Page 8 of Puck Block

“I know I’m hilarious,” I say. “Now, let’s go.”

“I’m not going with you until you change out of that stupid outfit.”

My lip twitches. “Fine.”

I strip down to my boxers but keep the black hat on. The cold breeze whisks against my exposed skin, and goosebumps crawl over my chest. I look over to the window and wink at the younger sorority sisters. There’s a lot of attention that comes with playing on Bexley U’s hockey team, so I’m used to it. Though most of my teammates hate it, I don’t. It makes life fun and the parties much more interesting.

The door opens, and Taytum’s sugary scent wafts around her, alongside her fury. “Ford!”

I shrug sheepishly. “What?”

“Keep your clothes on! No one wants to see you naked.”

Taytum bends down and bundles my chauffeur costume in her hands before shoving it into my chest. I put my hand over hers and hold it there while she pushes it into me harder. “Everyone is enjoying the view.” I lean extra close to her and brush my mouth against her ear. “Even you.”

She pulls away and storms past me. My laughter follows her swaying hips, and before long, we’re on the way to her practice with Taytum sending me a death glare every few seconds from the passenger seat.

“Will you stop?” I finally ask.

“Stop what?” Her arms are crossed over her coat, and the flash of her icy blue eyes matches the beanie she’s wearing. She turns away almost as quickly as she turns toward me.

I reach over and flick the fuzzy ball on top of her beanie. “Being negative about all of this. Don’t you enjoy spending time with me?”

Taytum closes her eyes and sighs deeply. “I’m not being negative, and no, I do not enjoy spending time with you. Especially when you’re driving me to practice without clothes on.”

What a liar. Everyone enjoys seeing me without clothes on.

Taytum pulls her phone out and starts texting someone to avoid me. I can’t help but ask who it is. “Who ya texting?”

I mimic her the second she opens her mouth. “None of your business.”

She flashes me those blue eyes again, and I smile. I can usually pull a little smirk from her in return, but I come up empty handed. She’s on edge today, and that’s always a trigger for me because she’s either truly upset or she’s hiding something. Between me and Emory, we keep close tabs on her. I usually know her next move before she does.

“What’s up?” I take the playfulness out of my voice so she knows I’m done messing around. “Talk to me, Heartbreaker.”

She scoffs again and turns toward the window. Her chest heaves with an exasperated sigh in her attempt to avoid me, and as soon as we pull up to the auditorium, she hurriedly starts to gather her things to rush out of my car. Practice isn’t for another seven minutes, so now I’m fully invested in what’s got her so cagey.

When her phone vibrates, both of our eyes fall to it. I’m always one step ahead of her, so I snatch it before she does. I happily chuckle with my victory, but my smile quickly falls when I read the screen.

“What the hell is this all about?” I trap the phone against my chest when she tries to reach for it. Her cheeks match the pink of her lips, but the embarrassment doesn’t stop her from climbing over the center console to claw at my hand. I grip the phone so hard it starts to creak beneath my fingers. “Taytum. You can't be serious.”

“Do not start with me, Ford Collins.” Taytum throws herself back into the seat, and it’s high school all over again. She wants to hide behind anger, but there’s a million other emotions backing the bite in her voice. My best friend’s little sister is the only girl I have ever let myself get close to. I forced myself to move beyond her beautiful features and killer body years ago and learned what’s on the inside. I can read her pretty damn well, whether she wants to admit it or not.

I grip the steering wheel while re-reading the messages between her and Claire.

Claire: What? You’ve disappeared with plenty of guys at parties.

Taytum: Disappeared. Yes. Fooled around with? Dated? Nada.

Claire: Tay, you command a room the moment you walk into it. Your confidence seeps into others. You don’t need help dating or having the occasional one-night fling. You could have any guy you want.

Taytum: I do need help! I’ve never even been on a real date, and now I have this god awful glucose monitor stuck to my body like an extra limb. No guy wants to deal with that while they fuck me.

Claire: Oh, come on! That is not true. And what about Tommy?

Taytum: You mean the guy Emory and Ford paid to take me to prom my senior year? That doesn’t count as a date.

I hold back a laugh at the memory. He may or may not have been into guys, but to our advantage, it was unconfirmed at the time, and he was more than happy to step in and take Taytum to prom. I’ll admit that it was only because he was trying to prove something to his asshole father, but nonetheless.

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