Page 40 of Replay

I didn’t look forward to arguing with my mother, but if Katie would give me another chance, I wasn’t giving her up.

I texted Katie, making sure she was okay, but didn’t have a chance to get together with her again for several days. We had some team bonding things going on before the season started—dinner at Cooper’s, game nights, and a BBQ at Deek’s. I was still babying my knee, so any free time I had meant sitting around with my foot up. I wanted to see Katie, but asking her to come over to play video games wasn’t the progress I wanted. I wanted us to spend time together in a way that didn’t say “high school hangout.” I had to up my game and make sure this replay wasn’t a repeat of that. This time I was doing it right.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t figure out the perfect next move.

Fitch watched me make my protein shake the day before the season opener. It was a home game, and the arena would be packed. The coaches had already told me I was sitting it out, so I was frustrated. What if the guy filling in on my line had a great game? If the chemistry clicked with Deek and Oppy and they scored a couple of times, Coach might not want to break them up. Maybe they’d think I was fragile now, likely to get injured again.

Fitch nudged me away from the blender, where I’d been stabbing the pulse button over and over. “Stop worrying.”

“I can’t. You guys are playing tomorrow and I’m not.” I’d been allowed a short skate at practice yesterday, but watching the game was going to drive me nuts.

“It’s a long, brutal season. You know this. You don’t want to be nursing an injury from day one. Having some extra rest will help you. You need your speed, and you don’t have that when you’re injured.”

“If I stop thinking about hockey, then I try to figure out what to do with Katie.”

Fitch poured out my smoothie. “Combine them.”

I stared at him. “What?”

“You’re going to the game tomorrow, right?”

I nodded. “I could be in a box, but I’d rather sit closer to the ice.”

“Then get two seats and ask Katie to go with you.”

Why didn’t I think of that? Katie used to go to some of my games. Most people I met wanted to see the Blaze playing at the arena. And this was the season opener. Tickets were expensive, so she wouldn’t go on her own. Not that she was likely to go without someone asking her. “Yeah. That could work. I could take her with us to Top Shelf after.” First game of the season? We’d all be there.

Fitch smirked. “Sure. You could be her wingman.”

I pointed at Fitch. “I’m not going to be her wingman. None of those fuckers better flirt with her.”

Instead, I could introduce her to some of the women—wives, girlfriends, sisters. Most of them would be out tomorrow night, and Katie would have math stuff in common with Cooper’s girlfriend and JJ’s sister. Maybe she could make friends with them. Make her comfortable in my world.

That hadn’t happened in high school. Katie hadn’t been close to any of my teammates or their girlfriends. This was something I could change for the better.

Katie

I wasn’t sure if I’d hear back from Josh after that truth bomb I’d dropped. Not that he’d ghost me. We had history and he was basically a nice guy, but he and his mother were close and that had been blunt. Honest, but blunt. All the things I’d bit my tongue about back in high school I just…let out.

I could picture it. He’d say something like We’ll have to get together sometime, but nothing solid and eventually it would fizzle out. That would be disappointing, if I was honest with myself, but school was my priority, so being friends with a popular hockey player probably wasn’t a good idea anyway.

But with Josh, expect the unexpected.

Can’t play the opening game

knee

They let me practice, not play

lame

I’m gonna watch

Wanna come with? As friends?

He wasn’t happy about being benched, obviously. I thought the coaching staff was being smart, even if he didn’t. And it made sense that he didn’t want to sit alone. He was a people person.

I hesitated over the message, not sure how I should respond. He wasn’t pissed about what I’d said about his mother, apparently, but I’d just convinced myself it was better not to be his friend. I didn’t think he’d want to see me again. Now that he did, I wondered if I should be the one to say we shouldn’t hang out. But I didn’t want to be mean. He’d brought me donairs.

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