Tripping (Iced #2) - Kristine Allen Page 0,79

small SUV pulled up, and I realized he’d procured an Uber for us. He tossed his bag in the hatch and climbed in after me.

We rode in silence to the hotel. He dropped his bag off in my room, and we went next door. He was still technically rooming with Alex, but since I had flown up for the game he planned to sleep in my room for the night.

Since we were next door to the restaurant we’d decided on for lunch, we walked over and were seated right away. The hostess told us our server would be with us shortly.

“Would you like to tell me how you know Dick Williams?” Despite his asshole-ish mood, I couldn’t help but snort in laughter. Richard hated being called Dick, and I was somehow sure Cameron knew that.

Not wanting to hash over a painful time in my life, I sighed heavily. I was given a reprieve when the server came to take our drink order. Thinking I was slick, I lifted the menu she’d set in front of me. Cameron’s hand curled around the top of it and he lowered it.

“Shit. Okay.” I set the menu down. The server brought our drinks, and I took a sip. “Richard and I dated when we were in college in Minnesota. I was a freshman; he was a senior. We met when I tutored him in his physics class and were together for most of the year. I, uh,” I stuttered at the thought of telling him everything. Wracking my brain for how I could skim over the details, I took another drink.

“Hmm, I’m guessing he’s the reason you hated hockey players,” he said as he sat with his arms crossed and a brow raised.

“You’d be guessing correctly,” I admitted. “Richard made me believe he loved me. I—He was my, um, he was my first,” I muttered and dropped my gaze to the table. Absently, I fidgeted with the silverware.

The sound of his teeth grinding made me flinch.

“Let’s just say he wasn’t nearly as committed to the relationship as I was. It was a big joke between him and his teammates, and I found out his dating me had been part of a dare. There, now you know my humiliating history.” My hand curled tightly around my glass, and I raised it to my lips. When he still hadn’t said anything several minutes later, I looked up to see him fuming.

“That’s not your humiliating history. That was him being a dick and a half. No one deserves to be used like that.” He reached over the table and cupped my cheek. “Babe, you are beautiful, and I value you. I hope you realize that. You’re not something to be bet or bartered over. You are a treasure. My treasure.” My face heated.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

No way would I tell him the entire truth. Hell, I hadn’t wanted to tell him any of it. I’d overheard Richard and his teammates talking about how they dared him to date me. It was the night after I’d given him my virginity. I’d gone downstairs and caught them making fun of my red hair and freckles, making lewd comments about me. I’d wanted to die.

“It’s okay. I’ve got his number,” he said. When I gave him a startled glance, he was smiling at me, and I was sure it wasn’t my imagination that it had an evil gleam to it.

Wearing Cameron’s jersey over a waffle-weave Henley with my skinny jeans and suede boots, I followed Sydney to our seats. We could’ve been up in the visiting team’s executive box, but we both preferred to be closer to the action.

The guys were already out on the ice for the warm-up. Traffic had been awful on the way, and our Uber driver acted like they were new to the city. As we sat, I scanned the team to see Cameron and Alex look up from the line they waited in. Smiles lit both of their faces before they returned their attention to their warm-up drills.

“This is your first away game, right?” Sydney asked as she tried to get herself comfortable in the seat. Her baby bump stretched Alex’s jersey tight across her abdomen, and I couldn’t help but giggle a little.

“Yeah, it is,” I replied. She looked so adorable, and I couldn’t help but reach over to touch her rounded bump.

“What’s it like?” I asked.

“Ugh. Sometimes it’s really cool. Most of the time it’s praying you make it to the toilet without