Page 5 of One Pucking Life

Worst of all, I’m not allowed to say goodbye.

CHAPTER

THREE

MAX

The music is on point. Beer pong and video games are bringing people together, and the subs were a hit. Most of the team showed up. Beckett and Elena are absent, which is totally understandable since they’ve got a baby now. Gunner and Penny are no-shows too, but that’s because our goalie is grumpy and antisocial. It's not a valid excuse, but with his size, I’m not about to argue.

Jaden tosses the Ping-Pong ball, and it lands with a satisfying splash in the red Solo cup. He throws his hands in the air like he just scored the game-winning goal.

Cade glares at him and knocks back the beer with a grimace. “How many is this?” He shakes the empty cup, his speech already edging toward slurred. “We said we were stopping at ten cups. I don’t wanna feel like crap tomorrow.”

“Babe.” His wife, Iris—who’s also his beer pong partner—loops her arm through his. “It’s your turn.”

His eyes, a little unfocused, land on her face. “How many turns have we had? We made rules, remember?”

“I don’t know,” she says, all casual. “But we’re not there yet.”

“Definitely not,” Jaden agrees, totally full of shit.

“I think we’ve only had, like, four turns,” Logan lies smoothly.

Cade nods, appeased. “Okay. Just making sure.”

I laugh and leave the beer-pong crew to their drunken chaos as I make my way to the living room to check on everyone else.

Bash and his wife, Ari, are in the corner of the couch, making out like it’s prom night. I grab a tortilla chip from the snack table and toss it at the back of Bash’s head. “Yo,” I call out, grinning. “This isn’t a high school party.”

Bash doesn’t even break the kiss. He just flips me off, his middle finger held high while keeping his mouth on his wife.

I plop down in the recliner, sinking deep into the cushions as Miles, Finn, and Eddy battle it out in a multiplayer shooter game. Trash talk flies as fast as the bullets on screen, but I’m only half paying attention. The beer is definitely hitting me, and exhaustion’s creeping in. Honestly, I’d be perfectly happy crashing right now, but since I’m the host, I’ve gotta power through.

Jaden’s smiling across the room. Maybe it’s just the booze, but I like to think he’s finally letting go of some of that pent-up pining over Anna and her radio silence. Life’s a hell of a lot better when everyone’s happy.

The doorbell rings, pulling me out of my fog. I glance around the room, counting heads. Everyone who’s supposed to be here is here. Weird.

Pushing myself off the couch, I make my way toward the foyer. Maybe Gunner changed his mind and decided to show up. Unlikely—but not impossible.

I swing open the door and freeze.

“Monique?” I say, both because I’m surprised to see her and because I’m only about 90 percent sure I have her name right.

“Hey, Max.” She gives me a tight, uneasy smile. Not sad exactly… maybe nervous?

Okay. Got the name right.

I stare at her, trying to piece together our time together. If memory serves, we had a fun few weeks—about a year ago—heavy on the sex andVampire Diariesmarathons. She was obsessed with that show. And then she was gone.

But then I notice it—the baby carrier at her feet. And multiple duffel bags on the porch beside it.

My stomach dips. “Monique, what’s going on?”

She beams. “I met someone. Liketheone. His name’s Jon. We’re moving to Paris. Can you believe it?”

“Uh… good for you?” I answer slowly, waiting for the other shoe to drop. I’m not sure why, but I look over my shoulder to my friends enjoying the party and then back to Monique while trying to gain my bearings. A pit in my stomach warns me of something, but I’m not sure what. Everything feels off. Monique’s presence here on my front doorstep is all sorts of wrong.

She keeps going. “He doesn’t want kids. And honestly… neither do I.”

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