Page 14 of Secret Puck
I don’t know what his sister said to him, but in an hour’s time, our place has become packed with guysand girls.Good work, Ginny.
Adam and I head out and make several stops getting booze and food. When we’re on our way back, I finally decide to broach the subject on my mind.
“Soooo… your sister’s smoking hot.”
I’m messing with him, sort of. She is smoking hot, but I’m only sharing this information to get a rise out of him. As predicted, he pins me with a hard stare. I meet it and smile, letting him know I’m not intimidated.
“Off-limits, Payne.”
“Relax, I’m giving you shit. I don’t do the whole girlfriend thing like you. We’ve only talked a few times. She’s nice.”
“She is. I worry about her. She doesn’t know a lot of people at Valley yet and I want to introduce her to everyone, but she’s off-limits. Friend zone only, man. I know how you are.”
Ouch. I’m a perfect gentleman, thank you very much. Just because I don’t date the same girl for months at a time, doesn’t mean I treat them any worse.
“Is there some sort of big brother gene that makes you all giant overprotective assholes?”
“I’m serious. She just got out of a relationship and she doesn’t need another guy screwing her over.”
We pull up to the apartment and grab the bags to carry inside. Before we enter the apartment, Adam stops and regards me seriously. “You’ll help me keep an eye on her? Make sure the rest of the guys don’t mess with her?”
“She doesn’t need a babysitter, man, and I’m no nanny.”
His mouth pulls into a thin line and I cave, some part of me understanding his concern. I can’t imagine having a little sister around my teammates and friends.
“I will keep an eye out, but I’m not going to lord over her like some sort of protector. Normal, friendly, keep an eye out, not whatever you’ve got going on there.” I lift one of my arms bringing the grocery bags with it and motion to him and his moody intensity.
“Good enough, I guess.”
I barely get the beer to the fridge before people are grabbing for it. I take two and spot the object of my and Adam’s conversation sitting on the couch watching Maverick and Rauthruss play Halo.
“Hey,” I say as I take a seat next to her and hold out a beer. Her hair is in an elaborate looking braid, the end hanging over one shoulder.
She takes the can hesitantly. “Thanks.”
“Where’s mine?” Maverick teases.
“In the fridge.”
He holds a hand to his chest and pretends to be appalled.
“When you’re as hot as Ginny, I’ll start being your beer bitch, too.”
She rolls her eyes as she pops the tab on her beer, but there’s a faint blush to her cheeks.
“Genevieve,” Adam calls from the kitchen and lifts a beer in a silent offering. She holds up the one I gave her so he can see she’s already got one.
“Genevieve?” Mav asks. “I thought your name was Ginny.”
“Ginny is short for Genevieve.”
“That’s rad. Why would you ever go by anything else?” He says her name again slowly. “Genevieve.”
“Adam couldn’t pronounce it when I was born.”
Mav and Rauthruss bust up laughing.
“He was three,” she adds, sticking up for him.
