Icing (Aces Hockey #1)(12)
It wasn’t like it was the first time this had ever happened. She and Easton had been living together for nearly four years. She knew him from Los Angeles, where they’d worked together on photo shoots and become friends. Or maybe he was more like a big brother, guiding her through the business. When she’d moved to Chicago for college, he’d already been living there and offered her a place to live, which was excellent because she sure couldn’t afford much on her own. Then he’d encouraged her to continue to model while she went to school, and had found her some jobs. It was a relatively lucrative part-time job, although the tips at the Sin Bin were definitely competitive.
She collected some laundry and carried it down the hall to throw a load into the washing machine in the tiny laundry room on their floor, then returned to the apartment. The Sin Bin didn’t open until eleven, so she got to work on her thesis project, but when she took a break later to call, nobody who was working knew how to get hold of Duncan. Elliott wasn’t there yet, so Amber left a message for him to call her when he got in.
Easton and Jamie emerged from the bedroom a while later and she took another short break to have a cup of coffee with them. Jamie seemed like a sweet guy, and she liked the way he kept looking at Easton all admiring and…smitten. Then they left so Easton could take Jamie home, and she got back to work.
When Elliott finally called, the ringtone of her cellphone startled her out of her concentration.
“Hey,” she said. “Thanks for calling back.”
“You’re not quitting, are you?”
She blinked. “Uh. No.”
“Whew. Was afraid maybe last night was too much for you and you didn’t want to work at the Sin Bin anymore.”
“Actually, I was kind of afraid I was going to get fired for starting a big fight.”
“You didn’t start it. And I want you to know we don’t let customers harass our waitstaff.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that.” Soft warmth filled her chest. Maybe she’d lucked into a good part-time job this time.
“Are you okay? You took a shot to the face last night.”
“I’m fine.” She didn’t even have a bruise, though it could still bloom later. “It really wasn’t a hard hit, just surprised me.”
“So what can I do for you? Schedule change?”
“No, actually I’m calling because I have Duncan’s car keys.”
“Duncan? Duncan Armstrong?”
“I guess that’s his name.”
“The one who came to your rescue.”
She heard the amusement in Elliott’s tone. “Yeah, him. I took his keys when it was obvious he was on a bender. Then I left without thinking to return them. Somehow I need to get them back to him. Do you happen to have a phone number or address for him?”
Silence. Elliott finally said, “I could get it, but it’s probably better if I get hold of him myself and let him call you.”
“I’m not a stalker,” she said, offended.
“I’m sure you’re not, but still, he might not appreciate me giving out that information to someone.”
“I understand.” Of course she did. He was a big famous athlete. He did not want people giving out his address to random women. “Okay, you have my number, let him know he can call me. We can figure out a way to meet up.”
“I’m sure he’d come pick them up.”
“I don’t want to give my address out to a stranger.”
Luckily Elliott just laughed. “Understood. Okay, I’ll let him know. Thanks, Amber.”
—
Rupper showed up the next morning unannounced to take Duncan to get his truck. “You look like shit,” he informed him helpfully.
“Bite me.” Duncan had taken a few painkillers and downed a pot of coffee. The drugs and caffeine would kick in shortly, but he needed food. “We gotta stop for burgers somewhere.”
“Christ, man, you can’t eat like that before a practice. You’ll puke. Besides, they have food there for us.”
“Can’t wait that long. I’m dying. I also need root beer. I’m so dehydrated if I tried to take a piss, smoke would come out.”
Rupper laughed. “Fine. We’ll hit a drive-through.”
After doing so, Duncan scarfed down two burgers and sucked back root beer as Rupper drove.
“Where’d you park?” Rupper asked as they neared the Sin Bin.
Duncan rubbed his aching forehead. “On the street, not far down.”
Moments later, they pulled up alongside his truck.
“Here you go, lushaholic. See you at the arena.”
“Right.” Duncan hopped out and slammed the door, then reached a hand into his pocket for his keys. As he watched Rupper’s taillights disappear he realized…he had no keys.