Page 10 of Pucking Bad Boys

“Thank you for walking me home, Becks.”

It’s obvious from her tone that this is goodbye, and all of a sudden, I’m not ready to try my luck with her. I just need a little more time.

“Is your apartment right at the front of the complex?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “No, it’s actually at the very back.”

“Then let me walk you to your door.”

Talia

I like that Becks doesn’t feel the need to fill every second with conversation. Having grown up with Tucker, who’s a total chatterbox, I appreciate a comfortable silence.

We leave the downtown area and walk past the old marina, heading to one of the newest residential areas of town.

I catch him looking at me when he thinks I’m not paying attention.

It feels like he’s about to say something a couple of times, but he must change his mind because after he asks if I have a boyfriend, he’s mostly quiet.

Maybe he was asking because he doesn’t want me to think his walking me home is a flirty move?

I hope not. It would be nice if a hot guy like Becks found me attractive.

But I don’t think he does. I think he’s just being nice and making sure I’m safe after what happened earlier with those drunk customers.

If he felt any attraction, he would walk closer to me, not leave two feet between us.

I think I need to accept that he isn’t into me. After all, he’s hot enough that he could have any woman he set his sights on.

“We’re home.” I say as we come into view of the wrought-iron gate of the apartment complex my family has recently moved into. “Thank you for walking me home, Becks.”

I try to look at it through his eyes. It’s obvious from the clothes he’s wearing that Becks isn’t hurting for money. The denim that hugs perfectly his thick, strong thighs and the shirt that stretches over his muscular chest look expensive.

I bet he lives somewhere way more upmarket than the Cove Bungalows.

This used to be an old industrial area that has been recently developed to house some of the tourists who love to come to Star Cove in the summer, but also some of the locals.

It’s mostly apartment complexes, nothing like the mansions on the hills or the military housing on the other side of the cove. These accommodations aren’t luxurious, but they’re new and clean.

It’s what my parents keep saying over and over. Probably to convince themselves that they don’t miss our family home after the bank foreclosed on it after Dad lost his job.

I can’t help but miss the house I grew up in, but I’m not ashamed.

Becks looks around over the gate as if he were expecting masked robbers to jump out of the decorative shrubs that border the entrance of the complex.

“Is your apartment right at the front of the complex?” He asks.

I shake my head. “No, it’s actually at the very back.”

“Then let me walk you to your door.”

I don’t have the heart to say no, but I wish Becks was a little clearer about his intentions. If he likes me, why not make it a little more obvious?

“So you said you live with your parents?” He asks as we stop right by the front door of my parents’ new apartment.

“Just until I can move back into my accommodation on campus.” I rush to say. I don’t want him to think I’m a loser who still lives with her parents.

His lips curl up in that barely there smile again. “So you go to college here? Or are you just visiting your family during summer break?”