Page 49 of Secret Puck
I go inside, do a shot, and grab another beer.
“Everything okay?” Mav says as he gets two beers from the fridge.
“Fine.”
He lingers as he pops the top on the first can. “You sure? You look… off.”
“Off?”
“Yeah, like at practice that time Coach tried to switch you to the left side. You do this weird thing with your face.” He looks like a deer caught in headlights in some shit imitation of me.
“I don’t look like that. Fuck off. I’m fine.” I run a hand through my hair.
“Seriously, man, what’s up?”
“It’s nothing. Liam is interested in Ginny, and I can’t see it.”
“Because—”
“Adam asked me to look out for her, and I don’t know, it doesn’t feel right.”
“Because you like her.”
“I don’t… it’s not…”
He waits for me to string a complete sentence together, a smug expression on his face. “It isn’t a big deal. Ginny’s cool. Just tell Liam you’re interested and ask her out yourself.”
I tap my foot on the linoleum, consider it, and shake my head. “She probably isn’t even interested in him like that.”
Mav clears his throat and points with a finger wrapped around the beer can to Ginny and Liam standing in the doorway between the deck and dining area. They’re both smiling. Liam leans a hand above her, and she doesn’t look at all uncomfortable.
I take off in their direction without a plan and hear Mav mutter behind me, “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
Four steps. Four, big, hurried steps is all it takes to get to her. I grab Ginny’s hand, mumble an apology I don’t really mean to Liam, and pull her through the party to my room.
She laughs, obviously not concerned that I’m dragging her to my bedroom like some sort of caveman. “What’s going on?”
“We need to talk,” I say once I close the door.
“About?” she asks, sounding concerned but still smiling.
“Do you like Liam?”
“Sure. He’s nice.”
“Nice like you’d let him feel you up or…”
She laughs. Loudly and I think at me. She walks forward and pokes me in the chest. “You’re jealous.”
“Am not.” I don’t know why I bother denying it. Gut reaction, I guess.
She laughs again and moves to sit on my bed, digging through her purse. “I’m sorry I didn’t respond to your text earlier. I thought we needed a little space. We’re friends, but we’ve kissed, and I know you’ve probably already forgotten, but I haven’t and sometimes things with us feel messy. So, yes, I think Liam is nice like maybe someday I’ll let him feel me up, but I’m not going anywhere. You and I will still be friends, no matter what. You don’t need to worry about me dating Liam or anyone else and forgetting about my favorite cafeteria buddy.”
I grunt at being called her fucking cafeteria buddy. She pulls out a long tube of pink gloss and coats her lips. I’m mesmerized by the action and the way her lips catch the light. She rubs her lips together and puckers them and all I can imagine is her walking out there and every guy in the place wanting to kiss her and smear that perfect, pink outline.
She stands. “I promise not to be one of those people who ignores her friends when she meets a guy, or, in our case, another guy.”
“Don’t date him.”
