Page 34 of One Last Puck

“She’s ready for you to go home,” Faye said.

“She told you that?”

“Uh huh.” She nodded.

“Wow. It be your own family.”

I held my hand over my heart, faking hurt, and Faye laughed. A silence settled between us as we took in the night sky.

“I’ve been thinking about you a lot, you know?” I broke the silence between us. “You know you didn’t have to return every damn flower.”

“I did. I had to let you know I was standing on business.” She rolled her neck and snapped her fingers.

“About that… the bet. I owe you an apology for that shit. I should’ve shut it down from jump. It was a stupid joke that got out of hand, and I never should’ve let it go that far.”

She was quiet for a moment, and my heart sank, wondering what she was thinking and if she could ever forgive me.

“I forgive you.”

“I never told anyone other than my parents about us. I deaded that bet shit as soon as I got back to my room. I swear?—”

“I said I forgive you, Jax.” Her words caught me off guard. “You don’t have to over-explain.”

I stared at her like she was crazy. Did I hear her right?

“I had up a tough shield, Jaxton Saint, and you broke through it with no problem. I need to know if it was all a game, you know?”

“How fast a nigga fell for you was not a game at all, Faye.” I leaned over and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Iwanted to stare into her eyes. “I want to have the chance to pursue you if you’re willing to give us another chance.”

Her gaze met mine, and the world around us faded.

“Pursue me?” she asked softly.

“Yeah. Date you… get to know you… take you out the streets.”

“Oh my God!” She squealed, bringing my attention to the fence up ahead—beautiful fairy lights hung on the trees, highlighting the beautiful arrangement of roses placed along a fence spelling out—I’m sorry. Will you be my girlfriend?

Faye’s hands were over her mouth as the boat slowly sailed by. Tears shimmered in beautiful eyes.

“What do you say, Faye Baby?” I gestured to the roses. “Will you be my girlfriend?”

“You said you wanted to pursue me. How’d we get to girlfriend?” Tears spilled down her cheeks, but there was joy in her voice.

“I do want to pursue you… while you’re my girlfriend.” I shrugged. It sounded reasonable enough to me.

“I... I… Yes.” She nodded. “I’d love to be your girlfriend while you pursue me.”

That was music to my ears. I pulled her body into mine before placing my lips on hers. We had a long way to go, but for the first time in months, a nigga was content. I’d gotten my girl. We kissed and got lost in our own world under the moonlight until the loud buzz of our phones stole the moment. We both pulled away, glancing at each other in confusion. How was both of our shits going off?

“What the hell?” I muttered, reaching into my pocket for my phone.

Faye did the same. Glancing at the screen, I opened the notification and pinched the bridge of my nose.

“We made Hollywood Tea Room.”

“I see.”

She stared at her phone. Her hand was over her mouth in shock as I glanced at the clip of me ditching the game to go after Faye. I swiped on the clip, reading the caption.

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