Pucking Parker (Face-Off Legacy/Campus Kings 1)

No, I haven’t.

Bex stands straighter, her expression unreadable. She must be nervous, though she’s hiding it well. “Yes, I’m Bex Bryant.”

“Coach,” Mom says. “Or Charlie, or Charlotte, or even Coach Parker, but never call me Mrs. Parker.”

“Mom thinks that makes her sound old,” I add for clarification.

Bex holds out her hand for my mom to shake, her smile so wide it reaches up to her eyes. “Nice to meet you, Coach. I’m sure Preston already told you I’m a big fan of yours.”

Instead of shaking her hand, my mom pulls Bex into her arms and squeezes the life out of her. “It’s nice to meet you, too, sweetie.”

“Mom, don’t hurt her,” I quip. “Jeez, could you loosen up a bit? I don’t think Bex can breathe.”

They both laugh.

I can see it already. Mom will want me to invite Bex over for dinner so my dad can meet her, too. And then suddenly, the entire family will be there, which means my parents’ friends and their kids will all be in attendance.

“What?” Mom moves away from Bex, giving her some room. “I want to savor the first time I get to meet a girl you like. Between you and your brother, I don’t know who’s worse.”

“Bex is my friend,” I tell her.

“Right.” Mom rolls her eyes at me. “If you say so. Now, John needs to find a decent girl, and my boys will be all set.”

“We’re just friends,” Bex chimes. “I only met Preston a few days ago. We barely know each other.”

“But you must be special, or you wouldn’t be here.”

Bex’s mouth snaps shut, her expression stoic.

“Mom, would you stop freaking Bex out, please? This is kind of embarrassing.”

The buzzer sounds throughout the gymnasium, giving Bex and me a reprieve from my mother’s comments.

“Duty calls. You can sit the first half out,” Mom says to me, and then turns her back to us to rally up the team.

“I thought Jameson coaches with your mom,” Bex says.

I cup her shoulder with my hand and steer her toward the bleaches. “He’s usually here by now. Something must have come up. It must be important, because I know he wouldn’t miss the opportunity to join my mom in tag-teaming me until they embarrass the shit out of me.”

Bex drags her fingers down my forearm, the sudden contact too much for me to stand. “Don’t worry about it. My dad would do the same thing.”

“Not if it were me.”

She shakes her head. “Definitely not for you. He loves you like a son and thinks you’re the best player he’s ever coached, but he would not be as nice as your mom if we were dating.”

“Good thing we don’t have to worry about breaking his last rule.”

But I want to.

“Too bad you have trouble staying away from me,” she jokes, now acknowledging the final text I sent her on Thursday night.

Which reminds me…

“What happened to you the other night?” I flex my jaw, irritated by her dismissal. “You ghosted me.”

Her noses scrunches in confusion. “What are you talking about? I came to your game last night. I’m here now. Your definition of ghosting must be different from mine.”

“You never texted me back.”

“Aww, look at Parker getting all butt-hurt over a girl he doesn’t even like. A girl who’s supposed to be his friend.”

“Shut it, smart ass.” I shake my head, smiling. She rips them out of me whenever she’s around. It’s hard not to feel something with Bex. “You know what I mean. You never answered my text.”

Bex removes her phone from her gym bag. An awkward silence passes between us, the loud cheers around us filling the void as she scrolls through her messages.

“Oh,” she says, her eyes slowly raising to meet mine. “I didn’t think you expected a reply to your last message. But clearly, it’s important to you. I’m not sure what you want me to say.”

“I like being around you,” I admit. “You’re nothing like the girls I know. It’s refreshing. Like I can be myself with you.”

She looks away from me, biting the inside of her cheek, her focus on the boys running down the court. “I like you, too. But I don’t see anything happening between us. Friends I can do… if you think you can handle being friends with a girl.”

Can I be her friend when all I can think about is ripping off her clothes? Not likely.

“I can try.” I lean into her side, pressing my lips to her earlobe. “If that’s what you want.”

She clears her throat, still watching the game play out before us. “Umm… yeah, that’s what I want.”

We’ll see about that.

If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s changing girls’ minds. Bex will give in at some point. They always do.

“Okay,” I agree. “As you wish.”

Chapter Nine

Bex

I met my idol and didn’t pass out. Coach was everything I thought she would be and more. Her strong personality, the one I’d heard about online, shined through. When she hugged me, I almost died. Like I could have died at that exact moment and been truly happy. One of my bucket list goals came true, all because of Preston.