Page 15 of Pucking Good Girl

I think I just offended him.

“I’m sorry, Vaughn. It’s just that I’m not the hookup type.”

“Who said anything about hooking up? I know you are the girlfriend type, Talia. I’m just saying that if I had known that Tucker wouldn’t hate me forever, I would have asked you out. I’ve had a crush on you since high school. I’m sure you knew that.”

I’m blushing again. My face is on fire.

“No?” It comes out like a question. “I had no idea.”

Vaughn shrugs his shoulders. “Yeah, I was just very good at hiding it. And actually, you know what? Please don’t mention this conversation to anyone. I’ve just realized that Tucker wouldn’t be the only one who would kill me. I don’t want Mack hunting me down too.”

I don’t know what to say. “Sure. Your secret is safe with me.”

Vaughn nods toward the pile of hot dogs on the tray he’s still holding. “Do you want a hot dog? I just grilled them. You can bring a couple up to Mack too. I have buns warming up in the toaster oven.”

As tempting as that might sound, I turn down Vaughn’s kind offer. Food right now is the last thing on my mind. “Thanks, Vaughn. But I was gonna see if Macklin wanted to order some pizza.”

“Oh you know the answer to that without even asking.” He chuckles. “Mack refusing pizza would be a clear sign that the real Shayba has been abducted by aliens and that’s his clone replacement.”

I laugh, grateful to Vaughn for taking my mind off my spiraling thoughts at least for a couple of minutes. “You’re right. If he could, Macklin would live off pizza.”

“Pizza is a complete meal and it can be different every time. All you have to do is to be creative with your toppings and maybe even try different style crusts.”

We say it in unison, quoting what Macklin says whenever one of our friends teases him about his obsession with pizza.

“I’m gonna go upstairs,” I say. “I’ll see you later, unless you’re going out.”

“Nah, I’m not feeling it tonight. I’m still hungover after last night’s party. I’ll be down here playing video games and watching movies with some of the guys. You and Mack should join us after.” He winks and I blush again.

Vaughn knows exactly why I’m here and I decide to own it. “We’ll see. Thank you for the invitation though.”

“You’re welcome. And if you don’t make it downstairs, I’ll see you in Cantucci’s class next week.”

I have to walk in front of Tucker’s room to get to Macklin’s door, and I can’t help but slow down and try to make my steps extra quiet.

On the one hand, it’s stupid. I’m a grown-ass woman and my big brother should have absolutely no say about how I spend my Friday night and with whom.

On the other hand, Tucker can be a real pain in the ass when he gets into big brother mode, and I’d rather avoid the extra drama.

Quack, quack!

I hear Baety’s loud quack as I tiptoe past his door, thankful for the extra noise. Who would have thought that my brother’s rescue duck would turn out to be my wingwoman?

The diversion she’s creating by making sure I can walk past Tucker’s door undetected is going to earn her a bag of fresh peas, her favorite treat in the world.

Despite the noise, I don’t want to push my luck by knocking on Macklin’s door and opt for shooting him a text message instead.

Me: I’m right outside your door.

His footsteps announce him coming to the door one second before his blue eyes meet mine.

“Hey baby,” his lips curl into that sexy smile that never fails to make me feel warm and a little nervous. The good kind of nervous. “Do you want to come in?”

Macklin steps aside to allow me to enter his room.

He closes the door behind him, and for a second we look at each other.

His blue eyes are dark and intense, and I take in how breathtakingly handsome he is with his perfectly proportionate nose, his soft lips, and defined jaw. And that assessment doesn’t even take into consideration his tall frame, and the hard, chiseled muscles I know are under his t-shirt and light gray sweatpants.