Page 40 of Pucking Never

"You don't owe him anything, Jensen," Tyler interrupts me firmly. "Remember that. You're your own person, not some pawn in his business games. You have the right to choose who you want to be with."

"I know," I say, my voice softer now. "It just… it just gets under my skin, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it," Tyler replies sympathetically.

“Besides,” I begin hesitantly. “I’m… kind of seeing someone.”

“What?” Tyler exclaims. “You’re seeing someone? Since when? Who?”

“You, um, remember that girl I met way back, in Miami?” I pause and wait for Tyler to respond.

“Wait! You mean the one you’ve been pining for the past few years?”

I roll my eyes. “Yeah… sure. Well, turns out she’s my buddy Carson’s sister and she’s working for him now. We’ve sort of rekindled things…”

“Holy shit!” Tyler shouts. “That’s amazing! The universe is at work, man!”

“Yeah, it sure is,” I say, smiling despite my earlier frustration. “She’s amazing, Tyler. Like no woman I’ve ever met.”

“That’s the good stuff, right there!” Tyler says enthusiastically. “I’m really happy for you, dude. She was a cool girl. Lynn, right?”

“Thanks.” I pause before adding, “Her name’s Grace, actually. She was trying to stay anonymous in Miami.”

“Grace,” he echoes appreciatively. “Nice name. Elegant.”

I can hear the grin in his voice. It makes me smile too.

“I got your back on this one,” Tyler assures me, his voice firm and promising. “Dad gives you any more grief, you let me know.”

“Thanks man,” I say gratefully. “I gotta go, but I appreciate you talking me down. I feel a little better.”

“Good,” Tyler declares. “Give Grace a kiss for me.”

“I’ll tell her hi,” I reply. “Any kisses she gets are only from me.”

He chuckles. “Oooh, you got it bad. Talk soon.”

“Yeah, talk soon.”

I hang up the call and release a long breath. I do feel better. More at ease. I can look past my father’s infuriating phone call to focus on what’s really important right now, and that’s Grace.

Chapter Twenty

GRACE

“Okay, so let me get this straight,” my friend Rylee states through my computer speakers, her brow furrowed in contemplation. “Jensen from Miami is actually your brother’s best friend, and another player on his hockey team… and now you two are hooking up again?”

I nod, grinning sheepishly at my screen. I’m sitting on my bed on a video call with Skyler, Rylee, and our other friend Sutton, and I’m catching them up on everything that’s happened between me and Jensen so far. Skyler knows all the details already, of course, but it’s news to the other two.

“That’s a fair summary, yeah,” I nod. “And we haven’t told Carson yet… but we’re going to!”

“How’s it been?” Sutton asks. “With Jensen, I mean?”

Biting my lip, I consider my words carefully. “It’s been… good. Really good, actually. Jensen is sweet and surprisingly thoughtful.”

“How so?” Skyler pipes in.

I can’t help my grin as I answer, “Well, it’s been some weeks now, and he likes to bring me flowers nearly every other day, and he remembers what my favorite restaurants are when we order out. It’s just little things like that, you know?”

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