Page 82 of Double Puck

"Shoosh. I'm telling you, you need that bear. He looks just like me."

I fold my arms, smirking as Beck leans, laser-focused on the claw.

"It looks nothing like you," I counter, watching his biceps flex beneath his shirt. "That stupid bear is squat, lumpy, and completely sexless."

Beck is… not.

Despite my protests, he continues to waste his money. Thirty dollars quickly turns into forty. Then fifty.

I can't watch.

At eighty-seven dollars, I've finally seen enough. I physically remove him from the machine and put in my own money. On my first go, the claw closes around the bear's head, and delivers it into the chute.

Beck stares at the machine. Then at me.

"That's the most attractive thing I've ever seen," he says, beaming with pride. "Seriously, I think I'm getting an erection right now."

Resisting the urge to look at Beck's groin, I pull the bear out and hug it to my chest. It's ridiculous and enormous and wearing his stupid little glasses, but when I squeeze him tight against me, I'm grinning like a child.

"Okay! He is kind of cute now he's in my arms!"

"Beartholomew," Beck announces, dancing around in front of me. "That's what we shall name him!"

"Absolutely not."

"Yes. Look at him. Look at his glasses, Darce. He's adorable."

Soon, we're eating green apple candy from a paper bag as we walk, passing Beartholomew back and forth as the crowd thins and the night sky deepens.

We walk out to the quiet end of the pier afterward, past the fishermen's empty lawn chairs, Beartholomew carried between us by one arm each like a toddler who fell asleep at a party.

The boardwalk noise fades behind us until it's just the waves hitting the pilings underneath, the carnival lights glittering on the black water in the distance.

"Okay," I say with a sigh. "Fine. You win."

"Win what?"

"This might be the best date I've ever had."

"It's the only date you've ever had."

"Which makes it the best by default, and also the worst, but I'm choosing to be generous because you're kind of cute."

"I'll take it." He's grinning like an idiot, obnoxiously pleased with himself and looking damn good doing it. "For the record, I needed tonight too. Even before I lost us the game. So thanks—" He moves in closer, sliding his fingers across my cheek. "You're the only person I wanted to see after the game."

The wind pushes my hair across my face, and he reaches out and tucks it back.

His hand doesn't leave as our eyes lock.

I'm kissing him before I decide to, then his hand drifts down, and his palm settles warm against the front of my throat, thumb finding my pulse the way it did in the pool.

Everything catches fire at once.

I feel my whole body answer, heat dropping straight through me, and the small sound I make against his mouth is not sweet at all.

He pulls back. His eyes are dark, searching mine, asking what's next.

I've spent my entire life being handed to the future other people chose for me. Tonight, for once, I know exactly what I want.