Page 2 of Pucking Vacation

“Thanks, Mom!” Skyler exclaims as the guys finish passing around the shots.

I roll my eyes at Skyler's quip and take my shot. The liquid burns down my throat, but I refuse to show any weakness in front of the frat boys. With a smirk, I set the empty glass back down on the bar and shoo my friends away from the group of guys.

"We're off," I announce firmly, herding them towards the elevators. The guys call out goodbyes, but I ignore them, focusing on guiding my inebriated friends to our room.

As soon as we're inside and the door clicks shut behind us, I turn to face them with a stern expression. "Okay, ladies, time to rally. We didn't come all the way to Miami to get wasted on the first night."

Skyler lets out a groan and flops dramatically onto one of the beds. "But Gracie, it's Spring Break! We have to live a little."

I shake my head with a smile and start unpacking my suitcase. "Living a little doesn't mean blacking out every night, Sky."

Rylee collapses onto the bed next to Skyler, her words slightly slurred. "But you're always so responsible, Grace. Let loose for once!"

“Letting loose is exactly what I’m going to do!” I assure them. “I just want to actually make it to the pool before I black out.”

Sutton slinks up to me and gives my shoulder a playful shake.

“Oooooh, is the bookworm going to go Girls Gone Wild?” she asks, her eyes sparkling. “Please, please, please say yes!”

I shrug out of her grip and shake my head. “I’m not going to flash my boobs at a crowd or anything, but… I do have a few goals for this week.”

My friends all groan.

“Not goals!” Rylee exclaims, rolling off the bed. “Always the goals!”

I scowl at her. “Having goals is not a bad thing!”

Sutton moves closer to Rylee and links arms with her. “Boo, goals! Booooo!”

I scowl and wave my hands at them as if swatting a fly away.

“All right, enough out of you two,” I grumble. “Go get your swimsuits on. I don’t want to waste another minute of pool time locked in this room with you drunks.”

Rylee and Sutton giggle as they each salute me and move to the other side of the room to dig into their suitcases. As soon as their backs are turned to us, Skyler slides along the bed until she’s right next to me as I dig through my own luggage.

“So, you’re going to do it?” she whispers, her eyes wide. “Really?”

I shoot her a look and nod. “Yeah, why not? I’m tired of waiting. This is the perfect opportunity to do it and get it out of my system so I can focus when we get back to school.”

Skyler frowns and her brow furrows in clear concern. “But, Grace… this is your virginity we’re talking about. Do you really want to give it to some random stranger? Don’t you want your first time to be special?”

Releasing a long breath, I sit on the bed next to her and pat the top of her head.

“I just want to get it over with,” I tell her in a soft voice. “I already feel so behind when it comes to life experiences. Growing up, my brother was always there, scaring off any potential boyfriends and overshadowing me with his popularity and charisma. Not that I really minded, but I’m finally on my own, and I just want to be a normal college girl for once. I want to party and hook up with some hot guy, then I can go to college and return to my regular life and my studies and not have to wonder what it would be like to actually be with a guy.”

Skyler stares at me for several moments and then arches her brow. “So, what you’re saying is that you’re a horny little gremlin and you can’t concentrate on being a smarty-pants because you’re always on the verge of humping the tables in the library. So, you’re going to get dicked down by some beef-head you meet here and then go back home to resume your Mother Theresa schtick. That about right?”

I burst out laughing, and I shove her shoulder. “I guess that’s one way to sum it up.”

She falls back on the bed and chuckles before she gasps, a wide smile curling her lips.

“What if you meet a hockey player?” she asks, a teasing lilt in her voice.

I tense up. “What?”

She sits back up. “Seems like you’re throwing out all your other rules. What about rule number one? Thou shalt not dateth a hockey bro?”

I clench my teeth, a shiver of annoyance passing through me. I quickly shake it off, though, and reply, "I've spent all my life around players. Literally and figuratively. And while I have all these rules about refusing to be in a relationship with one, this week is not about that, because once it's over, we won't ever see each other again. So why bother even worrying? Besides, the chances of the guy I meet playing hockey are slim to none, so there's no point in even considering the possibility."

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