Page 5 of Puck Me All Night Long

"You're such a hypocrite." Heidi laughs. "You sleep with a different woman every night."

"Not every night," I grumble. The last thing I need is my baby sister calling out my sexual behaviors.

"Oh, okay, just every other night."

"Whatever, we are not talking about me—we're talking about you and going to the clubs underage."

"Chill out. I'm just teasing you. Erica and I are going to our romance book club meeting. That's the club we're going to. Besides, book boyfriends are so much better than real boyfriends."

"How would you know? You've never had a boyfriend, at least not one you've told me about." I scowl, trying to recall any time that led me to believe Heidi had an ex-boyfriend buried in her past.

"Don't worry, I'm not interested in any of the puck boys on the team. Besides, I don't think I could handle three guys at the same time."

"Really, Heidi, I didn't need to hear that." I'm going to need a wire brush to scrub my brain after this conversation. But she does have a good point: what do people think about our team sharing? "Do you think it's weird that one woman is okay with being with three guys at the same time in a relationship?"

"Honestly, I think if all parties are fine with the arrangement and no one gets hurt, it's fine. I mean, who wouldn't want to have all that love in their life." She doesn't have to spell it out for me. I can tell it in the sad tone of her voice.

I did the best I could to shower her with all the brotherly love I could, but who the hell am I to know what love is? I certainly didn't learn about it from our parents. Or the puck bunnies that warm my bed from time to time certainly don't know much about love, or they wouldn't be hopping from bed to bed.

"Yeah, maybe you're right—love is all that matters—the rest is irrelevant." My baby sister is a genius. It's time I stop looking for one night of lust and start looking for a lifetime of love. "I better let you get to your book boyfriend. I love you, Heidi."

"I love you too, Holden. I'll see you tomorrow."

I end the call with Heidi and reflect on my life choices up to this point—I've never been in a committed relationship, and I don't even know how to begin to be a good boyfriend. If I'm going to make this believable with Hadley, I'd better do some research.

I spend the rest of the night reading everything I can on my phone about how to be the perfect boyfriend, and for the first time in years, I don't feel the numbness that takes over my body when I'm by myself.

five

Hadley

"You made it!" Teagan opens her front door and pulls me into a tight hug. We're glad you're joining our little group." She steps back and motions me inside her home. It's tastefully decorated in warm blues and greys, with mahogany wood floors and trim—masculine with a hint of feminine touches.

"Thanks, I appreciate the invite—I don't get to hang out with friends very often." Not wanting to see the pity in her eyes over the poor little famous actress who doesn't have any friends, I don't elaborate.

"Come on, I'll introduce you to the girls." She loops her arm through mine and leads me to her insanely large kitchen, which has high ceilings and an enormous island with seating for ten people.

I scan the faces of the women sitting at the island. I only recognize Cassi—the other two must be Britt and Gemma.

Teagan introduces Britt and Gemma, confirming that they are who I thought they were. "Britt and I have been best friends for as long as I can remember, and if my dumbass brothers would pull their heads out of their asses and ask her to marry them, she would finally be my sister too." Her eyes stray to an open door as two handsome men walk through.

"Me? What about Uncle Colt?" he hits the other guy in the arm. " When are he, Beck, and Jamison going to ask Gemma to marry them?" There's a twinkle in his eyes as he drops a kiss to Britt's waiting lips.

"First of all, Tarek, this isn't about Uncle Colt, even though it would be amazing to have Gemma as my aunt. We're talking about you, Torin, and Talen marrying Britt."

"Did someone say my name?" Two more guys walk through the door and move to stand next to Britt, each taking turns kissing her. These two are identical to one of the original two guys—obviously, they are Teagan's triplet brothers and Britt's boyfriends.

More guys file through the door, and it almost feels like one of those clown cars you see on TV, leaving you to wonder how many clowns are in that tiny car and when they will finally be done filing out of it.

Two guys stand next to the first guy, who has his arms around Gemma, whispering in her ear, causing her face to turn a light shade of pink. It's so cute that I have to turn away only to come face to face with the three guys circling Teagan, each taking a turn kissing her.

Once Teagan has finished kissing her boyfriends, she scans the room. "Where's Holden, Caspian, and Barnett? Didn't they come home with you?" She questions the guys surrounding her, and my heart speeds up. I didn't know they were going to be here tonight.

I look down at my casual outfit consisting of black yoga pants and a crop top—sure, my boobs look amazing, but the first time I see the guys, I want to impress them with a tight little black dress with sky-high heels and full makeup. Instead, I have zero makeup on and bare feet, having kicked off my sandals a few minutes ago—at least my toenails are painted.

"Yeah, but they're still downstairs in the game room playing the new College Football video game." The blond one says.

"Football? They do know they're hockey players, right?" Everyone laughs at Teagan's joke. Okay, now all of you get back downstairs. It's ladies' night. Stop bothering us." She pushes at her guys, who make sure to sneak in one last kiss before they go back downstairs. This behavior is repeated with Gemma and her guys and Britt and the triplets, who all get in a kiss before being banished to the basement.

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