Chapter 13

"You know that I don't hate you," you say. Now that your eyes have met his, you can't look away. "You irritate me immensely sometimes," you add. "But I could never hate you."

He chuckles. Then, after a moment, he furrows his brows. "Are you and Ice..."

"Over?" You nod. "I think it's safe to say that we are. Although, that doesn't mean" – But you stop talking because Maverick steps back and turns away, bringing his hands to his face. "Maverick?"

He glances back at you. "Yeah," he says. "I'd beat me up too."

You let out a sigh, shaking your head. "Believe it or not, I would have broken up with him eventually anyway. We just weren't meant to be."

"I know," he says. "I knew before I even met you."

You narrow your eyes. "Excuse me?"

"The picture, Amelia," he says. "It's what I wanted to show you last night."

You scoff. "Don't tell me you knew you would fall in love with me the moment you saw it."

He shakes his head. "No," he says. "I knew you would never fall in love with him."

You blink at him suspiciously. "How?"

"Well, now that you're no longer with him, it seems kind of in bad taste to break into his locker." He grimaces.

You raise your eyebrows. "Wow, I'm so glad I didn't come yesterday."

He laughs. "Is it really worse than what you'd imagined?"

You return his smile. "I suppose not." Your eyes inadvertently glide over the jet behind his back before you glance back at him.

He licks his lips playfully. "Why, were you expecting a ride?" He asks, smirking.

You roll your eyes. "I can't even tell if that's an innuendo."

His grin widens and his teeth sink into his bottom lip. "It's whatever you want it to be," he replies, a chuckle escaping together with his words.

You lift your hand and slap him on the shoulder.

"You know, you're quite violent," he says, still laughing.

You shake your head. "Not with everyone."

"Ah, I just bring out the best in you. Is that what you're saying?" He eyes you mischievously.

You pull your lips into a tight smile, realizing that every one of his words is just drawing you deeper in. Every one of his smiles is making you fall harder. "Let's just go home, okay? Will you give me a ride?"

He tries to compose himself, but his grin broadens despite his efforts. "So, you do want a ride, then."

You hang your head and chuckle. "A ride home, Maverick."

"Sure," he says. "I was just going to hit the showers first."

You glance up at him. "Now?"

He rubs the back of his neck. "I just did a workout."

You blink at him. "Can't you shower at home?"

"You don't want to be holding onto my sweaty shirt the entire ride home."

You stare at him. "Just change your shirt."

He sucks in his cheeks to keep from grinning. "Why are you so opposed to me taking a shower? It's not like I'm inviting you to join me."

You gulp uncomfortably. "I'm fine with it," you say quickly. "Just do it already so we can get out of here."

"Of course," he adds playfully, "I'm not not inviting you."

You look up at the ceiling in exasperation. "Just go, will you?"

He laughs. "Come on," he says, starting for the stairwell. "You can hold my towel."

You take a deep breath. "I'm not doing that," you call after him.

...

Maverick turns the handle of the locker room and holds the door open for you.

"I'll wait out here," you say.

He watches you levelly. "There are walls," he assures you.

"Why do I need to go in?"

He shrugs. "How else am I going to talk to you?"

"Why do you need to talk to me?" you ask incredulously.

He purses his lips in thought, then responds, "I like talking to you."

You let out a sigh and step into the locker room hesitantly, looking around at the rows of beige lockers that had been obscured by steam on your previous visit.

Maverick strides ahead of you and proceeds to take off his tank top as he walks.

You stare at his back for a couple of seconds before pointedly looking away.

He takes one of the folded towels off a rack and heads around the corner toward the showers. A moment later, you hear the water come on.

You let out a shaky sigh, sitting down on the bench beside his crumpled shirt. You swallow. "So," you call. "What did you want to talk about?"

You imagine him chuckling behind the wall. "How was your day?" he calls back.

You laugh. "It was pretty fucking dreadful," you reply. "But, then again, you should know. You were there for most of it."

Maverick doesn't respond right away, and you look up at the steam coiling into the ceiling behind the lockers expectantly. You cross your legs and start shaking one of them anxiously. Then, the water stops abruptly.

Your leg stops jittering and you glance up over the lockers again. "That was a quick shower."

"Just needed a rinse," he responds.

You graze your bottom lip with your teeth, sensing an edge to his tone. You stand up just as he rounds the corner with his towel wrapped around the lower half of his body. He looks like he hasn't bothered to dry himself. You try to steady your breathing as your heartbeat accelerates.

Maverick wears an uncharacteristically grim expression; his jaw is set and his carefree smirk is gone. He takes a step forward, dropping the rest of his clothes onto the bench. He looks up at you with a frown. "I'm sorry," he says. He lowers his head with a sigh. "It's my fault – all of it. And I'm sorry." His eyes lift to meet yours across the bench. "I was being selfish. Actually, I was being a dick and I deserved what I got. But you didn't. You didn't deserve any of that."

You take a deep breath, tightening your lips. On the one hand, you agree with him. On the other, you can't imagine it having transpired in any other way. You let out a sigh, shaking your head at him. "It's not your fault, Maverick," you say. When he gives you a skeptical look, you add, "Well, it's not all your fault."

His eyes drift over your face as you walk toward him. He watches you in a daze as you approach.

You pause when you're near him, looking up at his glistening face. "Just get dressed so we can go," you say. You continue past him toward the showers behind the wall to let him get dressed at his locker.

"Don't slip," he calls.

You watch your feet, walking carefully along the wet tiles that slope toward the drain. There are several shower heads set into the walls. The room is warm and moist, making it even more difficult for you to take a solid breath.

"Ready to go?" he asks, and you turn to see him step around the corner. He's putting on a t-shirt over his damp body and it's sticking to his chest as he tries to pull it down. Once it's on, he picks up the towel to dry off the back of his neck. He brings it around to wipe his face.

You nod weakly, struggling to keep your eyes on his face and not on his twisted shirt that's not entirely covering his abdomen.

"Amelia?" he says when you don't move. "Are we going?"

You start to walk forward, unable to tear your gaze from his. He's watching you steadily, his jaw clenched, his hand clutching the towel so hard that his knuckles are turning white. And you're so captivated by his eyes that you're not watching your step and your foot slips on the wet tile. You're flying backwards before you can even realize what's happening, but before you land in a puddle of water, Maverick springs forward to catch you.

"Are you okay?" he breathes, slowly helping you regain your footing.

You straighten your back, nodding.

His fingers are still wrapped around your arms when you look back up at him. You swallow, feeling your breathing become erratic as his eyes skim over your face. His hands start to slide up your arms as he takes a step forward. Instinctively, you take a step back, but he keeps walking until your back is against the wet tile of the wall and there's nowhere left for you to go. He brings his face down slightly, his eyes flitting down to your lips.

"Maverick," you whisper, feeling his breath washing over your mouth. But the rest of the words you mean to say evaporate before you can articulate them.

He steps closer still, even though there isn't any space left between the two of you, and you can feel his body pressing into yours. His hands are suddenly in your hair, tilting your head upward so that his lips are hovering right above yours. "Tell me you don't want this," he murmurs. "Tell me and I'll stop."

You close your eyes. "I can't," you say softly.

The moment you utter the words, his lips crash into yours so urgently, it's as if he needs to kiss you like he needs air to breathe. And as his mouth moves over yours, you feel your body respond. You somehow move closer despite already being pressed against him. Your arms slip around his neck and he pushes you further into the wall. You feel something digging into your back and, suddenly, the shower above your head turns on.

Maverick chuckles against your mouth as the water pours over your faces, but the impromptu shower doesn't deter either of you from deepening the kiss. The movement of his lips on top of yours, despite the downpour saturating your clothes, feels electric, affecting every nerve in your body. You're dizzy and grounded all at once.

His right arm rises as he slams his palm into the wall above your head. He wraps his other arm around your waist, pulling you in roughly. You can't possibly get any closer and yet the desire to do just that continues to build.

"You have no idea," he breathes over your mouth. "How long I've wanted to do this."

You smile, feeling his teeth close around your bottom lip because you've stopped kissing him to say: "I have an idea."

He lets out another small laugh. You open your mouth, letting out a breath as his tongue glides along your lip, catching the water that's cascading over your faces. Your hands travel down his now soaking shirt, feeling the muscles tensing under your touch. His mouth slips away from yours and you feel his hot breath bathing your cheek as his lips infuse kisses along your jawline. His fingers trail down the length of your neck and you let out a faint moan. You lift your face and the water flows over your closed eyes.

His teeth graze your skin as his face sinks into the curve of your neck, and you feel him sigh into your shoulder, his hands moving to caress your arms and then take you by the waist.

Slowly, he lifts his head to look at you as the water streams down his face, and he gives you a crooked smile. He reaches behind you and pulls the level to shut off the shower. Water drips from the tip of his nose and he looks unbelievably attractive.

You watch him in awe, trying to control your breathing. "What now?" you say hesitantly.

He takes your hand, lifting it to slide his fingers between yours. He pulls on it to bring you closer. "Now, I don't care," he responds. "As long as I'm with you."

He tugs on your arm, drawing you in for another kiss.

...

A/N: Ahhh they finally KISS! Wooooh took them long enough hehe

Thank you so much to everyone following this story! Yay for Mav fans :D