I can’t help but think that my vibrator will no longer do.
Ryan
Shedoesn’ttextback.I wonder if I’ve blown it as I toss my phone down on the sofa beside me.
“Who are you texting?” Johnny asks. We’re sitting in his living room watching recordings of games from last season, giving me a feel of the other teams in the league. Though, I haven’t been paying much attention.
“Jenna,” I say.
“Jenna?” Johnny looks over at me with a side-eye.
“Yeah, you know Jenna, right?”
“Sure, I do, but why are you texting her?”
“She’s using my seats,” I say with a shrug. I haven’t even talked about the tickets with Jenna yet. Johnny presses pause on the TV remote and turns toward me.
“You’re into her,” he says as if he’s cracked a code.
“Nah. Well, yeah, but nothing’s going to happen,” I say. “I’m just here to play hockey. My focus should be on my game.” Just as I’m stressing on the significance of keeping distractions to the bare minimum, Johnny interrupts me.
“Let’s just say you couldn’t play hockey anymore.”
I raise a brow at him.
“What else puts a spring into your step?” he asks.
I see where this is going. “Not a lot, really. Golf? Fantasy novels?”
“What I’m saying is, would it be so bad if you lived a little? Date a bit?”
“But I’m going back to Canada next season,” I say.
“Well, from what I know from Danny, Jen has just come out of a serious relationship and probably wants nothing too much right now, so you could just have some fun, right?”
A serious relationship? I bet he’s a fucking douche. Only a douche would let her slip away. I already know that Jen isn’t the type of girl I’d just want to have fun with. Though this is the problem. I think I really like her, which completely blows my mind because I hardly know her, but she’s something else.
“You’re one to talk. When was the last time you got laid?” I ask. Johnny waves me off. He’s not been one for one-night stands, and part of me wonders if he ever got over Sarah, the girlfriend of his who gave him an ultimatum: hockey or her. She didn’t like that he wanted to play pro, and when he said he wasn’t sure what or who to pick, that was the end for them. I think she’s married now, with a couple of kids.
“Things were slow after Sarah, but I got back out there,” he says.
“When was it, John?” I press.
“A few months back. A girl I met at a bar. She knew nothing about hockey, which is probably why I went for it. This isn’t about me anyway,” he says firmly. “Jen is great, and she knows hockey. What I mean is, she’ll understand how important it is for you to be one hundred per cent focused on your game, so you can keep it casual.”
“I don’t think I want just casual,” I say, but as soon as the words are out, I can hardly believe I said them.
“You’re so confusing,” he says, pressing play again.
“Look at this,” I say, grabbing my phone and pulling up the link Jen sent me. I tap it and wait for it to load before shoving it toward Johnny.
He huffs and pauses the TV again, taking my phone.
He watches it play through, sucking air through his teeth when he gets to the end. “Fuck. You’re in trouble,” he says.
“I know,” I say.
“I haven’t seen you with that look in your eye since you made the first line when we played Under-twelves,” he says, complete shock in his tone. “Just ask her out.”