Chapter Five - It Is Now (Maverick)

“Shit or get off the pot,” a voice snapped.

Maverick turned, his brows high as he took in the man behind him. He had a well-worn ball cap pulled low over his forehead, a pudgy little baby strapped to his chest, and a buggy laden down with a mountain of groceries before him. His gaze was expectant as he tilted his head towards the milk that Maverick had inadvertently blocked while debating cheese with Riley.

“My bad, man,” Maverick said, stepping out of the way. Then he noticed where the guy’s eyes were focused and after doing some quick mental calculations, Maverick followed after him. There was no way he was going to be able to reach the milk on the top shelf with that baby in the way. The man seemed to have drawn the same conclusions, frowning up at the shelf above his head, when Maverick came to stand beside him. He didn’t bother asking, already recognizing the look of stubborn pride the man wore. Instead, Maverick reached forward and pulled a jug down. He turned it over to examine, hoping to appear nonchalant.

“Whoops,” Maverick mumbled, just loud enough for the scowling stranger to hear, as he stared down at the jug in his hands. “Wrong brand.” He moved to put in back in place, oh so slowly… almost back, when the man finally spoke up.

“Hey, uh, I can take that off your hands.”

“Alright,” Maverick shrugged, handing it over sideways, his eyes still on the milk options. The squeak of the cart wheels was the only farewell he received.

“Milk isn’t part of the recipe,” Riley noted, sidling up beside him.

“Oh, will you look at that,” Maverick said, moving back towards the cheese.

Riley snorted, looking back over her shoulder at where the man had stood. “I saw what you did there, Mav. That was well-played.”

Maverick shrugged it off. “I refuse to accept a compliment from somebody who consumes mold for fun.”

Riley’s jaw fell open, her hands landing on her hips. “It’s cheese. That’s not even—“

“Next, you’ll tell me you eat mushrooms,” Maverick said, faking a shudder as he grabbed a package of cheddar and one of blue cheese, making sure to place them on opposite sides of the buggy. “We’ll just sprinkle the cheese on last.”

Riley sputtered as he walked away, then hurried to catch up. Her steps were quick to keep up with his long strides; and Maverick took note and slowed his pace.

“What’s wrong with mushrooms?” She asked, indignant. Maverick smiled to himself, enjoying the fire in her voice. She was always so put together. He loved messing with people, finding those trigger points that made them passionate. He’d not met anyone so easy to rile up, not since… Maverick shook his head, forcing himself back into the moment.

What was wrong with mushrooms?, Maverick reminded himself. He scoffed and shot her a look of patient condescension. “They’re a fungus?”

“They grow from the ground just like vegetables,” Riley said. She pulled to a sudden stop, a hand on his elbow. “Wait, that reminds me, we forgot to get carrots.”

“Carrots — now that is a vegetable,” Maverick said, wheeling the cart in a circle and maneuvering it around a tight corner. “Mushrooms, however, are fungi. The same as what grows between your toes.”

“I’ll have you know—“ Riley began, but her words were cut short by the echoing crash of Maverick’s buggy colliding with another shopper’s.

The woman crouched on the other side leapt to her feet, her eyes wide, and Maverick froze in place, feeling as if the very breath had been stolen from his lungs. Brown eyes met his and just like the first run-in they’d had the week prior, he felt as if he were back in that dorm hall once again. Watching the footage. Hearing her excuses. Sending her away.

“What are you doing here?” The words flew from his tongue, unbidden. This was his grocery store. It wasn’t enough to take up residence in his subdivision?

Maria glanced at the shelves of spices she’d been shopping from and then back at Maverick, blinking quickly. “Uh, shopping?” She dropped her eyes to his buggy, then to Riley, then back to Maverick. “Same as you, it looks like.” She nodded stiffly at Riley, an expression of faux kindness on her face. “Hello.”

“Hi,” Riley answered, her voice unsure as she watched them both, clearly working to determine the dynamic. “I’m Riley.”

“Maya,” Maria answered stiffly.

“Don’t lie to her,” Maverick snapped. “That’s not your name.”

“It is now.” She repeated, the words just as sure as they’d sounded the week prior. Her jaw was set and her eyes furious — it was a look that he’d often aspired to achieve when they were teenagers. A precursor for some of the best nights of his life. He’d never thought he’d find himself in a world where that look would convey nothing but hate, and yet here they were, proving him wrong.

Riley cleared her throat in the lingering silence. “How do you two—”

“We don’t.”

“We’re neighbors.”

Maverick and Maria both spoke simultaneously, then stopped, glaring once more.

“Jeden, the one who runs The Eyrie, sold her house to Maria here,” Maverick pushed forward, ignoring Maria’s flinch as he held her stare. “I advised her strongly not to go through with it, but it seems to have happened regardless. And I don’t know her. Not anymore. She ran a scam on me years ago, and when she got caught in her lies, she ran away like the coward she is.”

Maverick took a deep breath, ignoring the naked emotion in Maria’s eyes before she shuttered her expression and jerked her buggy into the middle of the aisle. “There you have it,” she said, her tone clipped. “It was nice to meet you, Riley.” Then she walked away.

Maverick hated it. He hated the way she sounded hurt, like she had a right to be. He hated how his words sounded cruel to his own ears, as if the truth wasn’t welcome to be said. He hated the instinct he felt, deep within, to chase after her. To do what, however, he had no fucking clue. But he hated the fact that she still had a hold on him, in any capacity.

“That was intense,” Riley said after a moment.

Maverick closed his eyes. “Yes, I’m sorry.”

Riley’s eyes were shrewd when she glanced back. He could almost see the wheels turning in her clever brain as she watched Maria walk away. “I guess she’s the source of the fight with Jeden.”

“Yes.”

“And I don’t figure you want to talk about it?”

Maverick grimaced. “Not really.”

Riley nodded, her expression decisive, as if she’d reached some internal conclusion. “Alright. Well, we still have to go back and get the carrots,” she said, walking forward into the aisle. “So you have until we reach them to convince me not to grab a bag of portobellos as well.”