish that everything would be okay between you two.”
“Yeah. I hope so because she’s my only family who cares about me.” I shrugged. “Well, except for my husband.”
His expression changed, almost upset. His jaw ticked, but his gaze was still with me. “You don’t have any other family?”
“Nope. Just me and Nana.”
“Well, I’ll always be here if you need someone to talk to. Do you want my number?”
I chuckled as I grabbed my phone. I didn’t usually give my number or collect numbers from strangers, but I just felt that he would be willing to listen to my bullshit.
He saved his number on my phone and returned my phone. “Call me if you need anything. I mean anything, Maverick.”
“Thank you, Terzo. I feel better. And thank you for the coffee.”
***
“Maverick? Baby, I’m home!” He was still downstairs. I already heard his voice.
I quickly got up from bed and went to the bathroom to clean my face. Not a moment later, the door to my room cracked open.
“Maverick?” he called me again, leaving me no choice but to come out. “Baby, I have something to tell you.”
“Hey.” My voice cracked up, and he instantly noticed it.
“Are you okay?” He cupped my face, forcing me to look at him. “What happened?”
Tears streaked down my cheeks, culminating in my despair. “Nana.”
“Jesus, is she okay? Where is she?” Lake didn’t get what I was trying to say, but sorrow was heavy in his voice.
“She’s fine.” I swallowed hard. “She knows.”
“Oh, fuck.” He instantly pulled me into his arms, hugging me tight. “Baby, I’m so sorry.”
“She was so mad at me. She couldn’t even look at me in the eye. She was so disgusted. The disappointment in her eyes was so deep and heavy. I broke her heart, Lake. I broke her heart.” The sobs began racking my chest. A permanent hole in my heart would never heal until Nana learned to forgive me and accept my mistake.
“Oh, baby. I’m so sorry.” He pulled away, wiping the tears pouring from my eyes. Then he kissed me on my forehead and held my hand as he sat on the edge of the bed. “Come here.”
“It hurt so much. I couldn’t forget the look on her face.” I sat on his lap, my arms around him. “She hates me. I’ve never seen her so angry at me until today. I failed her, Lake.”
“Hey. It’s okay. It’s gonna be okay. I promise I will fix this. We will fix this. Your Nana doesn’t hate you. She is maybe angry right now, but let it cool down for a few days.”
“You don’t know her. I’ve made mistakes in my life, but she always understood. She never got mad. She always told me that it’s part of growing up, that life is a never-ending process of growth, and we should learn from our mistakes. But today, she said she never wanted to see me again. She kicked me out of the house.”
“You should have called me. I would have come here instantly, and you didn’t have to cry alone.” He kept rubbing my back to soothe me, but some things could not heal with words or comfort, and that was what I felt right now.
“I couldn’t afford to lose Nana, Lake. She’s the only family I have left.” I still continued crying, and Lake never stopped telling me that everything was going to be okay.
“I’m here, baby. I’m also your family. I promise you. We will fix it together. You have my word.”
Without a guarantee that my relationship with my grandmother would be restored like how it was before, I listened to him. I believed that there was still hope for us to reconcile.
Like every relationship, like partners, lovers, siblings, or mother and daughter, sometimes misunderstandings happen. I had to trust the process so that one day, Nana would learn to forgive me and understand why I did what I did. Right now, I had to give her the space she needed.
I got up from his lap and curled into a ball in bed.
“Can I get you something? Are you hungry? I can order something for you to eat. Do you like ice cream?” He held my leg, gripping it. “What flavor do you like?”
“I’m not hungry.”
“I will prepare the tub and add some lavender oil. Then, you can soak. It will help you relax.”
“I don’t want to get wet.”
“Let me change. I’ll be right back. Are you okay to be alone for a while?”
With my eyes closed, I nodded.
Lake left. I was so tired that I didn’t know I fell asleep.
In the middle of the night, I was cocooned in a warm hug, his breathing tickling the back of my neck.
I grabbed his hand on my waist and put it on my breast. Lake stirred, groaning.
I turned to face him and slipped my hand into his boxers, grabbing his cock. With his impressive size, I couldn’t fully grip him as I began stroking it. It started to harden in my fingers.
His eyes cracked open with a groan. “Maverick?”
“Lie on your back.”
“Baby.” He blinked off. “Are you feeling okay?”
“What do you mean?” I was slightly taken aback.
“You were upset before you slept.”
“And?” I felt embarrassed and horny, and he wanted to talk about my feelings.
“As much as I want to do it with you. I want to make sure you’re not using sex to relieve the pain. I know it’s easy to blow off some steam, but-”
“Fuck you.” My words left a bitter taste in my mouth as I let go of his cock and turned away. My fantasy of having under him as he fucked me hard vanished.
“I won’t ever deny you.” He gripped my arm, forcing me to face him again, but I was upset and embarrassed. My cheeks were still burning. “But I want to know if you want this because you want it or you want a temporary relief for the pain you felt inside.”
“Fuck off.” My breathing was sharp as I jerked his hand off. “I’m fine. And you don’t know what I feel.”
“I feel what you feel. My father is still mad at me after I did everything he asked me to, and I’m still the bad guy.”
“This happened to me because I made a mistake and wanted easy money, and I wanted to prove to my ex that I could have a better man than him. I wanted to show him what he let go.”
“Tell me that’s not true.” I felt the pain in his voice, but he also needed to know the reason why I accepted the offer.
I got up from bed and looked at him. “That’s the truth.”