Page 70 of Daring the Hockey Player
It's a cute look on her, and it takes all of my willpower not to drag my finger across her bottom lip or her cheek. I want to taste it. Taste her. But I refrain.
"I should go," Charlotte says, glancing at her watch. "If I leave now, I can make the next train."
Amber is wiping up what she can reach of the whipped cream splatter with a rag.
"Assuming it's on time," I say and glance at Amber. "Leave the ceiling. I'll get that when I come back." I look back to Charlotte. "How about I walk you to the subway station?" I'm not keen on her walking alone at night. It's nearly nine o'clock, and while the neighborhood is decent, I'd feel better knowing that she made it to the subway.
"I can text Amber when I get home."
"You'll do that too," I say. "I'm walking you."
"Okay, but for the record, you're not my type." Charlotte makes her position clear, and I'm relieved that she's not going to hit on me, that her little angle of questioning earlier was entirely for her friend's benefit.
"Good, because you're not mine, either." I grab my coat and keys. "I'll be back in a few," I say to Amber.
She nods, her back to me as she wipes the outside of the fridge, smearing the whipped cream on the stainless steel. Yeah, that's going to make a bigger mess. I'll deal with it when I get back. At least she's trying. I give her kudos for that.
We head down to the elevator, and the minute we step inside, she folds her arms across her chest, and her eyes narrow as she stares me down. "So, what's your deal?"
Okay, I wasn't expecting the next inquisition when I suggested walking her to the train. Me being nice is probably going to backfire on me, at least when it comes to Charlotte.
"My deal?" I repeat with a laugh. "You're the one encouraging your friend to wear the Island Bruisers jersey to our games."
Charlotte grins. "Yes, I did." She's smug and proud of her little accomplishment like she knew it would get under my skin.
Dammit.
"You're not dating anyone. Are you into Amber?" Charlotte asks the difficult questions. The girl doesn't avoid them like I'd prefer to.
"I'm focused on my career," I say because stating thatI date my jobwould sound weird, but that's pretty much the only action that I see lately—on the ice or with a one-night stand.
"That's a lame answer. I'll bet you get plenty of offers from girls at the bar. What are they called, the girls who follow hockey players around, chase after them?"
"Puck bunnies?" I supply.
She snaps her fingers. "For the record, Amber is not one of them," Charlotte says.
I never got the impression that she was. She hasn't even so much as glanced at any of my teammates. "I know. And what about you? What's your deal?" I ask. "You play the overbearing big sister with her pretty well, but you do know that she has a sister already, don't you?"
"Emerson?" Charlotte shrugs. "I've never met her."
Interesting. I try not to overanalyze what that might mean. The only reason I know Amber's sister is through my brother. It's not like Amber introduced me to Emerson.
We step out of the elevator and head outside. The air is chilly and damp. The street is glistening with a fresh coat of rain that has recently fallen, but it's not currently raining.
I walk alongside her by the curb, escorting her a couple of blocks toward the subway. While the streetlamps are on and a few people pass us while walking, it's still pretty isolated.
"It was nice getting to know you," Charlotte says as she points at the entrance to the subway station. "Thanks for letting me crash dinner with you and your not girlfriend." There's a smile on her face, and I shake my head.
"Why can't you believe that we're just friends?"
"Oh, I believe it, but I don't think you do." Charlotte smiles and waves, hurrying down the stairs to the platform, leaving me standing there for a solid minute before I turn and head back to the apartment.
It's a brisk walk, and I shove my hands into my pockets and hurry back to the building. The elevator is waiting for me, and I take it back up to our apartment.
Our apartment.
It still feels like a foreign concept in the grand scheme of things, but it's not solely mine anymore. And I never thought I'd be open to a female roommate, especially one I'm not sleeping with.
