Page 36 of Play Your Part

“Think so,” he said, plopping the bag at my feet. He unzipped it and riffled inside as he announced everything in there. Unnecessary, but at least Zach wouldn’t get to the airport and remember he left something at the house.

Training him felt like housebreaking an animal. Whenever we needed to leave the house together, I told him to be at the door fifteen minutes before the time we needed to leave. So far, he hadn’t been late.

“You know, I have been on road trips before,” Zach said indignantly after we confirmed he had everything.

I opened the front door, what I planned to say dying behind my lips when I saw Kennedy standing there, about to ring the bell.

“Oh. Hey.” She took a step back, retracting her outstretched hand to steady the carton carrier with four coffee cups. She looked as if she came from the gym, wearing stretchy blank pants and an oversized T-shirt. Her hair was twisted on top of her head in a loose bun. “On your way out already?”

“He has a thing about being late,” Zach chimed in behind me. Glancing over my shoulder, I glimpsed his shit-eating grin. We usually arrived at practice thirty minutes before everyone else. It gave the lad and me more time on the ice, which he loved as much as I did. But still, he enjoyed giving me shit.

Zach nudged me to the side as he approached Kennedy, who knowingly stared at me. She’d learned about my pet peeve when she showed up ten minutes late to our coffee date earlier this week.

“Is one of those coffees for me?”

I tapped him lightly on the back of the head. “Manners.”

Kennedy thrust the carton toward him as she said to me, “It’s fine. I brought them for both of you. Matt said you usually grab coffee before jumping on the plane.”

“Thank you,” I said, taking the coffee with my name on it. She took the time to collect our orders from Matt. If this had been a real relationship, this gesture would have meant a lot. I took the small win anyway, remembering how every interaction between us used to be a shitshow.

Since that day we decided to create our list of safe and no-go topics, everything had become surprisingly easy.

This is a ridiculous list,I texted Kennedy immediately after she sent hers. My no-go list contained what I considered normal items—past relationships and every interaction between Kennedy and me before that day—while she listed hockey first. I expected to see Justin Ward listed—he was second—but didn’t expect a moratorium on my entire sport.

I play hockey, I texted, then without waiting for her answer added,People will expect you to know about my job.

In my head, I could hear her response,Fine, hockey only as it pertains to you,with an exhale of breath in that bored, annoyed voice of hers. She wanted to make sure I couldn’t ask her about her outright refusal to come to a single game. Before the list, I considered it, even though I stood no chance of getting a real answer.

Her list of safe topics was arguably strange, filled with weird hypothetical questions, some oddly specific. She also added topics she liked to discuss, like true crime and mystery novels. Our safe topics lists didn’t overlap much, not as much as our no-go topics, so the hypotheticals came through on our coffee date. We debated the existence of ghosts, designed our own national holidays, and talked about how we would handle a zombie apocalypse.

Kennedy cleared her throat, bringing me back into the present. “Kennedy, this is Zach Briggs. Briggsy, this is Kennedy.”

Zach swallowed a large gulp of coffee. “Good to put a face to my emergency contact.”

The McIntyres had kept Kennedy late all week, so Zach hadn’t met her, but I programmed her number into his phone in case he needed someone and I wasn’t there. He’d met Gemma and Matt, but Kennedy, as my girlfriend, was on the hook to coparent this adult child until he knew whether he was staying or going back to the AHL.

Kennedy flashed him one of her genuine smiles, the kind that didn’t tense her face. The kind so rarely offered to me, at least in a nonmocking manner. “It’s always nice to meet anyone who can get under this guy’s skin.”

“Then, you must be happy meeting most people.”

“O-kay, note to self to keep you two apart,” I said, rummaging in my suit pocket to find my keys. I unlocked the car doors. “Zach, go to the car. I’ll be there in a second.”

Zach rolled his eyes but followed my direction. “Thanks for the coffee, Kennedy,” he said over his shoulder as he walked toward the driveway.

I watched him place his suitcase in the trunk before climbing into the passenger seat. Once he was out of earshot, I said, “Nice touch with the coffee.”

She lifted her hand, palm up, as if to say it wasn’t a big deal. “My gym is next to a coffee shop, and I needed to refuel after my kickboxing class.”

“Did you go overboard because you imagined my face?”

A weird expression passed over hers. “Not exactly.” She paused like she wanted to say something more but went another way. “I don’t want to make youlate. Just wanted to meet Zach and wish you luck.”

“We don’t need luck,” I told her. “If we play our game, the rest will take care of itself. We’re that good.”

“I meant on the flight.” Her words sounded serious, but a smile poked through her blank expression.

“Ha ha.” I stepped closer to her, mindful of Zach watching us. Kennedy’s eyebrows rose, but I didn’t give her time to react, closing the distance and wrapping my arms around her. She inhaled sharply at our first contact, but slowly exhaled after a beat. She smelled of vanilla and orange even after a workout. She also looked good, which defied the laws of nature. “I’ll see you when I’m back, all right?”

---