Page 4 of Just my Puck (Love & Laughter #1)

LUCY

S till embarrassed beyond belief over falling into Jason’s lap face-first last night, I shudder and pick up my pace.

I need to get to the library before it opens at nine, and it’s still a ten-minute walk from my apartment building in the city.

I have a tiny view of the sea from my sitting room window when I stand on tiptoes, but it’s perfect.

A one-bedroom with an open plan area, I love my little space.

Growing up, I had to share a room with my older sister, Jenna, and we fought like cat and dog.

To this day, I can’t be around her for too long, or we just end up bickering.

It’s a shame, but I only really see her a couple of times a year.

We are too much alike to be compatible in big doses.

Gripping the handle of my bag, I try to shake off the humiliation, but it’s not easy. I had been mortified and knew my face was bright red as I hurried away from the group. I don’t think I will ever be able to face any of them ever again.

When I reach the doors of the library, with seconds to spare, I’m surprised to find a crowd of people standing there. Stopping in my tracks, I frown, trying to think if I missed a special event today, but then I see they’re all looking at me and pulling their phones out to take my picture.

As I stand there, dazed, someone asked me, “So, are you Jason's new girlfriend or what?”

“What?” I stammer, my cheeks going warm again. “No!”

My first thought was that something had been misconstrued, but then I remember how Jason had called me ‘princess’ in front of all those people. A wave of panic sweeps over me as more pictures are taken of me.

“Lucy! It is Lucy, right? How did it feel to have the Storm’s cock in your face? Is it as big as Swann claims?”

The snickers of the crowd make me shudder, my hands shaking wildly. What is going on? How does everyone know about this? Who is Swann?

With a soft groan of mortification, I scamper off, pulling my phone quickly out of my bag as I shove the library doors open. I haven’t checked it yet today, being so behind schedule, so I’m startled when I see how many notifications I have.

My embarrassing debacle has been plastered all over social media.

Pictures of me falling into Jason's lap are everywhere, and people are commenting about it. There’s a clip of me with my face inches from Jason’s cock and me pushing myself to my feet before he says, “Steady on there, princess. I don’t do blowies on the first date. ”

Fuck!

Fuck!

He’s made a complete laughing stock of me.

Well, okay, no. I did that. Unlucky Lucy once again made a fool of herself when she tripped and face planted in the one place she had no business being.

Gripping my phone, I try to hold back the tears, but they well up anyway. This is a disaster.

How could this have happened? I had been so embarrassed the night before, and now I’m even more humiliated. I want to crawl into a hole and just disappear.

Slipping silently around the counter and stashing my phone back in my bag, I keep my head down as I make my way into the staff break room. Shoving my bag into my locker, I slam it shut and then lean against it with a sigh.

There is only one way to ride this wave and hopefully come out of it unscathed, and that’s to just go with it.

“Hey, girl,” Patty says, entering the break room behind me. “You okay?”

She’s sweet. Even more of a bookworm than me, I feel she gets my social awkwardness more than most.

“I’ll live.”

“It’ll blow over.”

“Yeah,” I say with a smile and then narrow my eyes.

“Sorry!” she says, mortified. “I didn’t mean…shit, Luce…” She chews her lip, but I can see the laugh she’s holding onto. She didn’t mean to say it, but now it’s out there, it’s game over.

Patty relaxes, snorting with amusement, as it is pretty funny if I disassociate myself from it and pretend it happened to someone else.

“You felt it, right?” she squeaks in a conspiratorial whisper. “Rumor has it that it's huge!”

Giggling, I shake my head. “Nope, I didn't lay a finger on it.”

“Oh, if I had the chance, I'd have gone for the sneaky grab! It would've been my only shot at getting close to him.”

“Yeah, I would've said the same thing, too, if Lady Mis fortune hadn't decided to screw me over once again.” I sigh and roll my eyes melodramatically since misfortune is my constant companion.

“Ride that wave!” Patty suddenly declares. “Heck, everyone believes you were there with him now, thanks to his jibe!”

“It was just an offhanded remark. Who knew they'd all make it out to be something else?”

Patty shrugs her shoulders before adjusting her supersized spectacles, an unintentionally theatrical gesture that is mirrored immediately afterward by me—it's an idiosyncratic habit I possess but can't seem to shake off no matter how hard I try.

“Honestly, I wish I had that attention on me. I’d use it to my advantage.”

“There’s nothing to use. He doesn’t even know who I am.”

“He sure as shit does now,” she points out with a laugh.

Shaking my head, I try to move past it. “Let’s get to work before Maple decides to lecture us about work ethics again.”

Patty chuckles as we make our way back into the library. I feel much calmer now and wonder why I don’t spend more time with her. My actual friends seem to have abandoned me in my time of need.

Not that I can blame them. They probably don’t want to be associated with the klutz de jour any more than I would.

Ignoring Maple’s grim glare as I wheel the trolley of returned books over to the stacks to reshelve, I get to work, losing myself in the smell and atmosphere of my favorite place on earth.