Page 150 of Pucking Around

Rachel shuts the door and turns, balancing several drinks and the bowl of grapes in her hands. “Here,” she murmurs, offering Mars the bottle of water clutched in the curve of her elbow. “Come say hello.”

He takes it wordlessly, following behind her into the living room.

She hands Caleb a can of sparkling water before offering me the grapes with another soft smile. She knows this is weird for me. At least she’s a talker too. Thank fucking god.

Caleb and I are sitting at the short end of the “L” shaped sectional. I’m tucked into the corner, and he’s flopped at the other end. Rachel comes around the long end and sits next to me, curling her legs under herself as she cracks open her own can of shitty sparkling water.

Like the weirdo he is, Mars doesn’t sit next to her. No, he sits in the oversized chair, his bottle of normal person water untouched in his hand. Poseidon hops up next to her instead, his face all up in her business looking for pets.

“You know we know, right?” I call, unable to stand the silence a moment longer.

Mars pulls his broody gaze away from her and the dog. “What?”

“I said you know we know…right? He knows we know?” I add at Rachel.

“He knows you know, Jake,” she replies, taking a sip of her water, one hand scratching between Sy’s ears.

“He wouldn’t be here if he didn’t know,” Caleb adds, his own dark gaze locked on the Finn. Caleb is always so good at reading people. “He’s curious. He wants her, but he wants us to curl up and die so he can have her. He wants his path clear of all obstructions—”

“Cay, don’t be a jerk,” Rachel warns.

“Then let him tell us I’m wrong,” he replies, his gaze shifting slowly back to the Finn. “Am I wrong, Mars?”

I watch him too, waiting.

Mars says nothing.

“Fucking perfect,” Caleb mutters.

“Wait, so how is this gonna work then?” I say, shifting to stretch out my legs as I pop a grape into my mouth. “Mars, are you moving in here?”

“No,” he and Caleb say at the same time.

“So…what then?” I say, glancing around. “You’re with Rachel, and we’re with Rachel and never the two shall meet? You gonna keep being weird at practices? You gonna avoid us in the group chats? Total Great Wall of Kinnunen? Because I gotta say, that’s not really gonna work for me.”

Ever the peacemaker, Rachel takes my hand and gives it a squeeze. “What would work for you, Jake?”

My gaze locks on the bear in my living room. “Well, I mean…Mars, you gotta try harder, man. Be part of the team. And I don’t just mean this team,” I add, gesturing around at the four of us. “And wearea team.”

“Explain,” he says, his blue eyes narrowed at me.

“Seriously? That wasn’t clear enough? Okay…umm…well, you gotta talk to me more. I want full sentences and like, facial expressions and stuff. And you gotta be in the group chat. Use emojis and GIFs if you don’t wanna talk. But leaving me on read is the fastest way to piss me off. Ask these two,” I say, jabbing a thumb at Rachel and Cay, the bowl of grapes balanced in my lap.

He makes a face like he just sucked on something sour, but slowly he nods.

“I’m not saying change your whole personality,” I add quickly. “I’m just sayin like…let usseeyour personality. You must show it to Rachel. She wouldn’t be interested in a total dud of a dude. Just…I want more,” I finish with a shrug.

Mars glances to Rachel and she gives him a nod. Sighing, he turns back to me. “I don’t like red meat and I prefer reading to watching television. And I have a labral tear in my right hip.”

I take a deep breath. This isn’t groundbreaking information, but it’s a start. “How bad is it?”

“Painful enough that I’m compensating in the net. But it’s on the mend.”

“How long have you been playing injured?”

“And keeping it secret,” Caleb adds with a glare.

“All season,” he replies. “I first noticed it over the summer.”

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