Page 117 of The Puckable Playbook

I tug her toward me to kiss her cheek. “One thing she doesn’t know is us. She’s too petty. Too self-absorbed. She wouldn’t understand a relationship like ours.”

Len lays her head on my chest. Underneath us, the bus starts to shake when it maneuvers away from the curb. Adam moves down the aisle, looking like he’s going to sit with us, but I shoot him a glare. He takes another seat.

I hold her to me, lazily caressing her arm. “So you lied about being late to the game?”

She brings up her fingers, holding them millimeters apart. “A white lie.”

“You had me so confused. Not gonna lie, I was upset.”

She tries and fails to retain a straight face. “I thought you were going to explode, especially when you saw Clark text me. But you know now Clark was writing me because of the article, right?”

I’d completely forgotten all about that. I shrug. “I was definitely jealous.”

“Ooh,” she teases, “big bad jock, jealous. All due to little ol’ me?”

I nip at her earlobe. “When Adam raised you in the air, I wanted to rip his limbs from your body.”

Pulling away, she gives me a surprised yet impressed look. “How caveman.”

“I’m a bit possessive. I know what I got.”

“And what’s that, Isaiah James?”

I work my hand through her hair. “The kind of girl you don’t let go of. The kind of girl you make sure knows how you feel every second of every day. And I am in love with you, Lenore Robertson.”

She bites her lower lip. “Well, if you’re a caveman, I might be a cavewoman. I had some pretty indecent thoughts earlier.”

Brows furrowing, she peers away. I tip her chin up and make her look at me. “If no one else was here, I’d have you straddle my hips and slide down my cock. Over and over. But no one gets any piece of you but me. Not your quick breaths. Not the sexy noises that spill out of your mouth. They’re all for me.”

Heavy-lidded eyes stare back at me, but we’re interrupted by Adam standing up. “Yo, we’re all going out tonight. No excuses. We just played a kick-ass game in front of actual people.”

Whoops of delight whip around the bus.

“Nice, Adam,” Coach says. He stands at the front, rolling his eyes. “You will be gentlemen. If I hear any bad business, I will not hesitate to bench your asses. You will be on your best behavior, and for fuck’s sake, no alcohol. Or worse.” He points an accusing finger at us. “Maybe I’ll do a surprise drug test on Monday.”

Adam grins. “It’s not a surprise if you tell us, Coach.”

Coach points at him. “Think about what that means, son.” He peers out over the bus, taking us all in. “I’m so proud of you kids. Way to show them what we’re made of.”

The answering cheer has Lenore putting her hands over her ears.

We enter Warner, and the guys stand, knocking on the windows and the roof of the bus. The driver honks his horn in long, loud spurts.

I slide Lenore off me to partake in the action. Then it’s high fives all around again, my skin on fire. Viral videos, a damn nearfull crowd, a fucking hat trick, and a girl who supports me more than anything.

Everything is fucking amazing.

I pull Len up, sealing my lips to hers. The guys go nuts. Several of them hit me on the back as I pry her mouth open with my tongue. She gives in but cuts the kiss short, her chest rising and falling. A splotch of red creeps up her cheeks, and I cup her face in my palms. “Sorry.”

She peeks at the floor with a grin. “It’s okay. I’m glad you’re happy.”

We sway with the bus braking in front of our practice rink. One day, Warner will have an arena on campus. State-of-the-art everything like the football team has. I can see it now.

The driver honks again, and a wave of cries flies up. The guys and I all look around, and then we stare out the windows. We have a welcome party. A few dozen students wait outside the rink, cheering.

“Holy shit.”

The guys start filing off the bus, so I grab my gear and turn, bending over to see everyone greet the guys as they step down the stairs. Pride swallows me whole.

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