Loving Maverick

A Cool Night...Turning Into Something A Little More

In his living room, the television was on the travel channel but he wasn't really paying any attention to what was playing. He had become almost robotic in cleaning his rifle-dismantling it before putting it back together again. 

The day wasn't bad at all. In fact, he accrued three more big-name clients with the help of Stevie Vidal. Now, he was at home and alone, his thoughts constantly delving into his past. Lately, he hadn't been sleeping much either. The only time that he felt like he was in a good place was when he was at work of late.

Maverick suspired as he turned his rifle over and started his routine again. Then his phone rang.

"Hello?" He didn't bother looking at the caller ID as he was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't even think to. It wasn't until he heard his father's voice that he realized who it was. "Hey, dad." He said. "No, no I'm fine. Why do you ask?" He replied after Abhu asked him if he were alright. "Just...just have a lot on my mind is all," Maverick told Abhimanyu after he referenced his aloof demeanor earlier that day. "I know dad, and when I'm ready to talk about it, I will." He reassured.

Abhimanyu knew that something was up with his son since his discharge and while Maverick knew that he meant well, he was tired of him asking about it. He wouldn't disrespect his father, however, and tell him as much.

Abhu changed the subject of conversation to the clients that Maverick managed to sign that day and commended him on it. This was something that Maverick didn't mind talking about. "Thanks, Dad," He said when there was a knock on his door." Maverick stood, his rifle in hand, wondering who could be at his door during this time of the day. He wasn't expecting Stefano or any of his cousins and he knew that it wasn't his father because he was on the phone with him and Maverick could hear his mother in the background singing and interrupting the conversation every now and again. Fortunately, he hadn't taken his rifle apart just yet. He grabbed a bullet from the carrier that he had taken off the butt of the rifle and loaded it into the gun. "Hold on dad," Maverick said as his paranoia started to set in. He hazardously walked to the door, his rifle at his side. He wasn't concerned about getting up quick enough to let a shot out because he knew that when it came down to it, he more than likely wouldn't need the weapon. "Who's there!?" He bellowed.  When the response wasn't quick enough, he started to demands again, his head leaning down to try and get a look through the peephole. "I said who's there-"

"It's me." The feminine voice said in a low tone through the other side.

Incredulously, Maverick held his phone between his shoulder and his ear and quickly opened the door. "Oh-I-" He was surprised to see her standing there at his front door. "Uh, hey dad-I'll-I'll call you later." He said and hung the phone up. "Uh Stev-I mean Ms. Vidal, what are you doing here?" 

Stevie stood there anxiously as she looked at the shirtless man carrying a large rifle, nearly as tall as her in his arm. "I-you told me to come over today...so that we could discuss the house hunting...thing?" She backed away from Maverick and the gun. "Is...is this a bad time? I could-"

"Uh, no! No, it's not." He said backing away and to the side of his door to allow her little space to enter. 

Reluctantly, Stevie walked towards him. "You sure?" She questioned as her foot hit the entranceway of the door.

"Yeah, no. Now is fine." He tried to reassure.

"Okey, dokey." She replied as she walked past him.

Maverick shut the door behind her and watched her walk into the house, past him. He noticed that she must love the color black as she wore it all the time. This time was no different; she had on a pair of yoga pants and a t-shirt, her wild curls pulled back in a long ponytail.

"A little nippy in here." 

Her voice brought Maverick back to his senses. "Oh, sorry I-I'll turn the air off." He started to make his way toward the heating and air unit. "Do you need the heat on or-" His words were cut off by the tug that he felt against his arm. When he looked down, he noticed that it was her hand. 

Stevie chuckled. "No, it's fine!" She reassured him. "Surely, you remember how cold I keep my apartment." She grinned and walked away. "Honestly, I'm just pleasantly surprised that you keep it this cold in here. Like minds." She joked.

"Oh, right." Maverick said as he watched her go further into the living room.

"Is it alright if I sit?" She asked him.

"Yeah, of course." He grabbed the bullets that he had sitting on the coffee table. "I'll just put this away."

"Okay." Stevie chuckled.

Maverick quickly returned the rifle to the second room and then started for the living room again when he thought better of it. "Probably should at least put on a shirt." He muttered to himself.  He grabbed a navy blue tank top from his drawer and quickly put it on before he returned to the living room. It was when he was headed in that he noticed Stevie rubbing her eye and then her temple. He immediately became alarmed. "Are you alright?"

Caught off guard, she quickly switched her gaze to him, she then exhaled and smiled. "Fine." 

He knew that she was lying. "You're having one of your migraines aren't you?" Before she could even answer. "Come on let's get you home-"

"I'm fine, Mr. Singh." She said, standing up. "It's just a small one. Sometimes I get cluster headaches. They're not as bad but..."

"Have you taken anything?" Maverick sat across from her.

"I have medication for it-"

"Does it help?" He asked. "Have you taken them?" His eyes widened. "Is it the same medicine that-"

"No, no." Stevie chuckled and showed him the small pills. She shook it playfully. "These are for the small headaches." She pulled out another bottle. "These are for the big ones." She put the bigger bottle back in her bag and opened the one that was for her cluster headaches. "I just need to take these and maybe a little caffeine."

"I'll get you some." Maverick went into the kitchen and grabbed a Pepsi out of the fridge and returned. "Here."

"Thank you." She smiled. 

Maverick watched her. "Should you be working with such a debilitating thing happening?" He asked her.

Stevie took a sip of her soda and looked at him curiously. "Are you thinking that I shouldn't be working?" She asked. "I told you, I'm not quitting my job. I'm not collecting disability, I-"

"I get it, I get it." Maverick sighed. "I don't want to talk about house hunting when you're feeling like this-"

"Well, I do." Stevie cut him off. "It helps when I think of things that I like talking about." 

"And house hunting for your boss is one of those things?" 

Stevie's expression brightened. "Yes!" She exclaimed. 

Maverick tried to stifle the amusement of her excitement but he could not lie and say that he didn't find it adorable that she was so excited to help him. He resigned. "If this will help you then...I guess I have no choice but to oblige Ms. Vidal."

Stevie rolled her eyes at his formal address of her. "Okay so, first, what are your favorite things?" She asked, taking out that anime notebook that she always carried around.

"You still have that thing?" Maverick asked with a chuckle.

Stevie looked down at the notebook and then at him. "Uh, this is my note-taking book for you. So yah, it goes where I go."

"Okay, okay, I hear you." He said.

"So, again, what are your favorite things?"

"I don't-I've never thought about it. That's a vast question to ask."

"Not really," Stevie said. "I could answer the question."

"Is that so?" Maverick asked. All of a sudden, he was genuinely intrigued by what her favorite things were. "Okay, answer it. What are your favorite things, Ms. Vidal? He asked.

She grinned. "My favorite things? I adore animals." She said. "I want a dog-no a kennel of terriers and huskies. But for now, a dog will suffice. I love the bathroom-"

"Bathroom?" Maverick commented curiously.

"Yes!" She exclaimed. "The tub. I love taking hot bubble baths under dim lights and candles. I am very very passionate about cars but I'm partial to the muscles." She gestured toward Maverick's large arms and chuckled. 

Maverick sheepishly chuckled at her reference to his biceps. "Oh..okay."

Her gaze wandered up to Maverick's ceiling. "Hmm, I love winter and I love rain...the colors of the leaves in fall, the smell. My family..." She was starting to get lost in her own thoughts.  She had to bring herself back down to earth and when she did, she found Maverick just staring at her with an expressionless expression upon his face. "Sorry, got a little carried away." She chuckled. 

"It's okay. I liked hearing about your passions, Ms. Vidal." He said. "But...how will my favorite things help me with a house?" 

"With the things that I've told you, what would picture my house looking like?" She asked him.

Maverick watched her in silence for a moment, thinking about what she had told him about herself. "French Chateaux style. Whitestone and black." He said. "A variation of arch and bay windows. I could picture you with a nook, though you've never mentioned liking to read." He said "You'd just stare out of the window as the rain fell or to watch the leaves fall in the autumn. You like cars, so I'm sure you'd probably need at least a three-car garage to store your three favorite cars. You need a large bit of land for your kennels-closed in property for your dogs to run around." He could picture her in such a setting. 

Stevie chuckled. "You're really good at this." She said. "I'm actually enjoying your commentary. So, what about the inside?" She asked.

"Inside?" Maverick thought about it for a moment. "I get the feeling that while you love winter, you wouldn't want the inside to just be white. You like splashes of color but not bright colors; black, maybe blues and grays...purples maybe even green. Of course, not altogether, though."

"So, then what colors would I choose?" Stevie asked him.

Maverick laughed. "I don't know." He answered truthfully. "Somehow, I doubt that even you would know right off the bat."

She gave him teasing glare before she shrugged. "True." She confessed.

"I do get the feeling that you like whimsical things." He said. "You like to feel like you're in your own little world of comfort."

"Hm," Stevie watched him closely. "You're really good at this." She complimented. 

"I've seen your apartment, for one and well...I'm ex-military, it was once my job to read people and situations. So don't be too impressed." Maverick joked haphazardly.

"Too late." Stevie countered with a smile. "So, now do you see why you telling me what your favorite things are, is important?" She asked

"Guess so." He admitted. "Hard to believe that I never thought of it that way." He said under his breath. "I've always tried to pride myself on thinking outside of the box." He looked at Stevie. "Guess you just taught me something, Ms. Vidal."

"That's what I'm here for." She grinned. "And, you know..." Her smile became a little smaller. "I'd really appreciate it if you called me Stevie when we're not at work, Mr. Singh."

"When you stop calling me Mr. Singh, I'll stop calling you Ms. Vidal." Maverick stretched his arms.

Wow, he was attractive. It was hard to ignore and that was the main reason why Stevie insisted on being professional with the guy. She watched him flex unintentionally and quickly looked away for fear of ogling.

"Easier said than done." She muttered. 

"Exactly," Maverick replied.

After finally getting Maverick to write down some of his favorite things, Stevie realized that they had a few things in common. It wasn't much that he opened up about but it was definitely enough to narrow down what they should look for.

They spent the next two and a half hours looking over houses and making tour appointments. Maverick ordered them both some Thai before they started looking at more houses.

Stevie took a bite of her spicy chicken with rice as she continued over these houses. "You know, all of these houses are beautiful. " She complimented. "But it's always something missing with you." She smirked.

"Yeah, I know." Maverick shook his head. "I'm very difficult, apparently."

"You are." Stevie agreed. They looked at each other and she nudged him playfully. "But it's okay. It's your dream home. I wouldn't settle for just anything." She said to Maverick as he scarfed down his second order of steak and vegetables. 

"Then what am I supposed to do?" He asked. He knew that he was being difficult and in truth, he was actually starting to irritate himself. "I know you must be tired of me."

Stevie looked at her boss and rolled her eyes. She put her food on the table and slid closer to him. "I've actually been looking into something else while you were getting the food."

"What is it?"

"Well, this is a construction company that has a contract with Maverick Industries." She said. 

Maverick watched her curiously. "Okay, and?"

"And I was thinking that maybe...you could build your home...from the ground up." She looked at him hopefully. "What do you think?"

"Wh-I don't-I don't know about that-"

"You have the money," Stevie said. "So you can build it however you want. You're an amazing architect and interior designer. This way, you can do it how you want and you won't have to settle for anything." When Maverick didn't say anything right away, Stevie pulled her gaze away from the phone that they both were looking at and turned her attention to him. "I'll help you with everything." She offered. "What do you say?" 

Maverick looked at her and saw the sincerity in her eyes. "Why are you so invested?" He asked her.

She just shrugged and gave him the most perfect smile. "I just like seeing people happy." She replied. "Besides, you're my boss," She placed her hand to his rock hard thigh, not thinking about the fact that it could have been taken the wrong way. "And I actually like you, surprise, surprise." She teased.

She joked with him and laughed, not taking anything serious until she caught him staring at her again. He didn't say anything to her with his lips or his expression. He just looked at her and it began to make her feel a little self-conscious. It was at that moment that she remembered that her hand was on his thigh. Stevie quickly removed her hand and scooted away from him.

"Well, I should, um-" She looked at her watch. "It's late, so I think I'm gonna go." 

Maverick nodded, not saying much as he took a swig of his third beer. "Sure." He said. 

Stevie grabbed her Thai food and closed the box. She then grabbed her water and her keys and headed for the door. 

Maverick followed her closely as she walked to the door, his heart beating fast as he found himself aroused by Stevie Vidal. He was trying hard to push the thought of her away and it kept returning to him. There was just something about her that he couldn't shake. He took another swig of his beer as she opened the door.

"Well, this was nice." She said. She turned partially to look at him. "I guess, I'll see you tomorrow-" Maverick grabbed Stevie's arm and pressed her against the panel of the door. "I, Mr. Singh, I-" He pressed his lips against hers, one arm against her waist, pressing her against his hardness while the other still held his beer in hand. 

It took every ounce of strength that Stevie had to break away from the kiss. She ducked him and dropped her food and drink.

"No. No, no, no. No! No!" She could not believe what just happened-even more that she liked it. "I can't! Why? I-" She looked at Maverick.

"I-I'm sorry." He apologized. "I-guess...I just got carried away...I-" He looked at her, guilt immediately taking over. "I-I'm-"

"I should go," Stevie said. She started to pick up the food that she dropped.

"I'll get-I'll get it." He stopped her from picking up the mess.

"Are you-"

"Yes, yeah, I'm sure. Just...go home, Ms. Vidal."

Stevie was shocked about what happened, she didn't know what to say, so she just vigorously nodded and agreed. "Good-goodbye, Mr. Singh." She quickly left.

When the door closed, Maverick watched her through the window to see that she got to he car safely. She sat there for a moment and then finally pulled off. 

Maverick leaned against the door. "What...just happened?"