m a v e r i c k *
I was at the gym when it happened.
I heard his voice behind me.
The truth is, I haven't talked to him since we graduated high school. Two and a half years ago.
I turned around.
"Cannon, hi," I say in surprise. He steps toward me.
"Hi, Maverick," he says. "Can we talk? For a minute?"
"Um, sure, we can go somewhere, if you'd like?"
"Sure, I think that would be better,"
So we went across the street to Panera and tucked ourselves away into a corner booth.
"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry," Cannon begins, looking in my eye. "I know that doesn't make up for anything, and honestly it doesn't even make me feel better just saying sorry, but I truly am sorry, and I hope...I hope that someday we can be friends."
"I--thank you, Cannon. It means a lot to me that you would apologize to me. I'd like to put our pasts behind us if you do, and we can be friends?" I say, looking into his eyes. The eyes I'd wanted to look into for so long. The boy whom they belong to being the boy I wanted to wake up with every day...but he wasn't my friend, he was my high school bully.
"I'd like that, Maverick,"
I smile at him.
♢
After that day, we'd started talking more.
After a few weeks, I'd even invited him over to my house for dinner...
The knock sounds on the front door of my apartment at 4:46 PM.
I cross the floor and open the door.
"Hi," I tell Cannon. "Come on in,"
I close the door behind him.
"How was your day?" I ask him.
"It was really good," he tells me. "Knowing I'd get to see you after I got off made it better,"
I find myself blushing a little and look away from him.
After we'd eaten (I'd made spaghetti), we settled onto the couch.
"I know high school was really rough for us," Cannon says, looking over at me. "But I'm glad we're putting it behind us and being friends,"
"Me too," I say softly.
"Thanks for coming over," I say as Cannon goes to the front door. "We should do it again sometime,"
He smiles. "Yeah, we should,"
He looks at me, and unless I'm hallucinating he leaned down before going in for a hug.
♢
A couple of days later, Cannon had texted me and asked if I'd want to go to dinner.
I texted him back that I'd like that.
I met him at a local Italian place. We both really like pasta, I guess.
He smiles as I walk up.
"Hey," he says, giving me a hug.
"Hey," I reply after the hug ends.
"I reserved a table because it's hard to get seats sometimes,"
We get sat in a corner in the back.
"Did you have a good day?" He asks me.
"Yeah, I did," I say with a smile. "I was excited for tonight,"
"Me too,"
Our dinner is suddenly (and rudely) interrupted by some random girl.
"Cannon?" she says. "What are you doing here? And who is he?"
"Camila," he says roughly. "I'm having dinner, with a friend, what else would I be doing?"
"I think we should get back together," she blurts abruptly.
Cannon looks at her and raises an eyebrow. "Why? So you can cheat on me again? Will you please leave me alone, I'm trying to have a nice dinner, so please, move along,"
She scoffs. "I'm not leaving until you say we'll get back together,"
"Then we will," I speak up.
Cannon looks at me. "A-are you sure? We don't have to--" he says softly.
"It's okay, Cannon, we can go somewhere else," I tell him.
Luckily we hadn't ordered yet.
Cannon ends up pushing past Camila, telling me to wait there for a second. He comes back with a large man.
"Dad?!" Camila says.
"Camila, please, leave Cannon and his date alone," the man, who I now know is Camila's father, says.
She huffs and storms past him.
"I'm sorry," the man says, waving at us.
"Her dad owns the restaurant," Cannon explains to me.
I nod my understanding.
"I'm so sorry," he begins.
"Why?" I say. "It's not your fault,"
His facial expression softens.
