Page 30 of Pucking Bad Boys

Tucker sighs. “Don’t remind me. I took her Intro to Visual Arts class too last year.”

“I don’t get why you did, dude.” Colsen chimes in. “It’s well known that Cantucci isn’t a fan of athletes.”

“That’s true. But that bears the question of why you’re here too, Col.” I tease, well aware that Colsen and Tucker are joined at the hip.

My brother’s teammate exhales a resigned breath. “Don’t ask. Tucker guilted me into signing up for moral support since he had to retake it.”

“I get it. But that doesn’t explain why Tucker took not one but two of Cantucci’s classes last year.”

His admission shouldn’t surprise me. Procrastination is Tucker’s typical M.O. unless hockey is involved. “I had to take my last two electives, and I left it until the last day registration was open, so I got stuck with Cantucci’s classes. To be fair, I didn’t think I had any issues. I got Bs in both classes, but you know there was a problem with this class’s grades. Now, stop babbling and let’s sit down.”

“Hey guys.”

That voice. I would know who it belongs to even without turning around, but I can’t resist the urge.

Like always, Macklin’s dark blue eyes are like a magnet, drawing me in. It takes all my willpower to look away after a few seconds. “Hey Macklin.”

Just one more second until he smiles, and then I have to stop staring.

Whenever I look at him, I always feel this powerful electric current as if the air between us were charged. But I know it’s one-sided. Macklin doesn’t see me that way. Actually, he doesn’t see me at all. To him, I’m just his teammate’s little sister.

Proving my point, he smiles. “Morning, Talia.” And then he immediately turns his attention to Tucker. “Dude, you and Col could have waited for me. You just ran here while I was still in the shower.”

“We did because you took forever in the shower. Forgive me if I don’t want to be late to class while waiting for you to be done rubbing one out.” My brother says.

I can’t help but look at Macklin’s tall, muscular body, and my mind is instantly in the gutter. My eyes travel from his thick neck and broad shoulders down to his ripped chest and washboard abs. The way his t-shirt clings to every muscle should be illegal. His trim waist tapers in and then… heat rises to my face as my eyes land on the fly of his jeans.

This time it’s easy to look away. If he caught me staring at his dick, I wouldn’t be able to look at him again. I’d have to transfer schools. Maybe even leave town.

But thankfully the guys don’t seem to notice my slightly pervy thoughts and continue bickering with each other like only teammates—or siblings—can do.

“I wasn’t rubbing one out, you douche.” Macklin argues. “I ran into some problems when I got to my room, and I had to open the windows and change the sheets.”

Tucker barks out a laugh. “What happened? Did one of your protein farts turn out to be more than just gas?”

I swear to God, when his girlfriend is around, my brother turns into this polite, doting gentleman. I can hardly recognize him. But when Taryn isn’t around, he can be pretty gross. His problem is that he doesn’t have a filter.

“Fuck you.” Macklin laughs, clearly embarrassed. “Let’s just say that someone thought sushi was a good idea for breakfast. I fucking hate sushi.”

I can’t help but wonder if it was one of Macklin’s hookups who ordered sushi for breakfast.

Jealousy, raw and powerful, hits me so hard that it takes my breath away. My crush on the Cove Knights’ captain is so pathetic that I’m jealous of his one-night stands.

“Whatever,” Tucker points to the classroom door. “Cantucci is here. Let’s sit down. I don’t want to start this class by standing out for the wrong reasons.”

He’s right about that. There is nothing worse than getting on Professor Cantucci’s radar. I’ve seen her cool, friendly demeanor change on a dime.

Colsen is the first one to step into the end of the row of seats we’ve been blocking.

“Tal,” Tucker gestures for me to get in, leaving him and Macklin still standing by the last two seats.

Macklin takes one step to get into the row, but my brother stops him with a hand on his shoulder. “Wait. I’m sitting next to Talia. You can sit at the end.”

I hide my eye roll as I lean to take my laptop out of the bag. That right there is exactly why I’ve never had a boyfriend. My brother is a six foot five cockblocker. Not that I would ever haveone chance in hell to catch Macklin’s attention, but that’s beside the point.

Tucker is always there to make sure that any guy who could be remotely attracted to me knows that he can’t get close to me without going through him first.

I know his intentions are good, but I wish he realized that I’m no longer in high school or a clueless freshman.