Page 20 of You Had Me at Hockey

“I’m going home to the Peg,” he says with a grin. “Also Minneapolis and Columbus.”

“Oh! Are your parents there?”

“Yeah.” His smile is now full-on. “They’ll be there watching.”

“That’s exciting for all of you.”

“Well, probably stressful for my dad. He’s the general manager of the Jets. So obviously he wants them to win.”

“Gah! That’s hard!”

“Right? But this isn’t the first time this has happened. With my old team, it was the same thing every time we played against Winnipeg. My mom cheers for me.”

I laugh. “As she should.”

“Anyway, I have Saturday night off, if you want to do something then.”

My heart swoops. I’m trying to think if I have anything planned Saturday.

“If you’re busy, we can touch base when I’m back,” he says.

“No. I mean, I’m not busy. I think.” I swipe at my phone to check my calendar. Without it, I’d be a total mess, so I’m diligent about entering things into it. “Nope. All good.”

“Okay. We’ll chat before then.”

“Okay!” My smile feels as big as a skating rink.

Our eyes meet. And hold. Excitement shivers through me. Then he leans down and kisses…my cheek. A soft brush of those gorgeous lips across my skin. My belly flip-flops and my heartbeat accelerates.

“Bye,” he says.

“Bye.” I feel like I can’t move, glad there’s a tiled wall behind me to support me.

He moves away, and I call, “Good luck tomorrow night!”

He turns, smiling, and calls, “Thanks!”

I watch him walk, his legs long and his stride sure and athletic.

I have a funny, spongy feeling in my chest, and I can’t stop smiling all the way to my train and then all the way home as I replay my time with Josh Heller.

I find a seat and lean against the wall of the train. This feeling inside me is unfamiliar. Sure, I’ve had boyfriends. Well, very short-lived boyfriends. One in high school. One after I moved to New York. I’ve gone out with lots of guys, but it never turned into anything more. A few times I got hopeful that I’d met someone I could love, but they never seemed to feel that way about me. I’ve wondered if anyone will ever be interested in someone as screwed up as me. So I’m afraid to get my hopes up now. And even more afraid because I had so much fun with him and I really, really want to see him again, and that means the disappointment will be even worse.

I throw myself into work when I get home, pausing for a dinner of leftover garlic Parmesan spaghetti, followed by a snack of popcorn later while editing videos in my bed. I wake up in the morning with a popcorn kernel stuck to my cheek. Sexy. No wonder I sleep alone.

—

In the morning, I hike a few blocks to my favorite cycle studio. I love the streets in the morning, with little traffic, the noises of garbage trucks picking up trash, and people out sweeping sidewalks and getting ready for the day.

I ride my ass off in class. I’ve never been athletic, but I know I have to stay active to stay healthy. This is my most enjoyable way, although I’ve tried yoga and Pilates classes and high-intensity, low-impact classes, but this is a fun way to push myself.

I walk home, the cool air chilling the sweat still on my body and in my hair, and jump into my shower for a long, hot steam. Letting my hair air-dry, I settle on my couch with a cup of coffee and my computer. Harper calls to see how the interview with Josh went. I assure her it will be great. “I’d like to do another interview with him,” I tell her.

“Well, we should wait and see how this one does. I have some ideas for other people, in the meantime.”

“Okay, that makes sense.” Honestly, I don’t care how people like the podcast. If I want to interview Josh again, I will. But I don’t argue about that with Harper. “Like who else?’

She lists off a few names and I am unimpressed. One is a Hollywood actor trying to get his career back on track. Does he think talking to me will make him cool? Another is a wannabee actress who is famous only for showing up where cameras are. “What am I going to talk to her about?” I ask Harper. “Honestly, I don’t think she has anything to say.”

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