Page 6 of Pucking Good Girl

“Yeah,” Mack confirms. “Becks is into you, clearly. But I told him that so am I. So it’s really up to you.”

“Are you saying that I can date you both? You aren’t walking away?”

The question is for my brother.

“I’m not going anywhere, baby.” Mack responds. “You take all the time you need.”

“Yeah,” I nod, echoing my brother’s sentiment. “But just know that I’m going to fight Mack to be the one you choose.”

A cocky smile appears on Mack’s face. “I’ve never backed down from a challenge. Talia is my girlfriend. She can see you for now. But I don’t plan on our relationship status changing anytime soon.”

I ignore him and look at the beautiful woman sitting between us. “So, would you go on a date with me, pretty girl?”

She doesn’t think about it too long. “I would love to go on a date with you, Becks.”

That makes me ridiculously happy. She hasn’t chosen me yet, but if she said yes to a date, it means that I have at least a fighting chance. I would love to go tonight, but I’m pretty sure she must have plans with Mack on a Friday night. Even if that weren’t the case, my mom taught me that it’s rude to ask a woman out on the same day. It’s like you assume she doesn’t have anything better to do than wait for you to ask her on a date.

“How about Wednesday night after our study group session? I can make a reservation somewhere nice, and we could go directly out to dinner.”

Talia’s face falls and I panic.

“If Wednesday doesn’t work for you, tell me when you’re free and I’ll be there.”

Shit. I’m worried I’m sounding too eager, but I can’t help it. I’m crazy about her, and after last night, I’m finding it impossible to pretend that I don’t have a huge crush on her.

“Talia, seriously. If you can’t on Wednesday, it isn’t a big deal. We’ll find another time to make it work.”

“No, Becks, it’s not that. Wednesday is fine.”

She sounds as excited as if I had asked her to come with me to the dentist’s. “Then what’s wrong? Is something the matter? Are you still feeling shaky?”

Mack looks worried, too. “Baby, I’m sorry, but you’re worrying us. You look like you’re about to be sick. Do you want us to take you to the clinic on campus?”

Talia hesitates for a second. “No, I’m not sick. Even though I do feel sick. I’m just very stressed.”

“If it’s about dating us both,” Mack reassures her. “We promise we’ll respect your choice.”

“No, it isn’t that. Something happened this morning and I don’t know what to do.”

CHAPTER 3

HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY

Talia

Iwish I had a better poker face.

But I wear my heart on my sleeve, and pretending has never been a quality of mine.

“Baby,” Macklin cups my face with his big, slightly rough hand. “Whatever it is, you can tell me. You know I’m here for you. Not to be cliche but a problem shared is a problem halved.”

Becks immediately agrees with his brother. “Yes. I’m here for you too. Whatever is wrong, Macklin and I will do our best to help you fix it.”

I cover my face with both my hands. I don’t know if I can tell them what happened. I’m worried about their reaction. I know I should probably tell Tucker too, since Victor threatened to cause trouble for my brother if I don’t comply with his requests.

“I don’t want to lie to you, but I’m afraid to tell you.” I finally admit.

“You’re afraid? Baby, there is nothing you can say that will change how I feel about you.”