Page 6 of You Had Me at Hockey

It turns out it’s not that hard, after some googling. The only problem I have is knowing which way the metro card is supposed to go when I swipe it. I get it wrong every time.

I walk along 66th Street, checking out the buildings, until I get to Riverside Boulevard. I’m not sure whether to turn left or right so I guess, luckily correctly, because I’m freezing.

The building’s nice—brass doors, elegant lobby with marble floors, big columns, modern furniture arrangements, and a security desk. The guy at the desk calls up to Easton, then sends me up to the seventh floor.

My muscles are twitchy. My mouth is dry, and I rub my hands together for the entire elevator ride.

I knock on Easton’s door and immediately hear barking on the other side. Easton opens the door hanging on to the collar of a smallish black dog, who’s barking excitedly.

“He’s harmless,” Easton says. “Just excited.”

“Okay.” I keep an eye on the dog as I step inside and close the door behind me. I like dogs, but you never know.

Easton releases him and the dog bolts toward me. I bend and let him sniff my hand and he appears to be satisfied, as he stops barking.

“That’s Otis,” Easton says. “Come in.” His voice is cool and stiff.

What’s his problem? He’s the one who never bothered to come see me after the accident.

“Thanks for letting me have a look at your place.” I follow him into the living room, unzipping my jacket. “Sorry Mike bothered you with this.”

“Not a problem.”

“Hi there!” A female voice calls from the kitchen, and then she walks out to join us, drying her hands on a towel. She’s gorgeous—in a sweet way. Her smile is much friendlier than Easton’s. She walks toward me and holds out a hand. “I’m Lilly.”

“Hey. Nice to meet you, Lilly. Josh Heller.” I shake her hand. I guess this is Easton’s girlfriend.

“Nice to meet you too. So you’re thinking of moving into this building?”

“I guess.” I shrug. “I don’t know the city at all, other than times we’ve played here. It seems like a good location.”

Easton gestures to the window. “You can see 9A—that’s what we take to the practice facility. You can get on it at Seventy-second Street, so it’s pretty convenient.”

“Sounds good. I don’t know my way around yet.” I stroll over to the big windows. “Nice view.”

I turn and catch Lilly watching us, biting her bottom lip. She knows we used to be friends. And aren’t anymore.

“This is the kitchen,” she says, waving a hand. “It’s small, but that’s New York.”

“Yeah, it is small.” I survey the tiny space. Compared to the huge apartment I had in Dallas, this is…well, it’ll be an adjustment.

“I have two bedrooms and two bathrooms,” Easton says, turning away. “The bathroom’s here and the spare room is right here.”

They’re just off the living room. Both are a good size and nicely decorated.

“The other one is down the hall.” Easton strides away and I follow him.

“This is great,” I say. “Lots of room.”

“Yeah. I haven’t done a lot of decorating.” He shrugs. “This is the en suite.”

I survey the bathroom and a huge walk-in closet. “This looks good.”

“Apparently there are a few units available. Mike can set something up for you to look at them if you think you’re interested.”

“Yeah. I’ll talk to him.” Maybe it would be better if I lived in a different building than Easton. Then again, I don’t really want to spend days looking at apartments and figuring out how to get everywhere. This is all fucking with my head. It’s pissing me off.

He shows me more storage and the laundry space, and we return to the living room. Otis has followed us everywhere, watching me with alert eyes. He’s a goofy-looking dog, with a face like he ran into a door and big ears.

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