Page 43 of Truce: Declan
She has no idea how much I want that tonight, not just figuratively. I stalk into the locker room and shove my phone into my jacket pocket before changing into my uniform.
"Any updates?" Kyler asks, coming to stand beside me, keeping his voice low.
"Updates on what?" Jasper asks, glancing between us.
Kyler and I have never been that close, not like Jasper and me. It was inevitable that someone would overhear the news.
"Turns out I'm a dad," I say.
"Congrats!" Jasper smacks me on the back, grinning proudly. "I knew you two were hooking up. When's Charlotte due?"
I cough, surprised by the assumption. "It's not Charlotte's."
Jasper takes a step back and folds his arms across his chest. "One of the puck bunnies?" He doesn't look pleased. "You should get a paternity test if one of those girls claims you're the dad."
I bite my tongue at his remark regarding the fan girls who throw themselves at us. It doesn't take much to find an easy hook-up after a game, that's for sure. "Do you remember Jasmine?"
I swear the entire team is staring at me, gathering around for the news. Although it's just a couple of the guys, the rest are getting ready, glancing over their shoulder. They're listening in, though, because, otherwise, you could hear a pin drop in an otherwise noisy locker room.
"Yeah, the last girl you dated," Jasper says. He's familiar with Jasmine and our history together. He wasn't too fond of her, but he waited to tell me that until after she ghosted me and we broke up. I had been pretty confident that she’d cheated, and Jasper had told me that he wasn’t surprised.
She's also why I swore off dating and girlfriends and stuck to puck bunnies. I didn't want another relationship.
"Shit." Jasper's eyes widen, the realization dawning on him. "Are you sure it's not that Bruisers player's kid? I mean, she hooked up with him when you were dating."
"I'm sure. I had a paternity test done, and Zayn is my son."
Owen curses under his breath, overhearing the entire conversation a few feet away.
Jasper raises an eyebrow. "Congrats?" This time, he's asking, unsure if it's something to be celebrated.
That is exactly how I feel.
Uncertain about the whole situation.
I always thought I'd be a dad someday, but I didn't expect it to happen like this, where I'd be hiring a lawyer or a private investigator in order to protect my kid.
I turn toward my locker, indicating the conversation is over as I start gearing up for the game.
"What'd Charlotte say when you told her?" Kyler asks, stepping toward his locker and yanking his shirt over his head, undressing. He may have been in the locker room before me, but he's the last to start getting ready.
"I haven't."
"Hell of a secret to keep," Jasper says.
"What are you boys going on about?" Coach Malone asks, stepping into the locker room. "You ought to be ready by now. Hurry the hell up! The other team isn't going to wait for you."
* * *
I try to keep my head in the game, but my mind is on other things. It doesn't help that the man I despise, Grant Brass, is on the opposing team.
He knows the history that I have with Jasmine, but she told me he didn't know that I was Zayn's father.
Has that changed?
Brass has a few scratches on his face. They could be fingernail marks if you examine them close enough. It's hard to tell under the helmet covering his face.
Are they from Jasmine, or did they transpire during another game or at practice? Maybe he makes it a habit of roughing up pretty girls. I wouldn't put it past the douche.
