Page 99 of Suck My Puck

“It took us a while to figure things out. Maya had just come out of a bad breakup. She was allergic to commitment,” he says.

“Sounds kind of like Bella’s situation,” I say.

Theo nods. “But we worked through it. Things can turn around. Just be patient. And be good to her. Show her you’re the kind of guy worth getting serious for.”

“You make it sound so simple.”

He shrugs and smiles. “Sometimes it is.”

I think about what Theo’s said. I didn’t know he and Maya got together in such a similar way. Seeing how it worked out for them sends a tiny spark of hope through me.

I wonder if things could work out between Bella and me. If she’d break another rule for me…

Just then, the whole room gasps. We turn to see who just walked in. When I see Sam McKesson wearing nothing but flesh-colored boxer briefs with fake green leaves stitched to them, holding an apple in his hand, I burst out laughing.

“Dude. You actually did it,” I holler at him.

He rolls his eyes, smiling and shaking his head as he walks over to us. His blonde hair falls in waves around his face. I frown at his tan bare chest all shiny. Did he oil himself up?

“Did you…rub something on yourself?” I ask, nodding at his chest.

“Yeah.”

“Aren’t you cold?” Xander asks.

“Also yeah,” Sam says. He looks at Theo, who’s gawking at him with a disbelieving. “I lost a bet.”

Del bursts out laughing. “Sorry, man.”

Sam shrugs. “It’s all good. A bet is a bet.”

“What the hell kind of bet was this?” Theo asks.

“We had a bet over who would score more goals duringour last games,” Del says. “Whoever lost had to get the winner this two-thousand-dollar bottle of whiskey, but then Blomdahl suggested instead that the loser dress up like Adam from the Garden Of Eden to our Halloween party.”

Del elbows me. “You’re an evil genius.”

I smile and shrug.

Xander laughs so hard, he falls against me. “Dude, you’re such a shit-stirrer.” He glances at Sam and winces. “Brutal, man. Sorry.”

I notice how every woman in the party is gazing at Sam with hearts in their eyes. “I don’t know if there’s much to be sorry about. Sam’s getting a lot of attention from the ladies with his costume.”

Sam glances around. His brow lifts as he notices how all the women in the room are drooling over him. The dude looks like an Adonis with all the muscles in his abs, arms, chest, quads, and calves oiled up and on display.

He smiles shyly and accepts the beer that Del hands him. He holds it up. “To making asses of ourselves on Halloween.”

We all raise our drinks and tap them together. “Hell yeah,” I say with a laugh.

Chapter 35

Bella

“Oh wow…” Ingrid murmurs. She instantly stops dancing while she stares at something across the room.

I stop dancing too. “What? What is it?”

“Sam just walked in here practically naked.”

---