Page 80 of Pucking Good Girl

“You’re forgiven.”

He kisses the top of my head. “I’m surprised by the way. I didn’t even think you liked hockey players until I saw you with Mack.”

“I’ve never had anything against hockey players, Tuck. You’re the one who’s always been adamant about your teammates staying away from me.”

“That’s because I see what those guys typically get up to. But if things with these two are serious, I guess you could do much worse than dating them.”

“Thanks,” Macklin and Becks grumble.

His smile widens. “You’re both welcome. Just one more ground rule for dating my sister. Keep things PG when I’m around. I don’t want to see you three getting it on. Now I’m gonna have to go bleach my eyes.”

“You’re so dramatic,” Macklin chuckles. “We were on our own deck. We could have never predicted that you’d be out for a run after this morning’s practice. I guess we’ll try to keep certain things indoors. It’s just hard to keep my hands off your sister. Especially now that we’ll be under one roof.”

Tucker’s eyebrows hit his hairline. “What? Tal, did you move in with them? Since when? I thought you loved living in the Zeta House.”

“Yeah, about that.” Macklin bites out. “Gen got her kicked out of the house and expelled from the sorority. She threw her out in the rain in the middle of the night.”

“I’m guessing because she’s pissed over you dating her?” Tucker says.

Becks intervenes. “She is. And when she realized that Mack was over her, she decided to try her luck with me. I kept telling that I wasn’t interested, but you know Gen. She wouldn’t take no for an answer. Then, a few nights ago, she saw me kissing Talia goodnight when I took her home from a date. I think kicking Talia out was payback for that, as if getting her potentially expelled from school weren’t enough.”

“From school? Whoa, slow down. What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Nothing. I—” I try to defuse the situation, but Macklin cuts in.

“Baby, I think it’s time to tell Tucker what’s going on. I’ve been thinking about how to solve this situation without violence, but I keep coming back with nothing. We need help. Maybe a pair of fresh eyes and ears will help us see a possible solution we haven’t thought about yet.”

I hate the idea of worrying Tucker about this. He’s already in enough trouble thanks to that mixup with last year’s grades. Giving him something else to worry about is the last thing I want. But Macklin might be right, so I relent.

“Fine. But Tucker has to promise me that he won’t choose violence either, like you two.”

“Violence?” There’s a suspicious edge to Tucker’s voice. “Why would I choose violence? Talia, what kind of trouble are you in?”

Macklin clasped my brother’s shoulder. “I think you should sit down for this conversation. We were having breakfast before we got a little carried away with… making Talia feel welcome in her new home. There’s plenty of food. We might as well eat while we talk.”

“Can I stay too?” Vaughn asks, eyeing the high stack of waffles still on the table. “Waffles are my favorite.”

“I don’t have a problem with it.” Macklin says. “But it’s up to Talia.”

I sigh, lowering myself back into my chair. “Why not? At this point, I think I need all the help I can get. And Vaughn is a friend. I trust him to keep what he hears to himself.”

While Becks goes back to the kitchen to reheat the food, I tell Tucker and Vaughn what happened with Gen and Victor. I start from the pop quiz and continue my story with the ultimatum Victor gave me.

Macklin

“That fucking creep!” Tucker’s fist slams onto the tempered glass that tops the table on our deck, making all the plates and cutlery jump. “I’m going to go to his office and do to this dick what we did to the fish we’re marinating to make garum.”

I’m not surprised when Talia scolds him. “Tucker. You promised no violence.”

“Oh, don’t worry, sis. I’m going to book an appointment like a good little student and I’ll make it look like an accident.”

“I like your style,” I chuckle, and that earns me a glare from Talia too.

She covers her brother’s hand with her own. “I appreciate the sentiment, but please don’t even think about that. Besides, how are you going to make it look like an accident if you cut his dick into tiny pieces, put salt and herbs on it, and leave it to marinate in the sun?”

“I’ll find a way,” Tucker grumbles.

“Fuck that,” Vaughn pushes his empty plate back, beginning to get up from his chair. “I’m gonna go and beat the crap out of him right now. Cut his dick off outside the History Building in broad daylight. I’ll make an example of him. That’ll teach him a lesson about consent and about not being a creepy fucker.”