Page 26 of The Puck Secret

My cheeks are aflame as I dash away from Nova and his dirty mouth, shock and embarrassment burning through my veins. My heart is pounding against my rib cage as I storm across the quad, with Hallie’s arm gripped too tight in my hand. My throat is dry as if I haven't had a drink in days, but really it’s the effects of his words stealing my breath. God, the things he was saying were filthy and erotic, and I can feel the evidence of them against my now damp lace panties.

We both know how much you liked being my little slut.

I would be lying if I said I hadn’t tried to block out my memories of that night, but it isn’t because of how much I fucked up by pushing myself into his room when I knocked on the wrong door. No, it’s because I can still feel the tight grip he had on my hair, and the illicit feeling that pulsed through my body as he moaned my name. No one has ever treated me like that before, roughly fucked my mouth and both praised and degraded me. Hell, the word slut now sounds affectionate when it falls from his lips, it’s both depraved and insulting, and I like it more than I should. I am well and truly fucked.

“Okay, are you going to tell me what the hell is going on?” Hallie tugs on the hold I have on her, and pulls up to a stop near the building our next class is in.

I look at her and open my mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. What can I say? Where do I even start? She knows the history between Nova and I, between our families, she knew how much my dad’s affair broke me, and my mom. She is the one person who knows everything, the one who tried to be there for Josh in the aftermath of it all. She’s my best friend, I tell her everything, so why can’t I find the words to tell her this?

“Something happened,” I start with hesitation, trying to figure out the best way to explain it. ”Something happened with Nova, and I’m not sure what to do,” I add, and I see her frown as she tries to work out what I mean, which causes my anxiety to spike as I fall into a ramble. “On Saturday when I was drunk, I went in search of Alexander Reign so I could do stuff with him to get back at Brad, but instead I knocked on Nova’s door. He answered and instead of turning around and leaving, I pushed inside and ate his… baguette.”

Hallie stares at me dumbfounded, as she no doubt replays my ramble on repeat in her head. I watch as her mouth opens and closes a few times before she finally whispers, “You ate his baguette?”

I sigh, “Really, Hals, all those words and that’s what you focus on.” I start moving towards the door so we can get to class before we are late, and she quickly follows.

“It kinda seems like the most important part.” She shrugs, holding her hands up in defense before she adds, “And eating his baguette is a euphemism, for sucking his dick, right?”

Those words are said as we pull open the door and come face to face with Daemon Forbes, his eyes narrowing as she says the word dick. Daemon plays on the team with my brother, they even live in the same house, but there is just something about him that has always put me on edge. An underlying darkness that clings to him like a second skin. There are a ton of rumors about him, and his childhood. However, when I asked Josh he shut me down completely, and told me we should know what it’s like to be judged for our parents' mistakes. I didn’t ask again after that.

Despite my thoughts, Daemon steps to the side and holds the door open, allowing us to pass. He maneuvers his body so there is no chance we accidentally touch him, something I wouldn’t notice if I wasn’t so aware of Hallie being similar, and doesn’t say a word to either of us as we enter. Hallie is too busy blushing from him overhearing our conversation to say anything, but when I look over my shoulder I find Daemon still standing there quietly watching. For once I think I see what Josh sees, someone broken and bleeding, but when he catches me staring, that signature scowl I am used to returns, and he stalks away, letting the door slam closed behind him.

“Oh my god,” Hallie whispers, placing her hand on her red cheek as she laughs. “That was so embarrassing!”

I shake my head, laughing with her. “Let’s just get to class, we can continue this conversation at home later.” Not giving her any chance to object, I drag her once more and make our way into class, and I pretend that I don’t think about Nova Darkmore once for the rest of the day.

Little white lies are okay right?

* * *

The next dayI start my day the same as always, with a torso selfie from my Charmer, something I now look forward to every day. He isn’t shirtless in today’s picture, much to my dismay, but he is still wearing a fitted workout shirt that shows off his defined muscles.

The Lonely Charm: Good morning

*image attached*

Maddie: It was going to be but then you deprived me of those abs I love so much!

The Lonely Charm: Don’t flirt with me Grim, it gets me hard

Maddie: Everything gets you hard!

The Lonely Charm: Not true, apparently it’s just girls who are mean to me

Maddie: I am never mean to you!

The Lonely Charm: Who said I was talking about you? ??

I know he means the last message as a joke, but a stab of pain hits me in the chest when I think about the conversation we had last night. He told me that he got with a girl last weekend, something that shouldn’t bother me, but when he told me he felt a little guilty about it, I laughed it off. Told him we are just anonymous friends who flirt sometimes, that it’s nothing serious, but both were a vicious lie. I like him far more than I should, but there isn’t a damn thing I can do about it. That girl he got with is real, has a name and face that he is familiar with, and obviously likes him to some degree for them to fool around with one another. She can give him something I can’t, so it might hurt me in the process, but it’s time I start drawing lines in the sand, keeping us firmly in the friend zone no matter how hard he tries to push us out of it.

The Lonely Charm: And woman please! You have been mean to me every day since we started talking!

Maddie: If you are talking about me pointing out your giant ego, that isn’t being mean, it’s just stating facts!

The Lonely Charm: I’m talking about you refusing to even give me your name or agree to meet me in person.

Maddie: You know I can’t do that

The Lonely Charm: Why? What are you so afraid of?

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