Page 106 of Suck My Puck

Because he’s a hockey player. Stuff like this happens to guys like him all the time. Fans and groupies are all over them constantly.

Pain shoots through my chest. It feels like it’s about to crack open.

I can’t handle this. I know I can’t.

I don’t want to feel like this ever again.

This is exactly why you said you’d never be with a hockey player again, remember?

My body goes on autopilot as I spin around and walk out of the house. Over the booming music, I hear Braden calling my name, but I ignore him. I push through the crowd of bodies and head out of the house and down the long, winding driveway to where my car is, biting the inside of my cheek so I don’t cry.

Chapter 37

Braden

Panic slices through me as I watch Bella march out of the party.

“Bella!”

She doesn’t hear me over the music. Or maybe she does, but she’s too upset to want to hear from me.

She disappears out the front door. Lacey runs her hands up my chest. I grit my teeth, annoyed. I grab her wrists and push her away.

“I’m not interested, Lacey.”

I had no idea she’d be here tonight. I don’t even know how she got in. Ingrid has a huge social media following though. Maybe word got out about the team Halloween party and Lacey heard about it. She has a thing for hockey players. That’s why we hooked up a few times. She’s pretty and was down for a good time.

But now my stomach churns when she touches me.

I don’t want anyone touching me except Bella.

I think about the look on Bella’s face as she stood by while Lacey put her hands on me and flirted with me. I hopeit was obvious how uncomfortable I was. How I wasn’t into it at all.

I didn’t want to cause a scene though. Lacey’s drunk, so I figured the best way to deal with her was to act disinterested and not engage with her.

That stricken look on Bella’s face flashes in my mind. She looked like she was on the verge of throwing up seeing Lacey flirt with me.

God, I fucked this up. I handled this all wrong.

I need to find Bella and tell her that I’m not interested in Lacey or anyone else. Except her.

Lacey scoffs and says, “Whatever,” as I go after Bella. But the house is even more crowded now. I’m bumping into bodies left and right. I can’t even walk in a straight line, there’s so many people.

When I finally make it out the front door, Bella is nowhere to be found.

“Fuck,” I mutter.

I huff out a breath and pull my phone out of my pocket. I call Bella, but it goes straight to voicemail.

I grit out a frustrated noise before tapping the rideshare app on my phone. A minute later, the car arrives and I head back to the apartment, hoping she’s there.

When I open the door to my place, Maizie runs up to me, wagging her tail.

I close the door, then crouch down and pet her. I hear the sound of the shower in hallway bathroom. My stomach sinks. Bella’s in there. She’s never used that shower, not once since moving in with me. Even when I’m gone playingan away game, she’ll use the shower in the master bathroom. And whenever I’m home, we always shower together.

But she clearly doesn’t want to be around me right now.

Guilt throttles me. A restless feeling gnaws the inside of my chest.

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