Page 36 of Nothing to Lose: Lost Trilogy: Part 1
Since I ended up right behind Puck, our eyes meet in the rearview mirror when he looks up. He seems to be taking longer than necessary to check behind us, and I couldn’t look away if my life depended on it.
Becca is sitting quietly next to me, tension rolling off her in waves. After a few minutes of silence where I think I may lose my mind if I don’t hear another person’s voice, I decide that it is up to me to make things less awkward.
“So, Puck.” I’m going to start with him. He seems easy going and more my speed. “What kind of a name is that?”
“It’s just a… nickname,” he says after a slight hesitation. His eyes move to mine in the mirror, then quickly look away when I just stare back.
“Oh, does it mean anything?”
My voice is just a tad shaky. The set of Becca’s shoulders is getting to me. It’s making me nervous now too, for no reason at all. What’s her problem?
Puck is not scared to talk to me though. “Just something my brothers in the cl…” He stops himself abruptly, making me wonder what he was going to say. “My brothers call me that.”
“Because you love hockey?” I giggle.
God help me, the look Becca gives me should drop me dead on the spot. She is beyond annoyed with me. I admit that I probably am a bit flirty, but how is it hurting anyone? Puck seems to be into it, if the looks reflected in the mirror say anything.
“Uh, yes, Ilovehockey.” The way he says it, it almost sounds as if it’s the opposite, but I drop it.
I feel a tension headache coming, and I blame it on my friend. She is just too much right now. I am relieved when she starts asking questions of her own, but they’re nothing interesting.How far is the hotel? Are you from around here?She seems to be really fixated on Blake. Maybe she likes him, I decide.
I lean back in my seat and remain quiet for the rest of the trip. I need to regroup. The more I tried to fake being cheery and happy, the worse the tension in my head got. This is why they tell you to just be yourself. Being someone you are not is too stressful.
My heart beats a little faster when I catch Puck staring at me again. I bite my lip so I don’t say anything that might get me in trouble with Becca. When he gives me a subtle wink, I resist the urge to whimper out loud.
I let out a silent sigh of relief when we finally pull into the hotel parking lot. The guys help us out, then take our bags and walk us inside the hotel.
“Is this part of your services?” Becca snaps at them when she realizes they’re coming with. God, why is she so bitchy?
“It is now,” Blake spits at her. He doesn’t like her either. It’s making me chuckle.
We walk toward the elevators when Becca asks about keys to the rooms.
“Yeah, I forgot about that!”
I am relieved that I have a good excuse to walk away from our little group for a minute or two. Then, Puck bursts my bubble.
“I got your keys right here.” He shows us the two cards he just pulled out of the pocket of his trousers.
The move brings my attention to his legs and crotch area. I am so distracted by the way his dress shirt is so perfectly tucked into his dress pants, I don’t even realize when Becca is asking me about sleeping arrangements. She and Puck go back and forth when he wants to know what room number her key card is for.
“What difference does that make?” I insert myself into their conversation. “Aren’t all rooms the same?”
My question seems to throw Puck off, but then he winks at me. “Boss’ orders, babe.”
The way he just called mebabeis making me weak in the knees. I’ve never been into bad boys. Steve is obviously the very opposite of that. The worst he could do was to cheat on me. That is not the kind of bad I need in my life.
I show Puck my card since Becca refuses to show hers, and he nods at me in approval. “Thanks, babe.”
I blush to the roots of my hair, my sudden attraction to him making me feel flustered. I turn to stare at the numbers for each floor as we’re going up in the elevator. It gets quiet again, which in turn is giving me weird vibes.
“How did you know my name?” Becca asks out of the blue.
I turn surprised eyes and see her staring up at Blake.
“Isn’t that your name?” he asks, barely any inflection in his voice.
“It is,” she agrees. “But how didyouknow it?”
