Page 47 of Confessions of a Former Puck Bunny

Maybe because I was also thinking of how hard it’d be to leave my teammates behind. They’d come to feel like a family, one who had each other’s backs, win or lose, but a lot of them would be graduating soon anyway.

Lindsay will help calm all my messy thoughts.I knocked on her door, and she opened it and stuck a hand on her hip.

Shit. Did I already screw up?

“I don’t know what to wear,” she said. “Come to think of it, I don’t know how to play, either. I’m pretty sure this is going to be a disaster. Maybe I should just watch?”

“First of all, good morning.” I drew her to me and kissed her. The tension leaked out of her posture, and she wrapped her arms around me and melted into my embrace, giving me that calming sensation I desperately needed.

“Morning. Guess I should’ve started with that.” She ran her hand down the side of my face and dragged her fingertips along my jaw. “How was dinner with your dad?”

“Torture. I’d much rather talk about you and what you’re wearing.” The tight jeans and purple V-neck that gave me a peek down her shirt showed off her curves nicely. Of course, with curves like hers, everything clung to her in a way that made me want to do the same.

Her hands moved down to my chest, right over my rapidly beating heart. “I missed you this week.” The second she said it, she grimaced, looking like she wanted to take it back. “I mean, I know I saw you for a minute yesterday, and there was watching film together on Thursday, and I totally get that you’re busy, but—”

“I missed you, too.” I kissed her again, parting her lips with my tongue and taking another taste, and when she immediately responded by pressing her body tighter to mine, I almost saidScrew the paintball game. I know another fun way to relieve stress.

But I wasn’t sure if she was there yet. Besides, blowing off some aggression would be good for both of us. Maybe after we made a little war, we could see where the afternoon took us—hopefully more toward the love side. “You look amazing. And if you want, I’ll make sure you’re on my team, and I’ll cover you at all costs.”

“Like you’ll take a bullet for me?” She fanned her face with her hand. “Swoon.”

“Don’t girls love it when the guy picks up the heroine in those novels you read, too?” I scooped her up and tossed her over my shoulder. “Me man, you woman. We go make paintball now.”

She giggled, and I made sure I didn’t knock her head on the frame as I carried her out the door. “Are you seriously going to carry me?”

“I seriously am.”

“You’re going to hurt yourself.”

“Please. You’ve seen how much I lift. This isn’t even a workout for me.” I braced a hand on her ass as I started down the stairs of her apartment complex, and a girl passed by, looking at us like we were crazy.

“Lindsay? Is that really you?”

I spun around and the girl widened her eyes at me.

Lindsay straightened and I let her slide down me—then I had to try to cover my reaction to having her body drag down me like that. “This is my roommate, Natalie. Natalie, Ryder.”

“Is this why you’ve been gone so much lately? I thought you only went to school and worked these days, and had given up on having fun and…other stuff.”

Wow. Talk about insulting.

Lindsay reached up and twisted a strand of hair around her finger, something I noticed she did when she was nervous. “Ryder and I are just—”

“I’m the lucky bastard who gets to call myself her boyfriend. Now if you’ll excuse us, we have somewhere to be.” I picked Lindsay back up and carried her down the last few steps and over to my car.

When I set her on her feet, she gripped my biceps, and shot me a grin. “I’d like to say I’m above enjoying that whole caveman-like display, but I sort of loved it.”

While I’d often rolled my eyes at the cheesy chick flicks I’d been forced to sit through, I was silently thanking them now. Lindsay looked at me, her thoughts clear enough in her features to let me know the attraction vibes were working in my favor. “Then I’ll make sure to carry you everywhere we go from now on.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Lindsay

As we drove, I decided since I was going all in for as long as this lasted, I might as well make some moves of my own. After all, he had carried me and defended me when my roommate made it sound like the last thing in the world she’d expected was for me to be seen having fun, or to have a hot guy be interested in someone like me for more than just a good time.

I settled my hand on the back of his neck and played with the ends of his hair. He made a low noise in the back of his throat and desire danced along my nerve endings. This giant dude with his stoic facade and all that barely contained intensity ended up being so different than I expected. When it came down to it, he was basically a big teddy bear. A big teddy bear who could slam dudes into the boards and tear people apart if they messed with him. It was a swoon-worthy combo, one that I now realized was useless to resist.

“Hey, Ryder?”

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