Puck

Convincing Dev to let me drive his car once he was ready to leave the party was much easier than expected. The guy actually seemed relieved by the idea, and then he asked me if he could crash at my place.

I wasn't sure how Jack would feel about one of my drunken teammates on his couch but when Dev started muttering about how his dad was going to hand his ass to him if he came home trashed again, I couldn't leave him hanging.

However, convincing Dev to wake up the next morning is proving to not be nearly as simple.

"Come on!" I urge, shaking his arm again. "I've got things to do today, man, and I don't want to leave you lying here."

Dev grumbles and pushes my hand away. "Don't sweat it, Pucky. Parents love me."

I frown at the way he says my nickname, and Dev cracks his eye open with a sly grin.

"I got to talking with Lowe's friend, Ronnie, last night," he explains.

Ah, that explains it. Ronnie's the only one who's called me that before.

"She's cute, eh?" he says next.

I never thought I'd see the day when Dev refers to a girl as "cute" instead of saying she's hot or sexy, but it's a nice change. I'm not sure if him and Ronnie would be a good idea or a recipe for disaster but I'm not going to bother getting involved.

"She's a nice girl," I say in way of agreement. "But really, Dev, you've got to go. You may have forgotten but I don't live with my parents. Jack and Alice are letting me stay here as a favour, and I don't want to push any boundaries. Driving my drunk teammate to their house might already be pushing it..."

"Wait," Dev says while sitting up, "Did you say Jack and Alice? As in, Jack and Alice Reid?"

"Uh, yeah?"

That finally gets him moving. He swings his feet off of the couch and lets his mouth drop open. "Yoooo, man," he exclaims with a laugh, speaking much louder than necessary, "You're railing the cop's niece while you live with him? Ballsy!"

Oh, the joys of a tight-knit community where everyone apparently knows who's related to each other...

"Would you lower your voice?" I snap back at him and then grab his arm to pull him to his feet. "Your keys are on the kitchen counter. I'll see you at practice."

Dev grins and lightly punches my shoulder. "You're a brave man, Puck McCallum. I like you."

I shake my head and gesture toward the kitchen. "Later, Dev."

He laughs while making his way to the kitchen and then to the front door, and I sit down with a sigh of relief when I hear the door close behind him.

The relief is short-lived, trampled down when I hear none other than Jack clearing his throat.

I look in his direction to find him hovering in the doorway between the living room and the hallway that leads to the master bedroom.

"So," he starts, and I immediately know that he must have heard what Dev said, "you and Marlowe, huh?"

"Err... uh..." I try to come up with an honest explanation that won't sound like absolute bullshit. "Yeah... but um, no?"

Wooow, Puck. Very smooth. Real winner.

Jack crosses his arms over his chest and lifts an eyebrow. "Okay... and what does "er, ah, yeah, um, no" mean, exactly?"

I start to look away but then force myself to keep facing him. I don't want to give him a reason to think that I'm being dishonest.

"Well, we are seeing each other," I admit and then add, "but we're not seeing that much of each other... No railing involved, Sir. Dev doesn't know what he's talking about."

I don't know what to think when Jack begins to laugh, but I know I made the right choice by telling the truth when he says, "Good answer, Puck. You're a smart kid, so I don't need to tell you not to hurt her."

I quickly shake my head. "No, Sir. I wouldn't dream of it."

Jack continues to chuckle to himself as he walks to the kitchen. "I'm going to boil some eggs. Do you want some?"

"Yes, please. Thanks," I reply, still shocked by how well that conversation went.

I get off the couch to follow him to the kitchen, and Jack turns around to look at me.

"You know, I think I'm going to have to talk to your dad about this."

Shit. The last thing I need is for Dad to know about Marlowe.

"Could you maybe not, Sir? I won't let my dating life interfere with the goal. Marlowe is really dedicated to her goals too, so she..." I drift off when I see the confused expression on Jack's face.

"First of all, drop the "sir", Puck. Just Jack is fine. And second, I wasn't talking about you spending time with Marlowe. I was referring to you driving your teammate's car home. I think it'd be beneficial for you to have your own vehicle to use while you're staying here. I want to talk it over with your parents first though. Does that sound alright with you?"

I can't believe what I'm hearing. I try to contain my excitement while I nod my head eagerly. "That sounds great, Sir. Err, Jack. Thank you."

He chuckles while he reaches into the fridge to retrieve the eggs. "Don't thank me yet. We both know how your dad can be."

He makes a good point.

When I first heard that I would be living with an old hockey friend of my dad's, I had resigned that the similarities between the two would be something that I'm used to. Instead, I'm finding out that it only means Jack can easily commiserate with me. It's a nice surprise.

"Well, still." I shrug my shoulders. "Thank you either way for trying."

Jack sets the eggs on the counter and gives me a pointed look. "Just make sure I don't regret it, especially when it comes to my niece."

"You won't, Sir," I answer so quickly that I forget to call him Jack again, but he only shakes his head with amusement and continues preparing our eggs.

----------

The start of the next week of school is amazing.

After our talk Friday night, Marlowe seems much more into our relationship. She doesn't pull away from me when her friends are around, and she doesn't roll her eyes at me nearly as often.

I can feel it now, though—her uncertainty when we kiss.

She's not unsure about kissing me. I can tell that much. She responds eagerly and often initiates the kiss herself, so I'm not worried about that.

But every once and a while, I can sense her hesitancy.

It's something I probably wouldn't have even picked up on if she hadn't admitted her lack of experience to me, but now it's clear.

After a kiss, I'll notice her gaze at my face with this sweet, shy expression, and it just about does me in every time. And it's so baffling to me that she's unsure when meanwhile, I'm blown away with how perfect she is every time her mouth is on mine.

And I've been getting my mouth on hers often.

Every chance I have to steal a kiss, I go for it. Every time we say hello or goodbye. I've even snuck a few quick ones mid-class, but the few times I've done that she's gotten pretty flustered so I force myself to resist the urge now. I don't want to make her uncomfortable, and I know how seriously she takes school.

She can call this arrangement whatever she wants but Marlowe Jacobs is my girl.

She's every bit the distraction I knew she would be, and I don't care a single bit. Because good grades might get me into university, and hockey might make me feel alive, but kissing MJ takes my breath away and kills me in the sweetest way imaginable, and I'd gladly die a thousand deaths at her hand than carry on believing I have more important things to focus on.

But by Wednesday, I'm going a little stir-crazy.

The two of us have talked a lot at school and exchanged a few text messages but we haven't had any real time together. I'm constantly feeling like I'm sharing her attention with friends and schoolwork which is fine, of course, but I'd be lying to myself if I didn't admit that I want to have her undivided attention on solely me for even a couple of hours.

Towards the end of Physics, the last class we have together for the day, I lean forward over my desk to brush some of her hair over her shoulder.

Marlowe remains bowed over her book, studiously working on her questions.

I smirk to myself while I push some of her hair over the opposite shoulder,  which still gets me no reaction. Continuing to try and get her attention, I brush my fingertips across the back of her neck which is now exposed.

Her pencil pauses, and she slightly leans back into my touch.

My fingers curl over her shoulder and with a gentle pull, I urge her back in her seat.

"Hey, cheer girl. What are you doing after school?" I whisper near her ear.

I can tell she's smiling by the way her cheek raises, even if I can't see the gorgeous smile itself.

"Probably finishing my Physics questions, since this annoying jock won't let me do my work in peace now," she replies in a quiet voice without turning around to look at me.

I chuckle softly and lightly squeeze her shoulder. "Care to let this annoying jock take you out first? I was hoping to get some shopping done and then we could go for dinner."

She turns around to face me now and quirks an eyebrow. "Are you asking me to take you out? If you need a ride to the mall, you could just ask me, Puck."

I grin at her and shake my head. "Nawh, I said it the way I said it for a reason. Meet me at the front of the school at the end of the day. You'll see."

She grins back at me. "Ooh, mysterious." She turns in her seat further and drops her voice to an even quieter tone. "Will you be in your Batsuit?"

I dramatically widen my eyes and press down into my feet to lean forward even closer to her. "Shhh, you're not supposed to know my identity."

She presses her lips together to cover up a giggle, and I have to remind myself that now is not the time to brush my mouth against hers.

"So?" I persist and lightly massage her shoulder, "Sound like a plan?"

"Okay," she agrees, "Now let me work."

"Yes, dear." I tickle the side of her neck before sitting back in my seat again, and my chest fills with a sense of joy and pride when Marlowe can't seem to contain her giggle this time.

I'm lucky I have a spare after this because there's no way I'd be able to focus on anything being taught with thoughts of my upcoming date with MJ dancing around in my head.