Page 72 of Lucky Mother Pucker

He smirks. “Don’t play dumb. I saw how excited you were that Lucy was here to watch you play.”

I fight a smile. He’s right. When Lucy told me she’d be watching us play tonight, I was pumped.

Since she started working for the team, I see her almost every day I’m on campus. It’s awesome watching her thrive in this new job. All the guys on the team and staff love her.

But seeing her at a game is different.

I think of her standing in the tunnel, near the edge of the ice, watching me stretch. That cute, flustered smile she gave me? So fucking adorable.

And the way she cheered me on when I made my first assist of the night. That excited look on her face, how she was jumping up and down for me.

It felt amazing. Like she was in my corner. Like she was here for me.

I instantly feel foolish for thinking that. I’m reading too much into it.

“She’s here for work,” I say.

“Work. Sure,” Nick teases. I throw my glove at him, but he just laughs.

“We’re just friends,” I say.

“Do you eye-fuck all your friends? Because you never look at me the way you look at her, dude. It makes me kinda jealous,” Nick jokes.

I roll my eyes, even though I know he’s right. When I wasn’t focused on the game, I was looking over at Lucy. I loved seeing her expressions, how into the game she was.

“I get the feeling that you’re friends with Lucy the way Blake was friends with Briar,” Nick says.

“Dude, shut up,” I mutter.

“Honestly, I get that vibe too,” Blake says.

I frown at him.

He shrugs. “Just saying.”

I shake my head as I pull off the rest of my gear. Blake and his girlfriend, Briar, have been friends since high school. Before they were a couple, it was obvious that Blake had a crush on her. We all gave him shit for it.

“Lucy and I are friends. Nothing more.”

“It’s okay that you like her,” Blake says. “I’ve been there. I know what it’s like to have a crush on your best female friend. You don’t wanna make things weird, so you downplay it.”

I’m annoyed at how spot-on Blake is. But it’s also kind of comforting that one of my friends has been through this.

“Okay, maybe I do like her a little more than friends,” I admit. I ignore the shit-eating grin on Nick’s face. “It’s just complicated, you know? We live together. I don’t want to make her uncomfortable. And I don’t want to make her feel like she should like me back because I’ve done stuff to help her. Even though I tell her not to, I can tell she feels like she owes me for helping her.”

The guys are quiet as they listen.

“Yeah, I get how that’s tough,” Blake says. “But hey, if it helps to know, I think Lucy likes you too.”

A hopeful feeling shoots through me. “Really?”

Blake nods. So do Nick and Travis.

“Didn’t you notice the way she was looking at you the whole game?” Travis asks.

I shake my head. Nick and Blake chuckle.

“She likes you, man. It’s obvious,” Nick says.