Page 17 of Replay (Toronto Blaze #3)

Just a few minutes in, it was obvious there was something wrong with the team.

They’d moved Gerbs up to take my place on the first line, and he hadn’t gelled with Deek and Oppy.

He made a pass and it was intercepted, forcing the play back to our zone.

Cooper was playing as well as he always did but he couldn’t be on the ice all the time.

Petey was peppered, and eventually something went in.

Deek and Oppy needed to adjust for Gerbs’s more physical, less speedy style of play, and I could see they were trying, but it wasn’t working. After the second goal, Coach switched things up, pulling Barnes up to play on the top line.

There was a disputed call, so while they checked the replay, everything paused. It took me a moment to blink back to where I was. Right . I was here with Katie, and I was ignoring her.

I turned my attention to her. “Sorry, I got a little caught up there.”

She raised her brows. “What are you sorry for?”

“Well, I should be paying attention to you. Like, do you have questions, or did you want to talk about something else?”

She placed her hand on my arm. I ran hot so I was just wearing a T-shirt, and the feel of her skin on mine had every part of my body sitting up and taking notice.

“This is your job, right?”

I looked down at the ice. “I’m not playing though.”

“But you guys study game footage and things like that, I remember. So watching is homework for you. I’m fine. It’s not my first hockey game, you know. I even understand what offside is.”

I should have known she understood the game when she’d watched it before. She was really smart. “I ignored you and I didn’t mean to do that.”

“Josh, I knew it would be like this when I agreed to come. It’s not like we went to a bar and you ignored me to watch a football game. This isn’t your hobby. Why don’t you tell me who’s taking your place and doing a terrible job with it?”

“How do you know they’re doing a terrible job?”

She pointed to the Jumbotron showing the score. “I know you’re a forward and you score goals. No goals up there, so…”

I couldn’t point out my usual linemates from up here when everyone was still gathered around the coach, waiting for play to resume.

“I normally play with Deek and Oppy. When the game started, Gerbs was with them, but now Coach has Barnes playing. They don’t play the same style as me, so they’re missing passes, and the usual plays aren’t working. ”

“How do you play?”

“I’m fast. I’m not the biggest, but I’m the fastest guy on the team. So Deek made a pass that I’d normally get, because I’m good at getting ahead for him, but Gerbs didn’t get there in time.”

“They aren’t looking to make sure the other player is there?”

“They couldn’t see past that big defenseman who was on him. And the game goes fast. You stop to check on things and everyone’s moved on, and you get stripped of the puck. That’s just as bad.”

Katie nudged me. “See, you’re smart.”

I was going to argue, say that it was just hockey, but I didn’t. I wasn’t math smart, but I was hockey smart. Maybe she was right that it counted for something.

* * *

The game continued to be a gong show. It was frustrating, because I should be down there, helping out.

I’d been worried the team would do well without me and I might lose my place.

Well, that sure as hell wasn’t the case.

We’d played better than this in practice, but somehow with the game we fell apart.

I could only imagine what Coach would say in the locker room after.

And what practice would be like tomorrow.

The one fun part had been Cooper coming out in the second intermission to be on the kiss cam with his redhead. She looked a little shell-shocked, and I was pretty sure she’d never been to a hockey game before. I hoped she was ready for being known as Cooper’s girlfriend.

I imagined Katie sitting there, with me coming out for the kiss cam. I shot her a glance. She looked curious, but not like she was putting herself in that scene. I had work to do.

Then the third period started, and it was more of the same.

It was a relief when it was over. The Blaze lost and the crowd was quiet as they left.

A few people told me the team was missing me and it would be better when I was back, but I wasn’t that good.

Cooper had been great, and Fitch was fitting in well for a newbie.

Petey had stopped a lot of shots, but the forwards and the rest of the D had been pretty bad.

We waited until most people left before we stood up. I didn’t want more people telling me I would save the team, or offering their advice, or asking me to sign things when I felt like we’d let our fans down.

I led Katie down to the players’ section of the arena. I got us through with my ID, and the car was in the lot, but maybe she didn’t want to hang out after that loss. “You still up for going out with the team?”

She cocked her head. “Do you guys not like to go out after a loss?”

I rolled my eyes. “We definitely need to go out to forget what happened when we get skunked like that.”

“Then let’s go.”

“Sure?”

“I know you want to see your teammates, and this is interesting.”

“It is?”

She nodded. “You’re much more confident when it comes to hockey than you are with other things.”

Katie was perfect for me. She thought I was smart when I talked about hockey, and about other stuff too. I had to find a way for her to watch me play, since I was a lot better than I’d been when she last saw me in high school. I would use anything I had to impress her.

The team doing so badly had been a downer, but she made even that better.