Page 101 of Of Pucking Course

“I owe it to Sam. He’s been my running buddy ever since I moved in with him,” I say.

Xander glances over to where Sam is sitting across from us. A second later, his brow lifts.

“Damn. She’s got it bad for Sam.” Xander chuckles.

I look over and see one of the servers standing next to Sam, her hand on his bicep. She squeezes his arm and then giggles, smiling at him the whole time.

Jealousy rumbles through me like a freight train at seeing another woman touch him and flirt with him.

“You’re so muscley,” she says.

He clears his throat, his smile tight. “Thanks.”

He looks away and grabs his glass of water.

“You should see this guy in the weight room,” Del says. “He throws around barbells like it’s nothing.”

The server giggles again before she rakes her gaze along Sam’s body. “Oh, I’d kill to see that.” She licks her lips. “We should be workout buddies. I’d love to get sweaty with you.”

My jaw drops at how obvious she’s being.

“I’m not a great workout partner,” Sam mumbles, still focused on his glass.

She lets go of his arm and steps away. “If you change your mind, you know where to find me.”

She flashes a smile before walking off. And that’s when I realize just how tense I am. The muscles in my shoulders are so tight, it almost hurts. I force myself to take a slow, quiet breath.

I hate how jealous I feel in this moment. Sam’s not even my boyfriend. I don’t have any claim on him. Other women can flirt with him if they want.

I guzzle more of my water. I catch Sophie giving me a concerned look.

“You okay?” she asks quietly.

I nod, even though I’m not, and she can probably tell.

“She’s totally into you,” Del says to Sam. “You should ask for her number.”

Sam lets out an uneasy chuckle. “Yeah, right.”

“You should. She was ready to jump your bones,” Del says.

Sam shakes his head, looking away.

“Oh, come on. It’s been a while since you’ve dated anyone. This would be a fun time to get back out there. You just scored the winning goal during our first playoff game. The ladies are all over you,” Del goads.

I grit my teeth so hard, it feels like my jaw is about to crack. I can’t sit here and listen to my brother convince Sam to hook up with another woman.

I stand up from my chair, walk across the bar, and out the back door.

Chapter 36

Sam

As I watch Dakota walk off, there’s a boulder-sized knot in my stomach.

This is fucked up.

The way that server was flirting with me, putting her hands all over me, made me physically uncomfortable. Like I wanted to crawl out of my skin. I thought I was broadcasting my disinterest with my body language, but I guess she wasn’t getting it.

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