Page 76 of Pucking Bad Boys

Chapter 22

Just Not Yet

MACKLIN

Our lips meet and we kiss slowly and deeply.

Her body is pressed against mine, and I could stay here, in bed with her, forever.

“Macklin,” she says when we come up for air. “Do you have any condoms?”

I blink, confused. “Probably. I haven’t checked. Why?”

“How is that possible? I mean, this summer you were…”

Oh, fuck. “Sleeping around?” I supply.

Talia squirms, embarrassed. “I mean, yeah. I guess. I’m not judging you, by the way.”

It’s my turn to feel a little embarrassed. “Look, the truth is that I haven’t checked. I haven’t hooked up with anyone since midway through summer training.”

“Really? Why? You seemed to be having fun.”

“Yeah, it was ok.” I shrug. “To be honest with you, I started with the hookups to send a message to Gen that we were done. I’m not saying that I didn’t enjoy them; it was good to be with someone other than her. At that point, she had been the only woman I had been with.”

Talia looks shocked by my admission. “No way.”

“Way.” I nod. “Even the dozen times Gen and I were broken up, I had never even kissed another woman. I just… fuck, this summer was insane. I felt out of control.”

I’ve never admitted that to anyone. For a second, fear surges inside me. What if Talia felt turned off by how fucked up I am?

But her reaction isn’t disgusted. “Oh, Macklin.”

She cups my jaw, her touch gentle, her tone soft. There’s nothing but genuine concern in her blue eyes. “I’m so sorry.”

With Gen, I learned early on that letting my guard down was dangerous. My ex-girlfriend would use my emotions against me to manipulate me into doing what she wanted.

Open some official social media accounts. Get more followers. Let’s do a collab. Propose to me on the reality show.

“I didn’t know what to do to get Genevieve to get the message that I was done with her. I thought breaking up with her was enough. But since we had been on and off from the beginning, she thought it was just temporary. I thought seeing me with a different woman every night would send a clear message, but nothing worked. Once I realized that, and the novelty wore off, I realized something else.”

Talia is listening, hanging onto every word. “What was that?”

“Meaningless hookups aren’t all that they’re made out to be. I much prefer this.” I pull her closer, snuggling to her.

Talia giggles as I nuzzle her neck and softly bite the pulse point there. “You prefer to cuddle?”

It’s my turn to chuckle, but I’m a little nervous that this might be too much for her. “What if I do?”

She hugs me tighter. “There’s nothing wrong with that. I like it too. I’ve never cuddled with anyone like this before. Naked.”

That strange feeling rears its head again. It’s possessiveness, but there’s something else too. Something more. “That’s ok. I’m your boyfriend, so I should be your naked cuddle buddy by default.”

It isn’t lost on me that I leave out the part where this is fake.

“After how amazing you just made me feel, I think you got the job.” Talia smiles.

And she doesn’t correct me. She doesn’t point out that this is fake.