When We Fall Silent

Chapter Seven

It was four in the morning and he was standing in my doorway. Water dripped down off his soaked hair onto the rug. The once intense obsidian pools were now dulled and ringed with tired dark hues. I grabbed him by his drenched jacket pulling him inside where it was warm.

"You are such an idiot," I chastised him, helping him get off the jacket that was sticking to him annoyingly. "Why the fuck would you walk in a torrential downpour from the train station when you could've ordered an Uber?"

His dark grey dress shirt was slightly unbuttoned at the top and was soaked through, outlining his muscles and the abs that were hiding behind the thin material. Maverick ran his hand through his matted hair, droplets of water sprinkling everywhere. His normal cool look was printed on his face and he stood with an air of casualness, almost as if he wasn't soaking the carpet underneath him.

"My phone died on the train so I couldn't order an Uber and there were no taxis around." The gruffness in his tone was enough for me to calm down. He probably didn't want to run in the rain either.

"You could've called Alec or someone," I pointed out to him, leaving him standing in the living room dripping while I moved to make some hot tea in the kitchen.

"Hn."

I sighed, not bothering to push the topic anymore. Rubbing my eyes, my body let out an involuntary shiver. The rain outside had chilled the temperature while I slept leaving the tiny, thin pajama shorts and cropped t-shirt no help in keeping me warm. A heated tint creeped onto my cheeks as I tugged down the shorts.

When did these get so small on me?

I realized as I turned to look back at Maverick that he was even colder than I was.

"Why don't you go take a hot shower, while I finish making some tea?"

My suggestion hung in the air and I watched his face closely. I was almost jealous of the way he remained stoic and unbothered, like he didn't even hear anyone talk or comment or question him. But I saw the shiver that ran down his spine as the clothes on him threatened to make him lose all body heat.

All I got was a simple nod and a "thank you" as I handed him a clean towel and showed him where the bathroom was. Thankfully he had his traveling bag with him so warm clothes weren't an issue.

I went to the bedroom as I heard the shower turn on. Slipping on a sweatshirt and fuzzy socks, I tried desperately to ignore the impure thoughts that ran through my head as he showered in the room next to me.

I was utterly annoyed with myself. I felt like a creep for even thinking that. But it wouldn't stop. Not since that night at the club.

Fuck that stupid game of his. He ruined me.

His presence before never bothered me, I acknowledged his attractiveness but felt like I had the upper hand. I never thought about him in such a...teenage-hormonal way. Frankly, I didn't think of many people in that way.

But his lips on my neck were seared into my memory and his body against mine made me lose my breath just at the mere thought of the sensation. And now here he was, silent and soaked to the core, showering in my house.

The high-pitched squeal of the tea kettle going off pushed me away from my thoughts, thankfully. I reprimanded myself internally as I went to the kitchen. I had to get a grip on myself and learn to forget what happened. I had to stop acting like a hormonal teen every time he looks at me. It was only going to get in the way of this...thing we had, whatever that was.

As I poured the tea, Maverick silently walked into the kitchen, steam bellowing out of the bathroom behind him. I placed the hot tea in front of him, sitting down at my place across from him. His lips were no longer tinted blue but were rosy and the color in his face had come back. He simply wore a black fitted tee and a pair of grey sweatpants and I almost cursed the gods out loud because how was it even possible for someone to look that good at four in the morning coming out of the shower.