Page 27 of One Pucking Life

“Decided not to go out with the guys?” My voice comes out a little squeaky—his proximity is messing with my equilibrium.

“Nah. I just wanted to get home.”

“She’s been asleep for a while.”

He nods. “Yeah, I figured. She was probably dozing off around the time the game started.”

“Seven.” I grin.

“Seven.”

He reaches past me, and I hold my breath as he grabs the sticky note off the fridge. “So… what’s up with the chickpeas?”

I step to the side, needing a little space. “I’ve been stuck on ChickpeaTok. There are so many recipes I want to try.”

“First of all, we’re talking about garbanzo beans, right?”

“Yep. Same thing. Different name.”

He raises a brow. “Okay… and second—what the hell is ChickpeaTok?”

I open the drawer again, tuck the sticky notes and pen away, then close it. “You know how TikTok has themes? Like BookTok for readers, FitTok for gym rats, BeautyTok for makeup tutorials? ChickpeaTok is like a super niche corner of FoodTok. Or maybe it’s part of VegetarianTok? Or HealthyFoodTok? I don’t know, exactly.”

He throws his head back and laughs. “No, I had no idea any of that existed.”

“No?” I raise an eyebrow. “I’m surprised you’re not all over HockeyTok.”

“HockeyTok?”

“Yeah, I checked it out. There are some cool plays and highlights, but honestly, a lot of it is thirst traps.”

He blinks. “What kind of thirst traps?”

“You know, the ones where you guys do that thing… when you're on your hands and knees, and you’re thrusting your hips toward the ice? It looks very…” I pause, searching for the right word. “Suggestive.”

“You mean when we’re stretching?”

I huff. “If that’s what it’s called.”

He grins. “Stretching is kind of crucial. Helps us avoid injuries.”

“Well, it just looks like you're enjoying ita little too muchis all.” I shrug.

“Please tell me you’re kidding.” He’s trying not to laugh.

I narrow my eyes. “Youreallydon’t go on TikTok, do you?”

“Nope. Instagram is about all I can handle. But it sounds like I might need to check it out. Still confused whyyou’reon… garbanzo-bean-Tok.”

I smirk. “Because a chickpea video showed up in my feed, and I stopped to watch it. Now TikTok thinks I’m obsessed, so it’s feeding me more. And of course, I keep watching them, so I’m feeding the algorithm. It’s a vicious cycle. But there areso manyrecipes. There’s this chickpea ‘tuna’ salad—without the tuna—that looks amazing.”

“You could just make regular tuna salad,” he suggests, clearly amused.

“I’m in too deep now. No turning back from ChickpeaTok,” I say with faux seriousness.

He laughs.

“Don’t worry,” I continue. “I’m also on BabyTok, where I’m learning all sorts of parenting tricks. And for some reason… ParrotTok. Which is wild because I’m not even a bird person.But there’s this one foul-mouthed gray parrot who’s constantly cussing out his owner, and Ican’tstop watching.”

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