Page 8 of Pucking Good Girl

They both stop in their tracks, but neither of them sits down.

“That kind of reaction is exactly why I was afraid to tell you. And why I’m highly debating whether I should speak to Tucker about it. Barging into a faculty office and assaulting a T.A. doesn’t strike me as a solution to my problem. All that’s going to accomplish, if anything, is to land you guys in hot water with your coach, destroy any chance at going pro you might have, and possibly land you in jail.”

Macklin’s jaw ticks, his tone still calm but deadly. “Let us worry about the consequences, Talia. But no one threatens my girlfriend and gets away with it.”

“Yeah,” Becks backs him. “That motherfucker should have thought about it before he decided to act like a creep and take his dick out without your consent.”

“You promised.” I remind them, my tone hard. “You promised you wouldn’t overreact and do something stupid less than two minutes ago. Remember?”

Macklin’s hands ball into fists, clenching and unclenching so hard that his knuckles turn white. “That was before you told us what happened.”

“It doesn’t work like that.” I argue. “A promise is a promise. We had a deal.”

The second those words leave my mouth, they take a deeper meaning.

Macklin stares at me for one long moment before lowering himself back into the chair he had just vacated.

“What are you doing?” Becks scolds him. “Are we letting that creep get away with it?”

“No,” Macklin bites out. “But Talia is right. We promised we wouldn’t overreact. So rather than acting rashly, we’ll make a very well thought out plan to rip his dick off and shove it up his ass.”

“Fine.” Becks follows Macklin’s example and sits back down too. “We’ll make sure we have an alibi and shit. And then rip his dick off.”

Unbelievable. If I weren’t scared about them ending their day in jail, I would appreciate their intention to protect me.

“Guys, cut it out. Life isn’t a hockey game. You can’t solve everything with a fight.”

They look at me, clearly confused.

“Why not?” Becks asks. “A fight solves most problems. Like teaching assholes not to prey on innocent women.”

That’s exactly what Tucker would say. And why I’m quickly rethinking my idea of telling him about this problem.

“Becks, I’m serious. I might lose everything because of this. The last thing I want is to drag the two of you down with me.”

Becks takes my hand in his, blue gaze scorching as he looks at me. “Do you think I care about the consequences? You matter to me, pretty girl. And if someone hurts you, I’m not going to just stand there and allow it.”

He cares about me. Under different circumstances, hearing that would make me happy.

But I’m serious when I say that if he and Macklin put their futures at risk because of me, I couldn’t take it.

Another thought hits me. What if Macklin decides that Becks is into me enough that we can stop dating?

Just the thought is enough to make me spiral into despair.

I want to be with Becks, but that doesn’t make me want Macklin any less.

Maybe what happened this morning is karma’s punishment for being too greedy and falling for two men.

“Guys,” I say, resigned to doing the right thing instead of what I want. “I don’t see any solution to this mess other than sleeping with Victor.” A shudder works its way through me and I have to take a deep breath to keep my breakfast from coming back up and ending up all over Becks’s table. “But there’s no way I can do that.”

“Thank fuck.” Macklin bites out.

I ignore him and continue, fighting the tears that well in my eyes as I force myself to say what I know needs to be said. “I think ending things with me would be the right thing for you to do. When Victor reports me to the professor for cheating, I’ll be expelled. I don’t want the scandal to get in the way of all the hard work you’ve done so far. Not when you’re so close to getting signed by an NHL team.”

Neither of them hesitates to shoot down my suggestion. “No way.” Macklin says.

“We’ll find a way out. I’m not breaking things off with you over this, Talia,” Becks says. “And I’m not going to sit here and watch your life go up in flames for something you didn’t even do.”