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Long gone are the days of paying a paltry sum to use a popular song as your ringtone and curling up in bed as you gossip with a friend for hours over the phone. You can't even remember what your alerts sound like, your phone is constantly set to vibrate, and the only personal calls you get these days are scam attempts and appointment reminders. Verbal conversations have become short and perfunctory, little more than an option when something is too complex to explain over text. Just the casualty of the modern age, you suppose -- nothing to cry over.
Though there is one man still happy to consider himself a fossil.
Maverick's name on your Caller ID makes you smile, and you take a moment to blow on one set of polished nails as the other taps the speakerphone option.
"The only man alive who didn't make me go through a texting phase," you joke, turning your attention back towards your nail polish as you begin to work on your second coat. "What's up?"
"Just heading out to the beach to meet up with the team. You interested in joining?"
You giggle, remembering the way that the guys straighten up whenever they see you, nudging each other and making private bets to see who can manage to successfully ask you on a date -- unaware that you're secretly dating their mentor. "I don't want to distract you all. Which I'll definitely do, if I show up in a bathing suit."
"C'mon. I miss your face. How about it?"
He's seen it yesterday, so you do your best to fortify the inner strength that had begun to crack at the echo of his heartfelt remark. You can hear the sound of children laughing in the background, waves breaking against the sand, and know that he's already witnessing paradise. How will you make a difference?
"You have my voice right now," you remind him. "Isn't that good enough?"
"I know, I know. Call me selfish."
It's hard to describe what you mean when you tell people that he has a handsome voice. But he does. Smooth, direct, and self-assured, he never seems to stammer or trip over his words. Just pure, masculine confidence, wrapped up in a short but sweet package whose stature belies his immense power and charisma. And now that you know that he misses you, it's hard to turn him down.
"Just give me time to dry my topcoat, and I'll come," you relent with a sigh, knowing that you'll look back with regret if you don't join him for a stunning, golden sunset. "See you soon."
"Thanks, sweetheart. Talk to you later."
You just grin as you hang up and inspect your nails. You've always had a habit of rushing the drying process, and no matter how patient that you swear you've been, you always end up crimping a nail or losing half of the polish on one, random finger, never figuring out where it went. It would do you well to just sit here for a minute and wait for the process to end, to avoid that common consequence; but Maverick has spurred you into action. All because of that voice. Had he merely texted you, you wouldn't have felt the same urgency, estranged from his presence by that soulless text on the screen. But his dashing and charming voice in your ear practically forces you to think about him shirtless and lounging pleasantly on the picturesque beach.
Knowing that the daylight won't last forever, you take your chances and hurry to your dresser, pulling it open and rummaging for your best bathing suit. The boys on his squad will stare at you even if you're wearing a kaftan, so you see no reason to not pull out the stops in order to impress Maverick. The suit is the last piece of the puzzle, as you still have your makeup on, and your hair looks great, and you just did your nails --
A sliver of paint on the dresser drawer makes you pause as you shut it, and you inspect one of your hands to discover that, yes, you have -- yet again -- lost a chunk of your nail polish, somehow, impossibly, despite the fact that the rest of your literal handiwork seems to be holding up admirably. How is that even possible?! Is your luck really that bad -- or is this your own fault, because you just couldn't help but rush to see him?
That voice really is dangerous, and tempting. You just shake your head, accepting your slight flaw as you proceed to get changed. Next time, you'll turn your damn phone off when you need to focus.