Page 28 of When Alec Met Evie
“Okay,” Summer repeats, her tone telling me shestillthinks this is no big deal.
“Okay?” I ask. “That’s all you have to say?”
“Age is just a number,” she says. “If you like her, you like her.”
Down the hall, Felix and Logan push into the locker room, followed by Coach Davis, which means I need to get myself in there sooner than later. Especially if I want to heat wrap my knee before the game.
I look back at Summer. “You’ll get the…?” I lift my head in an upward motion, gesturing in what I think is the general direction of the upstairs gift shop.
Summer nods. “I’ve got you. Now get in there with your team and have a good game.”
Wedohave a good game. We dominate the first two periods and start the third with a two-point lead. Halfway through the third, Coach adjusts our defensive rotation and pulls Nathan and me, adding the twins, who are eager for as much ice time as possible. I’d normally hate to sacrifice the minutes played, but this time, I’m happy to let them have it.
My knee keeps locking up, and a locked-up knee on the ice could mean jacking up my hips or messing up mygoodknee.
I pull off my helmet as soon as I’m on the bench and reach for a water bottle. Nathan drops down beside me. “You’re off, man,” he says. On the ice, Camden flies past us, then hits the puck to Logan who scores, increasing our lead to three.
“We’re winning, aren’t we?”
“Not because of anything you’ve done,” Nathan says. I know better than to be insulted by Nathan’s assessment. He won’t mince words to spare my feelings, something I usually appreciate. He knocks his stick against my skate. “Is it your knee?”
“I’m fine,” I say, eyes on the game. The other team is in possession now, and Carter and Theo move toward each other, crossing in front of Felix as the opposing offense moves closer.
“You aren’t fine,” Nathan says. “And when you aren’t fine, I’m the one who has to pick up the slack. You know I’ll do it.” He whacks my skate one more time, and I finally lift my eyes to meet his. “You know I’ll do it,” he repeats. “But you gotta tell me what’s going on so I know what we’re dealing with.”
My jaw clenches, pride making my anger flare, but Nathan’s right. He’s my other half when we’re out there. If I can’t play the game like I usually do, he’s the one impacted the most. “It keeps locking up,” I say. “But I’m on it. I’m taking care of it. It’ll be fine by next game.”
“Alec. You can’t?—”
“Just leave it,” I say, and Nathan clamps his mouth shut. “I’m fine,” I repeat.
It’s a lie, and I’m pretty sure Nathan knows it’s a lie. When we’re back on the ice, I fight through more pain than I have in a very long time.
We take the win, but for me, it’s tainted by a nagging realization that at this rate, I may not have the luxury of playing out a full season. My knee may force me to quit long before we get there.
Felix tells the team he’s got a pot of chili big enough to feed anyone who wants to stop by his place, but I stay back at the Summit and treat myself to an extra-long ice bath instead. Theo and Carter are planning to go, and I’m glad about that. They need to spend time with the rest of the guys, but right now, I’m happy to let the others take charge of the teambuilding.
Nathan gives me a knowing look on his way out, but I ignore him. At some point, I’ll have to have a longer conversation with him about what’s happening with my knee and how it might impact my play. But I’m not ready to do that yet.
Talking about my knee means talking about what comesafterhockey. And save the one conversation I’ve had with Evie, I haven’t really worked my way through that yet.
I sink deeper into the ice bath and duck my shoulders so the water is over my head. The cold is bracing, but it feels good on my sore muscles. When I emerge, Eric, the Appies head trainer, is standing at the foot of the tub.
“Hey,” I say, rubbing the water from my face.
“Dr. Samuelson’s here,” he says, his voice calm.
I breathe out a sigh. I should have expected as much. If Nathan noticed me favoring my knee during the game, Eric definitely did. I can hide the pain I’m feeling from my teammates, but I can’t hide it from Eric. Or from the sports medicine doctor who takes care of the team.
“Go ahead and shower,” Eric says. “Take your time. He’ll be in the med suite waiting for you.”
I’m the only player still around when I leave the shower, which is better because when I make it back to my stall in a towel, I find an Appies merch bag sitting on the bench. I peek into the bag enough to see something that looks small and soft and Appies turquoise, but I don’t pull it out. I trust Summer, and I don’t know enough about baby clothes one way or another to have an opinion. I’m sure whatever she picked out is great.
As soon as I’m dressed, I leave the locker room and head down the hall to the Summit’s medical suite. I pass a room on the right where players typically meet their families after games. It’s empty now, except for Dominic, one of the younger guys on the team, who is sitting with his girlfriend in the corner. He played a good game and seems to be celebrating by swallowing her face.
A beat of restlessness pushes through me.
I don’t fault the guy. Oranyof the guys who have wives or serious girlfriends. But I’m getting tired of the reminders that everyone seems to have found someone but me. When Evie straightened my tie this morning, my brain jumped all the way to imagining her here, waiting inthisroom, wearing an Appies jersey with my name on it. The woman has been in North Carolina less than a week, and I’m already imagining her as my girlfriend. I can’t decide if that makes me really confident or just really pathetic.
