25. In The Stacks #2
I’m falling for Talia so hard that my heart stops dead in my chest at just the idea of losing her.
The realization hits me that there is nothing I wouldn’t do to be with her. Nothing.
I’d rather share her with my brother than lose her. A new plan forms in my head. It’s even riskier than my current one, but in love like in hockey, you gotta take those risky shots if you want one chance in hell to win. And to win Talia’s heart? I’d risk everything.
Becker
Working with Gen is going to be challenging.
Five minutes after we got some of the books we need, she’s engrossed in scrolling through her social media on her phone, abandoning our research.
“I’ll be right back.”
She’s so distracted that she doesn’t even lift her head from her screen.
While I was working, I ate two of the brownies Talia brought. They were delicious, but now I’m a little thirsty.
My intention is to get a bottle of water from the vending machines downstairs.
But I turn in the opposite direction from the stairs.
My feet carry me toward the back of the room, where I saw Talia and Mack disappear over twenty minutes ago.
How fucking long does it take to grab a few books? Maybe I can help them.
Talia’s soft voice reaches me when I get to the last two rows of shelves.
“It doesn’t sound very appealing.”
I peek at her and Mack from behind the row of shelves before the very last one, staying partially hidden.
“No, it doesn’t.” My brother says. “But you know what’s incredibly appealing?”
He lowers his head so that he can whisper in her ear.
Talia is trapped between his body and one of the bookshelves. “No. What?”
“You,” he says, surging to press her against the bookshelf behind her. “You’re appealing and smell delicious. And that little skirt you have on? It has been driving me crazy from the moment I picked you up to come here.”
He’s preaching to the fucking choir. Because of that skirt, I’ve been sporting a semi since they got here.
“Yeah?” she whispers, lifting her face to look at him.
“Fuck, yeah.”
He kisses her. It starts like a soft, barely there brush of lips, but it quickly turns into a deep kiss.
Furious jealousy washes over me, blinding me. Or maybe that’s the wrong expression because I can’t keep my fucking eyes off them.
I can’t help the feeling that it should be me kissing Talia against that bookshelf. I should be devouring her mouth, cupping her tits and ass, letting my hands wander all over her perfect body.
You should walk away.
The voice in my head is right. I really should. But I fucking can’t.
Seeing my brother with the woman I can’t stop thinking about since I walked into the bar on my first night in town pisses me off, but it’s also hot.
Hot as all hell.
Mack’s hand sneaks under Talia’s pleated skirt, and guilt floods me as powerfully as the jealousy that keeps coursing through my body.
I really shouldn’t be here. This is a private moment.
Yeah? Then they shouldn’t have done this in the library, where anyone could walk in on them.
And this is how fucked up I am. I stay.
Because I want to see Talia’s face when she comes. But what I tell myself is that I’m staying just in case. Just to make sure that no one else walks over here. As if the fact that it’s me watching them like a fucking creep were somehow different.
All I can see from this angle is my brother’s hand moving under Talia’s skirt. I can’t see the color of her panties. If she has any on.
Mack kisses her the same way I would if the roles were reversed. That hand taunting me as it keeps moving under her skirt.
I don’t think I’ve ever been so hard in my entire life.
And if we weren’t in a fucking public place? I’d take care of my pulsing cock. I’d make myself come when she does.
If this weren’t a public place? I would walk over there, push my brother away from her and take over from him. I’d be the one who makes her come.
Better yet, I’d drop down to my knees and bury my face between Talia’s thighs.
I wonder what she would do if I really did that. Would she push me away, or writhe under my touch like she does with him? Or would she keep kissing him while I make her come all over my fingers or my tongue?
Jesus. I must be out of my damn mind.
There’s no way I would have the nerve to walk over there expecting them to let me join them. This isn’t some cheap porn flick.
This is real life, and I have to accept the fact that my brother is dating Talia. Maybe I should have kissed her the night we met. Or maybe I just met her too late.
They break the kiss, and Talia buries her face in the crook of Mack’s neck. She trembles.
It serves me right that I don’t get to see her face when she comes. It’s what I fucking deserve for intruding in a moment that wasn’t meant for me.
When Talia stops trembling in his arms, he holds her, supporting her weight.
For some fucked up reason, that makes me even more jealous than all the other stuff I just saw. It’s the intimacy between them that tells me this might be more than just a fling.
Talia lifts her head, and they kiss. Then they whisper something to each other. They aren’t loud enough for me to hear.
I should really go now. And yet my feet stay rooted to the spot.
Even when my brother collects a small stack of books from the library cart they left against the shelf and says. “Let’s get back to the table. I’m gonna go ahead.”
She nods. “I’ll be right there. Just making sure my clothes are back in place.” Her hand disappears under her skirt to fix her panties.
I should fucking go. Right now, before he walks past me. But I don’t.
Mack turns the corner out of their little secluded nook, walking right into me. “Watch it.” He scowls, checking me.
He walks away, and I know I should follow him. But I don’t.
All I have eyes for is Talia, as she fixes her clothes and runs her fingers through her hair.
She looks incredible. And probably no one will guess what she just did with my brother. But her lips are swollen from his kisses, her eyes are still dark and a little glazed over from the pleasure he gave her.
After being rooted to this spot, my feet choose this moment to start working again.
“Hey Talia,” I greet her as I round the corner and come into her view.
“Becks.”
Her eyes search my face. Is she wondering how long was I standing here? I think she is because she blushes.
I thank all the hockey gods that I changed into jeans rather than sweatpants after practice, despite having to go to the gym with Vaughn later. I dropped tomato sauce on my sweatpants at lunch, and I didn’t want to go to the library in dirty clothes.
My klutziness is a godsend because I’m still hard but it’s a little less noticeable in jeans.
“I came to check if you and Mack needed help carry any books back to our table.”
It’s a stupid excuse since my brother was with her and the library has carts to help students move books from the shelves to their tables. But if Talia thinks I’m full of shit, she doesn’t give it away.
“Thank you, but there weren’t that many books about garum. Mack is carrying most of them. I was still checking out this one.” She picks up a book that was left open on the cart.
“How are things?” I ask. “I’ve been meaning to come to Joe’s for a drink, hoping to see you there, but I’ve been way too tired after practice.”
She smiles and I can’t help but love the way it lights up her entire face. “It would have been nice to see you, but I hope you understand I still wouldn’t serve you.” Her blue eyes shine with mischief. “Beavis.”
I hate when my teammates call me Beavis, but I don’t care if Talia does. It’s like an inside joke between us.
“That’s right.” I chuckle. “I should get myself a fake ID with a more credible name. Like you suggested the night we met.”
Talia shakes her head. “I still couldn’t serve you because I would know it’s fake. But it might be useful if you go anywhere else in town, or if you get a different bartender at Joe’s.”
It’s my turn to tease her. “Really? You wouldn’t blow me?” Fuck, what am I saying? “I mean, my cover.” I force out at lightning speed. “I meant if you wouldn’t blow my cover.”
Talia doesn’t take offense at my verbal slip up. Thank fuck.
“No. I grew up with Tucker and three more brothers. Trust me, I know what happens to snitches.”
“Yeah?” I tease her. “What happens to them?”
She rolls her eyes, laughing. “They get stitches and end up in ditches. Especially if they’re little bitches.”
“I’ve never heard that last part.”
“Because it’s my family’s version. I can’t remember which one of my brothers came up with it one time when I told on them.”
Without thinking, I reach out and tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. “I would never. I could never hurt one hair on you, pretty girl.”
Shit. What the fuck am I doing? First, I watched my crush getting finger banged by my brother, and now I flirt with her?
I should really stop thinking about Talia as my crush and remind myself that she’s my brother’s girlfriend.
“Thank you.” She whispers and she doesn’t shy away from my touch.
We hold each other’s gazes for a long moment; the air between us is crackling with electricity, like the night we met.
If she weren’t dating my brother, this would be my second chance to kiss her.
But Talia isn’t mine, and it doesn’t matter how much I want her. How much I think I could make her happier than he can. She isn’t mine. I have to remember that.
“Let’s go back to our table.” I sigh, dropping my hands. “I have to meet Vaughn for an extra workout soon, and we should get as much work done as we can when we’re all together.”
“Ok.”
We walk back side by side. Our arms brush against each other, and I know I should move away, but I don’t.
I’m a fucking glutton for punishment.