Legend (MxM)

Chapter XXVI

Maverick had no idea that something was off when I approached our table. His attention was on the stage. Ray was on stage singing My Back Pages, which sounded like something from the 1970's. Maverick hadn't noticed my arrival even when I sat. At least, I thought he hadn't. I assumed it was by instinct, his arm lifted just enough to wrap around my shoulders as he smiled at the stage.

How could I ever let myself be mad at him? So instead of saying anything, I just sat there quietly for a little while. It was short lived because for all I knew, he sensed something in my body posture. I was trying to stay as relaxed as possible but the future, the thought of the uncertainty that made me tense up. I had built a good life here in Chicago. I had finally, not only met someone but let that person in. It was like trying to hold water in my hands on a hot day. My thoughts kept racing by. There were so many emotions that I just didn't know what to do with them. Like cars passing on a busy street that I would have to pass on that hot day with water in my hands.

Could I leave everything I held dear? Either way I went, I feared I would lose something I love. Mavericks eyes showed concern but he was more masterful at hiding it than I ever would be.

"I know how shitty it is to hear the words we have to talk but-"

Maverick suddenly had his hand out. I almost didn't take it but I did. Maverick didn't mask it, he knew. There was this flicker of, so he's finally figured it out. Sometimes, his brutal honesty hurts. Even though I knew there was nothing malicious in it. We were suddenly out the door and back in the car.

There was a good stretch of time when he finally started driving. The windows were down again, it was full dark and the farmlands fell behind. Maverick didn't pressure me to talk. As weird as it was, I was having difficulty speaking, because saying it made it real. Making it real crushed a ton of bricks against my chest.

I took a couple swallows of air before I finally had the courage to say something. "You're leaving?" I felt myself choke. I wanted to say more, be more mature and handle this. I just couldn't get any further.

Maverick let out a silent sigh. His shoulders lifted and fell. He looked so resigned and I wondered if I should let him drive. I found myself a little mad at him. He was handling this with too much ease, but I wanted to hear what he had to say before I could unleash that anger. I needed to hear it first. I was ready.

"You know of the rumors?"

I think there was a question mark on face and that seemed to make Maverick look away, as if he was mad at me. I felt my face change colors as my temper started to rise in return. I was just about to say something but he said, "Don't act like you haven't heard of them. Just because I'm sometimes quiet, that doesn't mean my ears stop working. So what else have you heard about me?"

The truth spilled forward. "That you get full enjoyment out of having threesomes, but what does that have anything to do with you leaving?" I did not see a connection at all. It was ludicrous!

"It has a part in this," he said before adding as he briefly looked over at me, "and it was true."

"Was as in past tense." I said this to both clarify for him and myself.

Maverick didn't confirm, he didn't need to because I already knew.

He spoke calmly and his voice carried out clearly. "It's healthy in our age to experiment, find out what we like and don't like."

Maybe I was totally dumb or blind in love. I still couldn't figure out a bridge between this. I was also trying to ignore the sink of the verbal slap. Just the thought of him being with anyone else, that hurt more than I thought it would. I could swear, the left side of my face felt hotter than the right.