Page 22 of Chasing the Puck

I fish one out of my own book bag and hold it out to him. When he grabs it, our fingers brush together, and an electric thrill travels from the point of contact, racing up my arm and expanding in my chest. I curse my traitorous nipples for tightening into hard nubs under my shirt.

To Tuck’s credit, he really puts effort into what I ask him to do. He hunches over the paper in front of him, the posture accentuating how big and broad his back is as his thick slab of muscles strain against the shirt.

As he glances between his outline and the pages of his essay, the tip of his tongue peeks out from the crease of his lips.

A chill dances up my spine as my eyes latch onto it. My nipples tighten again, so much they ache this time, as the very unwelcome thought of Tuck’s pink, wet tongue swirling around them intrudes into my mind.

An involuntary shiver rattles through me, noticeable enough to draw Tuck’s gaze.

“So cold in here,” I quickly say to cover it up, drawing my arms against my chest. “They really need to turn the heat up.”

Tuck shrugs, pulling his attention back to his outline. “Seems hot in here to me.”

I can’t tell if he’s making a casual observation or messing with me. I decide to give him the benefit of the doubt. First time for everything, I guess.

When he finishes the outline, he slides it over the table to me. I look it over.

I’m impressed. I review it with him and provide some advice for how he could improve it, what kind of details he should add so that the task of writing the essay could be halfway done before he even types the first sentence.

“Damn, Lockley,” he muses, “there really might be something to this outline idea.”

A small chuckle vibrates in my throat. “Glad I could convince you. You have another essay due soon?”

“Yeah. Middle of next week.”

“Alright. We have another session on Thursday. How about you come to that one with a preliminary outline already made. Then we’ll look it over, tweak it if needed, and then after that session you’ll be ready to start writing it.”

“Yeah,” he agrees. “Sounds good.”

When we’re getting up to leave, he catches me off guard by saying, “Sorry, by the way.”

“Hm?” I ask.

“About that argument we had. When I was driving you home last week.” His features twist, like the memory is actually weighing on him. “I was insensitive. And a jerk. I don’t have any right to judge your decisions like I did.”

I feel numb with surprise. Tuck sounds … sincere? Like this is something that’s been genuinely bothering him, something that’s been on his mind since it happened.

I nod. “Apology accepted.”

I don’t think much of the words, but when I say them, a broad, beaming smile splits on Tuck’s face. The expression lights up the luminous blue orbs of his eyes. “See you Thursday?”

“See you Thursday,” I reply, turning towards the door.

As I step out of the tutoring room with Tuck right behind me, I’m not dreading Thursday nearly as much as I expected I would be half an hour ago.

9

OLIVIA

That night, I’m lying in bed, reading a book on my phone’s Kindle app.

It’s not my normal reading material. Usually, I like to read the classics. Heavier stuff. But after my low-key weekend of indulging in junk-food TV did me so much good, I felt like maybe a light, fluffy read is what I need, too.

Summer’s a big fan of romance novels, so I asked her for a recommendation. Something on the short side, low-angst and cute. She recommended me a book called Roommate Rebound.

It’s about a girl who hooks up with some guy while she’s spending a weekend at the beach after a nasty breakup with her ex. When she gets back home, she moves to a new apartment, only to find out that the guy she hooked up with is her new roommate—and her boss at her new job.

I’m enjoying it a lot. It’s funny, fast-paced, and I really like the FMC.

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