Page 135 of Puck Prince

“How do I know that if I give you the remote, you won’t just go back to your couch?”

I press one hand to my heart and hold the other a Scout’s Honor sign. “I’m sorry, Callie. Come back inside, and I’ll give you the keys. I promise.”

She scrutinizes my face for several long seconds before she slowly steps away from the balcony and back into my apartment. She gingerly holds the remote out to me.

I snatch it from her grip. “Cool, thanks.”

“Hey!” She tugs on the back of my shirt as I go back to the couch. “You promised!”

“I promised I’d give you the keys, yes. Crucially, I didn’t saywhenI’d give you the keys.” I sip my beer through a smile.

I get half a second to enjoy my victory before Callie is literally flying through the air at me.

The last thing I see is her hurtling towards me, hair whipping and wild, and then she’s everywhere. She’s on top of me, wrestling around in my pockets, her small, hot little hands sliding all over my body.

“Are you fucking crazy!?” I shout, almost cackling at the absurdity of it all.

“It’s my apartment!” she shrieks.

We are in an all-out brawl as she tries to find the keys, and I try to restrain her. It’s easier said than done, though. She’s small, but she’s slippery.

I roll on top of her, pinning her to the cushions with my body in what is quickly becoming my new favorite view. But she brings her knee up between my legs.

Just before she can shatter the family jewels, I roll off of her with a grunt. I land on my back, knocking the wind out of myself, which is only compounded when Callie falls on my chest. Despite the many curves I can’t stop dreaming about, she’s all elbows and knees as she clambers around on top of me, still searching for the damned keys.

“Hey! You can— Would you knock it off? Just let me—” I snag her wrists in one hand and shout, “You can have the keys when I know you’re safe!”

She rolls off of me, landing on her back on the carpet. We’re both panting, staring up at the ceiling.

“So you’re really not letting me into my apartment?” she asks.

“Not until I know who this guy is and make sure he’s not after you. Once that’s cleared up, I’ll let you have the keys.”

“And until then?”

“You stay where you are. Where I can see you and protect you.”

Saying it out loud, it sounds even better than I thought it would. I want to see Callie more. Who saw that coming?

Callie sits up, looking down at me. “You can’t be serious.”

“I’m perfectly serious.” I hook an arm behind my head, showing her exactly how at ease I am with this decision.

“I can’t keep living with Kennedy!”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m—” She stops, her jaw working back and forth. “Because I’m sleeping on a pull-out couch. My clothes are still in a suitcase. I need more space. Privacy.”

I sit up, resting my back against the couch. “Move in with me, then.”

The words are out of my mouth before I can think about them, but I don’t regret them. Actually, I think it’s a fucking genius idea.

She rolls her eyes. “Yeah, right. Why are you doing this to me?”

“Because I care about you.”

Yet again, the words slip out before I can think them through. And yet again, I can’t find it in myself to regret them. Even when Callie’s face pales.

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