Page 21 of Love is a Game

“Oh, come on.” She folds her arms. “My mother just died. You’re trying to comfort me. Youcannotstop because you’re a little embarrassed.”

I groan. “You were there. You know what happened.”

“Remind me, Tuck.”

“Nah—”

“Tuck.” She leans in. “Tell me.”

I sigh. “Fine. The WWE moves didn’t stop after your broken nose. I mean, for a while they did, while you were recovering, living off soup and ice cream. But once you were healed, we started up again.”

Pen’s smirk deepens, like she knows exactly where this is going.

“Andyes—I encouraged you to practice moves with me because it turned me on. And don’t lie, Pen. You knew. The evidence was pretty damn clear. And that’s how we ended up kissing for the first time.”

“And then you started dating Cathy Roberts,” she says flatly, drilling me with her eyes.

“Only becauseyoudidn’t want to be my girlfriend! You swore me to secrecy.”

“Well, I wasn’t supposed to have a boyfriend until I was sixteen. Mom would’ve flipped.” She huffs. “But boy, did she make sure I knew about protection. Gotthatlecture at thirteen. ‘Don’t end up like me, ruin your life, blah, blah.’” She shakes her head. “No wonder I felt unwanted.”

“I think it was her way of protecting you. And I can vouch, you knew your stuff. You sure came prepared the night—” I meet her gaze. “The night you demanded I take your virginity.”

“Let the record show that was after you and Cathy broke up.”

“Yeah, because you were all like: ‘Did you do it with her? Do you know how?’” I mimic a high-pitched girl’s voice.

“I wanted someone experienced. Is that so wrong?” She counters.

“You snuck into my bedroom with a mountain of condoms and demanded to know my full ‘intercourse credentials’beforehand.”

A smile tugs at Pen’s lips. “It wasn’t bad for my first time. Actually, it was pretty good.”

“Is that why you keep coming back for more, Pen?”

She slumps back on the couch, locking eyes with me, her dark gaze stirring something in my chest. “Like you never instigate it? You never show up onmydoorstep with condoms in your wallet, hoping to get laid? You treat me like I’m a sure thing, Tuck. Should I feel used?” She gloats.

“Huh. If anyone’s getting used here, it’s me,” I say, testing the waters.

“Oh, please.” Her voice is low and mocking, doing something to me it shouldn’t. “I’d love to hear you explain that, Tuck.”

“Well…” I bide my time, considering. “You’ve always been like that. Kept whatever this is between us in the background. Why do you think we’ve never actually given it a real shot? To see if we could work?”

Her gaze intensifies, steady but guarded, like she’s calculating her next move in a game she doesn’t even want to play. For a long moment, there’s no laugh, no comeback—just silence.

Then, with precision, she slices through the tension with a peel of high-pitched laughter.

“You’re unbelievable.Us? Together? Seriously Tuck—great sex can’t make up for total incompatibility!”

“Opposites attract—it’s a well-known thing, Pen.” I keep my tone casual like I’m not putting everything on the line here.

“Tuck, this isn’t like opposing forces that somehow complement each other—like dark chocolate and beer…or stilettos and cargo shorts.Usas a couple would be a terrible combination—more like pineapple on pizza, white sneakers with jeans, or tequila shots before a joint. It’s just…wrong!”

“Chocolate and beer arenota good combination, Pen.” I grimace.

“See what I mean? We can’t even agree on simple truths!” She throws her hands up dramatically. “In what reality could an actual relationship work when we’re always disagreeing? Plus, we’re both catastrophically bad at long-term stuff. Why would you even consider gambling what wedohave?”

“And what exactly do we have?” I fold my arms.

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