Page 41 of Snap

I focused on him and frowned. "She's here."

"Yeah," Bam said. "We figured it was about a woman. Come on, spill it." He gestured with his hand.

"Who is here?" Bec asked gently.

"Rubie. Rubie is here." I said.

They all looked confused.

"Rubie Thomas?" Grace asked. "I'm surprised her father got her to come. She's not usually into these things. Not when the team is involved anyway."

That would explain why I'd never seen her at one of these events.

"Ollie, Ollie, Ollie." Bam clapped a hand to his forehead. "Don't tell us Rubie Thomas is the girl you've been sleeping with?"

I stared down at the table. I could feel all of their eyes on me.

"She had no idea you're a Rapid, did she?" Bec asked.

I forced my eyes up, to look at her. "She didn't tell me who she was either," I replied more defensively than I intended.

"Hey, Bec, isn't this your favourite song?" Hawk asked. He gave her a meaningful look.

"I don't know about her, but it is mine," Grace said. "Let's go and dance." She stood up and gestured at the two other women. "We'll leave you boys to your boy problems."

I barely registered them leaving.

"Let me guess," Hawk said, "Rubie is pissed off at you."

"That was gonna be my guess too," Bam said.

"It was either that or someone kicked Ollie's puppy," Chase said. "And since he doesn't have a puppy, that I know of…"

"Yeah, she's pissed off at me." I knew I should have taken the time to explain things to her. But I hadn't, and that came back to bite me on the ass.

"I was going to tell her, I just…" Got caught up in the taste of her mouth, and the feel of her body under my hands.

"Didn't," Chase finished for me.

I looked down at the table again. "Yeah." I exhaled out my nose in frustration.

"What did you tell her you did for a living?" Bam asked.

I hesitated for a moment. "I might have let her think I work for Lacey's. She assumed that and I didn't correct her."

After a beat or two I added, "She also assumed I was a Rapids fan. She had plenty of time to tell me her father owned the team."

A surge of anger burned through me. Yeah, I did the wrong thing, but so did she. She hid something important from me. Did she think it would change how I felt about her? Did she think she would scare me off? Or worse, did she think I'd only stick around for her money?

"Does Carson know?" Hawk asked. "I assume he doesn't because you seem to have your balls intact." He looked down towards my lap.

"He was right there when she found out who I am," I said. "It would be unfair if he blamed me for everything."

"She is his kid," Bam pointed out. "You're cute, but you aren't getting a free pass if she complains about you to her daddy."

I leaned forward, propped my elbow on the table and covered my forehead with my hand. "I think she hates me." Even though what she did was as bad as what I had done, I got the sinking feeling I was completely fucked.

Chase leaned over and patted me on the shoulder. "Who could hate you? You're adorable. And mostly harmless."