Page 48 of Arresting the Hockey Player

"Where'd Noah go?" Kyler asks. "Grabbing more drinks?"

Jasper wordlessly shakes his head, and I swear they're sharing some unspoken message between them.

"He up and bailed after getting a call from Jasmine. Is she his booty call?" I try not to sound jealous, but I know I'm failing miserably.

I bite my bottom lip to keep from letting the green monster bring tears to my eyes. This is stupid. I shouldn’t even care. But the truth is that I do.

"He's with Jasmine?" Kyler asks and runs a hand through his hair.

"Who is Jasmine?" Emerson asks, apparently just as clueless as I am about the mystery caller. I feel a little better that she doesn't know since she's been dating Kyler for a while, and they're engaged.

"Just an old girlfriend," Kyler says and shrugs it off. "It's nothing to worry about."

How can he easily dismiss the fact that Noah's old girlfriend just called, and he ran off to be with her?

I open my mouth but quickly shut it. I'm not going to convince Kyler of anything. He's friends with Noah. I'm sure that he's just defending his teammate and buddy.

"Right, because we're not dating," I say and exhale a huff. I shift on my chair, the seat is uncomfortable, and my stomach is tense. I can't just sit idly by and wonder what is going on.

Do I grab a cab and head to his place?

What if they're hooking up at her house? Or worse, what if they're hooking up at his condo, and I show up uninvited?

I'll look desperate.

Amber nudges me as I peel at the label on my beer bottle. I'm fidgety and restless.

"He likes you," she says matter of factly. "I'm sure this Jasmine girl, it's nothing. Maybe it's all a misunderstanding, and he also has a cousin named Jasmine?"

I wish her words were convincing, but I can't recall him ever mentioning any family nearby. "Yeah, maybe," I say and chance a glance up at Jasper.

His jaw is tense.

She's definitely not his sister or cousin based solely on his look. He knows something, and he shifts to face Kyler, changing the topic to the game they played tonight.

An hour passes before I get hit on twice by the same guy, who happens to be a huge hockey fan. I can't help but wonder if his hitting on me is trying to get into the guy's inner circle.

I politely decline his invitation to dance and again the drink that he carries over. He's cute enough, but I have zero interest in him. There's no chemistry and not even so much as a spark.

I drop some cash on the table to cover my drinks and tip.

"Are you heading home?" Amber asks.

"I’m leaving,” I say and pull her aside. “Do you have Noah’s address?” I ask.

She stalls for a minute and then nods. “I think I saved it in my phone. We went to a party at his penthouse a couple of months ago.”

She gives me his address and I plug it into my phone. “Thanks.”

“You didn’t get it from me,” she says and winks. We exchange hugs and pleasantries before I request a rideshare. When the vehicle arrives, I head outside into the brisk night and climb into the back of the vehicle. I’m more awake than I should be, my hands sweaty as I wipe them on my pants.

The address that I gave is Noah's penthouse suite. I just hope I'm not making a huge mistake.

TEN

Noah

I'd be angry that Jasmine called me after the game if it weren't for the fact that I've been trying to get ahold of her, and she hasn't been returning my calls or answering my texts.