Page 34 of Puck You Not

She stood beside our bed, biting her lip.Her fingers clasped together at her waist as I dropped our backpacks onto the chair beside me.

“I hope you know everything she said is bullshit.”I didn’t say Sheena’s name.Av knew.

She frowned, huffing out a quiet sigh.“Was it?I’m not very…” She pulled at her sweatshirt.“There’s nothing glam or posh about me.And I trip over my feet or knock into things more often than most people do.I really am klutzy and I have the bruises to prove it.”

“I don’t care.None of that matters to me—not negatively.You’re perfect just as you are.Besides, there’s nothing fancy about me, either.”

She lifted a brow.“Okay, Hockey Captain.”

I shook my head.“Really.I’m just a guy who’s good at his sport.I, uh, I grew up in a really strict family in Michigan—not a cult but probably as close as you can get.I’ve always been good at hockey.My parents didn’t like that, but they let me play—in exchange for me doing extra chores or doing additional studies at church while I kept straight-A grades.Backfired and they were irate when I got the scholarship to play hockey here.”

“Oh…Parrish…”

I shrugged off the sympathy because I knew I was better off.“They disowned me.Which is neither here nor there, really.My point is… I don’t bother with thepopularcrowd as Sheena implied.My brother and two sisters still live in the circumstances I escaped.I just want to go pro, so I can get them out of there before they’re forced into marriages they don’t want and locked into thatgroup.”

Her hand skimmed down my arm, and she squeezed just above my elbow.“No judgment, but that sounds kinda like a cult, Parrish.”

“Like I said… It’s probably as close as you can get.”Why were we talking about this?I wanted to get naked with Avie and—

“Are you still in touch with your siblings?”she asked, derailing my lust-filled thoughts.If I had my way, they’d be her family soon, too, so she had a right to details.

“Yeah.I can’t call them or send anything to the house, but my old coach helps me to get in touch with my brother.He and his twin sister are eighteen this summer, so what I do with my life is critical to themright now—same with my sister who’s almost two years older than them.So far, she’s managed to dodge the bullet, but…”

“She won’t be able to for much longer,” Avalon guessed.

“No.Does that scare you off?If I have my way, they’ll all be living with me two months from now?”

“No.It’s admirable really.You care so much about your siblings.I…” She huffed a humorless laugh.“I don’t really have much in the way of family.Like I told you the other night, my parents were killed in a crash when I was twelve.And as far as my siblings go, it’s the opposite for me.My older brother and sister basically juggled me between them until I left for college.I’ve gone back there on the summer holidays, but they’ve made it pretty clear I’m an inconvenience to them.While I was finishing high school, they kind of put their lives on hold because they were taking care of me, and they resent me for it.They both act like… Well, they both made it clear they didn’t care if they heard from me after I returned to school this past fall.”

“Baby, I’m so sorry.”

She looked away.“Most of the time it’s okay.It is what it is, right?I have Nash and through him, I have Porter, too.They’re good friends.And I figured out how to be on my own a while ago.Like almost ten years ago, if I’m telling the truth.”

I stepped closer, cupping her face.My thumbs brushed over her cheeks.“You’re not alone anymore.”

“No,” she agreed, slipping her arms around my waist and moving closer, scant inches separating our bodies.Her sugary vanilla scent filled my senses, and my mouth watered to taste her again.She lifted to her tiptoes, her front pressing to mine.“And Parrish?Neither are you.”

“No.No, I’m not.”Leaning in, I pressed my mouth to hers, my lips coaxing hers apart.

Avalon sighed audibly, her arms moving up to circle my neck.“I know it’s early, but…can we go to bed?”she asked.“Before something happens to get in our way again?”

A growl rolled up my throat, and I scooped her up into my arms.Climbing onto the mattress, I settled her in the middle and crawled over her to kneel above her on hands and knees.“Your wish is my command.I’d like nothing more than to go to bed.Right now.”I brushed my lips against her ear then nipped the lobe.“That is, nothing more than getting you naked, then fucking you until you scream, until you forget what it’s like to be without me inside you.”

Twelve

Avalon

I gazed up at Parrish with need flooding through me.My body trembled with electric arousal.It throbbed in my core, agreeing to his words.Anxious to feel him, I started unbuttoning his shirt, sort of unable to believe we were here so soon, yet feeling as if I’d waited forever.And Iknewhim.For over a year, we’d bantered and teased a lot, but we’d also shared our likes, dislikes, hopes and dreams.What he’d told me today only deepened our connection.

And I wanted him.So much.This could be the biggest mistake of my life, but if it messed up things, I knew I could stay with Nash and his roommate.

“You’re so beautiful.I can’t believe you’re mine,” he said, breaking through my thoughts.“I can’t believe…”

“What?”I asked, my breath catching at the end.

“That I got so lucky when I fucked up that email and then again when I tackled you accidentally.Usually, I’m not so lucky like that.”

“You are, though.”

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