Page 142 of Pucking Wild

“Oh, they’re fans of something,” Josh says.

“Well, what do they think is going to happen from sitting way over there?” I say, casting my eye back to the corner. “If they’re looking for a date or a hookup, why don’t they actually try talking to you guys?”

Caleb groans as Josh snorts into his beer.

“They’re not allowed over here,” Ryan replies.

I turn to face him. “What?”

He just shrugs. “Rip’s house rule. Puck bunnies sit over there, away from the WAGs and kids. If a Ray wants one, he has to go to them.”

“You can thank Lauren for that particular rule,” says Shelby, returning to the table.

“Uh-oh,” I laugh. “What happened?”

“When the Rays first got to Jax, let’s just say the bunnies were a little overzealous,” Shelby explains. “One actually sat on J-Lo’s lap. He tried to be nice about it and pushed her off. But then she plopped herself right back down, laughing like she thought he was a chair. So, he let Lauren handle it. She was sitting with me and the girls at the next table over…”

“Oh god,” I say, glancing down the table. Lauren Gerard is a beautiful, leggy blonde with the face and temper of an angel. I can only imagine what she looks like when she’s defending her man. “I bet she turned into a total banshee,” I tease.

“It was scary,” Josh says.

“J-Lo paid for all the bunnies’ dinners for how bad Lauren made them cry,” Shelby adds with a satisfied smirk.

“Noted. No sitting on Gerard’s lap,” I laugh, taking another sip of my beer.

The crowd cheers again as Morrow steps up to the mic. The band strikes up, and we all start to cheer as he belts out a pretty good rendition of “Can’t Have You” by the Jonas Brothers.

“You know, you can sit onmylap,” Ryan leans in to say in my ear.

I lean away, setting my beer down. “So, how often do you go bunny shopping?”

He looks at me, one brow raised. “What?”

“Come on, they can’t all not know how chairs work,” I tease. “Surely one has figured it out.”

He just shakes his head. “Tess…”

“What? I bet I could find you a good one. I’m an excellent wing woman. Cay, tell him,” I shout over at Caleb. “You can’t judge me by any previous failures I’ve had with Rachel. She’s impossible to shop for.”

“Facts,” Caleb says from my other side.

“Honestly, I feel a little vindicated now that I could never find her a good match,” I admit. “I was trying to narrow it down to one when that’s clearly not her style,” I tease at Caleb.

“It’s not mine either,” he says, slinging an arm around a distracted Jake and kissing him.

“Well, it’s my style,” Ryan says from my other side. “I’m a one-woman kind of man.”

“Would you ever let me wing woman for you?” I ask. “I bet we could find someone sweet and funny, maybe at the coffee shop or the beach? There’s still time to find you a cute date for the gala next week.”

He slow turns to glare at me. I know what I’m doing and so does he. “You wanna patrol the local beaches and coffee shops with me trying to find me a hot date for your gala?”

“You have a plus one invitation,” I reply with a shrug.

“Hey, Ryan, I’ve got your chicken wings here,” says Cami, stepping around the back of us. Is there a reason she needs to touch him? I don’t fucking think so. I narrow my eyes at the point where her hand rests on his shoulder. She carefully takes his order off the tray, placing it all in front of him. Another guy behind her is carrying a large tray. She’s too busy getting Ryan extra napkins, so that leaves the guy alone, handing out the rest of the food for our table.

The lights flash green and blue as Morrow sings his heart out at the chorus. The bunnies are all on their feet, cheering and screaming, their pomegranate martinis sloshing around.

I’m feeling sensory overload as the music pulses, the lights flash, and Cami is suddenly back, offering Ryan extra bleu cheese he didn’t ask for. Her breasts brush against his arm as she leans over to set it down, saying something I can’t hear over the music that makes him laugh. She’s quickly called away to another table, and Ryan watches me watch her leave.

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