Puck (Broken Hill Boys 1)

A pillow slams down over my head, jarring me out of my mind. “What the hell?” I demand, glaring across the bed at Brylee who’s busily shooting daggers my way.

“I’ve been trying to get your attention for half an hour and every last word I say keeps getting ignored. What’s going on with you?”

“Nothing,” I tell her, looking back down at my homework.

Bry closes her math textbook and leans back against the headboard of her bed. “Well that’s a load of bullshit,” she says. “You’ve been my best friend for years, Courtney. I know when something’s up, now out with it before I have to force it out.”

“Seriously, it’s nothing.”

Brylee grabs her phone off the bed and focuses as she begins typing something. “You have three seconds to start talking before I let Brooke know that you’re the reason she didn’t get the part of Wendy in the fourth grade Peter Pan musical.”

My eyes bug out of my head. “Don’t you dare. She’ll kill me.”

“Then you better start talking.”

I groan as I fall back to the bed and stare up at the ceiling. My hands come up to cover my face, wanting to hide my shame at what I’m about to admit. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Puck since…well, ever.”

“WHAT?” Brylee screeches, throwing herself to her feet. “What the hell are you talking about? I thought you hated the guy.”

“I do. He’s the worst kind of pig, but…I don’t know. He’s kind of hot and sexy in this super intense kind of way and it makes me want to tear off all of his clothes and screw him in a broom closet.”

Brylee’s mouth drops open as she stares at me as though I’m some kind of stranger. Her mouth closes and as she goes to say something, it simply falls open again. “I…I can’t believe what I’m hearing,” she says. “You can’t be serious. Do you realize that this is Nate Ryders’s best friend? Those guys are bad news. You need to stay away from him.”

“I know, I’ve been trying but we’re in the same homeroom class and he made it impossible for me to avoid him and now I’m stuck with stupid assigned seating, and what’s worse, he looks at me like I’m some kind of challenge or a game or…I don’t know, some shit like that.”

“You’re fucked,” Brylee says bluntly, “and not in a good way. He’s going to screw you over.”

“I know,” I groan. “How do I fix this? I can’t be crushing on Puck Jones. He’s awful and he’s going to play with my heart and then tear it to shreds.”

Brylee shakes her head as she drops back down on the bed. “Your heart isn’t the only thing he’s going to play with, and to be completely honest, it’s probably going to be the best sex of your life. I mean, Puck Jones…fuck. Did you hear what Katie Langston had to say about him after he slept with her at one of Jesse’s parties last year? Fuck, Court, if this really is going to happen, then be prepared for one wild ride.”

“Seriously? That’s the advice you’re giving me?”

“Hey,” she shrugs. “As you said, he’s going to break your heart no matter what you do and I think you’re right about that, so you might as well enjoy it while it lasts. Besides, the last guy you slept with was a two pump and dump loser. Don’t you owe it to your lady bits to see a bit of action.”

“My lady bits see plenty of action, thank you very much.”

Brylee rolls her eyes, knowing I’m lying, but it was worth a try, right? “Who knows, maybe you could get the inside scoop on all of those boys while you’re at it. I’ve always been curious about the five of them.”

I toss the pillow back at Bry and give her my best glare. “You’re really not helping.”

She shrugs. “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”

I sit back up and let out a frustrated huff. “Can you just be serious for two seconds and tell me what you think about this?”

“Fine,” she says, tossing her phone back to the bed. “You know I’m a hopeless romantic and yes, the signs are all pointing in the direction that you’ll probably get hurt, but what if he’s the exception? What if Puck turns out to be the love of your life and you never know because you were too scared of getting hurt? I mean, is that really a way to live? So what if it doesn’t work out and he breaks your heart. At least you know you tried and you can move on without any lingering ‘what if’ questions. Besides, if he’s all about sex, then you can move on knowing you took advantage of a good situation.”