Page 32 of Pucking Bad Boys

Maybe I should just offer them to him and put him out of his misery.

“Earth to Talia.” Tucker chuckles as we reach the classroom door. “You were miles away just now.”

Heat rises to my face as I feel Macklin’s dark blue eyes on me again. “Sorry, I was just thinking about… the syllabus.”

My brother’s jaw hits the floor. “The syllabus? Are you for real?”

I fight the urge to squirm under Macklin’s gaze as he smiles, watching the interaction between me and Tucker. “What do you want? If you didn’t copy my notes while I was taking them, I can email you a copy and you can write them down from there.”

I’m about to offer Macklin a copy too, but that wasn’t what Tucker wanted.

“No, thanks. I got them. I was just asking you if I could drop you off anywhere on my way to the dining hall. Since you don’t have a car anymore.”

That’s sweet of him. Tucker can be a real pain when he wants to be, but I don’t have a doubt that when he oversteps he does it because he cares. “No, you go carb load or protein load or whatever you do when you consume one weeks worth of calories in one sitting. My next class is in one hour, I might just go to the library and check out some of the books in this syllabus before they’re all out on loan.”

“Can’t you do that online?” He asks.

“I could, but my next class is near the library. It’s a nice day, so I don’t mind the walk.”

Chapter 9

Study Buddies

MACKLIN

Maybe signing up for this class was a mistake.

I’m not saying that because I’m scared of Professor Cantucci’s pop quizzes and strict attendance rules. I can handle all of that.

Everyone is so focused on my hockey career that no one pays attention to my grades. I’ve always been a straight-A student. I put in the work, and whatever our professor thinks about us athletes, not all of us want inflated grades and preferential treatment. I know a few of my teammates share my sentiments that the times when professional athletes could barely string afew words together without sounding like brainless meatheads are long gone.

In today’s world, if you want to succeed, if you want the big contracts and the prestigious sponsors, your performance on the ice is just one part of the equation.

I actually enjoy college. That’s why I haven’t let the generous offers that have started coming my way since I graduated high school persuade me to go pro and abandon my degree.

The reason why I’m having buyer’s remorse about signing up for this class is that I did it to get close to Talia.

And I didn’t think about the fact that Tucker is always in the fucking way.

Our starting goalie is one of my best friends on and off the team, but if he knew how hard I’m crushing on his sister, he would blow a gasket. And kill me. Painfully.

He’s made it clear many times that he doesn’t think that any of his teammates are worthy of breathing the same air as Talia. And I’m not saying that he’s wrong. But I like Talia more than I’ve ever liked anyone. If I had a chance with her, I would do everything in my power to make her happy, and I would treat her right.

The problem is that coming to this class is going to be torture. Tucker insists on sitting by his sister and glares at me if I try to say anything more than hello to her.

Even now, if Talia had agreed to come to the dining hall with us, Tucker would probably run interference the entire time.

“Hey Mack, what are you doing here?” My ex’s voice has the effect of making my appetite disappear.

And what the fuck is she doing with my brother?

The words come out of my mouth harsh, dripping with all the distaste I feel for her. “What do people do in class? I’m here to learn more about Roman History Through Art. I thoughtyou had taken this class last year. Did you fail? The mandatory attendance alone sounds like a huge hurdle for you.”

“I passed it, if you must know.” Her eyes narrow as she doesn’t miss the open criticism of her character. “I got an A. But there was that problem with the grades, and now everyone who attended last semester needs to retake it. The same thing happened with my Econ class. Retaking two classes is the last thing I needed. As if my workload weren’t bad enough. Tucker is in my same boat, aren’t you, babe?” She bats her fake eyelashes in Tucker’s direction.

The dude doesn’t know what part he played in my breakup with Gen. If I hadn’t overheard her plans to sleep with him over last spring break, maybe I would still be with her. The way I see it, I owe him big.

“You gotta do what you gotta do.” I bite out, unable to hide the irritation in my tone.