Page 60 of Confessions of a Former Puck Bunny

The scrawny math tutor was one thing, and I wasn’t a fan of the way my teammate Daniel treated her with such familiarity, either, but the guy behind the counter, with his stupid hipster beard and his gaze locked on Lindsay’s cleavage was another. The fact that she didn’t seem to be shutting it down sent more toxic heat pumping through my veins.

Before I met this girl who’d started to occupy my every thought, I didn’t think I was the jealous type. Now I wanted to tear apart every guy who so much as looked at her, and it was only getting stronger the closer we got.

I glared at the bartender as I put my hand on the back of her neck, forcing myself to focus on the important part—making things right with my girl. “Lindsay.”

She glanced over her shoulder at me, and she must’ve had a few drinks already, because she wobbled. “Oh, hi,friend.”

“Come on, baby. You know that you’re more than my friend. You just don’t understand how my dad can be. I was trying to protect you.”

“I’m about to graduate, and you can’t even order a drink, can you?” She turned to the bartender and hooked a thumb back at me. “He’s not even twenty-one yet.”

I gripped the bottom of the stool and twisted her to face me. “I fail to see how my age has anything to do with anything.”

She shrugged. “Just an observation.”

When the bartender lingered, his eyes dipping to Lindsay’s cleavage again, I gritted my teeth. “Go serve someone else.Now.”

He backed away—smart man. I leaned over Lindsay, my hands braced on either side of her thighs.

“What do you want from me?” she asked, and her voice cracked, making me feel like that much more of an asshole. “You told me that waiting for you didn’t make me a puck bunny, but the way you treated me sure as hell made me feel like one.”

“I’m sorry.”

She tried to turn back toward the bar, but I held her in place. “What does it matter?” she asked with a shake of her head. “I’m about to graduate and move. You’ll still be here. This is doomed to fail, and I’m an idiot for thinking it could end differently.”

“The only time I can truly be myself is with you. Don’t tell me that doesn’t matter.”

She dropped her head and I cupped her chin and tipped her face back to mine.

“Please, Lindsay. I know I fucked up. I know I should’ve handled that entire situation differently. But the truth is, I’m not as good at juggling everything as I hoped I’d be. I’ll try harder, though, because you help center me, and I know I’ve teased you about having a grudge against fun, but the truth is my life has been way more fun since you entered it. I need us to be okay. It scares me how much I need it.”

I took a risk and kissed her, just a quick peck on her lips. Then I rested my forehead against hers and twisted a strand of her silky hair around my finger. “I’ll never treat you like that again, I promise. I’ll announce it to everyone I meet. You’re mine and I’m yours, and that matters to me more than anything else has ever mattered to me.”

I straightened and raised my voice. “Hey, everyone! I belong to this girl. This super-hot, smart girl that I totally don’t deserve.”

She stood up on the bottom rung of the stool, rocking into me, and put her hand over my mouth. “Oh my gosh, I think you might be crazy.”

“Crazy for you.” I added a big grin, hoping it’d be enough.

She rolled her eyes, then she locked her gaze onto mine. “You really need me?”

I nodded and slid my hands around her tiny waist. “I do. My dad thinks girls are a distraction, which was why I panicked and called you my friend. But I don’t care what he thinks—I loved knowing you were in the stands cheering me on.”

It was true, even if she was also kind of distracting. I’d have to work on compartmentalizing, but luckily, I had a lot of experience finding a way to accomplish everything I set my mind to.

Lindsay placed her hands on the center of my chest, and my heart beat harder and faster, that hollow place that had opened slowly closing back up. “I’m afraid I might need you, too.”

“Good. Because I’m afraid that I don’t have patience for a party tonight.” I moved my hands to her ass and boosted her in my arms. “I want you all to myself.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

Lindsay

Light pressed against my eyelids, turning the world from black to orange, and I burrowed deeper under the covers and curled closer to the warm, naked body I was lying halfway on top of. When my eyes fluttered open, Ryder’s profile greeted me. His eyes were still closed, but the smile that spread across his face when I kissed his shoulder let me know he was at least partially awake.

Last night I’d been pissed and drunk—not a great combo—and I’d planned on letting him have it when I saw him next. I’d meant a different kind of letting him have it originally, but after he told me he needed me and carried me out of that club, my emotions flipped, and I’d wanted him too badly to hold on to my earlier anger.

I ran my finger down the bridge of his nose and tapped it to his lips. Who could blame me for forgiving him so quickly? He was so damn sexy I couldn’t help but marvel that I got him all to myself, even if only for a little while.

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