Page 16 of Josh’s Play

“It’s just that my brother plays baseball; he’s a pitcher. I took this class because of him, and I thought it would be perfect if I could write about him.”

“Hunter Marchetti-Gordon,” the professor said. “You can’t be interested in sports in Hampstead Valley and not know about Hunter. I saw him when that summer league team of his played here last month.”

“So, what do you say? Can we switch?” Josh implored.

Dayden didn’t hesitate. “No.”

“Sir?” Josh questioned.

“There will be opportunities over the semester for each of you to explore other sports, but I don’t think it’s necessary for me to start reassigning people.” He looked pointedly at me again. “If I did it for you, I’d have to do it for everyone, and who needs that aggravation? If both of you want to switch, that means both of you will find some challenge in the assignment. Should make for a great project.”

I could see a fire in Josh’s eyes, but I could also see the resolve in Dayden’s. We weren’t going to get our way, and frankly, I admired Dayden for it.

“Of course, Professor. Thanks for hearing us out. I spend a lot of my time thinking about hockey, but I haven’t spent a lot of time writing about it. You’re right. It will be an interesting challenge for me.”

Josh looked like he was going to argue, so I grabbed his forearm and led him to the seats we had occupied in our first class. He leaned on the desk and crossed his arms as I sat at mine and took my tablet out. Josh and I both looked over to see that Dayden had pulled up his phone again and was putting on earbuds.

I logged into my tablet while Josh stewed above me. Once I was set up, I looked up at him. “What do you know about hockey?”

“Fuck all,” was his spitfire response. An idea bloomed in my head as other students began to filter in. It was perhaps the best and most definitely the worst idea I had ever had.

Finally, he sat at his desk in frustration, unpacking a laptop and getting set for class. I watched him complete the entire maneuver with one hand though he did turn the computer on with his left thumb, which stuck out from the brace and bandages that surrounded the majority of his hand. He shook his wrist out after performing the task as if just then remembering the state of his left hand.

He looked at me as the computer was loading. I got the sense he knew I’d been watching him the whole time.

“Hand doing okay?”

“I get the pins out tomorrow. Gotta say, I’m not looking forward to it. It took forever to get used to having them in there; now the doctor’s gonna yank them out.” He performed a little shiver before leaning in close to me. “Would you think less of me if I told you my mom was coming with me?”

I couldn’t help but smile at the confession. “You're lucky to have your parents close by. I can’t imagine going through something like that without one of them there to support me. Hell, I was a whiny bitch over a barely sprained ankle.”

“You’re back on the ice, though, right? Doing okay?”

“Good as new, just like you’ll be after tomorrow.”

“Thanks, man.”

“Hey, I have an idea …” I started, but the bell rang, and Dayden started the class by looking in our direction and saying, “You should have all gotten your assignments by now. If you haven’t, see me after. If you have, please do not see me. Your assignments are final. If you’re struggling with that, well, that’s all part of the lesson. Do you think just because you're a big football fan you’ll get to start your career as the color commentator for the Super Bowl? Let me assure you, you will not.”

Dayden talked about some more-realistic career paths that the class would learn about, and I listened and typed a few notes but mostly I watched Josh peck away at his keyboard with his one good hand and one overworked thumb.

Could I spend more time with him and not be tempted? I thought back to that night in my room. He’d leaned in and kissed my cheek, that was all. But what if he’d leaned in and done something else? Something more? I had avoided temptation for years. Could I have avoided it if Josh had pushed me down that night or even just simply kissed me like no man ever had before?

I tried to focus on Dayden’s lecture, deciding it was important to take detailed notes in case Josh wasn’t able to keep up. But it was damn near impossible to keep focused with Josh right there next to me, and while my thoughts were busy hatching a plan to spend even more time in his presence.

Class ended, and I didn’t rush to pack up, instead standing up and holding Josh’s backpack open for him after he’d propped it up on the desk.

“Thanks, man.”

“No problem.” The classroom cleared out quickly, and before Josh stood to leave, I straddled the chair in front of him and leaned in.

“I have an idea.”

He tilted his head like a lost puppy. An adorable puppy, with crystal-blue eyes and a chest that strained in his HU maroon-colored golf shirt.

“Shoot.”

“We could work together.” My heart was beating in outsized proportion to one dude asking another dude to be project partners. I knew working with Josh would be difficult, dangerous even, but I was drawn to him, and this would be a way to spend time with him in places like the ice rink or the library, definitely not alone in my bedroom.