Page 42 of Replay

“Not really.”

“What’s the downside?”

I couldn’t explain. It wasn’t something logical, but emotional. I had hurt feelings that hadn’t totally gone away. Some anger that was settling on my parents instead of him. And something warm and mushy when I thought about spending time with Josh. And that feeling worried me.

Why? He hadn’t given off any vibes that he wanted to pick up where we’d left off. He was a wealthy hockey player now and had women wearing his jersey and probably vying to sleep with him. Thinking he wanted anything more with me was delusional.

And even if it wasn’t, I wasn’t making promises about anything if I went.

It was fine. All fine. Just going to a hockey game, maybe to thank me for helping him out the other day. I texted back sure.

But I wasn’t.

Chapter 14

Good, Cheap Lobster

Katie

Josh said he’d pick me up. His knee was healed enough that he could handle the clutch of his Mustang. I hoped he was being truthful, and not just reluctant to let me drive. Then, as if he thought I was worried about it, he said he could park in the players’ lot, and we’d be able to skip the hassle of finding parking.

I was new to the city and used transit instead of driving, but traffic was crazy and I’d heard enough people complaining about parking downtown for his concern to make sense. I could have said I’d meet him at the arena, but then he might have to come get me at the front doors, since I didn’t have a ticket. His knee might be better but probably better to skip unnecessary walking.

I was waiting just inside my condo building’s doors when he pulled up in his bright yellow Mustang. I opened the door before he could get out—this wasn’t a parking zone, and it was the start of rush hour. I’d agreed to dinner before the game, so it was a little early.

“Hey Katie!” He was grinning ear to ear.

“Hey, Josh.”

I slid into the seat, and he pulled the car out into the street.

Josh drove with a lot more confidence than me. There wasn’t any chance to see what the car could do because this was downtown Toronto where traffic was terrible, and we rarely got into even third gear. We took only three times as long as we should to get to the arena, and Josh flashed his ID to get into the players’ lot. It was mostly full, everyone already here to play. Probably why we were so early. Did he need to talk to his teammates or coaches?

Josh heaved a sigh as he looked at the other cars but smiled again as he looked at me. “So, I thought we’d eat here at the arena so there’s no rushing to get back before the game.”

“That’s fine.” I didn’t really care. I didn’t eat out much on my budget, so since he’d insisted on paying, I’d eat wherever.

He led the way through the doors from the players’ lot. “I won’t take you to the locker room or anything. Guys are getting ready, and they might not be dressed. We could go down after if you want?”

“If you want. I only know Daniel, and I haven’t followed the team, so…”

Josh looked disappointed, but then grabbed my hand and pulled me toward an elevator.

When he’d said we were eating at the arena, I’d imagined getting hotdogs and popcorn from one of the fast-food vendors in the building. But the floor we got out on had paneled walls and thick carpet—this wasn’t where regular fans came to watch the game. There was a man in a suit at the doorway to a restaurant, and we were led to a table where glass windows overlooked the ice.

A black linen tablecloth, yellow napkins and red menus—the Blaze colors. There was a well-stocked bar at one end, the whole room filled with that hushed atmosphere expensive restaurants had.

I was guessing hot dogs were not on the menu.

I leaned over to Josh and hissed, “I thought we were picking up fast food.”

He leaned over and whispered back. “If I went to one of those places in the concourse, well, fans would get kind of excited.”

Right. I sat back and drew in a breath. Josh was famous here. He’d be mobbed if he was wandering around. This was not high school Josh anymore.

One look at the prices and I wanted to slam the menu shut and walk out. I looked up, frowning, meeting Josh’s gaze.

“Katie, I make a lot of money. I couldn’t do anything nice for you back in high school, but I can now. Let me make up for that.”

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