Page 54 of Pucking Bad Boys

Fuck, she’s so gorgeous I have to tighten my grip onto the steering wheel to avoid touching her.

Talia’s blonde hair is up in a soft bun that lets a few tendrils of hair fall down to frame the perfect oval of her face.

Her face is fresh without a hint of makeup, yoga pants and a tank top are officially my favorite women’s clothes as of right now.

But it’s Talia we’re talking about. She’d look gorgeous in a trash bag. Or, better yet, without any clothes on. Fuck, I need to get my head out of the gutter before I say or do something stupid.

“Morning.”

I grab the takeout bag from the passenger seat so she can sit down.

“Mind holding onto this? I thought we could park somewhere nice on the way to the library to eat.”

Our fingers touch when she takes the bag from me. “Sure.”

What I really want is to lace our fingers together. Or take them and bring her knuckles to my lips.

But I’m not crazy enough to risk it.

We drive in complete silence until I park behind the library. This parking lot is always empty because people tend to park out front so they don’t have to walk all the way around the building to get inside. The back door is a service door, mostly used by staff who come to sneak a smoke or a vape out here, in spite of the campus-wide ban on any kind of smoking.

But what a lot of people don’t know is that this parking lot has a sea view. I come here on late night runs whenever I can’t sleep before an important game or exam.

“I didn’t know what you wanted to drink so I got you a few alternatives. There is hot coffee, iced coffee or soda.”

Didn’t I say I was overly eager?

“Is it ok if I take the soda?” She asks. “I’m not the biggest fan of coffee unless it’s one of those fancy lattes with flavored syrups, whipped cream, and possibly something crumbled like cookies, chocolate flakes, or candy canes at Christmas. Basically, something with a million calories.”

I feel myself smile at that tidbit of information. “Really? Me too. Everyone else in my family are black coffee drinkers and they make fun of me. Yuck. I can’t. It tastes like ass.”

She laughs, and for a second, the thick tension that was charging the air around us dissipates. “And how does ass taste?”

The way she tilts her head in question is so cute I have to busy myself with pulling the soda cup out of the cup holder.

Our fingers touch again when I hand it to her.

“Thank you.” She hesitates for a second, and I don’t let go of the cup. Any excuse to keep touching her, even if it’s just her fingers. “But if you don’t like any other coffee, what are you going to drink? There’s only one soda.”

“I’m happy for you to have it. I’ll drink the ice coffee. It’s less gross than the hot one.”

She shakes her head. “No, that’s unfair. You paid for all of this, you should get first choice of the drink.”

“Absolutely not.” I argue. “Ladies first. Sorry if it sounds sexist, but you get first choice.”

“On one condition.” She throws back at me. “We’ll share.”

I nod, mesmerized by the way her lips look wrapped around the straw as she takes the first sip. There’s no need to mention what I’m picturing those lips sucking rather than the straw.

“Very few things beat a sausage and egg biscuit with a side of hash browns for breakfast.” I sigh. “I woke up too late to eat something before morning skate and I’m starving.”

Talia takes a bite of her breakfast. “This is pretty good. But there is one thing that beats anything else for breakfast. Leftover pizza. Either warmed up or room temperature. It’s the breakfast of champions.”

Jesus. If there was any doubt that Talia and I should be together, this settles it. “Can you tell that to my parents? They’ve been cracking jokes at me my whole life for my insane obsession with pizza. Especially at breakfast. I eat it even straight from the fridge.”

“Straight from the fridge isn’t my first choice, but if I’m in a rush, I don’t mind. The trouble in my family is that if there is leftover pizza, you have to get up early. If my dad or one of my brothers gets to it, they’ll polish it all off.”

After we finish our food, I put all our empties back in the bag and move to throw the bag on the back seat.