Page 16 of Forbidden Puck
“Missing,” he said with a wide and infectious grin—and that's when I realized he wasmissinga tooth.
“Aw, just like your tooth!” I said, smiling back at him.
“Oops.” His hand shot up to cover his mouth. “Sorry. Yeah. Caught a slapshot to the kisser four years ago. I've got a magnetic implant-thingy that I wear when I'm out in public.”
Normally I found missing teeth a serious turn-off, but on Radar, it was cute in a genuine, folksy sort of way. I grabbed him by his meaty forearm and pulled his hand away from his mouth.
“Don't cover up. I promise you I don't mind,” I told him. “Anyway, sorry, I interrupted you. You were saying that your one special skill is missing.”
“Right. Until I had a try-out with the Brawlers and played with Lance. The coaches weren't sure about me, since they knew I hadn't stuck in the league so far. But Lance? He liked playing with me so much, he went to the front office and told them to offer me a contract. He's the star of the show, you know. He gets what he wants.”
“And now you're like his bodyguard,” I teased.
He chuckled. “Sort of. I do more than that, but yeah, I guess that's fair.”
“What if something happened to Lance out on the ice?”
He pondered that question gravely. “I dunno. Wouldn't be good for me, though.”
We finished our drinks. Radar bought the second round, like he promised. But the evening had grown brisk, with a bone-chilling breeze coming off the water, and I shivered.
Radar must've noticed. “You're cold. Want to head back inside?” he asked.
“Yeah, let's go.”
Chapter 6
The Crazy Nastyass Honey Badger
Radar
Drinks in hand, the two of us burst through the door, laughing and acting more than a little tipsy.
“Lance? Laaance?” Ella called.
He still wasn't home yet. But after spending a little bit of time with Ella, I wasn't nearly as worried as I had been earlier. She was a cool chick, and not nearly as crazy as Lance had made her out to be.
Actually, deep down, some twisted part of me might even have been happy that Lance wasn't back yet—at least for a little longer. I liked being alone with her, getting to know her.
“I can't believe he's not home yet!” she said. “Where the heck is he?”
“Yeah, I dunno. He's been spending a lot of time with Lindsay lately.”
“Lindsay? That's his girlfriend?”
She sat on one of the living room lawn chairs. She patted the seat of the other one to summon me. When I neared, she pulled the seat closer to her before I sat.
Sneaky,I thought with an amused grin.
“Girlfriend, or something, I'm not sure,” I said, as I sat next to her.
“Okay, Radar. Spill it. Tell me everything you know about her.”
“I hope I don't get in trouble by showing you this.” I pulled up Lindsay's Instagram page and passed my phone to Ella. “But here she is.”
“Oh … My …God!” Ella scrolled through one photo after another. “Every single picture! They're all of her ass!”
Her finger swiped up and down, again and again, marching through the butt parade until she got the point. She handed the phone back to me.
