Chapter Six

I assumed Emalyn's boyfriend would be driving us home, but he's five bottles deep, and his words slur, making one long sentence of gibberish. The cousins push more drinks, but Emalyn bats them off and yanks the boyfriend to his feet. Despite being a foot taller, she manages to hold her own when helping him to his feet.

He wraps his big arms around Emalyn's small frame and whispers something that makes her laugh.

"Let's get you some water." Emalyn pats his forearm.

She tugs him towards the house, leaving me alone. Thomas's attention turns to me along with his wandering gaze. I tug on the hem, wishing this dress had more fabric.

"One more game?" one of the cousins asks.

We've had far too many drinks and there's a pile of cards discarded on the table from too many rounds of drinking games. Regardless, the cards are collected and shuffled and they look at each other.

"Strip poker?" Thomas chuckles, his gaze lingering on my exposed thighs.

"No, thank you." I shake my head.

"It's getting late," Maverick comments.

Thomas rolls his eyes and groans.

"Okay, we're off then."

There's some grumbles as they finish their drinks, but Maverick doesn't care. Once they're gone, we're the last ones left. I sip on the remainder of my drink and tap my nails on the edge of the metal chair.

"Do you think Emalyn will come back?"

"Doubt it." Mav chuckles.

"Oh." I sigh.

"Were you planning to spend the night here?"

"No, I thought we were going back to campus," I admit. "Clearly not as we're all very drunk."

"You can spend the night here then," he offers.

"Not with you."

Mav shakes his head and points to the building behind us.

"We have a guest house you can stay in."

"Really? Thanks."

I polish off the remainder of the drink and stand up. Maverick swipes his belongings off the table and follows me to the guest house. With his long legs, he easily overtakes me and opens the door.

It's a small open-planed space except for a door which I assume leads to a bathroom.

There's a bed against the far wall, then a couch separating the bedroom to the small seating area. There's also a small kitchen and a floating bench with stools.

Beside the stools is a black duffel bag.

"I'll sleep on the couch," Mav says.

I raise an eyebrow

"Emalyn converted my bedroom into her wardrobe the minute I moved out to college."

"Oh."

"I haven't lived at home for five years... so I've been moved to the guest house if I spent the night here."

"Ah, makes sense."

"Do you want a t-shirt to sleep in?"

"Please."

Maverick rummaged through the bag and produced a t-shirt which I'm sure will cover more than this dress.

"Can you help me with this dress? There's a tie behind my neck."

I turn around and he sweeps the hair aside and delicately undoes the string. He traces my spine with his finger which sends shivers down my spine.

"You're playing a dangerous game there," I whisper.

He brushes his lips along the nape of my neck and across my collarbone. My body trembles and I lean against his solid chest for support. His hand slides over the curve of my thigh and grips it.

"I would rather be burnt by you than never know your warmth again." His words leave a trail of shivers coursing through me.

"You say that, but fuck girls in my absence."

I try to leave but he pulls me back, flush against him and what's stirring in his pants. His hand grips my jaw and he forces my gaze to meet mine.

"What are you talking about? I didn't fuck anyone. All I want is you, all I see is you, all I need is you."

"Forget about me."

He frowns but there's a glint in his blazing eyes.

"Why do you care about the idea of me seeing other women?"

"I don't care."

We both know that's a lie because my voice falters.

"You get mad at the idea of me with other women and deny your feelings because you're too afraid to upset my sister who just fucks around on her own accord."

"This isn't the right time for this conversation."

"You can admit it, Willow, you can want me as badly as I want you."

"If that's how you behave when you don't get something you want, then I want no part of this."

"Willow."

"Maverick."

"You're infuriating."

"You're an asshole." He cups my cheek and searches my gaze.

"Stop searching for a sign; I don't want you."

"You say that but your body reacts differently." His hand traces the curve of my body and over my ass. My body melts under his touch and heat pools to my centre.

Of course, I want him, but I can't let lust dictate the way I make decisions.

"What will it take for you to get it through your head? I don't want you."

"When you mean what you say."

I push him away and glare.

"Leave me alone."

Something in Maverick snaps because he storms out of the room.

Typical.

I change into the t-shirt and dive under the comfort of the covers.

* * *

I'm woken by the sound of something crashing. I turn the lamp on and find Maverick, very drunk, with a bottle of champagne in one hand and a lit cigarette between his lips.

"What are you doing?"

He removes the cigarette so he can take a swig from the bottle.

"Having a drink."

"Haven't you had enough?"

I climb out of bed and take both off him without protest.

"It's bedtime."

I look at the two-seater couch before frowning. There's no way he'll be able to fit on the couch comfortably, so I help him to the bed. I think there's some blankets stashed under the bed so I can sleep on the couch.

He stretches under the cover and snuggles into the blanket. He catches my hand before I can leave.

"Just lay with me, please."

"Will you stop annoying me then?"

"Yes," it's just auditable.

"Okay."

I walk around to the other side of the bed and slip under the covers. As soon as the light is off, he's tangled around me. Maverick nuzzles his face into the crook of my neck and kisses it.

"I missed you; I missed this." He sighs, before soft snores are heard.

This is a terrible idea because I like the feeling of his warm body pressed against mine. I wiggle a little closer and inhale his scent.

If this is only going to happen once, then maybe I can reminisce on our time together.

I wiggle onto my side to get comfortable but his arms tighten around my body.

* * *

"Hi, Willow," Emalyn calls.

I leap up right and thankfully the bed is empty beside me. I run my hand over the sheet and it's cold.

Emalyn perches on the bed and picks up the note from the side table.

"I'm sorry?" She frowns.

I take the card from Emalyn and look over it. Just those two words are scrolled on the middle of the paper in messy, Maverick-style writing.

"Maverick let me sleep in here because you left last night and I wasn't sure if you were coming back. He decided to keep drinking and came back to sleep on the couch but accidentally woke me up, so he's probably saying sorry about that."

"You're a great friend, Willow. I haven't had good friends in such a long time."

Just the mention of 'good friend' while she's sitting in the space her brother spent last night is enough to set my stomach churning with guilt. She only had one rule and it's very hard not to break it.

"When are we leaving? I could do with a very greasy, carb-loaded breakfast."

"Ah, that sounds delicious." Emalyn grins.

"It does! I fear I had too much alcohol last night."

"Soon? I'll get you some spare clothes and wake the boyfriend up."

"Thanks!" I smile.

Emalyn rubs her face and tugs on a smile.

"Did you have a good night?" I ask.

"We were both so drunk. We passed out before we had a chance to do anything. Now I'm keen to escape before my mother reminds me of any embarrassing moments."

"I don't think you did anything embarrassing."

"I hope not, but still keen to escape while my parents are in bed."

"Okay, let's go then."

While Emalyn grabs some clothes, I straighten up the guest house. I notice Maverick's bag is gone which doesn't ease how I feel about this situation. He begged to spend the night but slithered out without a word.

I shouldn't be surprised but it still hurts.

This should be the sign to give up smoking and Maverick, both are bad for my health.

But why is it so hard? 

* * * 

Thanks for reading! The next chapter will be out on Saturday.