Page 11 of Pucking Bad Boys

“I’m a senior at Star Cove College.”

“That’s awesome.” Becks says. “I’m a sophomore. I just transferred to Star Cove.”

I want to ask him where he transferred from and what he’s majoring in, but my tongue is tied. I’m a little lost in the blue depths of his eyes.

It’s the way he’s staring at me, with his eyes drifting down to my lips for just a split second before they return to look into mine. I think he’s about to kiss me, and I’m surprised by how much I want him to.

Usually, I wouldn’t even look at a younger guy. But there’s something about Becks that draws me in. It isn’t just that he’s handsome. It’s his quiet confidence. The way hesawme.

Becks understood more about me by observing me for a couple of hours in a crowded bar than my family has in a lifetime.

My tongue peaks out to lick my bottom lip, and Becks tracks the move, his blue eyes darkening.

He finally moves; his face comes closer as he leans in.

I can’t wait to find out if his lips feel as soft as they look, but a series of giggles cause him to freeze. His lips are still way too far as his eyes dart left and right to make sure we’re still alone.

A part of me wants to grab the front of his shirt and pull him to me, closing the distance between us.

But I catch a movement in the corner of my eye. Light filters through a gap in the curtains of the front window. More giggles echo in the otherwise quiet night.

I know the moment is ruined even before I hear my mom’s voice. “What are you two doing still up?”

The front door bursts open, revealing my two younger brothers and my mom.

“See?” Tommy, the youngest, giggles. “Talia is home. Told you.”

“She was out here, making out with a boy.” Terry’s tone is teasing.

My youngest brothers are eleven and nine-years-old. I should know better than to get into an argument with them. Especially with Becks standing right next to me, his eyes wide like the proverbial deer in front of headlights.

But my frustration at being cockblocked has the best of me. “We weren’t making out. And Mom is right. You two should be in bed. And you shouldn’t know anything about making out, anyway.”

My mom comes to my rescue, or at least she tries to. “Tommy, Terry, leave your sister alone. She’s an adult and if she wants to make out with a boy?—”

Just when I think the situation couldn’t get any more embarrassing, my dad’s voice comes from behind her. “Liz, boys. Who’s making out? Oh, hey princess.” Dad’s smile fades, his eyes narrowing with curiosity when he spots Becks next to me. “And who do we have here?”

“That’s the boy Talia was making out with,” Terry tattles.

“We weren’t making out.” I snap. “And you two should be in bed. It’s one in the morning.”

Dad’s gaze zeroes in on Becks. “So if you weren’t making out with my daughter, who are you? I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”

“I walked your daughter home after work, sir.” Becks doesn’t sound intimidated by my dad, but I feel absolutely mortified about him being subjected to a third degree interrogation.

“Tyson!” Mom scolds him. “Go back to bed. You too, boys. Leave your sister alone.”

But Dad’s eyes are locked in on Becks. “I’ll be right behind you, Liz. I just wanted to get to know Talia’s new friend.”

If I ever had any doubts about where Tucker takes his overprotective streak, there it is. Exhibit A. My dad is even worse than my big brother.

“Come on, Ty,” Mom insists. “You aren’t going to get to know anyone at one in the morning.”

“Ifhe,” Dad growls in Becks’s direction. “Can get to know my daughter at one a.m., then I?—”

“They were totally kissing.” Tommy intervenes.

I open my mouth to correct him, but they all start speaking over each other, discussing what I was doing outside, and there’s no way they would hear me unless I yelled. And it is night-time, and I’m pretty sure our new neighbors are trying to sleep. The bickering keeps escalating with every passing second.