Josh
It was working. Katie was warming up to me, and this felt more like a date than two friends hanging out over food. We talked without any awkward pauses, and she laughed, not at me but with me. The guys might wonder how I knew Katie was the right woman for me, but this just proved it.
She didn’t think I was stupid, and she talked to me like I was a regular person—not a hockey kind-of star, but someone she liked being with. We didn’t talk about hockey at all.
The waiter brought our bill just before the game. I’d sat with my back to the glass so that I wouldn’t be distracted by warm-ups. It had been a while since I’d watched a game live, rather than being on the ice. I hoped she’d enjoy the game. She’d come to some of mine when we were dating, but we’d never watched together like this.
Once I’d paid for the meal, I led her out to the elevator. I pulled a cap from my back pocket and tugged it down over my face.
She grinned. “That’s your disguise?”
I shrugged. If we could get to our seats before people started to take photos or ask me to sign things, I’d be happy.
Sometimes it was enough. I’d timed it well—they’d just started the national anthem when we got to our section. We had to wait till they finished O Canada, but then everyone’s attention was focused on the ice, and we made our way to our seats before anyone recognized who I was.
We were two thirds of the way up in the lower bowl, center ice. I didn’t want to be right on the glass—it was harder to follow the action from there, and center gave the best chance to see plays developing on both ends of the rink. It was also an expensive section, so the people with tickets here were less invasive. They weren’t as impressed by us players, or they wanted to seem less impressed. It made it easier to be part of the crowd in either case.
I’d asked Katie if she wanted a drink or anything, but we’d just come from dinner so we both passed on anything more. I made sure she was settled in okay, nodded to a few people who were trying to catch my attention, and focused on the ice where the puck was about to drop.
I wanted to be out there, so badly. I could skate on my knee, and the team had approved me for regular practice tomorrow, so watching from the stands was extra frustrating when I knew I could help.
They sure as hell could have used me.
Just a few minutes in, it was obvious there was something wrong with the team. They’d moved Gerbs up to take my place on the first line, and he hadn’t gelled with Deek and Oppy. He made a pass and it was intercepted, forcing the play back to our zone. Cooper was playing as well as he always did but he couldn’t be on the ice all the time. Petey was peppered, and eventually something went in.
Deek and Oppy needed to adjust for Gerbs’s more physical, less speedy style of play, and I could see they were trying, but it wasn’t working. After the second goal, Coach switched things up, pulling Barnes up to play on the top line.
There was a disputed call, so while they checked the replay, everything paused. It took me a moment to blink back to where I was. Right. I was here with Katie, and I was ignoring her.
I turned my attention to her. “Sorry, I got a little caught up there.”
She raised her brows. “What are you sorry for?”
“Well, I should be paying attention to you. Like, do you have questions, or did you want to talk about something else?”
She placed her hand on my arm. I ran hot so I was just wearing a T-shirt, and the feel of her skin on mine had every part of my body sitting up and taking notice.
“This is your job, right?”
I looked down at the ice. “I’m not playing though.”
“But you guys study game footage and things like that, I remember. So watching is homework for you. I’m fine. It’s not my first hockey game, you know. I even understand what offside is.”
I should have known she understood the game when she’d watched it before. She was really smart. “I ignored you and I didn’t mean to do that.”
“Josh, I knew it would be like this when I agreed to come. It’s not like we went to a bar and you ignored me to watch a football game. This isn’t your hobby. Why don’t you tell me who’s taking your place and doing a terrible job with it?”
“How do you know they’re doing a terrible job?”
She pointed to the Jumbotron showing the score. “I know you’re a forward and you score goals. No goals up there, so…”
I couldn’t point out my usual linemates from up here when everyone was still gathered around the coach, waiting for play to resume. “I normally play with Deek and Oppy. When the game started, Gerbs was with them, but now Coach has Barnes playing. They don’t play the same style as me, so they’re missing passes, and the usual plays aren’t working.”
“How do you play?”
“I’m fast. I’m not the biggest, but I’m the fastest guy on the team. So Deek made a pass that I’d normally get, because I’m good at getting ahead for him, but Gerbs didn’t get there in time.”
“They aren’t looking to make sure the other player is there?”
