Top Gun Imagines

28. Who Do You Like (Maverick - Pete Mitchell)

(Published July 2, 2023) 

   I was sitting at a picnic table on the base, watching a bunch of pilots play catch with a football in the open grassy lawn nearby when Maverick asked a question that made me nearly fall off of my seat.  
   "Who do you like?"
   Surprised, my eyes shot up to meet Maverick's curious gaze. I could feel the shock on my face and tried to suppress it some. That was not a question I had ever expected to hear tumble out of his mouth around me, though!
   "No one practical?" I answered as cleverly as I could, but it came out as more of a question.
   He shook his head. "That's not an answer, Gina."
   "But it is." I argued lightheartedly, trying to change the too serious mood. "What's it to you anyways?"
   "Just curious." He shrugged. He opened his mouth to continue, but I interrupted.
   "Did someone bribe you to find out if they had a chance at my heart?" I joked. "Cowardly move!"
   He cracked up at that, shaking his head again. "No, I'm asking to satisfy my own curiosity. Silly girl."
   I blushed at the last part, hiding the best I could manage in my hair.
   "So, who is it?"
   "Uh...  Patrick Swayze!"
   "You're not going to tell me, are you?"
   "What, celebrity crushes don't count?"
   "You know what I mean."
   He was chuckling again, but I could see a hint of frustration in his brown eyes. I wasn't sure that I was ready to confess just yet, though.
   "I'll tell you who I like." He offered.
   Too quickly, I objected. "Please don't."
   He raised an eyebrow and I quickly amended my statement with a joke and a small smile. "I'm so tired of guys drooling over Uma Thurman."
   Examining my face for a minute, he didn't respond. Then, he leaned back on his seat with a grin. "I know who it is."
   I groaned, dropping my head on the picnic table we were seated at. And here came the pitiful guessing part, I thought. The sound of him climbing onto the table made me tip my head slightly to verify my suspicions. He was now seated on the wooden table top rather close to me. He was a weirdo, man!
   "Gina."
   I lifted my head, raising my eyes to look at him. He leaned a little closer as if he was about to whisper to me, the grin still on his lips.
   "You like me?"
   "Yes?"
   "That's not a question you're supposed to answer with a question."
   He was inching closer and I couldn't think clearly enough to come up with anything smart to reply with. He had never gotten this close to me, the secretary who wasn't supposed to even be on his radar. But just a few more inches and we'd be kissing. Kissing Maverick... Oh, somebody help me!
   Was he still waiting for an answer?
   "Um, what was the question?" I stammered pathetically.
   His grin widened at that. "You're the girl I like, Gina."
   And then? He kissed me!