Trick Shot: A Spicy Christmas Novella (Brother Puckers Book 1)
Trick Shot: Chapter 19

I stare up at the ceiling of my childhood bedroom. Well, it’s not really my bedroom anymore. After I moved to New York for good, Mom turned it into her sewing room but kept my bed in it along with some of my decorations—including the burgundy walls I begged for when I was fifteen.

“Your mood matches your room.”

Chuckling, I lift my head off the pillows to find Stevie standing in the doorway. She’s got on the ugly Christmas sweater I gave her that says “Merry Christmas Ya Filthy Animal,” and has two cups of what I’m assuming is hot cocoa in her hands.

I sit up and move over on the queen-sized bed so she can join me, taking the green mug from her hand. I’ve done my best over the last day and a half to pretend like everything was normal and I didn’t just have the wildest night of my life followed by one of the craziest mornings. But I knew Stevie saw through it the moment I walked through the door last night. We’re only two years apart and talk almost every day. The woman can read me like a book.

We sit in silence for a few minutes, sipping the sweet drink. Eventually she clears her throat, flipping her long brown hair over one of her shoulders.

“Are you going to tell me why you’ve been acting like someone kicked your puppy since you got home?”

“I don’t have a puppy.”

She tuts. “Spill, sister. What happened between Christmas Eve and now? Did you not get that work account or something?

I shake my head. “No, we got the account.”

“Did Chad do something again? I swear to God I’ll fly to New York right now and kick his ass.”

“I mean, I’d pay money to see that. And yes, Chad always does something—but it’s not him.”

Stevie scrutinizes me with her green eyes before a smile plays at her lips. My cheeks heat up; it’s like she can tell just by looking at me that I had two dudes banging me on one of the holiest nights of the year.

“Does this have anything to do with the hickey I saw you covering up this morning?”

My eyes bug out of my head, and I start to sweat. Stevie and I share a bathroom when we stay at home, and I was stupid enough not to lock the door this morning. Thankfully, I had my clothes on when she barged in to pee, but I was in the process of covering up a bite mark that one of the guys had given me near the collar of my sweater. I thought I got lucky and she didn’t see it.

“Aha!” she exclaims so loud I jump. “You did have sex. Please tell me it wasn’t with Chad!”

“No! Oh God, no.”

She squeals. “Then with who, you little slut!?”

“Shhh!” I cry. My cheeks turn redder from the memory of the last two people who called me that. “Keep your voice down.”

“Mom and Dad fell asleep in front of the TV like they always do after dinner. They’re not going to hear us. So who was it? Did you join the Mile High Club or something?”

As I stare at Stevie, her eyes glimmering with excitement, I think about how thrilled I was to tell her about meeting Lucas. How I had the whole scene in my head where I told her I got to bang her fantasy man and all-time hockey crush. It was going to be the one thing she’d always be jealous of (in a fun, sister kind of way). Now, contrary to what Leo might think, I’m not upset that he wasn’t Lucas. That’s not it at all. I’m upset because he lied to me. Because Jace lied to me. My eyes start to fill with tears before I can stop them.

Alarmed, Stevie takes my mug and sets our drinks on the bedside table before pulling me into a hug. When her warm soft body envelops mine, I can’t hold it in any longer. The tears start flowing and my body shakes with silent sobs.

“Ri, what the hell happened? You never cry like this.”

She’s right. I’ve never been a huge ugly crier, always more of a “stuff your emotions down” type of gal. Even after everything Chad did, all of his lies and cheating and bullshit behavior, the most I ever did was let my eyes turn glassy before I blinked it all away. But now I can’t stop my tear ducts from acting up over two men I’ve known for less than a day.

“It’s stupid,” I mutter into her shoulder.

“It’s not stupid if you’re this upset. Tell me who hurt you so I can kill them.”

I laugh, pulling away so I can wipe the tears from my cheeks. Then I try and figure out how to tell her everything that happened. I know she won’t judge me, but the whole thing got complicated the moment I let my emotions get involved.

She squeezes my shoulder so I’ll look at her. When we make eye contact, all I can see is genuine concern in her green eyes. The concern of a sister who just wants her sibling to be okay—so I let it spill out.

“I had a threesome with Leo McKnight and his best friend.”

The room is silent as Stevie stares at me, her expression blank. For a minute, I think she’s gone comatose, but then she lets out a booming cackle. Loud enough that she for sure woke Mom and Dad.

“Oh wow. You had me there!” She slaps her knee. “But seriously, what’s going on?”

“I’m serious, Stevie. Like, pinky-swear serious.”

She stops laughing, her eyes boring into mine as she tries to spot a lie. “You’re not joking?”

I gesture to my splotchy tear-stained face and then pull the neck of my sweater down so she can see the other marks on top of my cleavage. “Does this look like I’m joking?”

“Holy shit, Riley. You’re serious.”

“Dead serious.”

She leans back against the bed frame and stares at my emo burgundy wall in shock. “Out of all the things you could have said to me, that was never on my radar.”

“I can honestly say the same,” I chuff.

“You had a threesome with my fantasy man’s identical twin and his friend. What the flying fuck.”

I can’t help the giggle that escapes me at her choice of words. “Are you upset?” I ask.

She smirks, her body turning back to mine. “Upset? Fuck no. Jealous, hell yeah. I’m just trying to figure out how that even happened. You said you went home on Christmas Eve.”

“I went to a home, but that home was not mine.”

She fully turns toward me now, excited. “Was she hot?”

“She?” I ask.

“His friend. Was she hot?”

My cheeks flush. “His friend is a man. And yes, he’s hot.”

“Oh my god!” She gasps. “Oh my god! This is insane, Riley. Like really insane.”

“I know.”

“Tell me everything, and not because I want to know, I actually NEED to know. But more importantly, I need to know why the hell you’re so upset after a threesome with Leo McKnight and his hot friend.”

I let out a long sigh. “I think we’re going to need something stronger than hot cocoa for this story. And also,” I stare at the open door, “more privacy.”

She grins toothily. “I have an idea.”

An hour later, we’re sitting at some sports bar downtown. You’d be surprised how many places in a big city are closed early the day after Christmas. So this was our only option. The place is fairly busy, but we managed to find a booth in the back where I’ve just laid out the events of the night to Stevie.

“So you’re really telling the truth. You met Leo McKnight at an airport bar and you went back to his penthouse where you, his friend Jace, and him, all got busy until Santa came down the chimney?”

I have to try not to roll my eyes. “Well yes, but we also did some stuff in the morning.” My body turns hot at the memory of me on my knees, my hands tied behind my back, and their come dripping all over my body. I still can’t believe I asked for that. Yet, I loved every second of it. Until the very last moment.

“You dirty horndog. I had no idea you had it in you!”

I take a sip of my beer. “Me either. I’d like to blame all the drinks I had, but I wanted it.”

“Hey, liquid courage isn’t always a bad thing. As long as you weren’t so intoxicated you couldn’t make good choices. But a threesome with two dudes on Christmas Eve sounds like the dirty D-list Christmas movie of my dreams. So, good choice.”

I let out a laugh. Stevie has always been more adventurous and outgoing than me. She probably would have been the one instigating a three-way instead of the one being asked to join. Warmth fills me, and I’m glad I was able to come home. Not just to see my family for the holiday, but also to talk this through. If I was in New York, I would have drowned myself in work to forget. I have a few friends I could have talked to, but this isn’t something you just share with anyone.

“But your story still doesn’t answer the question of why you cried, Riley. I would think someone who just got taken to pound-town by two hotties would be on cloud nine. What happened?”

Stupid tears threaten to fall from my eyes again despite her ludicrous words. “There’s one part I left out.”

She smirks. “One of them has a third nipple?”

I shove her shoulder. “Wow! So mature.”

“Okay, okay. Tell me. I’ll behave.”

I sigh. “When I first met Leo at the airport, I thought he was Lucas. I told him you were a big fan of his and then we just got to talking. Then you know the rest.”

“You told him I was a big fan? OMG, what did he say?”

“Focus, Stevie! We’re talking about me.”

She gestures for me to continue with a roll of her wrist. “Right, right, go on.”

“He never corrected me. I thought he was Lucas the whole time. I called him Lucas the entire night we were together. And Jace didn’t say anything either. He even called him Lucas to keep up the ruse.”

Stevie taps the table with her red painted fingernails. “And that upset you?”

She says it so calmly I start to question if maybe I’m making too big of a deal out of it. “I mean, yeah. I thought I was sleeping with someone else. They both lied to me about it.”

Her fingernails move to tap the side of her pint, her brain processing something. The tapping is starting to annoy me. And after she doesn’t say anything for another minute, I ask, “Do you have something you want to say?”

She hums. “I’m just curious why it matters. You hardly know them. I thought you said it was a one-night stand. I’ve given men a fake name before when I’ve slept with them—can’t be too safe these days. It’s not really a big deal.”

“But this is different, Stevie! I thought he was Lucas McKnight. I slept with him and let him and Jace do things to me I normally wouldn’t have because I trusted them. Who does that? Who pretends to be their famous brother during a one-night stand?” By the time I finish, my chest is heaving and I feel a headache coming on.

Stevie holds up her hands in an attempt to slow me down. “Okay, okay. I understand. I’m just trying to give you a new perspective.”

I chug my remaining beer. “I’m going to get another. Do you want one?”

She shakes her head almost sadly as I turn to walk off toward the bar. I order a new beer from the bartender and try to calm down. But when my eyes find one of the several TVs above the bar, my heart jumps in my chest when I see Lucas. There’s no game on until tomorrow, but the sports casters are talking about the team and his impressive stats. It’s strange seeing him because it really is almost the same as looking at Leo. But like I saw in that old photo on Christmas morning, there’s a difference. Lucas has more of a golden retriever energy shining through his blue eyes. Like he still enjoys going to keggers and isn’t afraid to admit he likes The Notebook. Which we stan.

Stevie’s question runs through my mind. And that upset you? Of course it upset me. And I also expected my little sister to be upset for me. But as I take a few deep breaths and cool off, I realize that even though she knows that Chad cheated on me, she doesn’t know all of the times he lied, and still lies to me. I have trust issues, and I put my trust in two men I didn’t even know. Which is on me. I made a choice at that airport to come home with Leo, and if I hadn’t started to develop feelings in such a short amount of time, I would have left in the morning and never known the truth.

The bartender hands me my beer, and I head back to the booth feeling slightly better. Stevie is typing on her phone when she spots me.

“Someone I know?” I ask.

She eyes me carefully as she says, “Just Dad.”

I slide in next to her and let out a sigh. “I’m sorry I snapped, Stevie. It’s been a crazy couple of days. I’m just trying to process it all but haven’t really had time. It all happened so fast.”

Stevie reaches over and squeezes my hand. “It’s okay, Ri. I didn’t mean to upset you. I swear.”

“I know you didn’t. I just…” I stare at another TV that now has Lucas on it, like he’s haunting me. Stevie’s eyes follow my gaze and she taps her fingernails on the table again in a slow rhythm.

“Are you upset that it wasn’t Lucas? Is that what it is?” she asks.

“What? No! That’s not it at all.”

“Then why are you so upset? I’m not trying to make you angry, I’m just trying to understand why my big sister cried for the first time since Mr. Bubbles died.”

I can’t help but smile at the mention of our beloved pet goldfish that survived a mere twenty-four hours after we won him at the state fair when I was eight and Stevie was six.

I watch the carbonation fizz up through my beer, afraid of the feelings that are swirling in my stomach right now. I look at Lucas on the TV again and I think of Leo. Of how he treated me with such care last night, how his ice-blue eyes always made sure I felt safe and good in my body. Then I think of Jace and his thoughtfulness, the way he called me beautiful.

Stevie lets out a long “Ohhhhh” before patting me on the back.

“What?” I ask, confused.

“You’re in love with them.”

I scoff, a stupid laugh spilling out of me. “That’s insane. I just met them.”

“Dude, it’s 2023. Weirder things have happened than falling in love at first dicking.”

A man walks by the table at the same time she says that. My cheeks flush a bright red when he stops to stare at us like we have three heads. But he’s also slightly intrigued, like maybe he could have a chance with us.

Stevie coughs, shooing him away. “Move along sir, nothing to see here!”

The man flushes and scurries off, probably to tell his friends what he just heard.

“Maybe talk a little quieter, Stevie.”

She brushes away my words in her nonchalant way. “So back to you being in love with two men. Now I get why you’ve got your Christmas panties in a twist.”

God, my sister. She’s one of a kind.

“I’m not in love!” I exclaim.

She sips her beer, smiling over the glass. “You’re so in love.”

“It’s called infatuation, Stevie. It was the best sex of my life. They worshiped me, gave me a bunch of orgasms. That’s not love.”

“I don’t know, sounds like something I could fall in love with.”

“Be serious for a second!”

“I am being serious. All I hear is a bunch of excuses for you being in love. I know you. I know that you like to be cautious and guard your heart, especially after what Chad did. But Chad doesn’t represent all men. And Leo and Jace sound like good guys.”

“I hardly know them.”

“You can get to know them. Doesn’t mean you can’t have some love at first sight action. You deserve that, big sister. Especially after what you’ve been through.”

“What you’re saying sounds great in theory. But you’re forgetting that it’s me and two men. How would I explain that to Mom and Dad?”

“You know Mom and Dad are hip with the times. They went to Seattle Pride. Sometimes I think they’re Swingers. I saw Mom with an upside pineapple thing once and never forgot it.”

“Oh my god, Stevie! Please stop talking.”

“What? If that’s what you’re worried about, don’t be. You’re scared and making excuses to protect yourself. Which is totally normal.”

I look at her in disbelief. “Since when have you become a relationship guru?”

“I watch a lot of Love Island after work.”

I snort. “You’re on a roll tonight.”

“You’re my sister, and I want you to be happy. If Leo and Jace make you happy, then you should see if it can work.”

“I don’t know, Stevie. I think it’s a long shot. I left on bad terms. We didn’t even talk about what we did together because I left. They could’ve been ready to kick me out after breakfast and never see me again. Also, they already have a relationship and history built together, one that’s stronger than they even realize. I don’t know if Leo and Jace want me in their life.”

“And if we do?”

Stevie smiles wide as my body freezes from the sound of a voice that makes me shiver. I turn to look where her eyes are trained, only to find Leo McKnight standing in the same Seattle sports bar as me on the day after Christmas, with Jace right beside him.