Page 35 of Replay

I knew he felt a lot of stress after last season. Even if this wasn’t a game that counted.

The forwards were finally applying some pressure in Ottawa’s zone. But then there was a breakaway by Ottawa—a two-on-one on Mitchell. Shades of that last game against Minnesota. I held my breath as he stayed up and blocked the shot.

Yes!

Then Ottawa got the rebound and put it in. The goal lamp lit up and that was it. Technically there were still a couple of minutes to play, but the team had lost its mojo, and the final score was 4-2 for Ottawa.

“Damn.” So frustrating to be stuck here with my leg up when my team needed me. But being with Katie?—

I turned, and saw she’d fallen asleep in the chair. I’d have fallen asleep in seconds if I’d been reading a math book, but she loved that stuff. She must have been tired. And comfortable enough to let herself go with me here.

I liked that.

I flicked off the TV and stared at her for a few minutes. While she was sleeping, I didn’t have to worry about what she’d think if she saw me looking at her. I didn’t have to make sure I was just being friendly.

She’d changed, but not that much. She had blonde streaks in her hair that looked like she’d been out in the sun. That was new, and I liked it. Her figure had matured, and damn if I didn’t want to see more of that. But I also liked just looking at her face, relaxed and calm.

I’d seen and been with a lot of women. Model types, even. But I’d never found someone I wanted to watch the way I did Katie. Maybe her nose wasn’t straight, and her cheeks a little round, but to my mind this was how my perfect woman looked.

Should I wake her up? It was only a little after nine. I could let her sleep till ten. Knowing Katie, she was probably studying stuff a week in advance. She needed her sleep, I told myself.

I didn’t want to turn on the TV again and maybe disturb her, so I picked up my phone and scrolled through Instagram.

Katie

It took me a minute to figure out what was going on.

Daylight was warming my eyelids, and I felt pleasantly rested. My mouth, however, felt nasty and gluey, like I hadn’t brushed my teeth before bed. My neck was bent, and I was sticking to…leather?

My eyes snapped open, blinking against a sunny fall morning. But this wasn’t my bed. This wasn’t actually a bed at all. Beside me was an empty leather couch. When I looked down, I saw I was curled up in a large recliner. There was a blanket thrown over me with the Toronto Blaze logo on it.

Yesterday rushed back at me. Lunch, the TV report on Josh’s injury, Josh calling me. The relief of knowing he was okay, then going to help him. Driving his car, eating with him, coming back to make sure that restless energy he had didn’t make him do something stupid.

I’d been the one to do that instead, falling asleep here. Had he tried to wake me up? Had I snored?

My bladder was insistent that I pay it attention. I cautiously lifted my head but there was no one in the room with me. I heard noises from the direction of the kitchen but couldn’t see anyone, so I risked standing up. The blanket pooled at my feet. I picked it up and left it on the chair.

There was a powder room in the foyer that I remembered using, so I tiptoed that way.

Peeing first. Immediate relief. Then I splashed water on my face and stood up to assess the damage.

Smeared mascara, any other makeup long gone. I opened a drawer, found some toothpaste and a comb. I squeezed out some paste and washed my teeth and tongue with my finger before rinsing in the sink. Then I worked the comb through my hair, making it look less like a rat’s nest.

The clothes were a wrinkled disaster, but I wasn’t going to ask for an iron or to throw them in the dryer. I’d survive.

I cast a longing glance at the door. I’d love to just put on my shoes, right there on the mat, and flee but I didn’t have my things. And really, why was I freaking out? I’d fallen asleep. Josh could have woken me up but didn’t. Nothing I could do about it.

I walked quietly back to the living room and checked the time on my phone. Still early enough. I could say good morning and goodbye and have more than enough time to go home to clean up and get to my first class.

Josh wasn’t alone in the kitchen. He was sitting on a stool at the breakfast bar, left leg elevated and another ice pack on his knee, talking to a stranger in front of the stove. A man, taller than Josh but equally fit. Fortunately, he was the one cooking, not Josh, and the smell was incredible.

My stomach gurgled.

Josh turned, a big smile crossing his face. “Morning, Katie. How are you?”

I cleared my throat. “I’m good. Uh, sorry about falling asleep.”

The stranger turned. He was about ten years older than us, with dark hair, green eyes, and a short trimmed beard. Textbook case of tall, dark and handsome, while I was here in rumpled clothes with no makeup. Good thing guys were not on my agenda in the immediate future. “I should probably go.”

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