Page 25 of The Golden Goalie

“Hey, I’m going to take a quick shower. I’ll be out in less than five minutes.”

“That’s fine,” I say waving him away without looking at him. I head back to the comfy couch and settle against the pillows and berate myself. Being attracted to good-looking hockey players is what got me into the mess I’m experiencing in the first place.It’s just hormones.I push away the image and any kind of thoughts of Rico’s muscular, tan chest, with not one but two, maybe even more tattoos on it. I grit my teeth.Not helping.I pull out my phone, needing a distraction. When I realize how late it is, I decide to just put in for an Uber. I need to get home; I still have some studying to do before tomorrow. I’ve barely finished booking it when Rico comes out.

“How’d things go with my mom? I hope she wasn’t too much in your business,” he says as he settles in the armchair across from me.

“No, she was really great. We had a good talk.” I keep looking at my phone, mostly because I’m scared to see if he’s put on a shirt or not. I’ve sworn off men, and with how my hormones are acting right now, it’s really best I’m not around any attractive men right now.No, not attractive men. Just men.I stand to my feet. “Well, thank you. I really appreciate it. Have a good night.”

He steps into my path, immediately blocking. “Whoa, where are you going?”

“I’m leaving. My Uber gets here in—” I check my phone. “Soon.” It’s still fourteen minutes out, but I’m not going to tell him that. He’ll feel like he has to entertain me until then.

“Amber, you’re not taking an Uber home. If you’re ready, I’ll take you home.”

“Oh no. I’m fine. It’s already on its way.”

“Well, cancel it then.”

Chapter 12

Rico

“Amber, will you look at me?” I try to keep the frustration out of my voice. Her eyes reluctantly meet mine, and I breathe a small sigh of relief. I scan her face, taking in the fact that she has a little more color in her cheeks now. Something eases a little in my chest. “You look like you have a little more color.”

“Your mom’s soup was really good, and I was actually able to keep it down so that’s a plus.” She’s back to not looking at me, and I’m desperate to know what went wrong. I’m reaching for anything. “You never told me why you sought me out after practice.” I know immediately it’s the wrong thing to say. Her head jerks back, and her eyes shoot to mine for a moment.

“It’s nothing,” she says, looking back down at her phone.

“It’s obviously something if you sought me out. What is it, Amber? You can tell me; I don’t bite. I promise.” I try to lighten the mood, but I think I just make it worse.

“It’s nothing. I’m going to head out and wait for my Uber.”

“Amber, you’re not going home with a stranger. I’ll take you home.”

“No, I’m going...” she pauses. “Look.” She flashes her phone at me. “They’re already here.” She heads to the door, and I follow her out the front door. She basically runs down the stairs.

“Thanks, Rico. Have a good night.”

I stare in frustration as the car leaves and fades into the darkness. I plop down on the porch step, wondering how it all went so wrong. I’m half-tempted to call Sebastian and ask him what she said to him, to see if he knows what she wanted. But Italk myself out of it; he has a life. I think of how pale and thin she looked tonight and grit my teeth. I want to do something to help, but I don’t know what...except. An idea begins to form. It was one of the ideas on one of the three sheets of paper the guys came up with. At the time, I thought it was a stupid idea, but now? I pull out my phone and turn to trusty google.Where do pregnant women shop?It gives me several ideas, and I know where to start. I pull up the Target app.Time to get busy.

An hour or so later, I finally stand up and stretch. Well, the Target employees are going to be busy over the next few days. I head inside and lock the door behind me. I stare around the empty living room a moment before heading into the kitchen. It feels so empty; I wonder if that’s because Amber was here and gone. I have a feeling I’d probably better not look into that question too closely. I head to my room to get ready for bed. I stare up at the ceiling for a little while before I finally grab my phone and shoot off a text.

Rico-did you get home okay?

I know I won’t sleep until I hear that she’s home safely. I stare up at the ceiling as the minutes tick away. I send her another text.Nothing.I even try calling her. After an hour, I finally throw off the covers and throw on a pair of jeans. I don’t bother with a shirt as I grab my wallet and head out to my truck. I’ll just swing by her house and make sure she got home safely.

It sounded like a really good idea when I was at home. But now? Now, I’m sitting outside their home in my truck, staring at the house like some crazy stalker person. I don’t know whether she’s home or not. Knowing I’m not going to be able to leave until I know she’s safe, I climb out of my truck and head up to the front door and knock. When nobody answers, I knock a little harder, trying to ignore the fear that’s building in my chest. I knock again, considerably harder than I did the first two times. Relief floods my veins when I hear the sound of thelock releasing. Then the door opens, and it’s not Amber standing there. “Oh, Mrs. Campbell, I’m sorry to bother you. I just wanted to know if Amber was home.” Her eyes widen, and I think about how this must all look to her. I’ve obviously woken her from sleep. I'm standing here in the dark of night, not wearing a shirt, asking for her daughter...her pregnant daughter. I try again. “I’m so sorry to wake you up. You see, Amber was at my house earlier.” Her eyes widen even more, and I stop talking. I take a breath. “I just need to see that she got home safely; she’s not answering her phone.” I wave my phone, like that somehow explains everything.

“Come in,” she says, waving me inside. She deserves a medal for dealing with my crazy self.

“So, is she here?” I ask slowly.

“I—I don’t know. You say she was with you earlier?” I nod, feeling terrible again that I woke her up. “Let me go check.”

I don’t realize that I’m holding my breath until she comes back a few moments later. “She’s safe and sound asleep in her bed.”

It should be enough, and yet...”Do you mind if I check?” I realize that I sound incredibly rude, like I don’t trust her. “I just want to, uh, check her phone because she hasn’t been answering my messages.”

She levels a look at me, and I instantly know where Amber learned it from. “Maybe she doesn’t want to.”

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