Page 46 of Arresting the Hockey Player
"That’s why they're perfect together," Amber says with a sly grin, like she knows something I don't. Those two girls are always up to mischief.
I can’t stop thinking about the Grant’s words earlier,sex tape. It was just a taunt to get into my head, right? But I can’t let it go.
“Can I ask you something?” I keep my voice low, not wanting anyone else to overhear the conversation between us.
“Anything,” Charlotte says, giving me that smile that eases all worries.
“Have you ever made a sex tape?”
She raises an eyebrow, staring at me curiously. “That’s a bit out of the blue,” she says. She doesn’t appear the least bit tense or flustered by the question. “No. What about you?”
I smile and wink. “Once.”
We stalk into the bar, head for the VIP table in the back, and the waitress immediately brings over a bucket of beers. We don't even have to ask.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I grab it and exhale a heavy breath when I see the caller's name on the screen.
Charlotte glances at me and doesn't say a word, but I'm pretty sure that she saw the nameJasminepop up on my phone screen.
"I have to take this," I say and answer the call while heading outside into the icy-cold air for some privacy.
"Where the hell are you?" I'm stewing after the news of my son and having no way to get ahold of her.
"I'll explain tonight. Can I come by your place?" Jasmine asks.
I refrain from telling her that I'm not home. She should know that since her husband's team played my team tonight. "If you bring my son, Zayn," I say. He's the only reason I want to see Jasmine.
Her words are like an anvil on my chest, weighing me down when I speak with her. I've never felt so stressed and frustrated, not even during one of our hockey games.
"Of course," she says, like she hasn't been keeping him a secret for the past few years and lying to me.
I don't even know why she asks permission to drop by. She didn't ask me the last time. She just showed up and waited for me.
"I'm on my way."
I bite down hard on my bottom lip. I don't want to leave Charlotte or the guys. I want to celebrate the win we just had. But I can't do that knowing my son is in the lobby with his mother, waiting for me back at my place.
I growl angrily and end the call, storming back into the bar hastily.
"Everything okay?" Jasper asks, raising an eyebrow.
"I have to go," I say. I force a smile at Charlotte. I want to kiss her and show her that she means the world to me, and this is just a bump along the way, but the bump is my son. And it's not a little obstacle that's going to disappear.
He'd better not.
Charlotte's brow is pinched as she stares at me. Is she waiting for me to elaborate? I don't say anything further. I turn, leaving her in the dust, but at least she's with her friend. I'm not abandoning her.
This isn't a date.
I don't date or do relationships. Jasmine is my ever-present reminder of why.
Relationships blow up in my face.
The betrayal cuts deep, like a knife to my back. I head home, and even though I'd rather be out, I have to do the responsible adult thing, which is to deal with the fact that I have a kid.
Tomorrow, I'll call the lawyer and the private investigator after I gather whatever information I can from Jasmine.
But I'm not looking forward to going home, and that thought is painfully burning a hole in my chest and heart.
