Page 17 of Puck Me Already

We carried the boxes through the loading dock. Which was unlocked like usual. Almost as soon as the door shut behind Natalie, I saw Lucy, the madam in charge. Which was probably the worst thing to call her. She could be scarier than a school mistress, and nobody would mess with her patrons.

"Please tell me that you didn't forget anything?" Lucy said.

I looked toward Natalie since I wasn’t sure if we had gotten the last few items that I couldn’t pick up at the warehouse store.

Chapter 17

Natalie

After we unloaded things around the shelter and I took as much video of Spencer doing his thing as possible, we headed back home.

Two things were undeniable things. I had enough content to keep me busy for days since he was always doing lots of good at the shelter. And two, the one boy following him around like a puppy dog was the spitting image of Scuba.

There had to be some sort of family relation, but if there was, why were the kid and his mom at a battered women's shelter?

The only bad thing about going to this shelter was that it always made Spencer moody after. I just knew it had to do with his past.

It was tough to know all that happened since he barely spoke about his life before coming to play for the New Haven Storm. It was like playing some major junior hockey with Carter, which was the start of his life. But I did know that his dad wasn't a good person, and I was ninety-nine percent sure that he and his mom lived at a shelter for a brief period.

But like any good friend, or did I dare say girlfriend, it was time to check in on him.

After a couple rings, Spencer picked up. "Don't tell me that you missed me already?"

"Oh, I missed you so much." It was easy to respond with sarcasm, but I was glad that Spence was in a good mood rather than a shitty one.

"So what's the real reason for the call? I thought you said that you're going to have so much work that you won't be able to hang out unless I leave you alone. Wait, does that mean I finally can get time with my girl?"

I snorted.

I should have expected that he was going to call me out.

"I haven't even gotten home yet. Did you expect me to start editing and crafting things while I'm in the car?"

His throaty chuckle echoed in my car. I loved how hearty it was. “I wanted to check in on you. I know days like this can bring up old memories.”

"I’m fine, but you don't usually call me for another three hours. So why are you calling now, babe?"

My panties got a bit wetter when he called me babe. Ever since our first date, he was immediately all about the pet names and doing all these small things to show that he cared. It was moments like this when I realized how much Spence really took stock in my actions.

How had I been so blind to the way he paid attention in such a minute way? You didn't make that level of observation unless you really cared or were getting paid to take those sorts of notes.

"Did you notice how that Eric kid was the spitting image of Scuba? What do you think is up with that?"

"Yeah, but we're not touching that. It's not our place to find out why that kid looks so much like Scuba. It's probably nothing."

I didn't really want to let it go, but I knew that Spencer was probably right.

I couldn't help myself. After that first day of non-stop text messages, I couldn't help but think that Scuba might have a kid or two kicking about since he was such a slut. It wasn't a big leap to think that.

The only thing that didn't quite square with me was that despite being a slut, Scuba was a good guy. If it was his kid, there was no reason to think that the kid would be at the shelter. Without Spencer's help, I would sound like a crazy person if I talked to Scuba about Eric and his mom. So they would have to continue to live at the women's shelter.

That was the part that killed me.

Chapter 18

Natalie

Spencer's social media campaign wasn't going well. There were too many comments about how he was a fraud or just doing the apology tour. The comments that stung the most were, "Well, wouldn't it be nice if he actually did this sort of thing before acting like a complete tw*t. It might have stopped him from doing that in the first place."

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