Page 29 of Puck It!

I grit my teeth with my hard swallow, still so angry with my father’s death. "He didn’t deserve to die like he did" I shake my head as I drop my gaze, instantly feeling my heart wrench with pain.

"I know Angel, your dad was a good man, taught me and Koda a lot."

I nod to that, my dad was a good man, he got sick, and it took him faster than we could blink.

Jax hooks his arm around me, pulling me to his side, and I tuck my head into his chest before he kisses the top of my head, tucking my head under his chin, pulling me in tighter.

We stay just like this. In a way, I think we both needed a minute of quiet from our big nights.

"Anything else on your schedule tonight?" I giggle to his playful question.

"Yeah."

"And what’s that?"

"You take me home and snuggle me in a warm bed."

"I can do that."

I pull my head from his chest and look up, meeting his gaze as he curls that soft smile, not that cocky one that normally plays from his lips.

And we do just that. We go home.

NEXT DAY

Macie

It’s past noon, and I am still laying in Jax’s bed, wrapped in his arms. We didn’t get home until almost sunrise so, we’ve only been asleep a few hours. Well, I only slept a few hours, Jax is still asleep.

It feels weird to be in his bed, snuggled all up with him, knowing both our parents are right down the hall, but I don’t care. I haven’t felt this security since dad. And it feels damn good. But I really have to pee, so, I wiggle from under his arm, his leg that’s laid across mine, and free myself without waking him up.

I run over to my room and of course first thing bathroom. I brush my teeth and get myself dressed. I guess I should go find my mother and get this over with. I really don’t want to. I’m sick of the judgement from her. All because I don’t want to skate.

I peek my head in Jax’s room and see he is still sleeping, huffing a laugh to myself. But to be fair, he did play last night, and it was a pretty intense game, and then everything after.

I make my way down the hall before finding my mother in the living room with Paul, of course, I get them both; Yay fucking me.

"Good morning." I say, knowing damn well it’s one in the afternoon now.

"Hi sweetie." my moms soft voice breaks.

I sit on the couch across from them, and my jaw grinds, as they both look at me like I am an alien.

"Nice show last night little lady." Paul chuckles and my mother looks like she might catch a blaze.

"Thanks Paul, glad you enjoyed it."

Pulling my attention to my mother, "So, mom, how did you enjoy the show?" I ask her, and yes, I’m tired and I have an attitude.

"I enjoyed it, but I did not enjoy you basically fucking Jax on stage." Her eyes widen with her last words and I bite my laughter, but the smile still curls, Paul does too, but my mom is serious, "It’s not funny Macie, do you do this every night?"

I shake my head, reining my laugh in, because she needs to know, last night, was a little extreme on my part, "I don’t mom. First, we only do those shows once a month. AND…"

I hold my words, trying to think of the right way to put them all together, without sounding like a total slut, "I don’t normally dance the way I did last night for my lap dances, that was extreme, and because it was Jax." I giggle the last part, knowing I changed that routine, specific for the guys, a lot more provocative than we normally do. I purposely was trying to get them all worked up as pay back for their bull shit I’ve dealt with over the years. And well, Jax was to tease him just that much more.

Paul gets my drift and laughs, and my mom just shakes her head at me and then, the question I knew was going to come is surfacing from her throat, "So, do you take them home like you did Jax last night?"

My nostrils flare as my jaw clenches, my eyes probably look like they might pop from the sockets before my words hiss from my tongue, "How fucking dare you!" I shake my head, and swallow hard as the tears sting my eyes. The fucking judgement, the accusations of working where I do.

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