Page 103 of Suck My Puck

“I never was really into that show,” Jake says, awkwardly halting the conversation. Dakota’s smile falters, but she recovers a second later.

“It’s okay. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea,” she says.

A weird silence follows for a few seconds before Ingrid speaks.

“But hey, you get boyfriend points for dressing up as your girlfriend’s favorite TV show characters,” she says in a light tone.

Jake sighs before flashing another tight smile. “Yeah, I guess I do. I’m gonna grab a drink.”

He walks off. Dakota’s smile turns sad. She crosses her arms and looks at us. “Sorry, guys. He’s kind of in a mood.”

“About what?” Sophie asks gently.

“He recorded a demo for a freelance producer hoping that it would lead to a studio session, but the producer didn’t end up liking it,” Dakota says. “He’s taking it pretty hard.”

“Oh,” I say. “Sorry, that sucks.”

We’re all quiet for a second. Yeah, it definitely sucks that he’s dealing with that rejection, but he doesn’t have to act like a disinterested jerk around Dakota.

I want to say that to Dakota, that she doesn’t deserve to put up with all this, but I keep my mouth shut. She probably wouldn’t like me giving her unsolicited relationship advice.

The dance music playing over the sound system suddenly cuts off. An opera song starts playing, and Ingrid frowns.

“Spotify is so annoying.” She leaves to find her phone. Maya heads to the bathroom.

“I need to pee too,” Lauren says. Sophie tells her where the other bathroom is.

“Hey, Bernadette.” I look up and see Sam walking up to Dakota.

Her brown eyes are wide as she takes in the sight of his nearly naked body. She rakes her gaze down his torso,pausing at his crotch. I hold back a laugh at how mesmerized she clearly looks.

When I look at Sophie, she’s biting back a smile as she looks between Dakota and Sam.

Dakota’s tan cheeks are flushed pink. She clears her throat and blinks, the look in her eyes focusing. “Wow. Look at you.”

Sam shrugs and flashes an easy smile. “I lost a bet with your brother.”

Dakota laughs. “You two are ridiculous.”

“Can’t argue with you there.”

“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in Seattle?”

“We have a few days off till our next game, so I came back to Denver to visit my sister and her kids,” he says. “I love your costume, by the way.”

Dakota beams, her cheeks still pink. She runs her fingertips along the hem of her skirt. “Yeah?”

“Definitely. I watch my favoriteBig Bang Theoryepisodes all the time. It’s my favorite way to wind down when I’ve had a rough day or a tough game.”

“Same. Whenever I have parent-teacher conferences, I always have my favorite three episodes queued up and a bottle of my favorite wine ready to go.”

Sam grins. “I have the biggest crush on Bernadette so this is really doing it for me.”

Dakota giggles and playfully shoves his shoulder. “I would have thought you’re more into Penny. She’s the hottie of the show.”

“Oh, she’s pretty for sure. But Bernadette is hot. She’s smart and feisty. And a little nerdy. That’s more my type.”

Dakota lets out another giddy laugh. It suddenly feelslike I’m eavesdropping on a date. I look at Sophie, who looks like she’s thinking the same thing.

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