Page 12 of The Puck Decoy

“Watch your fucking mouth, Cooper, or I’ll watch it for you,” Josh snaps, making both his housemates look at him in surprise, and I notice we now have the attention of Daemon Forbes from the kitchen, but all I can focus on is what Landon just said.

I know you had a no touching rule for her

What the hell does that mean?

Landon holds his hands up in defense as Levi comes to join him at his side. “Sorry man, we just didn’t realize you had a girl,” Landon says carefully, noting the protective stance Josh has in front of me, and I can’t help but feel bad for him.

“She’s my fiancée and you and everyone else in this house will treat her with respect,” Josh grits, not backing down from his anger, and Levi’s eyes flare wide.

“Fiancée?” he splutters, clearly taken aback by this whole situation, and I can feel this thing falling apart before it’s even begun, which is why I know I need to take a stand.

I step out from behind Josh, squaring my shoulders and standing firm at his side. “You can’t honestly be this surprised, Levi, I mean how long have we known each other? You must have known how I truly felt about him,” I tell him with as much conviction as I can muster, which isn’t hard considering everything I just said is true. Then I lean into Josh and add, “I just had to wait for this dumbass to realize how amazing I am.” I mix it with my signature eye roll for effect, and Josh scoffs a laugh, placing his arm around my waist.

“Oh yeah, with every barb from your lips I just fell head over heels,” he drawls sarcastically, selling the lie even more.

“Don’t think I won’t dick punch you in front of your friends,” I tell him, and both Levi and Landon laugh.

“I guess I’ve been a dumbass too,” Levi admits, appraising us again, and it’s an effort not to squirm under his stare, but thankfully his friend lightens the mood.

“I knew you were a kinky fucker, Peters, but dick punching, really?” Landon laughs, shaking his head, but I feel Josh tense around me at his words, as if Landon just uncovered a secret, yet still I smile.

“Careful now, the dick punching is widely available,” I warn him, coming to Josh’s defense, and Landon narrows his eyes at me, but I don’t back down.

Josh takes one warning step forward, ready to intervene, that tension back in his hold on me, but Landon rolls his eyes. “Whatever,” he snarls, stomping back to the sofa and picking up his controller to continue his game.

“Alright, Tink, let’s go,” Josh tells me, pulling me away from the living room, towards the kitchen.

When I turn I find that Daemon is still watching us, the knife in his hand paused as he takes in the situation before him. He is still wearing his headphones, but there is no longer any humming. In fact, it seems the only thing he is listening to now is our conversation. There is a look in his eye that I can’t seem to decipher, a look so intense it makes me shiver in Josh’s hold as he moves us towards him.

“What’s on the menu?” Josh asks, slipping away from where I stand to check out the ingredients on the island. “Oh chicken piccata, nice,” he adds, answering his own question, as if he expected that Daemon wouldn’t, especially given that the man in question is still watching me silently. “Can’t wait, it smells delicious,” Josh continues on, not seeming to care that his friend isn’t responding.

No, Daemon Forbes continues to stare at me, as if his eyes can dissect every secret I have ever had, and it unnerves me completely. We aren’t exactly familiar with one another, and I find myself thinking back to the game of truth or dare we played a few weeks ago with some of his other teammates. Alexander Reign dared me to kiss Archer, something that was only slightly awkward given I know Archer pretty well thanks to the economics class we share. Yet it isn’t the kiss that sticks in my mind, but Daemon’s reaction to it. He didn’t say anything, just like now, but he watched it like he both enjoyed it and hated it at the same time. Yet I could still feel Daemon’s stare, except he wasn’t looking at me, he was looking at Archer, and I can’t help but wonder if he has some secrets of his own to divulge.

“Well we’ve got some wedding planning to do,” Josh interrupts my thoughts, and I watch as Daemon finally turns his way, sharing a knowing look with him and Josh nods.

Then he leads me away from the kitchen and up the stairs, and I feel Daemon’s stare on us every step of the way.

When I decided earlier that we needed to come here, I don’t think I thought it out fully, because as we reach Josh’s room, and he pushes open the door, I find that I brace myself slightly. It’s been a long time since I have been in his bedroom, and despite the fact I agreed to marry him, this feels really strange. Of course I am used to him in my space. He is over at the house all the time, and has found himself in my room on numerous occasions, but since his dad’s affair he has always kept his own space private. I feel like I am entering Narnia or something as we walk inside, and I can’t help my eyes from flying everywhere.

His room is just as clean and tidy as it always was when we were kids, confirming he is still a total neat freak, and I can’t help but smile. His bed is made, curtains drawn open, desk tidy, no clothes on the floor, and I roll my eyes when I see he still keeps a checklist on his notice board, yet he makes fun of my lists any chance he gets. I walk around the whole room, inspecting everything my eyes land on, and even smiling at the shelf with photo frames on it. Something personal in this cold and tidy world of his.

In the first frame there is a picture of him and Maddie from when they were kids, but it’s the other picture that grabs my attention. Not just because I am in it, but because I have seen it before. I used to sleep with it under my pillow when my crush for him was really bad, but I didn’t know he had a copy. This picture was taken on my prom night. Maddie and I were all dressed up, and she forced Josh to take a picture with us. He stands tall and broad in between the two of us and I can remember the feeling of his arm against my bare skin like it was yesterday. When I got my copy I folded my best friend out of it until there was only me and Josh, and the fantasies I created in my head of that night are still used in my nightly rotation to fall asleep now. Of courseI had to tuck the picture deep into a box when I moved in with Maddie, but seeing it now, here, makes me smile.

By the time I turn back to Josh, I realize I must have been looking at his room a lot longer than I realized, because he is standing in the corner, watching me carefully, as if waiting for me to make a comment about his room. Feeling both exposed and nervous, I don’t comment on his room, and instead go with, “So what’s the deal with Daemon?”

My question throws him completely and his frown is instant. “What do you mean, what's the deal with him?” He throws back, not seeming to know what I’m referring to in the slightest.

“I mean, you know, he seems really intense, scary even,” I shrug, knowing I’m not really explaining what I mean how I want to, but Josh is already shaking his head.

“He isn’t scary, he’s particular, misunderstood,” Josh states coldly, moving towards me, and letting his stare flick to the picture of us over my shoulder, before coming back to me. “Daemon Forbes is one of the best people I have ever met, you just need to get to know him.”

I nod, knowing that if Josh is vouching for him, then I can believe it, and because his closeness to me is intoxicating, I push away from the shelves and move to take a seat on the end of his bed. “So, wedding plans?” I say, clearing my throat and pretending all of this is completely normal, and he turns to me with a look of surprise.

“Hallie, you are doing me this huge favor, one I will never be able to fully repay, so please don’t worry about a thing. I will sort everything, the minister, the location, the rings, just leave it to me,” he tells me, moving across his room towards his desk. “And speaking of rings,” he adds, opening the top drawer and pulling out a back velvet box. He moves back towards me, his height towering over me as he reaches where I sit on the end of his bed and holds out the box towards me. “This is for you.”

I know what’s inside the box, I’d have to be stupid to not know what a little black velvet box houses, even if we weren’t already fake engaged. Yet I can’t make my hand reach out and take it. Not when it’s currently shaking so hard that all I would do is drop the thing. Again, I’m not stupid. I knew there would be a ring, but I guess I didn’t truly think about this moment, and what it would mean to walk around with his fake claim to me on my finger.

I flick my stare up to Josh and find him watching me closely with an amused grin as he purrs, “Do I have to get on my knees again for you to take it? I know how much you’d enjoy that.”

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