Page 38 of Our Bender

“Honey, there’s no need for-”

“If you say dramatics, so help me God, Dad,” she warned through clenched teeth.

Dad?What the… Coach was Josie’sdad? Miss Josie? Teacher Josie… was one and the same as Coach Petersen’sdaughter?

It all hit me at once.That’swhy she looked familiar? But she didn’t even really look like Coach…

My head was really spinning now as she yelled at her dad… Which was shocking. She was giving him a verbal beatdown. Who would’ve thought anyone in the world would go toe-to-toe with Coach like that? And he just hung his head and walked back inside her apartment like a kicked puppy. She stood in her doorway and looked down at me on the ground.

“You’re dismissed,” she snapped.

My mouth dropped open in shock. I pointed to myself. “Me? Dismissed?”

“Yes,” she said, sticking her chin in the air… and why did that look so familiar?

“Um… I think you’re forgetting thatyou’reresponsible for me being down here like this.”

“Yes, well…” She sucked in her top lip and her nose flared. “I am sorry about your food. I’m sure you can go get some more.”

My jaw clenched. “That’s it? That’s all you’re gonna say?” I eyed my food glumly. That chicken parm held a lot of responsibility. It was the only thing that could make this shitty day end on a good note. “This is from Pops,” I told her.

“Pops?” Her face cracked in confusion. “Whatever, I’m sure some girl out there is very happy I smacked you in the face with a door. Goodbye now.” She turned and slammed the door shut in my face.

I stared at the door.

Now what the hell did that mean? Some girl would be happy she smacked me? Did she think she was some kind of karma police and that I was some playboy hockey player who needed punishment? I would’ve loved to inform her that she couldn’t be further from the truth. I barely ever talked to girls, let alone hooked up with them. Sure, there were puck bunnies that hung around the rink, but I wasn’t interested. I wanted someone who truly wanted me– the kid from Northfield, Minnesota who got teased for reading slow, not the NHL star– and that was something I’d never experienced before, besides with Fi, and what we had wasn’t even a full-blown relationship because our story was cut so short.

I stared down at my pasta sauce mess and the food strewn all over the floor and sighed. There was no way I wanted to tell the boys what happened here, but unless I wanted to clean it all by myself, what other choice did I have? I pushed myself to my feet and slowly climbed the last two flights of stairs.

An hour later, I trudged through the snow back to Pops, and I couldn’t help but replay Josie’s words. It seemed she definitely had it out for men… and after that cheating scandal went viral, I couldn’t exactly blame her.

What she said was out of hurt, and for some reason, it felt like I was supposed to show her that there were better men out here.

I mean, crossing paths three times in the space of 24 hours? That was a sign, right? And the fact that I definitely felt a connection when I looked at her– like we were meant to find each other– that had to mean something. And watching her be all motherly and soothing in the classroom honestly felt healing to my inner kid heart.Plus, the way she pretty much cackled at the sight of me on the ground told me she’d be game for a solid flirt-to-roast ratio, which was super attractive to me.

But if she was in a man-hating era, which was definitely what it sounded like, I needed to play it safe and slow and extend an olive branch to let her know that I wasn’t some kind of ass– scratch that– butthole.

While rounding the second floor platform for the second time tonight, I plucked a white paper bag from the top of our carry out tray and left it by apartment #202. Little Miss Josie obviously wasn’t aware of just how good Pops food was, so I’d leave her a little bag of garlic knots to show her why I was so devastated seeing ours strewn all over the floor.

________

An hour later, I was screaming at the TV with the boys when our doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it.” I popped up from the couch and ripped my headset off, not giving a shit that we were in the middle of a war.

My heart pounded in my chest, wondering if it could possibly be Josie coming to thank us for the garlic knots. I did leave a little note on the bag telling her to come to apartment #400 if she ever needed anything.

I quickly pushed a hand through my hair and tried to smooth out my rumpled shirt as I slid across our hardwood to the door. I fixed a smile on my face and leaned against the doorframe before reaching for the knob and swinging it open.

But then my hand slipped, and my head smacked against the doorframe. I immediately wiped the smile clean off my face and rubbed my forehead.

“Fuckin’ dufus.” Coach sighed like he was very tired.

“Coach?” I coughed in my hand to clear my voice. “Uh… what’s up?”

He gave me an unimpressed look and pointed at my face. “I don’t like that,” he grumbled. “Don’t like it one bit.”

“What?” I feigned innocence as best I could, but this old man was known for thinking five steps ahead and catching every single detail about a play, despite his bad eyesight.

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