Chapter 5

                                    

                                          
Marlowe
"So, what position do you play, Puck?" Veronica all but purrs.
I glance in the rearview mirror to see her hand on his bicep, affectionately rubbing it while she leans toward him and waits for his answer.
Puck glances up to make eye contact with me in the mirror. The look on his face seems to be begging for help and I have to look back at the road before he catches me snickering at his expense.
Ronnie knows how to lay it on thick. Usually, guys love it. I had momentarily thought that Puck would too, but one fleeting moment of eye contact and I know better.
"I played center back home, but I'm guessing they'll put me on left or right wing starting off," he explains.
"Did you get a lot of goals?" Ronnie asks next.
I glance in the mirror again to see Puck slowly nod. "A decent amount, yeah. I don't think I'd be here otherwise, right?"
Ronnie laughs like he just cracked a brilliant joke. She leans into his shoulder with a hiccup and Puck smiles a little awkwardly before meeting my gaze in the mirror again.
This time, it's not only his eyes begging for help. I'm certain he just mouthed the word to me.
"You just had to step in to funnel that drink, didn't you, Ronnie?" I chide with a shake of my head. "We're dropping you off first. Don't puke in my car."
Ronnie giggles, then lifts a hand to cover her mouth.
Fingers brush against my shoulders. When I look in the mirror, Puck is leaning forward, gripping the top of my seat.
"You don't say that word when someone is drunk in a vehicle," he hisses into my ear.
I start to laugh and Peyton pipes up beside me, "You won't be laughing when she throws up all over your car and new boy, Lowe."
I open my mouth to deny that Jonah is my boy but he thumps the back of my seat with his knee as he leans back again and I remember to keep it to myself.
"Someone had to drink the funnel and Puck wasn't going to," Ronnie defends her actions while reaching up to smoosh the side of Puck's face with her palm. "Were you, Pucky?"
Puck shrugs. "I was thinking about it."
"Have you ever funnelled a beer before?" Hadley pries. Her tone suggests that it would be lame if he hadn't. "You looked nervous."
I watch in the mirror as Puck's expression turns uncomfortable. "I—"
"He could get kicked off the team, Hadley. He just got here. He's not going to do something stupid and get sent home before he even plays a game. Right, Puck?"
This time, when our eyes meet in the mirror, I give him a pointed look. The guy sure looked like he was going to drink that funnel earlier before I jumped in to save his ass.
"Right," Puck answers with a solemn nod, followed by the most dashing grin. The frickin charmer. I'll bet he's smiled his way out of all sorts of trouble from his mom, teachers, and the like.
"Dev's on the team," Hadley points out as if that's a good enough reason for Puck to also get stupidly drunk.
"Dev's an idiot."