No. I refused to believe that small doubt because of how intrigued she was with the investigation. And I had to admit she had put more work into it than I had and why would she do that if she was involved in the scam we were looking into?
I let out a frustrated sigh at my lack of discipline. It was no use and I closed my laptop and accepted defeat. Amber and her uncle remained in their seats and she didn’t look my way once when I walked out of the pizza place. Having drinks with my teammates and not thinking about her was the only plan to get my distracted mind on track…and it had nothing to do with the incessant need to text her. She said she’d reach out later and that would have to do.
12
AMBER
Music blared across the hockey house, the loud bass shaking the walls enough for a couple of things to fall off onto the floor. The living room smelled like stale beer and cologne—a typical college party scent I knew well. My red cup was filled with soda and I bobbed from side to side as Marissa and Laney were in an intense conversation with one of the hockey guys. Instead of moping around about the weight ofeverythinggoing on, they’d dragged me out to a party and I hated to admit I liked being around people. Even if I wasn’t engaging with them, it was better than being alone with my thoughts.
Like how I was betraying my uncle and lying to everyone else.
Enough.I shook my head and smiled at the burly guy joining the conversation. Timothy “Teets” Thomas was the human equivalent of Bigfoot and we’d become fast friends freshman year. “Teets. My dude.”
“Henderson.” He wrapped me in a hug and I got blasted with his unique scent of laundry and musk. “Haven’t seen you around lately.”
“I’ve taken a sabbatical from partying. Had to get my head on straight.” I shrugged, unashamed of admitting it. He’d witnessed my demise countless times and withheld judgment, so it wasn’t rude for him to nod in understanding. “How’s your season going?”
“Rough. We got a tough schedule and were plagued with some injuries that could set us behind.” He frowned and the gesture made all his facial hair morph into an upside-down U.
His use of the word ‘injuries’ was like a car alarm going off in my head. I stood a little straighter and leaned closer to him. “Can I ask an odd question?”
He raised his eyebrows so much they disappeared into his crazy hairline. “You have my interest.”
“You’ve been on the team all four years, right?”
“Correct.”
“Have you had many players get injured and not return? I’m not talking about a couple weeks out or just starters. Any players that stopped showing up one day.”
He thought about it for a couple seconds before his eyes widened. “You know…there might’ve been a kid my freshman or sophomore year. Can’t remember the tool’s name, but he was a dick. Didn’t mesh with any of us and couldn’t play worth shit.” He scratched his chest with his large hand and tilted his head. “Why are you asking?”
“You know me, always asking questions for some social media post.” I tried to make light of it, but he didn’t buy it for a second.
“Henderson, you’re a shit liar and you always undersell your intelligence. I remember our speech and debate class together freshman year. You ask hard questions that are rarely without meaning.” He lowered his face so his mouth was inches from my ear, but my reaction was nothing like when Jeff got close to me. “If something is going on, you can trust me, okay?”
“I’ve missed you. We need to catch up more often.”
He laughed and gave me a half-hug. “While I agree, you’re avoiding my question and it’s probably for a reason. I’ll let it slide right now, but seriously, you can talk to me.”
His insistence helped fill the hole I had been carrying around since finding out about everything. His words were sincere and I did trust him. It was just easier to keep everyone at a distancejust in caseUncle Martin was involved.
Because his answers today were shallow.
“You’re the best, Teets.” I leaned into his hug and he dwarfed me. But while I looked around the room, a familiar pair of beautiful gray eyes was staring right at me. And they did not seem happy. “I’ll reach out if I need to. How’s that?”
“Better.” He removed his arm and someone called his name. “Ah, shit. I said no fucking fighting. I gotta check on them. See you later.”
He stormed off and I tried to think of a way to escape Jeff approaching me but came up empty. Marissa and Laney were still within arm’s reach, but they were coupled up with some guys I knew they were crushing on so that left me on my own. Jeff held a brown beer in his hand and lazily stepped closer to me. I had no reason to look him up and down, but I couldn’t stop myself. His body was hard and his fitted jeans and light sweatshirt showcased every bulge and ripple.
Why is my body tingling? Is the heat turned up? Why did I wear a plain green V-neck and jeans?
He scanned my outfit and a slow grin spread across his face. The movement forced me to look at his mouth and heat spread from my face to my core at the memory of our kiss. The one he wanted to do again.
“Thinking about our kiss?”
“N-no,” I stuttered and knew my entire face flushed, giving my lie away. “I was admiring your smile.”
“Uh-huh.” He laughed and left very little room between us. For one split second, I wanted him to put his arm around me, but the thought left as soon as it came. “You know Teets?”
