Page 41 of Josh’s Play

“Yes, sir?” I turned back toward him.

“No goofing around on the ice with kids at the local rink over the holiday.”

I wanted to argue and let him know that I would only be home for about twenty-four hours over Thanksgiving but thought better of it since hockey practice was the reason for that. So I went with another, “Yes, sir,” instead.

“I know you’re disciplined, Campbell. That’s all I need from you. Play like you’ve been playing, and you’ll wow Denny when he comes next weekend. Then we’ll get through Thanksgiving, then we’ll talk to your parents. Then we just watch the doors fly open for you.”

Doors might be flying open, but it felt like one door was slamming shut as I said, “Stay focused. Yes, sir.”

I left Coach Weadner’s office on autopilot and attended class. Back at the Hockey House, it was my night to help make dinner, and I ate with the guys, some inane reality show blaring from the TV as the beer flowed while I thought about everything the last twenty-four hours had wrought.

I’d commandeered the center of the couch, hoping my teammates would assume I was interested in the faux drama unfolding on our big-screen TV. Noah plopped down next to me on one side with Diane on the other. I looked between the two of them.

“You could have just asked me to move.”

“Nah.” Diane smiled. “We’re good. What’cha watching?”

“I, um … Housewives, I think?” I shrugged. “It’s whatever channel the guys had on.”

Diane’s eyebrows shot up, and she smiled at me.

“Maybe we should put the news on,” I suggested.

“Housewives are good.” Diane studied me like I was the notes for her next test. “Which one is this?”

I stared at the screen like it would share all its secrets. “Does it matter?” I waved at the TV. “Women fighting and throwing drinks in people’s faces. Quality entertainment.”

“Uh-huh,” Diane replied knowingly. I looked to Noah for support, but he was busy sharing a smile with his girlfriend. One of my teammates who didn’t even live with us grabbed the remote from the coffee table.

“Oh, no,” Diane snarked. “How will we ever find out how it ends?”

I looked between the couple again, and they shared a look that I just knew spoke volumes. I was pretty sure they were silently speaking about me.

“What the fuck do you two want? I’m trying to eat my dinner before I have to go record a podcast. Whatever this is”—I flicked my hand between the two of them—“it’s interrupting my quality quiet time.”

“Did you have dinner after the game last night?” Noah asked.

“What the fuck are you on about, Noah?”

“Ethan said you bailed on him after one drink,” Noah responded.

“And you didn’t come back here last night,” Diane contributed.

I looked around at the other guys. They were fixated on the scrolling of the TV channels that signified that I would, in fact, not find out how the Housewives of wherever-the-fuck-that-accent-was-from ended that evening.

“What are you guys getting at?” I whispered.

Diane leaned in close. “Not a thing, Campbell. Just …” She looked at Noah. “Only, if you’re happy and having fun and being safe,” she emphasized, “we’re happy for you. Noah and I just want you to know that. Right, Noe?”

“We are, man.” Noah looked from his girlfriend to me, and I could only assume he could sense the tension exuding from me because he quickly changed tactics. “Did you meet with Weadner today?”

My watch buzzed with a notification, which I glanced at quickly. I was scheduled to meet with Josh in fifteen minutes to work on our project. I shoveled in the chicken and rice meal I’d helped prepare and responded to Noah with my mouth full.

“Coach says his buddy from the Blizzard is coming to the next game. I’m trying not to get my hopes up. You know, head down, stay focused.” I looked at Diane. “Stay healthy. That's all I can do.”

Noah leaned over me again to look at his girlfriend. “Is that all you’re doing?” I could hear the innuendo in his voice, but I ignored it.

“Nope. That’s not all I’m doing. I have this huge project for sports journalism, so I’m going to the library to record a podcast right now.” I stood up, catching Noah and Diane looking at each other again.