“I'm sure it did mean something. He was probably protecting himself.”
She gave a sardonic laugh. “Well, you know Danny. He plays defence so hard, there is zero chance of getting a shot on net.”
Brett opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, then closed it again.
“I thought you’d appreciate that. It was a hockey met—”
“Yeah, I got it.” Brett’s skin flushed a little, and Penny wondered if she’d gotten the metaphor wrong and said something stupid. She smashed the rest of the dough into patties and squished them in the oil next to each other.
“Smells amazing.” Brett peeled the remaining cucumber they hadn’t used in the tzatziki, chopped it, and added it to the salad.
“Thanks for your help.”
“Thanks for showing me that garbanzo beans have nothing to do with Muppets.”
Penny snorted and flipped the first falafels she'd put in the pan. “I got some pita. We can toast it if you want.”
“Sure.” Brett shuffled down the counter and reached past her for the bag of flatbread. His arm brushed hers, sending tingles across her skin, and she quickly took a step back.
“Sorry.”
“No, you're fine.”
Brett opened the bag and popped two pita into the toaster oven while Penny worked to settle her pulse. Was it just her, or had the kitchen just shrunk three sizes? She was too warm. She stepped away from the stove and sucked in a lungful of air, then stepped back up to flip the rest of the patties.
When they were finished, she transferred them to a plate covered with a paper towel, then transferred the food to the table. Brett carried over the salad and dressing, and after Penny filled up two glasses with water, they sat.
Brett filled her in on the Snowballs while they ate dinner, and Penny was grateful for a fluffy topic of conversation. She doubted it was as mundane to Brett, though, by the way he'd clung to his hockey bag the other night. It was obvious how much he missed it.
“So you only practice once a week during the summer?” she asked.
Brett nodded. “Some of the other guys play summer sports.”
“You don't?” She took a bite of salad with a new vinaigrette Brett had in the fridge. She liked it.
“Depends. Curtis has taken up Ultimate Frisbee, which I think looks fun. I probably would have signed up for the league with him if I hadn't wrecked my knee.”
A wave of nausea rolled through her, and Penny clenched her fists. She drew a deep breath, then slowly released it.Lucas had played Ultimate when he was in university.
The fact that her body was still reacting this way any time something related to him came up probably meant that she needed more therapy. But since she hadn't vetted any therapists since moving to Calgary, she would have to wait until she had more mental energy to take that on.
“Hey—” Brett started, but her phone buzzed on the counter behind them. Penny hopped up to grab it.
Andrea.She debated making her leave a voicemail, but since her sister had also tried to call at the grocery store, Penny decided to pick up.
“Hey, what's up?”
“Oh, I don't know. The fact that you haven't texted me any updates and it's been two days already?”
“Dre, I've been kind of busy moving in.”
“Well, I've been kind of busy waiting for you to send pictures of your roommate—”
“Housemate.”
“Whatever. Why are you withholding this information?”
Penny’s hands started to tingle. “I'm not withholding anything.” She glanced over at Brett and noted the smirk on his lips. “Fine.” She pulled the phone from her ear. “Brett, my sister Andrea is positive I'm keeping things from her. Do you mind if I take a quick picture?”
