Page 55 of Pucking Bad Boys

“Wait,” Talia asks me for the bag. “We’re going into the library, right? There’s a trash can right at the entrance. Your car is so clean, it would be a shame to litter.”

Fuck me and my stupid idea to make sure the car was clean. She probably thinks I care about my car way too much.

“Don’t worry about that.” I reassure her. “And before we go in there, I think we should talk about last night.”

The words leave my mouth almost without warning. Talia’s face drops, and that isn’t a good sign.

I wanted to talk about it in the hopes that somehow we could do it again, but she’s looking like she’s about to throw up her breakfast.

I kissed Talia because I wanted to but it’s obvious she thinks it was a mistake.

Chapter 16

The Deal

TALIA

Here we go.

Having breakfast with Macklin was nice. Nicer than I could have imagined. We’ve eaten together countless times before, but always in a social capacity. This was the first time it was just the two of us.

Talking to him was so easy that I almost forgot the elephant in the room. Or I should probably say the elephant in the car.

And now that elephant has come out to haunt me.

If he wants to talk about it, he clearly thinks it was a mistake. This is why I was up all night. I was afraid he would say thathe regrets it, and now here we are. I just really can’t take being rejected by him.

I know I look nothing like Gen. I was just hoping we could pretend it never happened and continue being acquaintances, maybe level up to study buddies.

“What about last night?” I ask, trying to act unaffected but bracing myself for what I know he’s about to say.

“Talia, you were upset. After the kiss.”

God, kill me now. “It’s ok. You just took me by surprise, that’s all. It was part of the game.”

We both know that the game required us to kiss if the DJ changed the song, but he didn’t. Hopefully, Macklin will go along with it and help me save what’s left of my dignity.

“I didn’t kiss you because of the game.” His blue eyes are locked with mine, forcing me to look into their depths. I have nowhere to hide.

It hits me how they’re identical to Becks’s eyes in shape. They have the same slightly elongated shape that suggests an Eastern European heritage. But while Becks’s eyes are a pure blue, Macklin’s irises have specks of white and gray mixed with the blue. I had never been close enough to notice that until today.

They remind me of the sea in winter, when it’s stormy.

“I kissed you because I saw how upset you were when Gen and Becks started kissing.”

“You did?” That isn’t what I expected him to say. “You didn’t do it to make Gen jealous?”

Macklin shakes his head. “I couldn’t give a fuck about how Gen feels. Sorry if that makes me sound like an asshole, but I’ve been telling her that we were done all summer. And she refuses to get the message. So making her jealous is the last thing I want. I just saw that you had been looking at my brother all night, and Gen noticed too. That’s why she put on that little show on the dance floor.”

“So you think Gen didn’t kiss Becks to make you jealous?”

He shrugs. “That was probably a part of it and why she asked him to the party as her date. But I would bet our chances at being back-to-back champions that she noticed that you liked my brother and she kissed him to stake her claim on him in front of you.”

I take a sip from our soda cup to have something to do while I think about this.

I thought I was being subtle about my interest in Becks. “I’m a little confused. So you kissed me because…” my head is spinning.

“Because I wanted to.” He bites out. “And because I wanted to send Gen the message that if she messes with you, I’ll have your back.”