17. Brothers And Sisters
Brothers And Sisters
MACKLIN
Sometimes I can be a real dumbass.
My morning classes go in a blur. I’m not really paying attention. I’m too excited thinking about all the things I’m going to teach Talia.
There’s a small part of me that worries that this whole thing is fake and that everything Talia will do with me in bed is for the sake of getting my brother’s attention. She doesn’t really want to be my girlfriend; she wants to be Becks’s.
But I’m confident that I can turn this around. By the time the semester ends, I’ll show Talia that we’re perfect for each other. We might not have spent one-on-one time together, but I’ve observed her for two years. I know a lot of things about her.
For me, there is nothing fake in our relationship, and I hope she’ll come to the same conclusion.
But, like I said, I’m an idiot. I’m so absorbed in my plan to make Talia mine that I forget about one of the biggest obstacles on our path.
And when I say biggest obstacle, I mean it in the literal sense.
“You’re a dead motherfucker, Shayba!”
All of six feet five inches, two hundred and thirty plus pounds of fury jump me the second I come through my bedroom door.
Tucker slams me against the wall, one huge, beefy hand pinning me by my neck as his other fist is ready to hit my face.
I came back home to drop off my books and do some homework before practice, but I didn’t think that changing our relationship status on social media meant that Tucker would know. I guess if I was hoping that he wouldn’t be mad about me dating his sister, I was fooling myself.
“What the fuck did I tell you?” he yells. “What do I say to every asshole who joins the team? Stay the fuck away from my sister!”
I’ve been slammed against the boards thousands of times and I’ve been in my fair share of fights on the ice. But Tucker’s ambush caught me by surprise, and the wind got knocked out of me when I got slammed against the wall.
“Tucker—” I sputter.
He doesn’t loosen the hold on my throat, pressing harder as he continues to yell at me.
“I’ve been your friend for two years. I’ve had your back on the ice, I would bail you out of jail.
I’d give you the shirt off my back. I’d even give you a fucking kidney if you needed one.
The only thing I asked you is to stay away from Talia.
You’re not good enough for her. None of you man-whores losers is. ”
I grab his hand with both of mine, struggling to get him to let me go. “Fake.” I sputter. “It’s fake.”
Tucker blinks, clearly confused by my words. “What?”
I take advantage of his momentary confusion to pry that hand off my neck. “Talia and I. It’s fake. We aren’t really dating.” I rush out before he can try to kill me again.
Thank fuck my words have the desired effect of stopping Tucker from killing me.
At least for now. I can see it clearly written all over his face that he’s still trying to decide whether I’m telling the truth.
“I was going to talk to you about it, man. Talia is just doing me a solid as a friend.”
I tell him about our deal. Or at least, a very redacted version of it. I don’t mention anything about Becks.
“Gen has been a nightmare, and her constant stalking is messing with me, and it’s starting to affect my game. Talia will help me send Gen a clear message that there is no way back together for us. And I’ll be Talia’s dating coach.”
That isn’t enough to convince Tucker.
“Why does she need your help? My sister is a catch. And besides, she doesn’t have time for dating. She has a crazy course load this year.”
I should keep my mouth shut, but maybe I have a death wish. “She’s well aware of her course load. And if you’re wondering why she needs help, maybe you should take a good look in the mirror.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” His eyes are narrowed.
“She’s twenty-one, dude!” I snap with total disregard for my own safety. “I get it that she’s your little sister and you want to protect her, but you’re scaring every eligible single guy on campus, and she can’t get a date.”
Tucker crosses his arms over his chest. “And do you fucking blame me if the second I get distracted she decides to date you?”
I take offense, but I insist on explaining to him the impossible situation he put his sister in.
“The point is that Talia wants to date. And men are too scared you’ll kill them if they ask her out.
She hopes that being seen with me will send the message that asking her out isn’t a guaranteed death sentence.
But that will only work if you don’t insist on putting me in a full body cast.”
Tucker’s lips twitch as he struggles not to laugh. “Don’t tempt me. You’d look funny in a full body cast.”
“Yeah? You might land yourself in one too if you hurt me. What would Coach say if you injured his starting left winger?”
He rolls his eyes, but he knows I’m right. “That’s true. But I still don’t like this idea you guys came up with. I’m not being funny, but your ex is a psycho bitch. What if she comes after Talia?”
“I’ll make sure I keep an eye on Gen. And you can help me too.
Besides, by making it official, all eyes on campus will be on us.
Not to sound arrogant, but I’m one of this school’s biggest assets, and people love me.
Gen knows that she has to be careful. If she comes after me or my girlfriend, she’ll destroy her image.
She can’t afford to look bad. Especially now that she’s Zeta president. ”
He considers my words. “Ok. I guess this isn’t all bad. Actually, a fake relationship with you will keep the rest of those assholes we play hockey with away from Talia. And we can make sure she doesn’t date an idiot once your deal is over.”
“We?” My eyebrows shoot up. “Don’t you think who she dates should be Talia’s choice?”
Tucker slaps me on the back. “Sure, sure. But we can steer her in the right direction. Which is away from douchebags.”
I swear he doesn’t even realize how overprotective he is. It’s second nature to him. “Fine. I care about Talia and I don’t want her to date a douchebag.” And if I can help it, I’ll be the only douchebag she’s ever with. But of course I don’t say that.
“So, brother-in-law,” his smile doesn’t reach his eyes. “I think it goes without saying that I don’t care that you’re fake dating my sister. If you hurt her, your death is going to be painful and very, very real. Do we understand each other?”
I wouldn’t expect any less from Tucker, but that’s actually something I respect.
If anyone were dating my little sister, I’d issue the same warning.
“Fake or real, I would never do anything to hurt Talia.” I say honestly.
“But you’re the only one who knows that our relationship isn’t real.
You need to keep our secret if we want to pull it off. ”
“You got it. People don’t like to be lied to and you have millions of followers. It wouldn’t be good for you or Talia if the fact that you’re fake dating came out.”
He’s right. And I’m glad he’s on board. “So you won’t try to kill me if you see her wearing my jersey or you see us kiss?”
“Wait a second.” He frowns. “Why the fuck do you have to kiss if it’s fake?”
“Come on, man.” I roll my eyes. “We have to be convincing. So some PDA is necessary.”
Tucker runs a hand through his hair. “I guess. But I better not catch you hooking up with someone else while you’re my sister’s fake boyfriend. Talia isn’t a puck bunny.”
“Don’t worry, I know that. And I’m not the cheating type.
I never cheated on Gen while we were together.
Talia and I already agreed that we’ll be exclusive as long as our deal lasts.
My summer hookups were trying to send a message to Gen.
But I realized that the only thing that will convince my ex that she and I are done once and for all is a serious girlfriend. ”
“Fine.” Tucker rubs his chin with a calculating look in his eyes. “Then you have my blessing. And you know what? Fake date her for as long as you want. Like I said before, if she has a fake boyfriend, I won’t have to worry about a real one.”
As Tucker leaves my room, I exhale a relieved breath. With him on board, the biggest obstacle to Talia’s heart is my brother. I wasn’t lying to her when I told her that Becks always seems to want what I have.
I’ll happily share the spotlight with him on the ice, but Talia is going to be mine.
Talia
I’m an idiot.
As I walk back into the Zeta house that afternoon, my head is full of thoughts about Macklin and Becks. I’m not paying attention to anything else when I clearly should.
I’m a little disappointed that Macklin didn’t kiss me again when he dropped me off at my first class of the day. But why would he? We weren’t in public so that Gen could see us, and we weren’t alone enough that we could start on our coaching.
In a way, our deal gives me the best of both worlds.
Getting the attention of someone like Macklin would have been impossible for me.
I’m not his type. But like this, I get to experience how it feels to be with him without getting hurt when he inevitably moves on.
And hopefully he’s right that Becks likes me and that seeing me with Macklin will spur him into making a move out of the platonic zone.
A notification from the house app brings me back to reality.
Genevieve requires your presence in the president’s office.
Shit. There’s only one thing this could be about. She saw the change in my relationship status and she’s pissed.
This could get really unpleasant, but in reality, what could she do to me? Murder is illegal, and even as the sorority president, she can’t kick me out of the sorority or the house without a serious reason and a house vote.
So I square my shoulders and knock on her office door. I’m determined to stand my ground, whatever Gen throws at me.
“Talia. Come on in and take a seat, please.” Gen points to the chair across from her desk.