Page 72 of These Pucking Boys: Part Two

“But I don’t want to take the night off from you.” She pouts.

I pull her to me and kiss her cheek. “If you want someone to snuggle in bed, I volunteer.”

“That defeats the purpose of letting her rest,” Ryan retorts. “Besides, if anyone needs a snuggle from June, it’s me.”

She yawns again. “I think I’d better spend the night alone so I can truly rest. I have a busy day tomorrow.”

Maybe she doesn’t want to watch us fight for the right to snuggle with her, or maybe she is truly tired. But I don’t like that she’s spending the night alone.

“It’s all right, lass. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

No one speaks during the elevator ride, and when we reach June’s floor, she doesn’t want us to walk her to the door.

“But who’s going to walk Winston with you?” Jake argues.

The door to Mrs. Carpenter’s opens, and the dog walker Jake hired walks out. Diana is a friendly lady who doesn’t know anything about hockey. I’m not sure she knows we play. Maybe that’s why Jake hired her.

“Oh, you’re back. How was your trip?” she asks.

“It was good,” June replies. “How are the pets?”

“They’re fine. I just walked Winston, so you don’t need to worry about him tonight.”

“That’s great. Thank you.”

We exit the elevator to let Diana use it, and now June can’t stop us from walking her to her door. But we don’t follow her inside, because we know if we do, there will be no sleeping anytime soon.

She looks over her shoulder and arches her brows. “You don’t want to come in?”

“We do, but we shouldn’t. Go rest, beautiful,” Jake tells her.

“I don’t get goodbye kisses?”

If I kiss her now, there’s zero chance of a goodbye. “Lass... are you trying to weaken our resolve?”

She smiles. “Maybe?”

Ryan shakes his head. “You’re such a bad girl.”

I’m a second away from accepting her invitation, but a yawn sneaks up on her, making me feel guilty. “Go to bed, lass. We’ll see you tomorrow.” I close the door before Ryan and Jake succumb to temptation.

“Man, that was close.” Ryan chuckles. “It’s crazy how I can’t resist that girl.”

“Yep,” I reply.

Jake remains quiet, but I don’t know if he’s thinking about our situation with June or if he’s worried about his father. When we’re home, I ask him. “What’s on yer mind, lad?”

He stares at me for a couple beats before replying, “June.”

Ryan goes straight to the bar and fills three glasses of whiskey. I guess this conversation requires something strong. This is new territory for us. We’ve shared women in the past, but it was always a casual fling. Now we’ve fallen for the same lass, and it’s uncharted territory.

We head for the living room and sit on the L-shaped couch. Jake takes a large gulp of his drink before he says, “I know neither of you is happy that I’m dating June in public.”

Hell. I throw my head back and finish my drink in one shot.

“It sucks,” Ryan replies. “I’m not angry at you, Jake, but I’m damn jealous if I’m being honest. I’m so fucking in love with that girl, it’s not even funny.”

Jake turns to me. “You too?”

---