Page 18 of Puck Block

Because she’ll lose.

“Rush said you were single, but I’m beginning to feel like I stepped into something I shouldn’t have.”

Well, he isn’t an idiot. I’ll give him that.

“He isn’t my boyfriend,” Taytum reiterates. “He’s my brother’s best friend, and they’re both determined to ruin every bit of fun that I try to have.”

I laugh. “You callhimfun?”

Truth be told, there’s nothing wrong with the guy. I’ve known worse, and he’s obviously not a complete douche if he isn’t mouthing off to me for interrupting his one night of bliss with Taytum, but still, he can fuck right off.

I step forward. “Let’s go.”

Taytum’s chin tilts, and that's when I finally give in and meet her eye. It’s a sucker punch right to my jaw. The apples of her cheeks are flushed with heat, and the pink lipstick is wiped clean from her swollen lips. There’s a subtle gloss to her blue eyes, and I wonder what she’d look like after a good fuck.

Stop it.

“Let’s go,” I say again but this time with a little more of an edge to it.

Taytum shakes out her blonde hair, and I watch as the waves roll over her shoulders. She peers down at the guy with her doe-like eyes, a silent plea for him to keep going instead of listening to me.

The second her hips start moving over him, I see red.

I stomp over to her, lift her up by the waist, and haul her over my shoulder.

“I don’t know who you are, but she’s off-limits,” I snap.

The guy stands up, quietly laughs, and walks out the door—all while Taytum is hitting my lower back and kicking her feet into my hard stomach.

“Thank God for these abs of steel, or that would actually hurt,” I joke.

“I fucking hate you, Ford!”

“No, you don’t,” I counter, flexing my abs again. The number of times I’ve heard that exact line from her is astronomical, and yet, I’ve never seen her smile at anyone else the way she does at me.

Taytum hits me a few more times but eventually gives up. I prepare myself for a verbal scolding, per usual, but she says nothing.

In fact…is she breathing?

I quickly pull her upright and frantically look at her face to make sure she hasn’t passed out. The second our eyes makecontact, I lose my breath. Tears flood her eyes, and when one breaks the dam and tips over her thick eyelashes, I stop dead in my tracks. I drop my gaze to her quivering lip.

Shit.

I press her face into my chest, and my fingers disappear into the thick waves of her hair. “Hey, hey, hey. Stop.”

Please.

Taytum shakes in my arms, and if she doesn’t stop crying, I might start shaking too.

I can’t take it.

I can’t stand to see anyonecry.

I can’t stand to see her cry.

My nose burns, and my throat closes. I grip her harder, hoping it’ll give her enough support to pull it together so I don’t have a fucking panic attack and add to the chaos.

My mind is reeling, so I think of the rink, the little black puck, the worn handle of my stick, and the cool ice beneath my skates. I shut my eyes and go to the one constant in my life that has never changed.Hockey.

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