Page 86 of Arresting the Hockey Player
The other guys nod in agreement and shrug nonchalantly. “Yeah, sure. We can sign your jersey, kid.”
“It’s Abbi,” Kyler says, and I swear the girl is about to faint. The fact he knows and remembers her name is enough to make her cheeks flame.
Someone is crushing hard.
I won’t break her heart and tell her that he’s engaged or that she’s much too young to like a man three times her age.
“Is that why you called us over?” I ask, glancing at Noah, suspecting he has something to do with it. “Did you see Abbi in her Ice Dragons jersey?”
Noah’s ears redden, his helmet on the bench. “I wanted us to talk,” he says, nodding for me to follow him away from Abbi, giving us a few feet of privacy away from her listening ears and his teammates.
I fold my arms across my chest. “So, talk.” I wait for him to tell me why he dragged me from our seats, although I’m grateful his teammates are indulging Abbi and signing the back of her jersey.
“It’s Abbi with an I,” she says, making sure they spell her name right. “And I like hearts and hockey.”
The guys are chuckling, all trying to sign or draw little characters on her back and sleeves. She’s got a plethora of different permanent colors being signed onto the jersey.
“Can we start over?” Noah asks.
I press my lips together. That doesn’t seem like a realistic option. “I don’t see how,” I say. We’ve already caused enough drama between us.
“I forgave you for getting me arrested. What I did at the charity event wasn’t that big of a deal. I mean, in comparison, it was literally nothing. I helped out sick kids.”
“Is that what you’re telling yourself?” I seethe. “Because you embarrassed my father, your rival team, and me.”
“How were you embarrassed?” Noah asks, taking a step closer toward me.
“I vouched for you, invited you as my fake boyfriend, which I know is on me, but then you went and made a mockery of what my father had planned. It was humiliating.”
“To him, or you?” Noah asks.
I bite my tongue. I wasn’t that embarrassed about the whole thing that happened. If anything, I had defended Noah and his teammates for their actions to my father.
“You should have told me. I could have helped.”
“There’s no way that you would have gone through with it.”
“You don’t know that,” I say. “I might have been onboard, but instead, you disrespected the entire event and, worst of all, me.”
Noah shuts his eyes for a second, and exhales a deep breath as he regains his composure before staring at me. His gaze sends butterflies straight into my stomach. “Quit making this about you. Everyone had a good time. The charity received more contributions than they otherwise would have received. It was a win for everyone.”
“The Island Bruisers aren’t in agreement. Quit being selfish.”
His jaw drops. “So, we’ve resorted to name-calling, is that it?”
“I said you were being selfish. That’s not calling you a name. It’s a fact. You were in it for the glory. The recognition. You wanted to be front and center, and you got your opportunity at the expense of the rival team.”
“That’s not fair,” Noah says. His brow tightens and he drags me away from the player’s bench and into the hallway toward their locker room. “What I did was intended to help you, to keep your ass from having to go on a date with some douche canoe who wants to get in your pants.”
“Do you think I can’t handle myself?”
Noah’s jaw is tight. “You’re putting words into my mouth. I never said that or implied it.”
“You did if you think some random date will get lucky. Just because I slept with you on the first date doesn’t mean I do that with every guy I meet.” I shift my weight on my feet, uncomfortable with this conversation.
“You told me that your father was forcing you to offer yourself up as a date for the auction. I was doing you a favor, trying to help bring in more money to the charity, keep your father off your back, and have a little fun.”
“It’s the little fun part where you screwed up,” I say. “Everything was fine until your boys decided to start doing a strip show at the charity auction. Those older ladies could have had a heart attack!”
