Page 7 of Just my Puck (Love & Laughter #1)

STEELE

L eaving the library in the hot, late morning sun, my heart races as I recall my conversation with Lucy.

She is everything I had imagined she would be after admiring her from afar for so long.

She is cute, funny, and a walking disaster zone, but no one is steadier on their feet than me, so I can keep her from tumbling.

It hadn’t been my plan to ask her out, only to return her book and make sure she was handling the press invasion okay, but she seemed to be good.

I guess hiding away in the book stacks is as good a place as any.

“Steele! You here for Lucy?”

I ignore the bellow, which comes straight at me as expected. On the way in, it had been a constant barrage of noise which I blocked out, oddly nervous about being here and the potential of coming face-to-face with Lucy.

Lucy.

Her name is sweet and cute, just like she is. When she started talking about cocks, it was almost too much to bear. I’d wanted to shove her up against the stacks and show her that my cock is more than she can handle.

“Steele! Did you speak to Lucy? What did she say? Does Jason know you’re here?”

Stalking down the street, they follow me.

I’m used to it. I’m glad that I can be of service for them by leaving Lucy alone.

She doesn’t deserve to be hounded for being accident-prone, nor because Jason is a fuckwit whose brain doesn’t connect to his mouth sometimes.

He knows the rumor mill will be grinding away now.

Sighing, I shove thoughts of Jason aside. He has no business getting in the way of my thoughts about Lucy and our date. I’m still slightly surprised with myself that I asked her, but more so that she agreed.

A nagging doubt lurks that she only said yes because she was flustered and not thinking clearly.

Unclenching my fist from around the note her friend had shoved at me, I unfold it and stare at the number.

Smiling when I see the heart drawn around the digits, and Lucy’s name scrawled underneath, I decide that even if she isn’t quite sure about this, I will make it a perfect date.

A picnic under the stars by the beach. Not on the beach because sand is the devil’s work, but there’s a lovely stretch of grass that runs behind the City Beach, which will be perfect at sunset.

Climbing into my Jeep, I shut the door on the annoying gnats from the press, pull out my phone, and save Lucy’s number. Then I check it twice before I scrunch up the paper and shove it in the drink’s holder.

When I arrive home a few minutes later, I immediately head out to the pool, and stripping off my tee and shoes, I dive in and swim thirty laps before coming up for air.

“You’re a complete asshat.” Jason is sitting on the edge of the pool, his feet dangling in the water as he stares out over the bay, his eyes covered by dark sunglasses.

“Oh?” Hauling myself out of the pool, I stand next to him, dripping wet.

He looks up at me with a grimace. “You went to see the girl.”

“Her name is Lucy. I returned her book.”

He stands up and turns to me. “What book?”

“The book she dropped when she was running away from you.”

Several seconds go by as he processes that. “She okay?”

“She was holding up, considering the press were outside the library. I imagine she was hounded as she arrived and will be when she leaves.”

“Shit,” he breathes out.

Knowing I have to come clean, I take a step back and then sit, dropping my feet back into the pool. “I’m taking her on a date tomorrow.”

I lay it down for him to pick up at his leisure.

He sits again and glares at me. “Oh? So she gets all the attention on her and then ropes you into a date. She’s good.”

“She’s not like that,” I defend her, pissed off with Jason’s attitude.

“You know how this works by now.”

“Not Lucy. She’s different.”

“You like her.” It’s a statement tinged with surprise.

“Look, I’ve seen her around. I didn’t know her name or anything until last night after that video went viral. Figured I’d shoot my shot, you know?”

“But everyone thinks she’s dating me.”

Giving him an incredulous glare, I let out a low growl. “But you’re not. You don’t even want to date her, so what’s the problem?”

After a few seconds, he takes his sunglasses off. “Carter gave me a bit of a heads up when he got back from seeing Geoff. It’s complicated, but I was hoping to ride this wave to get him off my ass.”

“What wave?”

“The dating wave. He apparently wants my wandering dick to wander no more.”

“And you were hoping Lucy would date you?” Clenching my fist so I don’t throw a punch and ruin his face, I wait for his reply.

“Well, date is such a strong word.”

“You go anywhere near her, and I’ll take you off the ice permanently,” I threaten him with a vicious scowl.

He lets out a loud laugh, not believing my empty threat. And it is empty. I just want him to know that Lucy is off-limits to him.

“Touchy. You really like her.”

“She is a sweet girl. I don’t want anything to fuck this up. Not you, not the press, not that stupid video. Find someone else to play with.”

“I want her.”

“You can’t have her.”

“Says who?”

“Me,” I snarl, getting pissed off until a thought occurs to me. “ You like her, don’t you?”

“I don’t know her,” he points out.

“But you want to.”

“She had her face in my lap, her hands on my thighs. That subtle perfume and her obvious discomfort at the whole thing. When she looked at me… I can’t explain it, man.

Plus, I was being a dick before. She’s not like the bunnies.

Anyone can see that.” He sighs. “I thought I could… I dunno.” He shrugs, as unsure of himself as I ever seen him.

“So now what do we do?” I ask slowly. I’m not giving her up, but I can see that Jason is serious. And that gives me great pause. He is never serious about anything.

“She can convince Geoff I’ve settled down,” he says. “I was going to ask her to date me. Or at least fake date me until I could convince her otherwise. You have just thrown a massive cat amongst my pigeons.”

Grimacing, I hunch my shoulders. “She deserves better than that.”

“Go on your date, but I’m asking her as soon as I can. No one said anything about being exclusive to anyone.”

“You suck.” As much as I want to hate him, I can’t. It’s a good plan, and Lucy is the right woman to convince Geoff that Jase has settled down. But if things work out tomorrow night, I wonder where that’ll leave me. Would she date us both? At least, date me and fake date him?

I guess only time will tell.