Page 36 of Dreams
“Shit,” he groaned, throwing his phone into his bag.
“You okay, man?” Zak asked, walking up to him.
“Fine.”
“Yeah,” Zak scoffed, “you look fine. Look, it’s none of my business, but you might want to get it together for practice.”
“I know.” Josh glanced back to his bag where the phone with the offending email sat nestled in with his street clothes.
Ethan. Josh’s brother was coming to Columbus with his dad. He’d tried to reach Josh a few more times over the last month, but Josh wanted nothing to do with him - he hadn’t for two years. Now, there was no more avoiding it. They’d have to have it out.
Just what I needed,Josh thought.Something else to stress about today.
Coach Peterson came into the room, snapping Josh’s thoughts back to the task at hand. The other coaches were behind him. Coach Scott locked eyes with Josh, but Josh couldn’t figure out if it was anger he saw. After a moment, Coach Scott gave him a nod of acknowledgment and then broke eye contact.
Josh let out a breath before following his teammates out onto the ice.
* * *
“He really didn’t say anything to you?” Taylor asked as Josh unlocked the door to his apartment.
“I told you this last week,” Josh said. “And again yesterday. He hasn’t mentioned it.”
“Guys,” Abigail said, “I don’t think I should be here.”
“Relax.” Josh smirked. “Mack isn’t even here.”
Abigail’s shoulders relaxed, and Taylor laughed.
“You know,” Abigail nudged her roommate. “I used to think you didn’t know how to laugh.”
“And I used to think you didn’t know how to keep your legs closed.” Taylor’s clamped her lips shut as if she couldn’t believe what she just said, but Abigail burst into a fit of giggles beside her.
“I like this side of you.”
Josh watched the girls with a grin on his face.
“It’s just, I haven’t seen him since he learned we were friends.” She paused, thinking. “I mean, I used to be friends with all the guys on his team in Portland. That was different though. We were just kids. Now there’s the whole professional athlete thing. I hate to break it to you, but you guys kind of have a bad reputation.”
Abigail snorted beside her and a low laugh rumbled through Josh’s chest before he said, “You’re feisty today.”
She shrugged and dropped the bag of Chinese food on the table.
“I want to show you something.” Taylor’s face turned serious, all trace of laughter disappearing. She reached into her messenger bag and pulled out her sketchbook, flipping through it until she found the picture she was looking for.
The nerves caused her arms to shake as she slowly held it out to him. He looked down and inhaled quickly. “This is amazing,” he whispered, taking the book from her hands to continue his perusal. She’d drawn the castle he’d taken her to by the river in such detail.
“Is that us?” he asked, looking up to meet her eyes.
“Yes.”
There were two people sitting together on the stage. He had his arm around her and she was smiling. That’s when it hit him. Taylor hadn’t drawn a scene. This wasn’t just the two of them at the river. She’d recreated an exact moment in time. One single second where she’d smiled at him and he’d comforted her.
“Do you like it?” she asked quietly.
“I…” he started, looking at the image then back at her. “It’s perfect. Can I keep it?”
A slow smile spread across her face and she nodded.
