Laughing Fate Read online

  Puck slowly let go of his shoulders and stepped out of his arms. Things had gotten weird really fast. One second they had been playing, the next they were a second away from make out heaven. And it would have been heaven, Puck thought wistfully. It had felt so right to be in his arms. She smiled shyly up at him and tucked a strand of his hair behind his ear.

  "Ummm...I” Puck started to say, needing to fill the moment with some sort of sound, but not knowing what she was going to say. Her mind hadn’t completely cleared yet.

  Potter didn’t give her the chance to finish her sentence. He pulled her back into his arms and kissed her real softly on the lips. Hugging her to him he kissed her neck and nibbled her ear. He heard her soft gasp and smiled against her skin. She tasted so good, like wine. How did she do that? She was gripping his shoulders again and leaning into his kiss. He kissed her one last time and then took a step back.

  “Puck, I-

  "Oh, shut up," Puck said. She was not a coward! She grabbed his face and kissed him, putting everything she had behind that kiss, demanding that he do the same. Potter didn’t need much persuasion to oblige her; he pulled her closer and deepened the kiss. Somewhere in his brain there was a small voice saying they were going too fast for Puck, but what with Puck doing her best to fuse their bodies together, it was easy to ignore that small voice.

  Puck knew that she was in heaven. She was being held by her angel drifting in a haze of sea salt and sex wax. How did Potter smell so good all of the time? She knew that she would probably regret this when it was over, but Potter was such a good kisser and it just felt so right. Puck determinedly ignored the annoying voice in the back of her head telling her that she should stop kissing her angel. He was an angel so it had to be sanctioned by god right? She had God’s blessing to be kissing the man so by god, that’s what she was going to do!

  ****

  The sound of laughing men brought Potter to his senses. He glanced up and saw his crew walking towards them holding their surfboards. They hadn’t seen them yet, thank god, so he slowly detached himself from the clinging woman in his arms. She was still off in the hazy land of passion and she hadn’t heard the men coming up. She gave a little moue of discontent, but allowed herself to be separated from his body.

  She was staring up at him, still in a daze, when a wave hit them and brought her to her senses. She glanced backwards and saw what had stopped Potter. It was his friends. She felt a quick stab of pain that he didn’t want his group to see them together, but it was quickly followed by anger.

  Later on when she was a little more rational she would recognize that the anger she was feeling was really directed at her self. For now, all she could think of was Potter pushing her away. Why had she kissed Potter? He was a man, and all men eventually hurt you. She quickly stepped away from him and zipped up her pants. She searched for her sweater, but the sea had swept it away from her.

  Puck ran a shaking hand thru her hair and glanced at Potter. What the heck was his plan? If he didn’t want the guys to know about their kiss, then how was he planning on explaining her standing in the ocean with him in her jeans and a bikini top? He must have sensed her gaze because he looked down at her with an apology in his eyes.

  That was when her blood pressure sky rocketed and her anger reached dangerous levels. He was sorry that he’d kiss her? He probably didn’t think she was good enough! He didn’t want his friends to catch him slumming with some crazy chick!

  Puck punched him in the gut as hard as she could and said as clearly as she could that he could go to hell. Leaving him bent over gasping for breath, Puck walked the ten feet to her wet hoody and plucked it out of the water. She then walked right by the group of annoying male surfers with as much dignity as she could muster and after collecting her surfboard and gear, she left the beach.

  What a freakin great day. She’d maxed out her credit card, had acted the fool with a man, and then been humiliated by that same stupid man, and to top it all off, she’d just ended a friendship that she had just started to really depend on.

  ‘Stupid, stupid, stupid,’ Puck muttered to her self as she tried to fight back the tears that had suddenly filled her eyes. ‘Puck Berri does not cry,’ she reminded herself as a tear slowly rolled down her cheek. Stupid man had ruined her day.

  ****

  He was a damned fool. Potter recovered his breath in time to see Puck sail past the men wearing her revealing bikini top and wet butt hugging jeans that sat low enough to reveal her belly ring. Her hair was hanging wet around her shoulders and her lips were well kissed. He had never seen anyone so sexy, and he wanted to punch each and every one of his friends to oblivion as they watched her walk out of the sea. She was pure sexy, and he had just pissed her off.

  He knew what she was thinking. That he was ashamed of her and didn’t want his friends to know about them. And to a point she was right. He didn’t want to share her with his friends. He definitely didn’t want word of their kiss to get out until after he broke it off with Baby. He still hadn’t managed to break it off with her, although they both knew it was over.

  He remembered the way Puck had looked when he had ended the kiss. She had been digging him; she had been in the moment as much as he had. And then in a split second she had turned into a man hater again. He had seen the exact moment when Puck had relegated him back into the ‘man’ category. He had just lost himself a friend. That knowledge was killing him.

  He was still staring after her when the guys walked up. He distantly heard them cracking jokes at his dispense, but he ignored them as he strode out of the sea. He had to fix things. He couldn’t let Puck stay mad at him. Surely she would forgive him if he tried hard enough, surely. He couldn’t picture a world where Puck wasn’t his friend. He had been conning her when he said that she was his best friend, but suddenly he realized that it was true. She had quickly risen up to be the most important person in the world to him. He had to fix things with her, he just had to.

  ****

  The diner was packed tonight. Puck stood by the coffee machine staring out at the tables. It had been a week since Potter had kissed her at the beach. He had called and stopped by often since then, leaving flowers and little notes, as if that would fix things. Puck slowly walked towards the table that was waving for her and asked what they wanted.

  It was a group of young twenty something year olds, happy people just hanging out with their friends. They were a rambunctious group, laughing and joking and playing pranks on each other. Puck took their order and handed it to the cook. She sat down on the bar stool by the counter and put her head in her hands.

  Never had a shift seemed so long and dreary. Sandy was busy taking orders and doing her thing, the customers were being especially demanding tonight, and Puck had the mother of all head aches. She could hear that happy table of twenty somethings laughing and yelling. God she hated happy people.

  "Hun, you okay?," asked Sandy as she sailed by her. She meant well, she really did, but she was too busy to really listen to Puck’s answer. Puck simply waved at her as she sailed by and attempted a smile. She was pathetic, truly and very sadly pathetic.

  "Stop feeling sorry for yourself, Puck! Get up and help Sandy out- you’re getting paid to work, not sit around and mope all day!", yelled her imaginary drill Sergeant. His name was Bill, nice bloke, but very demanding. He was right, even if he was kind of mean about it. Puck lifted her head and surveyed the diner. She should probably bring the happy table their food; it was ready and waiting to be brought out. She also could bring their drinks and take the orders of about a million other people. God, she hated people right now.

  Puck slowly got up and started waitressing to the many hungry people filling the diner. The locals seemed disappointed that there wasn’t going to be a show tonight, but Puck didn’t notice. She quietly and slowly took orders and delivered food and drinks. Sandy was busy as well, so no free food was given out tonight; all in all it was a very normal and boring night.

  Later that night
when Puck was walking home, she noticed the light was on at Potter’s house. She stiffened when she saw a strange car parked in his drive way. He must have been entertaining someone because his music was blasting so loud that it could be heard from outside. Puck forced herself to breath normally and walk past his house with all the dignity she could muster. It was none of her business who he dated, he was nothing to her. A sad little voice in her head whispered, ‘Just like I’m nothing to him,’ but Puck squashed that thought.

  She was almost past his house when she heard the door open. ‘God, please don’t let that be Potter,’ she thought. Of course at that same time she was also wishing that the opposite was true. She even paused mid step, undecided whether she should give Potter a chance to notice her or if she should hurry up and get the heck out of dodge. She had almost convinced herself that it would be ok to just say hello to the guy, when she heard the soft sounds of a woman talking followed by Potter’s laughter. It was time to go, decided Puck.

  She straightened her back and continued walking home at as normal of a pace as she could. She wondered what Potter’s mother and Aunt thought about Potter’s little party. She hoped that his Aunt Rose would whack him a good one.

  During the weeks that Potter had been her friend, he had told her all about his Aunt Rose. Anyone could see that he loved his aunt, and she loved her nephew with all of her heart. At the same time, she wouldn’t hesitate to whack him a good one if he got out of line, his being twenty one would not make any difference to her. It just meant that she could whack him harder. Puck smiled a wicked smile at the image that brought to mind. Potter deserved a good beating, not that she cared one way or another what he did with his spare time.

  ****

  Potter had the mother of all head aches. His Aunt Rose and his mom had decided to invite the family from Sea Side over for dinner. Whenever his mom and Aunt Rose got together with their younger sister Brooke, all hell broke loose. It brought out the kid in all three of them, which was an embarrassing experience for everyone involved.

  His mom, who was normally serene and composed, turned into a wild woman who could drink anyone under the table. His Aunt Rose, who had been wild as a youth but matured into a fun loving forty year old, unleashed her wild side around her sisters and would become a dare devil, obnoxious, all powerful provoker. Along with his Aunt Brooke, there was his uncle Bill and their four children. His cousins ranged from ten years old to eighteen, and were a restless bunch that loved sports. A family get-together always meant loud music, lots of food and alcohol, pranks, and sports.

  Today was no different, the house was throbbing with the beat of the music and the women were torturing the youngest cousin in the kitchen. He could hear his little cousin begging them to stop, which just made the adults laugh harder. In the living room his uncle was surrounded by his children and playing video games.

  Potter was not in the mood for a loud family dinner. He guessed that he had to be grateful that his family was normal when compared to Puck’s, but still it was too much noise for his poor head. He ran a hand thru his hair and leaned against the wall staring off into space. He had to get Puck off of his mind. It was driving him crazy worrying about her, missing her, and not knowing what to do to make it better. A week had gone by since he’d kissed her. It had been a long week in which Potter had spent trying to fix things with Puck.

  He’d never been this distracted by a girl before and he wasn’t even dating her. He wondered what made her so special that he couldn’t just forget her. She was good looking, but so were about a million other girls. Someone had to put an end to this crazy thing going on between them, but Potter didn’t think he could do it.

  He kept thinking about her smile, how it could be shy and sweet, or full of mischief and devilry. Her eyes reminded Potter of the ocean, sometimes dark and stormy other times clear and sparkling. Potter couldn’t forget what it felt like to hold her hand and idly play with her fingers, to hold her on his lap, to smell her unique scent that reminded him of wine and flowers...how could he forget her? He had never met anyone like her.

  At night when he tried to sleep he was filled with images of Puck. Pictures of Puck standing in his arms with her eyes dazed and her mouth well kissed. He’d see her as she was that day at the beach, in her bikini top and her jeans unzipped and sitting low on her hips. The sight of her tan stomach and that silly little belly ring winking up into the sun, her breasts filling the cups of the bikini perfectly, it all filled Potter with longing to see her again, to smell her, to hold her close and kiss her passionately. He wanted to devour her, to make her moan with passion and need, but most of all he just wanted to be with her. He missed her cocky attitude and the quiet strength she showed the world. It was hopeless; Puck was stuck in his head like an annoying song.

  Potter was off in his own little world that was filling with increasingly sexual fantasies of Puck, when he noticed his aunt staring at him concerned. His aunt had been like a second mother to him. She had moved in the day his dad left when Potter was just a little boy. Aunt Rose had always been there to sooth away his tears, to battle monsters, and to create fun adventures. She was a beautiful kind hearted woman, but had never married. She had devoted her whole life to help raise him, and so even now that he was grown up, she worried about him.

  "What’s wrong, Potter. You’ve been staring off into space all week. One second you’re sad, the next you’re angry, and then you’re back to being wistful. Your moods have changed so much this week that I don’t know what to do with you! Let’s go sit down somewhere quiet and we’ll talk."

  Potter followed his Aunt Rose meekly, knowing that she wouldn’t give up until she’d gotten Potter to spill it all. They sat down in her room, which was decorated in pale pinks and lavenders. Flowers surrounded them, perching on any available space and hanging from the ceiling. Her bed was covered in pillows and throw blankets, all decorated with tiny flowers and soft colors. Her room had always been comforting to Potter; it was very warm and inviting.

  His Aunt sat on the bed and motioned for Potter to follow suit. She stared at Potter for a long minute before speaking. She’d noticed his distraction and sour moods all week, but had at first decided to let him handle it on his own. Instead of getting better, though, Potter seemed to be getting more desperate as time went by. She patted his knee and asked what had been bothering him.

  "It’s just that I’ve been hanging out a lot with this girl. She kind of drives me crazy, but she’s a fun, energetic, loving girl. Last week I kissed her and it was great. She was digging me, and she felt so right in my arms. But we were moving way too fast for her, I knew it, so when my buddies appeared I broke off the kiss and apologized for it. I don’t know why she’s so mad, but she won’t talk to me, she threw the roses I got for her in the trash, and she won’t even look at me! I don’t know what to do... I miss her so much. All I want is to be around her, to get to know her better."

  Potter knew he must sound desperate, like a love sick pup, but he was truly going crazy over not seeing Puck. Was it possible to go through withdrawals from not being near someone? Because that’s what this felt like to Potter. He was in hell, in agony, he was dying... he needed his Aunt’s help.

  "Honey, do you love her?"

  "No! God, NO! I... I just miss her."

  "Ok. Well, I know why she’s mad at you. You NEVER apologize for a kiss! It makes the girl think that you regret it, which means that you don’t really like them. Get it? And you’re going about apologizing all wrong, you two aren’t dating so stop trying to make up with her as if you’re her boyfriend. Boyfriends send flowers, not friends. You need to prove to her that you miss her, that you want to spend time with her. If you do that then she’ll forgive you. Who is this girl, anyways? Do I know her?”

  "She’s this girl...Puck. You probably don’t know her. I never used to hang out with her."

  His Aunt Rose busted up laughing. She shook with her laughter and it took her quite a bit to calm down enough to say, “P
UCK? The girl who set the school on fire? The one who chases customers away from the diner? The girl who made you afraid of seagulls?"

  This was the first Potter had heard of Puck having to do with his fear of Seagulls. He immediately pounced on that, and demanded that his aunt tell him everything that she knew.

  "Well, when you were about five I took you down to the beach for a community get-together. Puck and her two older brothers were there and they were playing in the sand, so I left you with them so you could play with them. I was chatting with some of my friends when I heard you screaming bloody murder.

  Puck and her brothers had told you a story of a killing seagull that ate little boys, from then on you were afraid of sea gulls. You never hung out with those Berri kids again, they were a wild bunch. Later that same day, those brothers of Puck decided to try to bury her in the sand! They dug a hole and stuffed her in there and were in the process of filling in the hole when her parents caught them. I decided right then and there that if you were around them they’d either kill you or get you in trouble."

  Potter was stunned. He had always thought that his fear of sea gulls came from inside, but come to find out Puck caused his phobia. He grinned and hugged his aunt, squeezing her briefly before letting go. There would come a time when he was going to throw that little bit of info into Puck’s face, but first he had to get her to forgive him.

  "Thanks, Aunt Rose. I’ll do what you said. I got to go; I’ll see you later, ok?"

  His Aunt smiled lovingly as her nephew ran out of the room. The poor boy was in love with a heathen. Well, if ever there was a boy that could handle Puck, it was her nephew.

  ****

  He ran into his cousin on the way out the door. She was eighteen, with blond hair and a trim figure from playing basketball. She was rounding up a team for some rugby in the front lawn when she saw Potter.