I wedged myself against the wall and pulled out my phone.
You around?
I tried to get comfortable on the crutch, since I didn’t know how long it would take to answer. If she would answer. I hadn’t even messaged her since she gave me her number because I was so fucking afraid of saying the wrong thing. I’d messed up text messages in the past.
The ring of the phone, with the buzz along with it, almost made me drop the stupid thing. “Katie?”
“Are you okay? Are you in the hospital?”
What was she talking about? “No, I’m at the arena.”
I heard the sigh over the line. “Thank god. You were on the news at the sub shop and?—”
“They’ve already got that on the air?” Meant it would be all over the internet too.
“So you are hurt?”
“Yeah, but it’s not a big deal.” I was trusting Carlos that it wasn’t.
“Not a big deal?” Her voice had gone up a little bit.
“Yeah, I’m on IR—injured reserve—for the next week. Which is shitty, but it’s just a week. Nothing major.”
A pause, and I heard the sounds of traffic. She was outside somewhere, so not in class. “I guess that’s good.”
“Oh yeah. Could have been something serious, but if I do what they tell me, I should be back on the ice next week.” There was another pause. Right, I’d messaged her, and she wanted to know why. “That’s actually why I called you. I’m at the arena and I wondered if you’d give me a ride home.”
“I don’t have a car in Toronto. Can’t your teammates help?”
“They would, if they were here. We’ve got a game in Ottawa tonight, so while the trainers were checking out my knee, the guys had to leave to get ready to fly out. I don’t want to leave my car here, and not everyone can drive a stick, so I thought…” Hoped, really. “That maybe if I sent you a ride, you could come and drive me and her home? And I’d pay for you to get to your place too.”
This was the longest pause yet. She probably had shit to do, classes or whatever. It was—I lifted the phone away from my ear and checked—one thirty in the afternoon. Not everyone had my weird hours.
“Her?”
“My car.”
“Okay, I could do that.”
I pumped my fist. Yay! Chance to see Katie again. “Give me your location and I’ll send a ride.”
“I’ll wait for them at the corner of Galbraith and Beverley Street.”
“Text me the address, okay? And I’m going to give the driver an answer to the question you should ask, to make sure this is legit.”
“I’ve done rideshares before, you know.”
“Don’t care. I want to know you’re safe.”
I imagined her eyes rolling. I’d seen her do that enough times. “All right. See you in a bit.”
I called up my rideshare app, waited till she sent me her location, and then booked a ride. I ordered an Uber Lux because I could afford it and she deserved it. Then I told security so they’d let the car into the player lot. I also sent a quick message to Mom to let her know I was okay—if the media was on this, she’d worry when she heard. I’d barely had time to crutch my way over to the player lot before the Mercedes rolled up and Katie stepped out.
She was wearing jeans and a T-shirt. It was black, and I grinned as I read it. Math puns are the first SINE of madness with some graph or shit with it. With her black jeans and red Vans, she looked like a math nerd. Like she had been back in high school.
The driver rolled down his window. “You a Lord of the Rings fan?”
I nodded, glad that my question and answer had worked. Katie rolled her eyes. “Yes, I asked his favorite meal and he said Second Breakfast.”
