Page 23 of Puck Block

His eyebrows knit together, and although he has darker features than his sister, they look identical at the moment. They both send me the same look often–as if they’re sick of my antics.

“Y’all ready for the game tomorrow?”

I glance at Rush, Bexley U’s star football player, as he sits down in the booth behind Emory, waiting for our answer.

It’s been a thrilling season. There was drama on the team at the beginning of the year from both our captain and co-captain, but now, it’s time for us to come together to win the Frozen Four. And, you know, secure our own spots playing pro, like Theo did.As long as we keep our heads down and continue on our winning streak, it’ll put the majority of us on the path to securing our futures.

“We’re ready,” I answer, watching him scoot over so a few more guys can slide into his booth. “You got a bye week?”

“Yeah, we play Wilder U next week, though. They’realmostas good as us.” He shrugs. “If I were to join their team, they’d be unstoppable.”

Emory snickers. “And here I thought hockey players were cocky…”

The waitress comes over and starts to take their orders, but she stops mid-sentence, and I turn to see her wrap Claire in a big hug. Taytum is standing beside her, buried in her phone, likely ignoring me and Emory on purpose.

I scoot over. “Well, come on. This food isn’t going to eat itself.”

Taytum glances up from her phone, and her eyes widen at my plate with a mound of french fries. She immediately sits and reaches for one.

“Don’t even think about it,” Emory seethes.

I can feel her anger, even though we aren’t touching.

One fry isn’t going to affect her blood sugarthatmuch, yet Emory scolds her anyway. He asks her to list off all the carbs she's had today before pointing out better menu options. In the middle of his itemizing, she quickly looks at me, and her eyebrows draw together, as if she’s proving a point to me. She doesn’t need to, though. After she pointed her frustrations out to me the other night—in a rather dramatic way—I’m fully aware of the problem.

I clear my throat and nod to the booth behind Emory. “You know that guy?”

Emory spins, and I quickly snag a couple of fries and turn to Taytum. I put my hand on the back of her neck and stuffthem inside her mouth. A smothered laugh leaves her before she smashes her lips together to hide the evidence.

When her brother turns back around, he shifts his attention between the two of us, but Taytum looks back to her phone and chews her fries subtly.

“The dark-haired guy?” he asks.

I nod, because there is no wrong answer at this point. I made the whole thing up as a distraction.

“That’s Rush’s brother,” Emory says.

Taytum’s head pops up so fast I feel a breeze. The smallest amount of possessiveness plants itself into the pit of my stomach, and I watch the exact moment Rush’s brother makes eye contact with her. His eyes light up, and Taytum’s cheeks turn pink.

I put my hand on her leg and dig my fingers into her thigh to bring her back down. If Emory gets wind of what I walked in on the other night, he’ll be irate and do something much stupider than me picking her up and telling him she is off-limits.

That’s part of the reason I’m always the one to step in when Taytum plays her little games. I’m much more level-headed than her older brother.

Emory moves his attention to Taytum, and I move mine to Rush’s brother.

I hear Emory as he talks to Taytum. “You okay? You look flushed or something.” I stare right ahead. Cruz’s gaze moves to mine, and I shake my head.Don’t.

“Tay?”

I turn to Taytum, and her neck is becoming splotchy. She swallows the last bit of fries I shoved in her mouth, and I tap her leg a few times.

Chill.

A breath leaves her, and she pushes my hand off her leg. “I’m fine.” She rolls her eyes at her brother. “Jeez.”

Emory snorts. “Whatever. You ready, bro?”

I gesture to my food. “I’m not even close to being done.”

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