The Goal (Off-Campus #4)(51)

“Why’s that?”

“Tuck, you play hockey.” She says the last word like it has extra meaning, but I’m dumb, so I have to ask for an explanation.

“There’s a hockey team in Dallas,” I remind her. “It’s not that unusual.”

“It is too. This is a football state, but no, you, a Texas boy, love the ice and cold. I’m surprised you aren’t staying up in Boston.”

I kick out my legs and peer up at the darkening sky. Patterson’s one of those relic towns—once it was self-sustaining, but nearly all of the small businesses were squeezed out by regional stores that offered cheaper prices and more choices. Most folks who live here either farm or work at the tractor plant two towns over. Living in Boston is something I’ve thought about, but every time I’ve brought it up to my mother in the last four years, she’s rejected the idea.

“Mom loves it here. This is my daddy’s house that he bought when they were married.” I pat the steps. “She doesn’t want to leave it.”

“So there’s no one you met at Briar? You spent four years there and are just coming home to settle in and be Patterson’s number-one realtor?” She holds up her index finger and deepens her voice.

Gotta admit, that doesn’t sound good. “You know about those plans too?”

“Yeah, that was part of the sales pitch. Along with your huge bank account, you’d be able to keep me in luxury for the rest of our lives by selling houses in this place. The good news for your mom is that every single girl in Patterson would give their left tit to be John Tucker’s woman.”

There’s only one girl I want to slap that label on, and I’m not entirely certain she wants it.

“I’ve got a girl back in Briar,” I confess. Talking about Sabrina makes her feel a little closer. Man, I’ve gotten sappy. I guess I don’t care that I am, because I pull out my phone. “Wanna see?”

Dani nods eagerly.

I thumb to a picture I took of Sabrina at a pub where we grabbed dinner the last time I drove up to see her. Her dark hair is loose and cascading down her shoulders, and her eyes are gleaming impishly because she’d just smacked my ass as we were leaving.

“Jesus, she’s hot!” Dani grabs my phone to pinch and zoom, first on Sabrina’s face and then the rest of her body. “Are you sure she’s not bi? Because it’s a crime that she has to suffer through life with a man.”

“Hey, I’m good with my tongue.”

Dani gives me a somewhat contemptuous look. “No man is ever as good at oral as a lesbian. It’s a scientific truth.”

“Yeah? Then spill your secrets, Solis. If not for me, then for poor Sabrina.”

Dani’s lips curve into a sexy smile. “You know what? I will.”

And then she proceeds to give me a very graphic lesson in what makes good oral.





17




Sabrina


Ran into old HS friend. She’s an L. Told me no man can ever deliver what a woman can. Got her drunk on sangria and forced her 2 reveal her secrets. Prepare urself. I’m going to wreck u.

Tucker’s text pops up during my break at the club. As I slip off my six-inch heels, I type in a reply:

Promises. Promises.

When there’s no immediate response, I put my phone away and try not to be disappointed. I guess he’s busy with his mom and his old friends.

The rock that settled into my stomach when he left today grows a little larger. I miss him. And if I’m honest with myself, I think I’m falling for him. John Tucker has slid deftly into my life, filling spaces that I didn’t realize existed.

And he’s not the distraction I thought he would be. When I need quiet, he gives it to me. When I need fun, he’s there with a ready smile. And when my whole body aches, he has no problem fucking me until I’m a boneless mess. He likes being with me. And I like being with him.

I squeeze the back of my neck. Am I in too deep already? Should I get out now? Can I continue this without one of us getting hurt?

Tucker had guessed that I had my whole life planned out—and I did. The vision I had of four years of college followed by law school followed by a well-paying summer internship which precedes the perfect job at a Big Six law firm ending with retirement in some sunny place on the beach…it’s a plan that didn’t ever include a man. I don’t know why. It just didn’t.

Men are for…sex. And it’s easy to get and easy to let go. Or at least, it was easy to let go. Now, not so much, because the idea of not having Tucker makes that rock in my stomach feel like a boulder. Actually, the rock is making me feel queasy. I take a few deep breaths and try to remember the last time I ate something.

“You okay, honey?” Kitty Thompson asks in concern. Kitty is one of the owners of Boots & Chutes. She and three other former strippers run the club, and it’s one of the best places I’ve ever worked.

I rub my temple before answering. “Just worn out.”

“Only a couple more hours.” She clucks sympathetically. “And it’s slow tonight. I’ll probably let you go early.”

We both take in the handful of occupied tables.

With a decisive nod, she says, “Yes, you might as well take off. You wouldn’t earn much more than twenty dollars. Go home and get some rest.”