Page 71 of Like A Daydream
Andrew:yeah, I’m definitely in love with you
JT:I know, baby, it was obvious to everyone ;)
JT:or have you not seen the fanfiction about Jamdrew?
Andrew:I hate everything about this conversation
When he looks up again, she’s studying his face carefully, soft smile on her own. Her eyes are still a little watery, and with both of them laying like this, he can almost pretend that they’re together.
“What?” he asks, returning the smile.
“Just can’t believe my boyfriend is in the NHL,” Danielle says, smile growing. “Do you think you’re ready to go back?”
“There’s only one way to find out, right?” he says, smiling back. “I’m doing better than I was, at least.”
“I bet your team will be excited to see you.”
“They haven’t heard from me in months,” Andrew says, “they’ll probably be shocked that I’m even back.”
“Or they won’t know what to do with themselves.”
“One of those two things, I’m sure,” Andrew says, yawning. He closes his eyes.
“I can hang up, if you want,” Danielle says.
He shakes his head no. “Stay.”
Somewhere along the line, they both fall asleep on the call. Andrew wakes up as Danielle blinks awake on his phone screen, smiling shyly and hiding her face under her blankets.
“If Ididn’t have to be at the rink in an hour, I would definitely lay here all day,” Andrew says. “But I have to be at practice.”
“And I have a six-year-old to get to school,” Danielle yawns, “and a bookstore to run.”
He sits up, drags a tired hand over his face, and yawns. “I’ll try to call you when I’m back from practice.”
“If you can’t, it’s okay,” Danielle says, “I know that it’s going to be different now that you’re back playing. I don’t expect you to have hours free. Just send me a text when you have time, and I’ll be okay.”
“I’ll call, D,” Andrew says, picking his phone up and standing. He carries her into the bathroom.
“I’ll pick up,” she says with a smile.
He ends the call, looks at himself in the mirror, reads his Herb Brooks quote on the Post-it stuck on the glass, and gets ready to face his day.
Five things you can see. Four you can touch. Three you can hear. Two you can smell. One you can taste.
He parks his truck in the players lot, grabbing his gear bag before he heads into the arena. The player’s entrance is crowded with reporters, and their SocialMedia Coordinator is filming all of their arrivals for their Instagram feed.
Andrew plasters a smile on his face, not giving any answers as they hurl questions his way, knowing he’ll have to sit in a press conference with the coaches and alternate captains later.
The dressing room is full of laughter and loud voices talking about their off-seasons as Andrew steps inside. He teammates offer him waves and shouts of greeting, but a hush doesn’t fall over the room. You can’t hear a pin drop. It’s like any other practice, and Andrew feels the tension slowly seep out of his system and elation grows in its place.
“You good, Drew?” Petrov asks, clapping him on the shoulder. Andrew nods.
“Excited to get on the ice,” he answers.
“Hope your soul-searching went well,” Griffin Oher says from across the room.
Danielle’s smile fills his mind, and a slow grin splits his face. “It went really well.”
