Page 14 of Pucking Secret

I round the corner and find Carson standing with two women. Recognition slams through me. Now Carson’s strange words suddenly make sense.

Carson’s sister Grace is no longer the quiet little nerd I remember. She’s blossomed into a gorgeous woman with long dark hair that’s loose and curling around her shoulders. Next to her is Skyler. She used to be a loudmouth tomboy, but she’s turned into a little hottie too. Her dirty blonde hair is pulled back into a ponytail, and she’s wearing a pair of tight jeans and a t-shirt with some sort of video game character on the front. I think maybe it’s Zelda? Wait, Zelda’s the girl, right? The picture is of the elf-dude.

Carson slips his arm around Skyler’s shoulders and drops a kiss on her upturned lips. Huh, that’s interesting. I don’t remember them liking each other that much in high school. He smiles at me, and nudges Grace.

“So you remember Skyler, right?” he says. “And my twin, Grace, is still pretty cool, too.” He nudges her humorously.

“Wow.” I smile. “How’s it going, ladies?”

Skyler’s eyes go wide and she smacks Carson’s chest.

“Holy shit, Carson!” she exclaims. “You didn’t tell me Owen Scott was the team’s new recruit. What are the fucking odds?”

“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t know, Star,” Carson explains. “It was all very hush-hush because of administrative politics or whatever.”

“Well, it’s good to see you again,” Skyler laughs.

“Good to see you too.” I turn to Grace, but unlike Skyler, she seems way less happy. Her mouth is a thin line. Her brows are scrunched together. My stomach immediately twists with worry. She and Stacey were such good friends… does she hate me for leaving? I can only imagine how hurt Stacey was, and Grace was there for the fallout. My heart aches thinking of Stacey, confused and heartbroken. I’d have been able to tell her what was going onif Gerald hadn’t taken my phone from me. Instead, I was forced to write her a letter, but that didn’t go anywhere either.

Where is Stacey? How is she doing now? Is she married with kids of her own? I know she’d make an incredible mother, but the thought of her married to some random asshole makes my blood boil and jealousy burn through me.

Shit, I need to pull myself together. I don’t want these guys to know just how much I’ve been pining for Stacey all these years, especially since I’m the one who left.

Clearing my throat, I put on a bright smile and say, “Hey, Grace! Great to see you. You look amazing!”

“Hey,” she says hesitantly. She seems really uncomfortable, and I’m not sure how to ease the tension hanging in the air between us.

Thankfully, Jensen suddenly appears and walks right up to Grace. He wraps his arms around her and plants a long kiss on her mouth. When he lifts his head and gets a good look at her face, he frowns.

“What’s wrong, babe?”

Eager to escape this awkward situation, I turn back to Carson and quickly say, “So you were talking about these two earlier, huh?”

Carson blinks at me, seemingly confused. “Huh?”

“Scott!”

We all jump at the sound of Coach Sullivan’s booming voice. His head is poking out of the office.

“Get down to PT!” Coach says. “You’ve got paperwork and an exam to do. Don’t waste anybody’s time!”

“Sure thing, Coach.” Turning back to the group, I shrug and say, “Guess I’ll see you all later.”

“See you, Owen!” Skyler replies.

“Later, dude,” Carson waves.

Grace just stares silently at me. I walk away way faster than I need to, and only feel relaxed once they’re far away. Thank God Coach gave me an excuse to get out of there.

I’m so distracted by my thoughts that I nearly collide with a tiny figure in a pink dress. It’s a little girl with bright blue eyes and wild red curls. She’s clutching a bright red sucker in her little hand. She looks up at me with big blue eyes, completely unfazed by almost being run over, and breaks into a huge, toothy grin. For a second, I just stare at her. Have I met this kid before? Why does she seem so familiar?

“You must be the new guy!” she exclaims, popping the sucker in and out of her mouth and bouncing on her toes as if she’s got springs in her sneakers.

I blink, caught off guard by the sheer energy radiating from her. “Uh, yeah… I’m Owen. But hey, what are you doing here? Aren’t you a bit young to wander around the stadium by yourself?”

She just grins wider. “Oh, don’t worry. I was just going to the bathroom. I get to go by myself when the stadium is empty except for the team and staff because they’re my friends. My mom works for the Night Hawks! She’s super important.”

“Oh, is that so?” I chuckle. “And what does your mom do, exactly?”

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