Page 5 of The Penalty Shot (Totally Pucked 5)

The next few days pass uneventfully, no early morning wake-up calls, and no glimpse of Neighbor Girl.

Not that I was looking or anything.

That is until I walk out the entrance of our building a few mornings later and see her crouched down next to her car, peering underneath it.

“I would say we have to stop meeting this way, but…” I smirk, my arms crossed over my chest as I lean against the fender of my truck and watch Neighbor Girl squatting to inspect her tire that is, without a doubt,veryflat.

Auden visibly jumps, letting out a yelp and immediately straightening. It’s fucking cute. Only then do I notice the tire iron she’s clutching in her small fist.

I hold my hands up in surrender. “Woah, just a joke,Killer.”

She looks at me, then down at the tire iron, then back at me with wide eyes, shaking her head and stumbling over her words. “N-no. My tire… I was just- It’s flat. And I was just trying to see if there was a nail or…I’m not sure.”

“Just joking, Neighbor Girl.” I wink. Walking toward her, I gently take the tire iron from her grasp. “Don’t want you to hurt yourself…or anyone else with this.”

I hold up the tire iron for emphasis. The thing looked like it was about to cause her to topple right over from the weight.

Her cute, pouty mouth opens, like she has a smart-ass retort to my teasing, but closes right after. She crosses her arms over her chest, and I take in her outfit. A black-pleated skirt that shows off her pale, milky thighs with a tucked-in vintage band t-shirt and belt. Today, she has her hair curled and loose around her face, and she’s wearing the smallest amount of makeup. Of course, the same tinted red lip gloss that I’m dying to know the taste of. In my head, I’ve made up flavors. Cherry, ripe and pink just like her. Maybe strawberry, sweet and a little tart when you bite into it.

“You know my name is Auden, and I had this under control,” she says evenly.

My eyebrows rise. “Did you, though? Looks like you were going to hurt yourself with that tire iron, but maybe I’m wrong.”

She scoffs. “I’ve changed plenty of tires in my life, I’ll have you know.”

I’d bet my entire pro hockey salary that she’s never even put air in her tires before, but I want to see how far she’ll take this. My stomach flips when she stands a little straighter and raises her eyebrows in defiance.

“Mhm, judging by the way you were clutching that tire iron more as a weapon than as a way to change your tire…I’m going to have to call you on that one, Killer. Tell me, what’s the first thing you need to do? To get this off?”

I tap the tire with my foot and grin, waiting for her to tell me exactly how she planned to change it. I’m calling her bluff, and I want to see how she’ll fold.

“Well, obviously, you’re going to…take those little things off with it.”

“Which things? The…nuts?” I smirk as she blushes.

Fuck, I love bantering with her. I love seeing her cheeks heat beneath my gaze, and I want to see if the rest of her pale skin heats the same, then I want to draw her. Highlighting each and every spot that her flush reaches.

“Of course, the nuts. Are you sure it isn’tyouthat doesn’t know how to change a tire?”

I shrug. “Maybe, maybe not. Want to give it a try first?”

She chews her lip nervously before dropping her head into her hands. “Okay, fine. I don’t know how to change a tire.” She glances down at the watch on her wrist and purses her lips. “And I’mseriouslylate for work.”

Crouching down, I run my fingers over the tire, and even though I can’t visibly see an obstruction, like a nail or something sharp, it doesn’t mean there isn’t something embedded in it. What I do know is that even if I can get this plugged in the next few minutes, she’s still going to be late.

“Let me take you.”

“No, it’s okay. I can call an Uber. I don’t want you to go out of your way.” There’s worry in her eyes. I can tell that she’s hesitant, just by the way the polite smile she gives me doesn’t reach the corners of her eyes. I can’t tell you why, but I want to get to know this girl. Know her story. Even though every part of me is screaming to run in the opposite direction. The last thing I need is to get involved in some complicated love triangle with a girl who’s taken. It’s just…I can’t seem to align her with the girl through the wall. She’s gorgeous and quiet and obviously shy, and the more time I spend in her presence, I’m intrigued. I want to figure her out.

“It’s really nothing. I can drop you off at work, and then by the time you get home, I’ll have this fixed. If you want, I can swing by and pick you up. Consider it a neighborly favor.”

She glances down at her watch again, then back at me. “Asher, you’ve been so kind. I can’t possibly ask you to do that. Seriously, I’m going to call an Uber.”

“By the time an Uber gets here, I could probably have you there, Killer. No arguing, get in.”

Nodding toward my truck, I pull the key out and unlock it, then open the passenger door.

“Okay, but at least let me buy you dinner to repay you, okay?” she says, finally giving in. Without another word, she climbs into the passenger seat and begins buckling her seat belt. I can sense her nervousness to come, but she does it anyway.

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