29. Mine
Mine
MACKLIN
Maybe I fucked up.
As the game of dares continues, I keep my arm around Talia.
She’s tucked against me on the couch, but I might as well not be here. Because she’s looking at him.
And of course Becks is staring right back from his seat, just opposite us.
I shift in my seat, questioning my life choices and my own sanity.
The piece of paper in my pocket feels like a bag of pucks strapped to my back during suicide drills.
The name on that piece of paper is Sam, not Talia.
What was I thinking?
That’s anyone’s guess at this point because I’m pretty sure I fucked up.
On a rational level, I did what I had to do.
Talia agreed to fake date me in exchange for my help with Becks. I promised to help her get his attention.
And judging by the way my brother is looking at her, that kiss sealed the deal.
I should be happy for Talia that my brother wants her. Instead, I’m spiraling.
Because I want her too. My feelings for her grow with every passing day, and I don’t know what I’m going to do if I lose her. Especially to Becks.
Did I set myself up for heartbreak since our fake relationship always had an expiration date?
Regret burns hot and bright in my chest. Things with Talia were going so well.
Why did I have to go and give him an opportunity to get closer?
Becks always wants what I have, but he would never have made a move on my girlfriend.
A part of me, the cocky, arrogant part, thought that there would be no chemistry between them.
That would have solved the Becks problem, and I would have had all the time in the world to show Talia that my feelings for her couldn’t be less fake if I tried.
My gamble, though, didn’t pay off.
The thought hits me harder than I thought possible.
That another part of me, the one who’s falling for Talia and who cares about my brother’s happiness, isn’t mad at the obvious chemistry between them.
That part of me must have taken too many hits to the head on the ice because that kiss? That kiss was fucking hot.
Jesus. I’m definitely fucked up. I’m in love with my fake girlfriend, confused about what to do about her feelings for my brother, and I’m also fucking horny.
“What do you say we get out of here, baby?” I whisper in Talia’s here. “This game has gotten boring and I need to be alone with my girl.”
“Let’s go.” She agrees, but I don’t miss the way her eyes land on Becks for a couple of seconds.
Of course, the second Talia and I get up, headed for the stairs out of the basement, our friends notice.
“Leaving already, Cap?” Vaughn asks.
“Yeah, I’m calling it a night. You guys have fun, but not too much fun. Remember, we have practice at seven a.m. sharp tomorrow morning.”
“How could we ever forget that?” He groans. “Our coach is a sadist. He could let us have one morning off after a game like the one we just played.”
A year ago, I would have agreed with him.
Vaughn played one hell of a game tonight. If he got serious about hockey, he could go pro. He could even be great.
“Coach’s methods aren’t for the faint of heart.” I say. “But if his methods win championships, I’m more than happy to do what he says. See you tomorrow at practice.”
Talia and I climb the stairs all the way to the top floor in complete silence.
“Baby, are you ok?” I ask her once we’re in the privacy of my room. “You haven’t said much since…”
Kissing my brother. But I can’t bring myself to say it.
Her eyes find mine, and she comes close. Her palms splayed on my chest. “I’m fine. I’m just trying to make sense of some things.”
She doesn’t need to say it out loud.
“You’re thinking about that kiss.” It isn’t a question, and Talia doesn’t deny it.
“I am. It was… perfect.”
That’s it.
I did fuck up. She likes my brother. He’s the one she wants, and now that they kissed, she’s trying to find a way to let me down gently.
There’s nothing I want less than to let her go, but her happiness is what matters to me. I don’t know how I’ll deal with my feelings, but I’m not going to stand in her way if she wants to be with my brother.
“I told you he wants you.” I force my face into a smile, beginning to put some distance between us. “If you want to end our deal to be with him, I—”
Talia cuts me off, standing on the tips of her toes to bring her lips to mine.
“I don’t want to end our deal. I’m not ready for it.
I still have a lot to learn, and I want to see through my end of the bargain.
We said we would date until Gen stopped trying to get back together with you. I don’t think she’s there yet.”
“Yeah?” I can hear the relief in my own voice. “What about Becks?”
She cups my jaw, her breath fanning over my lips. “That was just one kiss. On a dare. Yes, it was hot. But that doesn’t mean he wants to date me.”
Oh, he does want to date her. I know my brother way too well, and the way he has been looking at Talia is worth more than a thousand words. “Ok.” I say softly, not believing my own luck and feeling a little dishonest about not letting her believe that Becks isn’t quite there yet.
“Kiss me, Macklin. I’ve been dying to be alone with you all day.”
I don’t let her ask twice. “I missed you too, baby. I’ve been thinking about last night all day today.”
“Liar.” She chuckles against my lips. “You weren’t thinking about last night during the game.”
At the risk of shocking her, I confess my dirty little secret. “With you in my jersey? The second I saw you with my name on your back, last night was all I could think about. How soft and tight you felt, and how I couldn’t wait to be inside you again.”
“But you scored three goals.” Talia argues.
“It’s what you do to me, baby. You make me want to be the best version of myself all the time. So I can make you proud.”
She traces my jaw with her fingers, her eyes full of warmth. “I am proud of you, Macklin.”
There is no fucking way this is fake. The way she’s looking at me, the way she feels in my arms are the most real things I’ve ever seen.
I know she’s into Becks. But I have to tell her how I feel. How much I want her to be mine. Really mine.
“Talia, baby, I—”
There’s a loud knock at my door. Whoever decided to slam their fist on my door like they’re beating the crap out of an opponent on the ice can suck my dick.
I ignore it, keeping my focus on my girlfriend. “I—”
They knock again, even louder this time.
“The party is downstairs. Fuck off.” I call out.
“Mack, open up. It’s me.”
I rest my forehead against hers, exhaling a calming breath. God, give me strength. So I don’t kick my little brother’s ass.
“Let me see what he wants.” I sigh again, walking to the door with the intention of getting rid of him as quickly as possible.
Becks is standing there with his fists clenched at his sides with white-knuckle force. And the thunderous expression in his eyes tells me that there’s no way I’ll be able to get rid of him that fast.
That piece of paper with Sam’s name on it is burning a hole in my pocket.
“Can I come in?” My brother’s jaw ticks as he asks.
If this whole thing blows up in my face, I have only myself to blame.
Becker
What the fuck am I even doing here?
It’s the thought that comes to my mind the second I slam my fist against Mack’s bedroom door.
Talia is in there with my brother and I can’t fucking take it anymore.
That kiss was… Perfect doesn’t even feel like enough to describe it.
It felt right. Like coming home. I can still taste Talia on my lips and she tasted like mine.
So, against all good judgment, my feet stay rooted to the spot.
“The party is downstairs. Fuck off.” Mack yells from somewhere inside the room.
“Mack, open up. It’s me.” I bite out as if I didn’t know that coming here could mean the final nail in the coffin of my relationship with my brother.
He opens the door; the look on his face is hard to read.
Mack looks pissed and maybe a little scared.
“Can I come in?”
He doesn’t move one inch, blocking the doorjamb with his large frame.
My big brother isn’t as intimidating as he used to be now that at six four I have two inches and probably fifteen pounds on him. But he isn’t a small man by any means, and I’ve seen on the ice that he can definitely hold his own.
“Why are you here, Becks?”
Why the fuck am I here?
To claim Talia. That would be the honest answer, but I don’t dare utter those words.
Talia isn’t a thing to be claimed. And she’s my brother’s girlfriend, so she definitely isn’t mine.
But if there were any justice in this world, she would be mine. Because I’m hers. I was hers from the moment she asked me, “Hi, what can I get you?” on my first night in Star Cove.
“Can I come in?” I repeat like a broken record.
The muscle in Mack’s jaw ticks, but he doesn’t punch me in the face like I know I deserve. He steps aside and lets me walk in.
Talia is right there, a vision in a Cove Knight jersey and tight jeans.
And she has my name on her back. If only she were wearing my number seven rather than his nineteen.
“Hi.” That reminds me of the way she greeted me the night we met.
I close the distance between us in a few short strides. “Hi.”
The air between us is crackling with electricity, and for a second, I wish we could go back to that night. When she wasn’t Mack’s girlfriend. Not kissing her that night is my biggest regret.
“Can we help you, Becker?” Mack stops by Talia’s side; the hostility in his eyes could fill the entire campus. He used my full name, like my parents did when I got in trouble as a kid.
I scrub a hand over my face. “I’m beyond help.” I admit.
“Why are you here?” He insists.
“I don’t know.” I lie.
In reality, I know exactly why I’m here, but if I told him, he would kick my ass, and I wouldn’t even blame him.
“Then let me take a guess.” His tone is as hard and cold as freshly resurfaced ice. “You kissed my girlfriend. You’re here because you can’t stop thinking about that kiss. And you want to kiss her again. How am I doing?”
There’s no point in lying now. “You nailed it.”
I stand my ground. If he wants to hit me, I don’t even brace myself because I know I deserve it.
There’s a beat of silence before Mack nods. “I thought so.”