Laughing Fate (22 page)

Potter, who was still lost in a haze of passion, stared down at Puck and thought that he had never seen anyone more beautiful than Puck right now.  Her hair was messed up and fanning around her, her eyes, which were shooting darts at the officer, were still filled with passion. Her lips were well kissed and slightly swollen, a small bite mark on her neck was getting redder as time went by, and her breasts were almost spilling out of her shirt. She was a sex goddess, her entire body begging him to take her right now, and Potter found it impossible to concentrate as he imagined just what it would feel like to be inside of Puck, to truly claim her as his own.

Potter felt his thoughts clear as he was shaken by the cop. He closed his eyes and tried to regulate his breathing. Slowly the cop’s words started to penetrate his cloudy brain, making Potter sober up completely as he thought of what he’d almost done. Holy cow! He’d almost had sex with Puck in front of an officer at a public park! What had he been thinking?

Puck must have started to come to her senses too, because she sat up, adjusted her clothes so no skin was showing, and developed a very becoming blush that stained her face and chest. She stood up and faced the cop bravely, his little warrior ready to do battle.

Potter smiled down at her, received one last shake from the gigantic officer and then went to Puck’s side as soon as he was free. He put his arm around her and pulled her close, his hand resting right where Mr. Penguin waited.  He smiled as Puck snuggled up to him, and then faced the officer.

“I’m sorry, sir, it won’t happen again.”

“
It better not! Do you realize that little children play here? You’re lucky I’m not taking you both to jail for indecent exposure! Now get out of my sight and for god’s sake use a condom if you’re going to fornicate!”

Potter and Puck held their laughter in until they were well out of earshot of the cop. “Fornicate?!” they cried together, bursting into laughter. They laughed until neither one of them could breath, but then slowly they sobered and stared into each other’s eyes.

“I really should be going home,” Puck said softly.

“
Go on a date with me.”

“
What?” Puck asked astonished.

Potter grabbed her hand, his warm fingers entwining with her own, and pulled her closer to him. “Go …on… a… date… with …me,” he repeated softly, kissing her lightly after each word. He felt Puck melt against him, and smiled triumphantly.

“I…can’t,” Puck said a little breathlessly.

Potter frowned down at Puck, trying to figure her out. How could she deny that there was something special happening between them? Then, like a light going on inside his brain, a very annoying abrasive light, Potter remembered that Puck was already taken.  Puck was with Tony, how could Potter have forgotten that? Potter did his best to ignore the jealousy spiraling through his soul; if Puck really loved Tony then she wouldn’t have kissed him like that.

“Why not?” Potter demanded, his eyes loosing some of the sparkle. Instead, he looked guarded as if he was dreading the answer.

Puck closed her eyes, scrambling for a reason that Potter would accept, but her mind was a complete and utter blank. Why wasn’t she accepting his invitation? He was hot, he knew how to kiss, he smelled great, she was frankly addicted to touching him, and he was the sweetest spaz she had ever met…why wasn’t she dating him?

Puck opened her eyes, stared up into his for a long moment, and in a sudden burst of energy, Puck launched herself into his arms, kissing his neck and purring when his shocked arms cradled her against him. She looked up into his face, enjoying the lopsided grin on his face-knowing that she had put it there.

“
That’s my grin, just so you know, buster.”

“
What?” asked a bemused Potter.

“
Poor dear, you’re a little slow witted,” Puck said happily, “That is my smile that you have because I put it there.” She rested her head against his chest and put her hand on his heart. ‘And that’s my heart,’ she secretly thought.

“
Does…this mean that you will go on a date with me?”

“
Only if you ask me properly, I don’t respond well to demands.”

Potter smiled his grin lighting up his face as he hugged Puck to his chest. “Ms. Puck Berri, I would like to request the presence of you and Mr. Penguin on a date.”

Puck smiled happily, her mind and body completely satisfied with her decision to go on the date. She traced a tiny heart on his chest with her finger lightly as she mumbled, “Well I guess…” against his chest.

Potter let out a whoop of joy, picked her up and swung her around. He had a date with the crazy Puck Berri and her companion, Mr. Penguin. Potter had never felt such joy before, not even when they had been having their serious make out session in the park. This wasn’t about sex, this was about love. Potter stopped spinning, slightly dizzy, and kissed her soundly on the lips.

Puck allowed Potter to walk her home; she couldn’t help but smile at how cocky he was acting. He was like a peacock fanning his feathers trying to impress his mate. He even had a swagger to his steps! Puck had to admit that he looked cute like that. It was nice to think that Potter wanted to impress her.

Even during their happy times, Kyle had never really tried to impress her. ‘He never made me want to make love with him out in the open either…’ Puck thought, blushing at the memory. She still couldn’t believe the powerful physical pull that she felt towards Potter. It wasn’t like they had been having a romantic moment back at the park. One moment she had been chasing after him, thinking that he was a complete spaz, the next they were in make out heaven.

Puck peeked through the peep hole, watching Potter walk away.  Was he really doing a victory dance? Puck blushed again and turned away from the door. She saw Perri leaving the bathroom, and tried to act nonchalant. She tucked a hair behind her ear and tried to suppress the smile that just wouldn’t leave her lips.  Everything with Potter was just too new; she didn’t want Perri or anyone else to know about their date.

Even though she was insanely happy right now, she also knew from experience that good things end. That unexpected obstacles always pop up in life, and that the future was entirely unpredictable. She tried to silence the cautioning voice in her head; she really did not want to hear the voice of reason right now. She knew that Potter could wind up hurting her, but it wouldn’t be on purpose. They would have their date, and they would have happiness as long as it lasted for them.

“Is that a hickey on your neck?!” Perri asked in surprise. Puck put a self-conscious hand over her neck and tried to be as convincing as possible when she said no.

“
That IS a hickey! Who kissed you? Was it Potter? Are you guys dating?”

Puck ignored her quick fire questions and pushed her way into her room. Nosey sisters could really be annoying. Perri waltzed into Puck’s room and stood with one hand on her hip, waiting for an answer. Puck glared at her sister, hoping that she’d take the hint and leave, but stubbornness was a family trait. Puck sighed, realizing that Perri wasn’t going to go anywhere until she’d had her answer.

“I am twenty two years old! I am almost 23! I am old enough to have a hickey, so don’t go giving me some stupid lecture!”

“
But WHO gave you a hickey?”

“
It’s not important! Why don’t YOU tell me what you’ve been doing lately? I know you’re hiding something! I’m not stupid! You’ve been acting weird for almost a month now, you’re never home, and you’ve been sneaking out at night!”

Puck hadn’t actually had any proof that Perri was sneaking out, she just threw it in there to try to fish for information. In her experience, secrets and sneaking out usually went hand in hand. She watched as Perri’s eyes widened and shock filled her face.

Oh. Puck tried to decide if she wanted to continue this conversation. She had been so happy not knowing what Perri was up to. She smothered a resigned sigh and waited for Perri’s reply, knowing that she would not like anything that she was about to hear.

“
How did you know? I was so careful!” The words seemed to burst out of her mouth before she could think it through carefully, because her next words were a lot less revealing.  “It’s not like it’s a big deal, you snuck out all the time when you were younger, and it’s not like I’m a little kid.  If I ‘snuck out’ it was only because I didn’t want to wake you up.”

“
Oh yeah, right! You were just being considerate, that’s bull and you know it! You snuck out because you didn’t want me to know what you were up to. You were right, you are an adult, so from now on you can act like one. You work part time at Salty’s so I think that you can afford to start paying rent. I’m tired of being the responsible one, so from now on we’ll share expenses.  That way you can sneak out and do whatever the hey you want. Just listen to a little advice, limit yourself to one alcoholic drink, don’t try drugs, and don’t do anything illegal.”

“
That is SO not fair! Why do I have to pay rent? I have bills!”

“
So do I! I work my butt off to give you a normal life! It’s not my fault that Mom and Dad decided to up and leave, why should I get stuck with all the bills? It’s time you grew up and started helping out around here. I lost my job at the licorice store so we’ll need your help to keep the townhouse. This isn’t up for debate, you can either pay a reduced rent her or go live on your own and pay five or six hundred dollars a month.  End of discussion, now leave my room! I have stuff to do.”

Perri huffed and stalked out of the room, angry. Puck watched her leave, angry herself.  It wasn’t too much to ask that Perri contribute around the house. Puck had been killing herself, working two jobs just to make ends meet. Puck threw a frustrated glare at the closed door and threw herself on her bed. Had she been too mean? She just really hadn’t expected that Perri had actually been sneaking out. That meant Perri was up to trouble.  Puck decided that she’d deal with all that later, Perri wouldn’t want her to intrude anyways.

Puck put a hand on her neck, and felt her frustration melt away. Potter had kissed her. He’d nibbled on her neck, had let his hands travel along her body, and had been so engrossed in her that he hadn’t heard the cop either. She smiled happily and stretched on her bed. Knowing that Potter had been that involved in their kiss made her feel special, sexy.  It was nice to know that she wasn’t the only one that lost their wits every time they kissed. 

Puck let herself relive the kiss several times, but after a long while she got up and readied herself for bed.  It was time to enter the real world again and leave the special world of haze and passion that Potter had created in her.

Chapter 7-World War III

It had been almost a month since Potter had asked her on the date. Neither one of them had planned on postponing it for so long, but they both had been so busy that they had to wait until the first weekend of October to have their first date. In the meantime they had been quite chummy with one another, going surfing and hanging out with the guys. Puck was now an accepted member of their group, with Perri and Sandy welcome too.

Puck sat in front of her mirror in despair.  Tonight was her date with Potter, her first date in three years. The last date she was on had been with Kyle. They had went to a party with Drea, they had drank way too much, and on the way home… Puck pushed all thoughts of that out of her head. This was a happy day! She stared at her image again and sighed. She wanted to look a little flirty, but not like a hussy. She wanted to look like herself, but nothing like how she usually looked. She was a mess.

She had taken a shower about an hour ago, had blown dried her hair, and was wearing her bra and panties. She’d done all of this about an hour ago, since then she had stared in the mirror, trying to decide what to wear. She was truly hopeless, maybe she should just cancel the date? No, that was the coward’s way out. Puck picked up her brush and stared at it.

“
Inspire me!” she whispered to the brush. She waited for its answer, but after ten minutes of silence she had to give up that idea. It really shouldn’t be this hard. She had hung out with Potter all summer, now it was the middle of fall…soon it would be winter and then before she knew it she’d have been friends with Potter for a whole year. Her mind was wondering…the point was that by now, Potter had seen her wearing all kinds of things. So why did it matter so much what Puck looked like? Her inner sex goddess kicked the sensible thoughts into a little pile of quivering ideas. This was a date, she wanted it to be special, so she had to look freakin hot!

‘
Yes, ma’am,’ Puck said to her image in the mirror.  She happened to agree with her inner goddess about looking hot, but she didn’t quite know how to go about it. Her normal morning routine was to shower, let her hair dry naturally, and then she would spend about ten minutes throwing on clothes. Puck sighed again, the problem wasn’t deciding what to wear. If she was honest with herself she would acknowledge the fact that Potter seemed attracted to her no matter what she was wearing. So what was the problem? Why couldn’t she seem to get ready for the date?

She leaned closer to the mirror and whispered that question, letting her breath fog the mirror. She stared into her blue eyes, hoping to find an answer to that question. She was looking forward to today, she really was. Why couldn’t she just throw some clothes on and have some fun with Potter? It was then that she realized what her problem was.