“Why?”
“I just want to know.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore. He did what he did. He got what he wanted. Everything went his way and my father walked away from the team. But then again he got the job he has now. So what do I do with that?”
“You don’t jump into bed with the goalie, right?”
“Exactly, Mav,” I said. “You know how messed up this looks?”
“So this other goalie got a new contract? Chased your father out of his job?”
“He didn’t have a choice,” I said. “It was a bad look for everyone involved. So the team decided just to be quiet about it all. It was my fault. I let it happen.”
“That’s what everyone put on your shoulders,” Maverick said. “That’s not fair to you.”
“It’s done and over with, Mav. I’m not going back in time with that. I’m just telling you what happened. Since you accused me of fucking every goalie I meet. And because you accused me of…”
“I fucked that up, sweetie,” Maverick said.
He began to move closer to me.
“I really fucked that up,” he said. “I lost my cool. I hate being secretive with you. I want to scream to everyone how I feel about you.”
“That can’t happen,” I said. “As far as everything else… it was Hans.”
“Hans,” Maverick said.
“Hans Landermore,” I whispered.
“I know,” he said. “I know Hans. He’s the one who…”
“You wanted to know everything,” I said. “So I just told you. Do not make me regret that, Mav. Okay?”
“What about us, sweetie? I understand it all now. It makes so much more sense to me. I appreciate that. I want you to know something. I can love you through anything that-”
I stood up. “Maverick, stop.”
“How can I stop? Everything you just told me… makes me love you even more. I see you in a way nobody else does, Madison. I’m not afraid of your father or your past or anything else in your life. You leave the walls bare? I don’t care. I love that about you.”
“Maverick,” I said. “You’re not understanding me.”
“What is there to understand now? I can handle this. I can take care of you. I can take care of us. I can take care of everything.”
He closed in on me and hugged me.
I slowly shut my eyes and rested my head against his chest.
He felt like comfort. He felt like home.
He felt…
“No,” I whispered.
“No?” Maverick asked.
I slid my hands between his body and mine.
I slowly pushed.