Liam nods. “She seems like a cool chick. You two are friends, right? Any advice?”
Back the fuck off. Find someone else. Anyone else.
But that’s not really fair. Ginny is a cool chick and Liam is a decent guy and hockey player.
I avoid his question altogether. “Scott gave his blessing?”
“He didn’t seem all that happy about it, but he said Ginny could make up her own mind who she dated.”
Jordan laughs and elbows Liam. “And threatened to beat your ass if you hurt her.”
“And that,” Liam admits. “But I’d never screw over a teammate’s sister.”
God, I hate that he’s such a nice guy.
“I think it’s a terrible idea,” Tiny says with a shake of his head. “It’s messy. If things don’t work out, then you’re on the outs with the team captain. No chick is worth that much trouble.”
I watch Liam’s face to see if he agrees. Part of me hopes he does and backs off.
“Some girls are worth the risk,” he says, and I grind down on my teeth.
Of-fucking-course Ginny is worth it, but Liam and Ginny? I can’t see it.
“Well, good luck, man.”
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.”
“Why not?”
“He’s not good enough.”
“Good enough for what?” She rolls her eyes. “Thank you for wanting to look out for me, but I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself. I swear, if it were up to you and my brother, I’d spend the next four years alone while everyone else hooks up and pairs off. I want to do those things too, go on dates and make bad decisions, and I know it’s possible that he’ll hurt me or he’ll be a total bore, but I won’t know unless I go out with him.”
“Don’t date him.”
She looks like she’s going to start arguing again, but I keep going before she can get a word in. “Don’t date him. We could…”
“We could what?”
“You know.”
“Date?” She fights a grin. “You can’t even say the word.”
I close the space between us and drop my mouth to hers. Her lips part in a surprised squeak and I take full advantage, sweeping my tongue inside. She tastes so good and so right. I’m breathless when she takes a step back. Breathless and filled with so much energy, my steps feel light as I fill the gap again.
“Wait.” She puts a hand at my chest. “I don’t understand. You don’t date. You told me that you weren’t interested in dating anyone, especially me.”
“I never said ‘especially you’.”
“It was implied.”
“Fuck no, it wasn’t. We already hang out more than I ever have with any other chick, so let’s do that and make out. That’s basically dating, right?”
She gives her head a little shake. “I’m confused. Is this some trick to keep me from dating Liam?”
“Hell no. I don’t care who Liam dates as long as it isn’t you.”
My mouth tingles. Fucking tingles. This girl… fuuuck.
“I said we shouldn’t date because you had just gotten out of a relationship and in the past, dating hadn’t really been my thing. Enjoying college has been my top priority. I only have a few years before I’m going to be married to hockey. I didn’t want us to hook up and then never talk again, and I wasn’t sure I was capable of more. I like hanging with you and I don’t want to mess that up.”
“Oh.”
“But I was overthinking it. If what you’re looking for is the same thing I am—to have fun, hang out, hook up.” I pull her against me so she can feel how hard I am. “Then of course I want to date you.”
“Really?” Her eyes light up.
I swipe a hand over my mouth. It’s on fire and sticky from her lipstick.
“Really, but I should talk to your brother first.”
She groans. “You don’t need his permission.”
“I know.” I give in and press my lips to hers again. It’s almost painful with how much my mouth aches to be on hers. I kiss her harder and the burn intensifies. “Fuck, baby, your lips are on fire.”
Her hand flies to her mouth. “Oh no.”
“Oh yes. Don’t move. I’m going to talk to your brother.”
“Right now?”
“I promised him I’d look out for you. I don’t want him to feel like I took advantage or… I don’t know, maybe it’s stupid, but I respect your brother and you, and I can’t kiss you like I want to until I talk to him.”
“Kiss me like you want to?” she asks with a laugh.
I walk to the door and pause with my hand on the doorknob. “Naked.”
Adam’s in the livin
g room. I call his name and motion for him, going to the kitchen where I can pour a couple shots just in case one, or both of us, needs it.
“Dude, what’s going on with your face?”
I rub absently at my face, which still stings. Since I can’t very well tell him my body is having some sort of physical reaction to kissing his sister, I avoid his question altogether.
“I need to talk to you about Ginny.”
I slide one of the shot glasses in front of him. He looks but doesn’t touch it. “What about her? Is she okay?”
“Yeah, she’s fine.”
Reagan picks this inopportune time to join us. “Hey, have either of you seen Ginny?”
I glance at her. “She’s—”
“Oh my god, Heath, what happened to your face.” Dakota appears next to Reagan and steps forward and inspects my face. “I think your body is rejecting whichever random bunny you were making out with.”
I swipe a hand over my mouth.
“Pink’s not really your color.” Adam laughs.
I grab a paper towel and wet it so I can wipe his sister’s lipstick off my face. It can’t be helping the situation. “I think I’m allergic to this shit. It stings.”
Reagan starts giggling, and within a few seconds, it’s full-blown hysterical laughter that has tears coming from her eyes.
“The lip plumper,” she manages to get out and that sets Dakota off.
“What the hell is going on?” Adam asks.
“I was kissing—”
My body is yanked to the right by Ginny as she pulls me away. “Sorry, I need to borrow him for flip cup.”
I hear Reagan say, “I must have given it to her again by accident.” And then Adam’s gruff voice asks, “What the fuck is lip plumper?”
18
Ginny
I don’t stop until we’re in the corner of the deck outside, far away from my brother. “We can’t tell him.”
Heath’s rubbing at his lips. “Why not?”
“Because he’ll freak out and make a big deal out of it. And any chance of low-key and fun will go right out the window with it.”
“I don’t know. He was pretty cool about Liam asking to date you.”
“Liam asked to date me?” Ugh. I hate that they all feel like they need to ask permission. He’s not the boss of me.
Heath puts his hands in his pockets and nods.
“Just trust me on this. He might have said he was cool with it, but he’ll interfere somehow. We don’t need his okay.”
“I don’t relish the idea of going behind his back. We may not see eye to eye on everything, but we’re teammates.”
“I know and it isn’t forever, only until we decide if there’s anything even worth telling him.”
Heath raises a dark brow.
“You know what I mean.”
“All right. If that’s what you want.”
I let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
“What the hell did you do to my lips?” He rubs at them again and I bite back a laugh and run a thumb over the tender skin. It’s red and irritated, but his lips look nice and full, so I guess the stuff works.
I press my lips to his. A chaste kiss, but I linger, enjoying the feel of him being so close and his mouth against mine. Thirty seconds into this, and I’m already having a hard time keeping my hands off him around other people. He makes a little humming noise when I pull back.
“You expect me to keep this a secret?” He shakes his head. At least I’m not alone in wanting to jump him.
I take a step back as Maverick approaches.
“Hey, you two.” He looks from Heath to me with a big smile and then sniffs the air. “Is that… romance I smell?”
Heath smirks at me. Busted.
“Well, so much for keeping it from everyone.” I huff a laugh.
We do a slightly better job of staying apart after we make Mav swear to secrecy. With a butt squeeze and a whispered promise to find me later, Heath goes with Maverick to play Xbox and I find Reagan.
She’s sitting in a folding chair in a circle of people, but she’s quiet, playing with the label on the beer bottle in her hand. I grab a chair and pull it up beside her.
“Hey, are you okay? You look a little bummed.”
“Sam, the guy I went out with last week, was supposed to meet up with me tonight, but he flaked.”
“Oh, babe, I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. He was kind of boring, but it still hurts to be blown off.” Her shoulders rise and fall with a big sigh. “And the worst part is I’m still not over…” She pauses and fidgets with her beer again.
“Are you ever going to tell me who it is?”
“No, probably not.”
“Well, at least tell me what it is about him that has you so spun up?”
“He’s smart and caring.” She bites her lip. “And so hot. Have you ever been totally into a guy and no matter how hard you try to move on, you can’t stop hoping he notices you?” She groans. “I just realized how pathetic I am. God, I hate being the girl who can’t even enjoy the party because of a boy.”
“No, I totally get it. Been there.”
“I think you’re there now.” She smiles, dimples popping out. “At least with you and Heath, it’s mutual. You kissed again, right? He had gloss all over his face.”
“Listen, can we keep that between us for now? I don’t want my brother all up in my business with this.”
“I won’t tell him, but good luck hiding it—you’ve got a ridiculous grin on your face just talking about him.”
“I do?”
She nods.
“You know what? You helped me earlier by introducing me to guys, let’s do the same for you now.”
“I already know all of these guys.”
“Humor me? Maybe you were too caught up in this other guy to notice how great some of these other boys are.”
“You think?” She looks so hopeful.
I stand and hold my hand out. She takes it and gets out of her chair. “Okay, but you’re sleeping over tonight. I need a safety net, so I don’t do something crazy and end up having sad, forget-you sex.”
“You never know,” I say as we head inside. I make eye contact with Heath and my stomach flips.
Later after everyone else leaves and it’s just a handful of us left, Adam convinces us to play sardines.
Heath and I walk just ahead of the group toward campus. I’m holding his arm in a friendly way that we’ve done a hundred times before, but this time is completely about touching him any way I can.
“Which pair was the first to find Maverick and Dakota last time?” Adam asks when we arrive.
“Me and Heath,” I speak up, briefly catching my brother’s eye. I hold my breath to see if there’s any indication from his expression that he knows. Maybe it really is written all over my face.
“All right, one of you gets to make the rule.”
Heath looks to me. “You pick.”
I think for a minute. “Partners have to swap shirts.”
Heath eyes my white tank top and nods his approval.
“That’s kind of easy, Ginny,” Adam says, but then Rhett groans loudly and we all look to him and Reagan, who’s wearing a dress.
Heath and I start our search for the perfect hiding spot, but only make it as far as the first corner away from the group before he backs me up against the building.
His lips take mine, and his body presses into me. I’m stuck in between a rock and a hard place quite literally. The brick building bites into my back and the rigid swell in Heath’s jeans presses into my hipbone.
My body hums with excitement. I drop my hands to his waist and slip my fingers under the hem of his shirt. He keeps kissing me as I glide my palms over his abs and chest. His muscles tighten under my touch, and he grinds into me harder.
Who knew secret relationships were so hot?
Removing my hands from his body, which is exceedingly difficult, I take off my shirt, letting the b
reeze and his gaze pebble my skin.
“Fuck, Ginny,” he rasps.
“We’re supposed to swap shirts,” I say, voice a little too breathy.
“Oh, right.” Without taking his eyes off me, he pulls his shirt off and we trade. He tucks my shirt into the front pocket of his jeans and runs his fingers up the curve of my waist, stopping when his thumbs brush against the sides of my bra.
I don’t make any move to put on his shirt because he’s looking at me with so much admiration and hunger, I don’t want it to end.
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I lift up on my toes to kiss him. The skin to skin contact feels better than anything I’ve ever experienced. Kissing down his jaw, which flexes under my lips, I move to his neck and chest.
He holds my hair back with one hand as I learn the contours of his body with my hands and mouth. I’m circling his nipple with my tongue, which he seems to like very much, when he curses and flattens me against the wall.
Footsteps approach and Adam and Taryn come into view holding hands. Adam’s wearing Taryn’s strapless top around his neck and she’s in his oversized T-shirt.
Our only saving grace seems to be that we’re so close they aren’t looking for us yet. My chest rises and falls, and I fight to slow down my breathing as the others go off in search of us.
“Shit, that was close,” Heath says when they’re out of sight. He steps back and looks me over again, hunger flashing in his gaze and a smile on his lips. “We should hide.” He takes his shirt from me and slowly pulls it down over me. His scent covers me, warmth still clinging to the material.
“Now? They’re already looking for us.”
He glances around and clicks his tongue. “I got it. Come with me.”
“Is this in bounds?” I ask after he leads me back around the corner to the spot the seekers usually wait.
He shrugs and takes a seat on the top stair so we’re as far out of sight as we can be while still pretty much being in plain view of anyone who walks by. He pulls me down into the space between his legs. “Technically it is, but no one has ever hidden here as far as I know.”
“Probably because it isn’t a very good hiding spot.”
“I disagree. It’ll take them at least ten minutes to double back, and in the meantime, I have you all alone.” His mouth brushes against my neck. His shirt is baggy on me, giving him more access and his lips trail along my collarbone.
Secret Puck (Campus Nights Book 1) Page 11