Page 26 of Twisted Assist

"Then afterward, I want to watch you eat again."

ChapterTwelve

Tatum

It wasn't until Wednesday that I finally heard from Hunter. He had tried explaining himself, but none of it seemed important. I only reminded him we weren't together anymore and that he didn't owe me anything.

Somehow, that only pissed him off more.

A part of me wanted to tell him about meeting Tripp Maddux, but I knew I would only be trying to make him jealous, and I didn't want to go there. Whatever was happening between Tripp and me was private, and I deserved to see where it went without Hunter's interference.

Upon Tripp's request, I took a rideshare to the game. He wanted me to ride with him afterward and promised to take me home, so leaving my car at the stadium didn't make sense.

Getting into the game was easy, just like he said it would be, and I found my seat with no problems. When I sat down, though, I started to get antsy, and a bit of guilt began to sneak into my mind.

A few years ago, when Hunter wanted to play for the Inferno, I used to imagine sitting in those seats and watching him warm up. Those were the days when I used to think of us getting married and living somewhere on the beach. We would have kids and show my parents what a healthy and happy family looked like.

Yet, there I was after all the years that had passed, and I was searching Tripp Maddux out instead. He was warming up with a few teammates, and every once in a while, he would send me a slight wink or smile. From my small understanding of soccer, it was a big game for the Inferno. Win, and they made the playoffs, lose, and their season was essentially over.

Tripp spent the first few minutes of the game controlling the ball and kicking it back and forth with Rhys Peyton but never took a shot at the goal. Twelve minutes in, a player on the other team went down and had to be tended to by the medics. That was when the night ended for everyone because Cruz Martin was talking with someone a few seats down from where I was, and then he left.

Vanished.

Tripp and the rest of the team could barely wrap their minds around what was happening. The fans were utterly clueless. The coach yelled, and another goalie entered the game within a few minutes.

The team never recovered, though.

Their loss was heavy, and the crowd booed the entire team as they walked off the field. When the final whistle blew, I was supposed to head down an elevator toward the player family exit. Tripp had given me precise directions on how to get there, but I chose to stay put until everyone around me had calmed down.

All I could think about was how Hunter lost his championship game in college and didn't want to talk to anyone for a week. Tripp's plans for us were undoubtedly canceled because I couldn't imagine him feeling any differently than Hunter had that night.

Where are you, Coconut?

Still sitting in the stands.

Why? Do I need to come and get you?

I assumed we weren't hanging out anymore.

There was no response and no text bubble indicating he was writing back. He was off the hook for the night, and I knew he had to have been relieved that I understood without him saying anything.

With only fifty or so people left in the stands, I finally stood up to leave, pulling a rideshare app up on my phone. Taking three steps up toward the exit tunnel, my eyes caught the soft pink jersey of Tripp coming down toward me.

A few people were snapping pictures of him, but his eyes were focused on me. It was all I could do to not drop my phone from how surprised I was, so I slid it into my back pocket and waited for him to get to me.

Then, without a word, he took my hand and led me back up the way he had come.

"What are you doing?"

"Not letting you get away," he smiled back at me.

His season was lost. They had two games left on the schedule, but it no longer mattered if they won or not. Tripp shouldn't have been smiling. He should have been angry and grumpy. What did he know that I didn't?

"What happened to Cruz Martin?" I dared to ask when we got into the elevator.

"We have no clue," Tripp shrugged, then leaned down to put his nose to mine. "The only thing I care about is making sure you don't try to sneak off."

"I wasn't sneaking. Just know how tough losing a match can be."

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