Page 41 of The Puck Secret

“That’s enough!” Nova booms. “One more word and I will axe your favorite part from your body,” he adds, snapping at his best friend with nothing but hostility. I don’t have time to be shocked though because his hand finds the bottom of my back, and he steers me towards the front door, saving me from the showdown with his teammates.

“Goodbye, Madeline,” all three of them sing-song to our backs, and I nod my head over my shoulder at them, as I let Nova push me to the front of the house.

When we get there he drops his hand and I instantly feel the coldness his lack of touch leaves behind. I turn around and open my mouth to say something, anything, but he shakes his head. “Go, Princess,” he sighs, leaning around me to unlock the door and opening it at my back. “Go before I make you stay,” he adds, and somehow that threat holds more promise than anything he has ever said to me.

I turn to leave, and then halt, turning back to him and leaning up to press a soft kiss to the side of his mouth. I don’t know why I do it, and it’s clear neither does he because his eyes widen in shock, and all I can do is whisper, “Goodbye, Nova.” I let my eyes drop to the floor, and then I run from the house without looking back like a coward.

Hector is the one waiting for me, and when he spies me coming, he jumps from the front seat and opens the back door for me. His eyes take in the jersey and no doubt the name on it, but he remains silent as he closes me inside. I don’t look at the house as we leave, and I am grateful that Hector keeps the silence going as we make the quiet drive back to my house.

When we get there, I lean forward and give a gentle squeeze to his shoulder in thanks, and slip out without so much as one word, hauling my ass up the path to my house. Unlocking the door, I can already hear theHamiltonsoundtrack drifting out from the kitchen, and I know Hallie is already up and waiting for me.

I walk inside silently, listening to her belt out the words to‘Wait For It’until I spy her whisking eggs. It isn’t until she turns to grab some juice from the fridge that she finally spots me. “Hairy fucking balls,” she yelps, her hand flying to her chest as I startle her. She grabs her phone and turns down the music. “Hell, Wendy, you gave me a damn heart attack,” she scolds, going back to pouring herself some juice.

“I had sex with Nova Darkmore,” I blurt out, and she freezes. “Twice,” I add with a weak smile, and she laughs.

“Oh I know, we all heard,” she fans herself, as she takes a sip of her juice, before pouring one for me and passing it over. “So,” she draws out slowly. “How was it?”

“Infuriatingly amazing,” I sigh, taking a drink from my glass as I take a seat at the island. “It was so fucking good, Hals, like mind-blowingly good, the best orgasms I have ever had.”

Her eyebrows raise as she returns to whisking her eggs. “Orgasms?” she questions. “As in plural?” I nod, and she smiles. “Damn, go Mr Darkmore.”

I launch into a tale of what happened, from him dragging me into that utility room to now, including everything with Alexander both last night and this morning, and by the time I am done, breakfast is ready and her mouth is hanging open in shock.

“He hit him? That’s insane, it was his dare.” I shrug, shoveling some of the delicious food into my mouth, as I try not to think about Nova’s reasonings behind it. They don’t matter anyway, they can’t, and as if reading my mind, Hallie adds, “So what happens with you two now?”

Almost choking on the eggs she made, my eyes snap to hers. “Nothing happens now, Hals, last night was just a one time thing. Now Nova and I will go back to ignoring each other.” She doesn’t look convinced by my words, and I hate to admit that I am even less convinced, but there is no other option.

It doesn’t matter that the sex was amazing and better than anything I could have ever imagined, it’s over now. Nova is Josh’s teammate, they hate each other, and we have all our fucked up family history, and not to mention Brad. It would never work between us, so a great one night stand is all it will ever be.

It won’t ever happen again.

My bed still smells like her.Four days. Four fucking days and my goddamn sheets are still stained with the scent of Madeline Peters. It’s both insufferable and intoxicating, as I battle with the memories of the night we spent together. I know I could just wash them, rid myself of the torture and move on, but every time I go to do it, something stops me. I know I should do it, erase the reminder of her and forget she even exists, but if I close my eyes I can still taste her on my tongue, feel her skin against mine, and hear the breathy way she moans my name.

I haven’t seen her since she did the walk of shame out of here on Sunday morning, and that’s not for my lack of trying. My eyes search the campus for her high and low every day, but every time I get so much as a glimpse of her, she darts away from me. She probably thinks it’s better that way, out of sight out of mind and all that, but every second away from her just intensifies my need. I want her. I know that I shouldn’t, that my temptation for her is a mistake, but I don’t care. I’m not done with Madeline Peters, she just doesn’t know it yet.

I’m getting ready for practice with thoughts of her clouding my brain, when the other girl in my life slams to the front of my mind with the simple ding of a new message. I know who the text is going to be from before I even move across my room to grab my phone, but it doesn’t make me feel any less guilty. She knows I hooked up with someone, I didn’t want to lie to her, and regardless of our truth pact, I’m sure she has secrets she is keeping from me, but it doesn’t make me feel any better about our situation.

Grim: Tell me you’re having a better day than I am?

Nova: With an ego as big as you describe, of course I’m having a better day than you are!

Grim: ?? haha very funny!

Nova: Everything okay?

Our texts have died down in their frequency, with a lot less flirting, but we still talk every day, and I care about her more than I should for someone I don’t actually know. What happened with Maddie was amazing, but I couldn’t stop myself from feeling like I betrayed Grim in some way. Which is stupid, there isn’t anything between us, she has made that more than clear, yet I can’t help but feel good every time I talk to her. She makes it easy, simple, everything that Madeline Peters isn’t.

Grim: I’m being forced into another dinner with my family

Nova: You know some people actually enjoy spending time with the people they are related to

Grim: That’s because they aren’t in my family

Nova: They can’t be that bad, they did make you after all

This isn’t the first time she has alluded to not getting along with her family. I get the feeling they pressurize her a lot and she just goes along with it to appease them. I know she has an older brother who she gets along with, and I have wondered a few times if I maybe know him from FU, not that she would ever tell me that. Grim is very strict about keeping our friendship behind the invisible line she put between us. Yet I know she gets along with him, just as she knows about how much I love my mom. I’ve yet to delve into my estranged relationship with my father. I don’t even know what I would say about that, but it’s nice to unload on someone without judgment.

Grim: Don’t try and charm me right now I’m trying to be grumpy!

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