Page 115 of Pucking Around

Tess snorts, crossing her arms under her full breasts. She knows exactly what she’s doing, drawing his eye down.

“Langley!”

“Langers!”

“You got the ball, man!”

The guys all shout for him, and he waves, turning around to chuck the ball towards them. He looks back at us, his eyes on Tess. “Nice to meet you, Tess. Later, Doc,” he adds at me. Then he’s running off, those cut back muscles glistening in the sun.

“Okay,” Tess says, tipping down her sunglasses to watch him run away. “Yeah, no I’m not mad about that. He’s cute, right? Like a cute lil puppy at the beach. Maybe he needs to find a new owner…”

“Hands off,” I say, giving her my best level stare.

She snorts. “Why?”

“Because you’re a goddess of epic proportions who would eat him alive.”

“All goddesses gotta eat,” she replies. “I bet he tastes yummy.”

“Langley is like twenty years old. He’s an infant, Tess.”

“That just means he’s got stamina,” she murmurs, watching the guys kick the soccer ball. “You’ve seen him workout. I bet he runs a five-minute mile without breaking a sweat. Mmm…I like a runner.”

Now I’m laughing, my tension easing. “You are the worst. And you’renotgetting involved with a Ray this weekend.”

She scoffs, flipping her hair back. “How can I, when you’ve already got them all locked down in the Price Pussy Palace?” As she says it, she kicks water at me.

I squeal, splashing her back.

“Rachel!” Jake calls over with a wave. “You want one hotdog or two?”

My face falls as Tess howls with laughter. Covering my mouth with her hand like we’re twelve, she shouts back, “She wants two!”

52

Beach day is a huge success. Practically the whole team is here, which is great, because it means I’m finally meeting more of the wives, girlfriends, and families. A few guys brought their dogs, so Poseidon is having a huge time running and playing.

Tess is busy making the rounds, flirting up a storm with any single guy who looks twice at her. Which is all of them. They’realllooking twice. Langley is still wandering around like he’s been zapped by an electric fence.

“So…our Hurricane has a Tornado for a friend,” Caleb muses, handing me a sparkling water from the cooler by his chair.

I roll my eyes. “Don’t get me started.”

He just smirks, taking a sip of his own lime water. “Holy shit,” he mutters, tipping his glasses down as he peers over my shoulder.

“What?”

“Mars is here.”

I spin around, my gaze narrowing on him immediately. He’s impossible to miss. He’s wearing a pair of dark Ray-Bans and a white t-shirt with athletic shorts.

“He never comes to anything,” Caleb says, taking a sip of his drink.

“Maybe he just wants to be part of the team,” I offer. I hate feeling like I’m lying to him.

“What’s the deal there?” he says.

I turn around to face him. “What deal where?”