Page 137 of Pucking Strong

“A man like Teddy is loyal to the grave. He’s like my Jake. Pour into his cup and watch as he returns your effort tenfold.”

His words send a chill down my spine. All I can picture are the red frames of Keziah Wilson’s bespectacled face as she voiced hergrievances that hummed with the power of prophecy. She called me an empty glass with no bottom. Those words have haunted me ever since. Now Ilmari Price is standing here, telling me I need to pour back into Teddy the bounty he shares with me.

“What if my cup is empty? What if I have nothing to give him? Or what if what I have isn’t enough? What ifI’mnot enough?”

His eyes narrow. “You think his faith in you is misplaced? You think Teddy would pick his life partner poorly?”

“No.”

He steps in closer, making me lean away. “Do you intend to break his heart?”

“No!”

Another step has me backing away from him. “In my official capacity as President of the WAGs, if I know you intend to break his heart, I’m required by my oath of office to kick your ass.”

“No—” My hip hits the sink and I raise both hands in surrender. “Fuck—Mars, stop.”

“We can take this outside right now.” He points over his shoulder towards the door. “Caleb will hold your arms for me—”

“No,” I all but shout.

He holds his glare for another long moment before finally nodding. “Good. Then go back out there and salvage the rest of this miserable evening.”

All my breath leaves me on a heavy exhale. “How? What do I do?”

“Try harder.”

“Well, do you have any ideas?”

His lips purse with a smile, and I perk up, pushing away from the sink. “Do you have one?”

“I have one.”

Hope blooms in my chest. “What is it?”

He just chuckles, shaking his head. “Come with me.”

Just as I’m about to slink away from this table and check to see if Henrik dined and freaking dashed on me, he and Mars come striding back across the bar. Henrik is in front, carrying a tray of what looks like shots.

“Oh god,” I mutter, eyes wide.

“Hey, there they are,” calls Jake.

“We thought maybe you both fell in,” Novy teases. “Is that bathroom actuallyinJapan?”

Caleb eyes the tray warily. “Oh, what the fuck are those?”

“Make room,” says Henrik, wielding the tray of shots. Novy and Caleb scramble to shuffle the plates and baskets aside.

Jake leans back, catching a basket before it falls off the table. “I didn’t know this was that kind of party. Someone wanna explain?”

Henrik slips back onto his stool and starts passing out a round of shots. “We’re celebrating.”

Novy takes his shot. “Celebrating what? Don’t get me wrong, I’m always down for shots. Just tell me why. Is it Arbor Day or something?”

“Arbor Day is in April,” says Caleb.

Novy glares across the table at him. “Can you fucking not?”

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