\[Maverick’s POV\]
I stand at the edge of the hall, watching as William and the pipsqueak speak quietly. I didn’t mean to overhear anything, but shouldn’t they have picked a better place to speak? Anyone could overhear, and if what I just heard got into another's hands, well, I feared what would come.
Deciding maybe it was best to end things before someone comes up, I clear my throat, drawing both William’s and the pipsqueaks gazes toward me. And when they realize I’m here, both of their expressions reflect shock and then panic.
“Don’t worry,” I sigh, shoving my hands in my pockets and beginning to move. “I didn’t hear anything.”
Ignoring their gazes, I head past them and then into the dorm, where Rosco sits with his eyes fixed on the door.
“Why are you here?” He asks, frowning. “Didn’t we agree you would go to the men’s dorm?”
“About that…” I begin, but stop as William’s hand clamps on my shoulder.
“We couldn’t move him.” He announces, taking me by surprise. “So, he will need to stay here, but that shouldn’t be an issue since both you and Denali are here, right?”
“Couldn’t?” Rosco repeats, not bothering to hide his anger. “Why the fuck couldn’t you move him?”
“Because all the dorms are already full.” William shrugs. “We’re a few weeks into the school year, and everyone has settled in. If you didn’t insist on him being here to begin with, then you wouldn’t have this problem.”
“You heard him.” I announce, shaking William’s hand from my shoulder. “Looks like we are going to be roomies.”
Giving a smirk, I ignore Rosco’s glare and William’s gaze as I head into my room. Once I’m alone, I let out a breath of annoyance while the day's events slam into me. Despite trying my best, I just couldn’t stop myself from replaying my conversation with Serenity earlier on and her reaction to what I did.
Lifting a hand, I try not to remember how soft her cheek felt against my finger tips and how close I was to tasting her lips.
“Get it together, Maverick.” I growl, collapsing on my bed and throwing an arm over my eyes. “Before you scare her away completely.”
Just the thought of such a thing causes my chest to feel hollow and my heart to ache. Shit, I needed to straighten out things and soon.
At least that was the plan, except when I wake up the next day Serenity is already gone. And when I arrive to class, she sits somewhere new with people surrounding her.
After class, I assure myself, taking my normal seat. However, when the bell rings, she’s gone before I can even gather my things.
For the rest of the day, she does this, rushing to class, sitting with a group, and then disappearing, and although in the past I could corner her in the dorm, I couldn’t now thanks to her parents and even the pipsqueak being present.
For the next few days, she does this, avoiding me like I’m the fucking plague, to the point that my anger and anxiety are through the roof. And by the end of day three, I can’t help but find my way to the training rink to blow some steam while those around me watch in fear and awe.
When I finish, my body is covered in sweat and my knuckles are stinging, but my head is clear and my determination has risen. If Serenity wanted to keep up this act, that was fine, but I was catching onto her movements and would certainly catch her at some point.
That’s why, the following morning, I get up much earlier than usual and wait outside the dorms until she appears. And not wasting any time, I pounce, wrapping an arm around her waist, pulling her to me, and covering her mouth before she can scream.
“Caught you,” I murmur, earning myself a growl of annoyance. “Did you have fun avoiding me?”
Growing quiet, I wait as she slowly begins to relax against me, but then immediately tense again as I’m certain our interaction a few days prior appears.
“Let go!” Serenity hisses, reaching up and pulling my hand away from her mouth. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Releasing her, I wait as she turns and fixes her blue-eyed gaze on me while she works to seem perfectly at ease.
“Keeping you from running.” I respond, taking note of her flushed cheeks. “You’ve been avoiding me these past few days. Why?”
“Avoiding.” She repeats, trying to play innocent. “I haven’t done such a thing.”
“Oh?” I ask, raising a brow. “So you haven’t been sneaking out super early, sitting with people you usually don’t associate with, and running before I can even say a fucking word to you?”
Growing quiet, I wait as she opens and closes her mouth, clearly trying to come up with the right thing to say. I was certain that she was probably taking my feelings into consideration right now, but I didn’t want her to lie to me. If what I did that day was the reason, then I wanted her to tell me so I knew what I should or shouldn’t do.
How I was feeling was so damn new to me that even I didn’t know how to properly act or what to do, but I knew that I wanted to get closer. I didn’t want her to just consider me her bodyguard like she did in the past, and that was so damn frustrating.
“That…” she begins, but stops as the door beside us opens and the pipsqueak emerges.
For a moment, she doesn’t speak as her gaze travels from Serenity to me, and when a slow smile starts to spread across her lips, I know that she is about to ruin things.
“Don’t mind me,” she giggles, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “I’m just passing by.”
“What?” Serenity gasps, reaching out to grab her. “We… we weren’t doing anything.”
We were. I think inwardly, hating this damn timing. And as my annoyance spikes, I shoot the pipsqueak a look that screams get out of here, and when her smile broadens, I know she gets it.
“Sure you weren’t.” She laughs before skipping away.
“Wait!” Serenity gasps, but I stop her.
“We aren’t done here.” I announce, unwilling to let her get away. “Not until you tell me what has gotten into you.”
“I already told you nothing.” She snaps, though she shifts her gaze from mine, a sign she is lying. “There’s…”
“There isn’t?” I demand, pinning her between myself and the wall. “If you aren’t going to openly tell me, I’ll be left with no choice but to force it out of you.”
Maybe I was pushing a bit too much, but I was at my limit with what she was doing. I was a mad man who was suffering from withdrawal, which I never knew would actually end up happening, but the thought of not having Serenity in my life drove me fucking crazy.
“Force.” She squeaks, her eyes growing wide. “What do you...”
“If you don’t answer me, I’ll kiss you.” I warn, grabbing her chin so I can rub my thumb along her bottom lip. Goddess, it was so soft, and I could just imagine what it would feel like against my own.
“Stop playing around.” Serenity snaps, causing my anger to grow more. “I know you…”
“I wouldn’t.” I counter, leaning closer. “Do you really think I won’t do it? If you don’t want to find out, you should tell me why you’ve been avoiding me.”
“I haven’t!” She repeats. “I’ve just…”
“You must want me to kiss you.” I say, leaning even closer, and as I do, I feel Serenity’s guard beginning to go down. Did this mean that she actually wanted me to do it? “I’ll count to three. One…” I lean even closer, letting her heat pour into me and her breath brush my skin. “Two…” She still doesn’t speak, and I can almost feel her leaning into me. “Th…”
I don’t get to finish before her lips are pressing against mine, initiating the kiss and taking me completely by surprise. But when I move to react, she is ducking and rushing past me.
“Gotta go!” She announces, lifting a hand and waving.
“What the hell?” I growl, trying to ignore the excitement that is beginning to grow. “What’s going through that girl's head?”