Page 16 of Puck Block

[ 8 ]

FORD

I’m bored.

The whiskey has worn off, and the hyena is back, trying to steal all my attention. I’m allowing it for now, but there’s a nagging poke in the back of my head every time I let my mind wander.

There’s a perfectly round peach rubbing against my dick, and it’s softer than the week-old banana I found in the back of my locker the other day–which explained the rotting food smell that Coach was complaining about.

“Time to go,” I say into the hyena’s ear.

Unfortunately, she thinks she’s coming with me, but there’s only one girl I take home from each party, and she's usually kicking and screaming the entire time.

“Hey, Claire!” I shout from across the party. She’s sitting on Theo’s lap, happy as ever. They both look up, and I instantly pause at the look that flies across Claire’s features. I move through the party with ease, dodging the dancing couples. I’m in front of my captain and his girl a few seconds later and ask, “Where is she?”

Claire sucks in her cheeks. “Who?”

Theo snorts behind her back.

“Bryant. Don’t mess with me. Where is she?”

The nickname she was given by Theo makes her smile, but she quickly looks away and tries to dodge my question. “I don’t know.”

I lean to the left and make eye contact with Theo. He sends me a silent warning, and I laugh under my breath.

“Ah, I get it. She told you to keep me from finding her, huh?”

Claire shakes her head and continues to rub her fingers over Theo’s knuckles.

My chest is tight, and I’m starting to sweat. Emory is going to kill me if she’s getting rammed somewhere in this damn party, and Taytum is going to kill me when she finds out I lied to Claire to find her, but a guy has to do what a guy has to do.

“Well, her glucose monitor just dinged, and I want to make sure she takes her insulin. So where is she?”

Claire sits up a little taller and pushes her brown hair behind her ear. “How do you know that?”

I think fast on my feet, because I’m me. “Because I downloaded the app to my phone too.” It’s a blatant lie, but it’s a good idea.

Her lips part. “Doessheknow that?”

The music switches to an upbeat song, and I glance around the party to see if I can catch a glimpse of her sunshiny hair. I’d call her, but I know she won’t answer.

“Claire, where is she? I’m ready to go home, and I’m not leaving without her, especially if her sugar is out of sync.”

Claire starts to nibble on her lip. “Claire, come on. For once, I’m being serious. Where is she?” It hurts to lie to her like this, but what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.

“For once,being the key words,” Theo jokes.

Claire pulls out her phone and shoots Taytum a text. “I really don’t know, but I’ll text her.” She shows me the screen, and although Taytum might text her back and let her know which room she’s hiding in, I’m not waiting.

I turn and walk over to the stairs and jog up them one by one. I nod to a couple of teammates, and they’re lucky they’re within my eyesight and not trying to pull one over on Emory by fucking his sister.

“Taytummmm,” I sing, striding down the long hall. Most of the doors are shut with couples trapped behind them, but I know that Taytum is either in the media room, or she’s climbed through Rush’s window to sit on the roof and peer up at the stars–one of the many things she does that scares the shit out of me—which is precisely why she does it.

I slowly push on Rush’s door, hearing the creak echo throughout the room. The window is shut.

Come on, Taytum.

I spot the media room across the hall, and the door is cracked.

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