Page 16 of Of Pucking Course

The urge hits me to tell her that’s not it at all, that she looks insanely hot.

But I don’t. Because as much as I don’t want her to feel bad about herself, I also don’t want her to know that I have a crush on her.

She walks off, and I continue ripping open junk mail, slowly breathing until my boner dies. I step over to her box of kitchen supplies, open it, and unload everything onto the counter.

A minute later, she comes back wearing a gray hoodie and yoga pants. Her wet hair is up in a bun and she smiling at me. “I’m decent now.”

She looks at everything on the counter. “Sam, you didn’t have to do all that by yourself.”

“It’s no problem. Why don’t you unpack those boxes, and I’ll put these away?”

She starts unloading a box of dishes.

“So, how are you settling in?” I ask. “Is there anything you need? Anything I can run out and get for you to make you more comfortable?”

Dakota smiles at me and shakes her head. “I’m perfect.”

“You sure? Whatever you need, don’t hesitate to ask, okay?”

She gazes at me for a long second, still smiling.

“What?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “Nothing. It’s just…you’ve been amazing, Sam. You’ve done more than enough by letting me move in here for free.”

“It’s really no problem. I have the extra room. I’m happy to have you.” I glance over at the couch. “Oh, I ordered a heated blanket for you. It should arrive this weekend.”

She blinks at me like she’s surprised. “You got me a heated blanket?”

“Yeah. I know you have one already, but I thought it might be nice for you to have an extra one in the living room. That way, you don’t have to bring out the one you have in your bedroom. And even though it’s spring, we all know that springtime in this city is a crapshoot. We’re still in for a few cold nights, I’m sure. Oh, and I got a bunch of papayas for you. They’re in the fridge. They’re still your favorite fruit, right?”

When I glance up, there’s a dazed look in Dakota’s eyes.

Crap. It’s probably really strange that I bought her a bunch of stuff she didn’t ask for.

I rub the back of my neck. “Sorry if it was weird that I did all that.”

“Sam. Are you kidding? It’s not weird at all. Thank you. That was so kind of you.”

“It was nothing.” I grab the empty boxes and walk them over to the door to the garage so I’ll remember to take them out to the recycling bin later. Once I set them down, I see a pair of rubber camouflage-printed boots.

“I didn’t know you were into camo print,” I say.

“I’m not. Those were a birthday gift from Jake.”

I quirk an eyebrow. “Why did he give you a gift you didn’t like?”

She sighs. “Because he’s a terrible gift giver.” She opensthe fridge, grabs a papaya, peels it, and slices it. “I told him I wanted Hunter boots for my birthday. I even found a discount site that sold them for really cheap and sent him the link.” She nods at the camo boots. “But that’s the best he was able to do.”

I grit my teeth. What a dipshit. She was so clear and direct about what she wanted and he still screwed it up.

“I’m sorry, Dakota.”

She shrugs. “It’s fine.”

I swallow back the urge to call Jake every curse word in the book. It’s definitely not fine to purposely mess up the simple and affordable gift your girlfriend asked you for.

“Did he take you out to dinner at least?”

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