Page 59 of Pucking Good Girl

“I knew how important making the team was for you, and I didn’t want to cost you that chance.” I say honestly.

“So you didn’t ask me out because of the no-fraternization clause?”

I nod. “That and I didn’t want Gen to set her sights on you. With her mom being one of the choreographers, I didn’t want to put a target on your back. You’ve seen the way she acted around Taryn, and you know better than me that my friendship with her is purely platonic.”

She’s quiet for a long moment. “So you like me? For real?”

“I don’t just like you, Talia. Spending time together turned my crush into something much deeper. I love you. And I want to end our fake relationship and be together for real.”

I brace myself for her answer. If she turns me down, I’m going to be crushed. But I’ll have to find a way to accept it. Because I’d rather have her in my life as a friend, and die inside every time she kisses my brother, than not have her in my life at all.

“I have something to tell you, Macklin.” The way she’s looking at me makes it hard to breathe. “When I asked for your help to get Becks’s attention, I lied to you too. I’ve had a crush on you since the first time I saw you. But these three years, whether you were with Gen or not, I thought you just saw me as Tucker’s little sister. So after we kissed, I knew I wanted more.”

My pulse quickens. “Really?”

“I love you too, Macklin.”

“Oh, baby.” I kiss her slowly and softly, letting myself truly enjoy our connection for the first time. Because now I know that she loves me.

“So, are you going to be mine? For real?” I ask her when we come up for air.

“I want to, but…” her eyes drift to him, and I know what she means even without her saying it out loud.

I squeeze her hand. “You still have feelings for Becks, too.”

Talia nods.

Ok. This isn’t exactly what I was hoping, but I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t expect it. I’ve seen the way Talia looks at Becks, and it’s obvious that she has feelings for him too.

Speaking about my brother, Becks has been sitting on Talia’s other side, and he’s looking at us with a mixture of hurt and confusion in his eyes.

“Can someone explain to me what you’re talking about?” He bites out, his jaw so tight that it wouldn’t surprise me if his teeth shattered.

Becker

Hearing my brother declare his love for Talia wasn’t a surprise.

His feelings for her are as clear as day.

I almost walked out of the room when Talia admitted that she feels the same way about him.

Fuck. I thought I had a chance with her. I thought that our connection wasn’t just in my head. But I must have been wrong. Maybe I was too late. I should have made my move sooner.

But how could I when two seconds after I saw Talia again on campus, she became Mack’s girlfriend?

All seemed lost at that point. Until the night of that dare game. Until I knocked on their door while they were together, and they didn’t turn me away.

Did they use me to live some kind of sharing fantasy?

No, it doesn’t make sense. If that were the case, Talia wouldn’t have said yes to dating me too.

I’m so confused that my head feels like it’s going to explode. They keep saying they were fake. And that Talia asked for Mack’s help to get my attention.

I love you too, Macklin.

When Talia utters those words, it feels like it’s my heart that’s about to burst and turn into dust.

The only thing that could mean is that she’s just made her choice and Mack won. As usual.