Page 47 of Arresting the Hockey Player

My phone pings from the back of the cab, and I glance at the message from Charlotte.

Charlotte: I hope everything is okay. You left in a rush.

I don't answer her text.

I don't know what I'd say. Besides, what needs to be conveyed to her shouldn't come as a text: I'm a dad. Apparently, I have a kid whom I never knew about until recently.

That would be the coward's way out. I refuse to do that with Charlotte.

And I will tell her. I've just been waiting for the right time.

She sends me one more text after a couple of minutes. It's a red heart emoji.

I wince and start to type a reply and then erase my message. I don't want to break her heart. And anything I say tonight might do that.

NINE

Charlotte

I can't believe he just up and left without an explanation.

And I saw a woman's name pop up on his phone.

Who the hell is Jasmine?

Maybe I don't have a right to be jealous since Noah and I aren't officially dating. We haven't spoken about being exclusive, but my stomach is in knots just thinking about him jumping and running for some other girl.

When the hell did I get so wrapped up in Noah?

Oh, right, the night that we slept together. Which I swore I was fine with it being a fun night and no strings attached, since he doesn't do relationships and, well, neither do I.

At least, I didn't.

But from the moment that he left, I've been a bumbling mess. And I hate myself for it.

I'm the girl I despise. The one who waits by her phone or sends a dozen text messages, waiting to hear back.

I've refrained from sending all the texts that I want, but I still shoot him a message, hoping he'll answer.

I don't get why he ran off to be withher.

Maybe he's looking for a hookup and she's the booty call.

I grab a beer from the bucket and pop the cap off.

"What's going on with Noah?" I ask, glaring at Jasper, expecting him or Amber to tell me the truth. Someone has to know something. And I hate being left in the dark or the last to know things.

"He is acting weird," Amber says, glancing at her boyfriend.

Jasper shrugs, his eyes wide as he grabs his drink to keep from having to answer.

"Spill it!" I say and knock his arm.

He grumbles as his beer sloshes, and he puts the glass bottle down on the table. "It's not my place to say. You should talk to Noah," Jasper says.

"That's cryptic."

Kyler and Emerson join us at the table along with a couple of other players and their significant others, whom I'm not as familiar with.