Puck, Pain & Promises

CHAPTER 11: First Public Test

Jax...

“You showered twice again.”

Tristan leaned against the doorframe with that grin he always wore when he thought he had figured me out.

I pulled on a clean black shirt and tried to ignore him.

The party was tonight. We needed to be seen together. That was the whole point of this arrangement. Nothing more.

“Practice ran long,” I said.

Tristan laughed. “Practice always runs long. You still only shower once after. The second shower means something.”

I grabbed my jacket from the chair. “It is a transaction. She tutors me. I help her image. That is all.”

“Sure it is.” Tristan followed me down the hall. “Half the team is already talking about it. The captain has a tutor girlfriend now. They are placing bets on how long it lasts before you get bored.”

I stopped at the door. “Let them bet. As long as they see us together it does its job.”

Tristan clapped me on the shoulder. “Just be careful. Eden is not like the others. She looks at you like she is trying to solve a problem. And you look at her like you want her to solve it.”

I did not answer. I walked out before he could say anything else. His words stayed with me the whole drive to her dorm. I told myself it was nothing. I was good at telling myself things.

She opened the door when I knocked. I stopped for a second. She looked different tonight. Not dressed up in a loud way but considered. The top fit her well. Her hair was down. She had put real effort into how she looked. I noticed. I did not say anything about it.

“Ready?” I asked.

She nodded. “Yes.”

We walked toward the party. The campus lights were bright. Her hand brushed mine once. I took it. It felt natural. Her fingers were cold. I wrapped mine around them. She let me. We did not talk much at first. The silence was not uncomfortable. It was the kind of silence that happens when two people are thinking about the same thing but neither wants to say it out loud.

The house was loud when we arrived. Music thumped from the speakers. People filled every room.

Heads turned the moment we walked through the door. Teammates shouted my name. A few girls from the stands smiled at me then looked at Eden with new curiosity. I kept my hand on her lower back as we moved through the crowd. It was for the audience. That was what I told myself. But I liked the way she stayed close. I liked the way people saw us as a pair.

Tristan found us first. He grinned wide. “There she is. The famous tutor who is saving our captain from academic death.”

Eden smiled politely. “Nice to meet you properly this time.”

Marcus came over next. He was one of the good ones on the team. Big heart. Even bigger laugh. He shook her hand and immediately started telling her the story about my worst practice in sophomore year. The one where I fell trying to show off a fancy move in front of the coaches. Eden laughed. A real laugh. Short but genuine. I had not heard that sound from her before. It did something to my chest I did not want to name. I watched her face light up for a second. The way her eyes softened. The way she relaxed just a little. I wanted to see that more.

I kept my hand on her lower back as we moved. Teammates came up to talk. Some were curious. Some were assessing. Marcus kept the conversation easy. He made Eden laugh again with another story. I stood beside her and listened. I realized I liked hearing her laugh. Not for the image. Not for the deal. Just because it sounded good.

Riley was across the room. He stood with Brooke. His eyes found us immediately. He watched Eden with an expression I filed away. Not anger. Not sadness. Something colder. Calculating. He whispered something to Brooke. They both looked our way. I did not look at him. I focused on Eden. She did not look at him either. Her shoulders stayed straight. Her chin stayed up. The control it took impressed me. She was stronger than people gave her credit for.

We stayed long enough for people to see us. Then Eden leaned close. “Can we leave early?”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

We walked out together. The night air felt cooler after the heat of the house. I kept my hand on her back until we were clear of the crowd. Then I let it drop. She did not move away. We walked in silence for a while. The campus paths were quiet. Only a few students passed us.

“Thank you,” she said quietly. “For not doing anything with Riley back there.”

“You did not need me to,” I said. “You handled it yourself.”

She looked at me. “Most people would have stepped in anyway.”

“I am not most people.”

We reached her building. She stopped at the door. I watched her. I wanted to see that real smile again. The one Marcus had pulled out of her. The one she did not give easily. She turned to go inside. I stood there for a moment after the door closed behind her. I realized I wanted to see her real smile again. Not for the deal. Not for the image. Just because it felt good to know I had something to do with it.

I told myself it was irrelevant. I almost believed it. But as I walked back to my place I could not stop thinking about the way she had laughed tonight. The way she had stayed close. The way she had thanked me for not stepping in. She was changing the rules without saying a word. And I was letting her.

I put my hands in my pockets and kept walking.

The transaction was supposed to be simple.

It was not simple anymore. And I was not sure I wanted it to be.