Secret Puck (Campus Nights #1)

by Rebecca Jenshak

“You want to grab a beer after this?” Mav asks. “Nah, not today.” “Xbox?” he asks as we stand to leave. I shake my head and we walk to his car. I need a shower and to find Ginny. She still hasn’t responded to my text from earlier. “Movie?” “No.” I slide into the passenger seat and Mav opens the driver’s side door and gets in. “Running out of options, buddy.” He starts the car and taps his thumb on the steering wheel as he thinks. “Girls?” “Now you’ve got it, but just one girl.” “Sharesies?” He seems surprised, but dare I say a little excited about the idea.

I lean back against the headrest. Tired laughter slips out. “Really, man?”

“The thought of my feelings for you being tainted by the past… I hate it. I don’t want anything bad to ever touch you. You are my favorite person. You’re the only person I’d skip food for or that could convince me to eat Neapolitan ice cream or… a thousand other things. You. It’s only you. And when I walked in here, I fully intended to stand firm on my stance of never speaking the words, of keeping the best thing in my life away from my worst memories, but then I saw you and I realized that it doesn’t matter what it’s meant before. If loving you is wanting to spend every day with you, laughing and having fun, supporting you, and having your back, then I do. I love you, Ginny. Of course, I do.”