Page 31 of Replay

She pursed her lips, but apparently this would do. “Where’s the ice pack?”

“In the freezer.” I pointed. It was a big kitchen, and I had a fridge and a separate freezer. Her gaze swung between the two appliances, and she shrugged before opening the freezer.

One side had prepared meals. I couldn’t cook, and following the nutritionist’s guidelines made meal prep more difficult so I used a service. With Daniel around I wouldn’t need it as much. The other side had a shitload of ice packs and some vodka. Last season, Bongo had lived with me, and he loved his vodka. I should get rid of that.

“Interesting.” Katie pulled out an ice pack.

“You know I don’t cook. And the vodka belongs to Bongo. He was my roommate before he got his own place. I’ll tell him to come get his stash.” She brought me the ice pack and I draped it over my knee.

“You don’t have a roommate now?” She passed over a plate filled with Greek goodness.

“Yeah, I do. Thanks, and have some of this stuff too if you want.”

She scooped a bit of the loucanico I’d requested onto another plate. “Where’s your roommate?”

Anxiety swept over me again. “He’s on the way to Ottawa. Might be there now.” I pulled out my phone to check the time. “Yeah, the jet’s probably landed.”

Katie sat down on a stool by my foot. “Another hockey player, eh? What position?”

“He’s a center. Playing the second line, it looks like.”

“And you?”

I set my fork down, worry interfering with my appetite. “Last season I was the first line right winger. But this season…”

Katie cocked her head. “Did they demote you?”

I pointed at my knee. “I haven’t played much in the preseason. And now, when I was supposed to finally get some real time in a game, this happened. They’ll have someone else playing tonight, and if that guy has chemistry with Oppy and Deek, well…”

Katie stared at me for a minute. I wasn’t sure what she was thinking. I poked at my food, before setting my fork down. Finally, she spoke. “Seriously. Are you really likely to lose your spot after missing one game?”

I fidgeted in my seat, because this idea wasn’t totally realistic, I knew. “Probably not. But after last season, coaches and management want to make sure everyone is clicking. I’m going to lose at least a week. I might not play the home opener.”

Katie rested her chin on her hand, elbow braced on the counter. “I don’t know if you’re just worrying needlessly or not. How good are you? You seem to be pretty popular.”

I picked up my fork again to have something to do other than meet her gaze. “I’m not too bad.”

“Define not too bad.” She used her serious voice, the one I heard when she got on my case about math when she was tutoring me. It probably shouldn’t be that hot. It told me she wasn’t going to let me get away with avoiding whatever we were talking about.

“I had the second highest points total on the team.” I looked at her out of the corner of my eye. I hoped that impressed her.

“Goals?”

“Goals and assists.”

She pursed her lips, distracting me. “Right. That sounds like you were more than not bad. Did anyone get signed to the team who’s a better scorer?”

I shook my head slowly.

“Any of these new guys coming up scoring better than you?”

I shrugged. “Not really. Not yet.”

“So why are you so worried?”

I sighed. “Something I’ve learned, it’s that hockey is a business. After our loss, the team could have decided to change things up. They kept most of the team together, but if we don’t do well, they might start trading.”

“Are you afraid you’ll be traded?”

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