Page 41 of Replay

“What has your phone done to you?”

Andrea and I were at the sandwich place again. This time I’d ordered a sub. I’d walked to school, so I’d earned it. Living with Madeline, the model of perfection, had made me a little self-conscious about my weight. Not that I wanted to be like her, but a bit of effort wouldn’t hurt.

Andrea had settled down about my knowing one of the hockey players. I’d explained high school, the bad breakup, and the five years of silence, so she’d stopped asking if I’d heard from him. But this would set her off again. “You can’t freak out.”

She froze. “Is that from Ducky?”

I sighed. “Why does everyone call him that? Yes, it’s from Josh. Can you keep your voice down?”

“I will, I promise. It’s just, I’ve never met anyone who knew any of the players.”

I hadn’t appreciated exactly how popular Josh was. Which had been obtuse of me. He’d been a fan favorite in Halifax when he was there, so playing at the top levels would only make him more popular. I just had a hard time matching the guy I’d dated with the man people in Toronto idolized.

I read out the message. “Should I go? I helped him out with his car when he hurt his knee.” Wasn’t going to mention falling asleep there. “But I was maybe too honest about what I thought about his mother, and I wasn’t sure he’d want to see me again.”

“Give me a moment. You didn’t tell me you’d—done what exactly?”

“When he hurt his knee, he needed someone to drive his car back from the practice facility to his place.”

She gaped at me. “He called you to come and drive his car?”

“His teammates were headed out to Ottawa, and he didn’t want to leave it at the arena.”

“Did you go inside? See the locker room?” She pressed a hand to her chest. “Oh, did you meet any of the other players?”

“No, no and no. Please, could you just pretend this is a normal person I’m talking about?”

She squinched up her face but finally nodded. “Sure. We’ll pretend your ex is Josh the insurance agent.”

“Insurance agent?”

“I don’t fangirl over insurance agents. Work with it. So, you were honest about the mother who wanted to break you up. Whatever you said couldn’t have been that bad. Why not go?”

I had the evening free. As we got further into the semester that would probably be rarer—courses and my research project would make things pretty busy. So maybe I should take this chance while I could? “I convinced myself he wouldn’t want to see me, so I’m a little confused.”

“Okay, pretending this is still the insurance agent. Do you like hockey?”

I rocked my hand. The game was fast and exciting, especially in person. I didn’t like the fights, and when your boyfriend was on the ice, the hits into the boards were pretty stressful. But for this game I wouldn’t know anyone playing. Except maybe Daniel and I didn’t really know him. “I like some of it. I’ve never been to an NHL game though.”

“Ticket prices are astronomical. I’m envious that you get a chance to go. If you like hockey at all, it’s definitely worth it. Bet he gets good seats. Maybe he’s in a box.”

“As an insurance agent?”

“Business expense. Taking a client.”

She had a point. This could be my only chance. “It might be fun—to see what it’s like.”

“You’re okay going with your ex? Is he good company at a game?”

I had no idea. “I never went to a game with him. Like, not to sit with him. He was always playing.”

“You’re making it really difficult to be objective about this. Trying to think insurance agent, but I would absolutely take your place if that was an option.”

I was not going to pass on this invite to Andrea. This wasn’t a couple of free tickets, it was sitting with Josh. He’d need to concentrate on the game, not have someone fangirl all over him and distract him.

“Maybe he just wants to thank me. And he trusts I’ll let him focus on the game.”

“Good point. If you’re not going to get pissed if he’s not paying attention to you, and you’re comfortable with him after being exes, then why not go? Have you got something better to do?”

---