"What do you mean, he just walked out of there?" Mary asked a few days later when Rebecca had gathered enough courage to tell her friend what had happened between her and Josh.
Rebecca shrugged even though she knew her friend couldn't see her. She settled back on her couch with a sigh, reliving that last night with Josh over and over again. "I don't know," she said out loud to Mary. "He said he had to go and he left."
There was silence for a minute over the line and Rebecca wondered if Mary had hung up on her. "Mary?"
"I just can't believe he'd walk away without any kind of explanation," Mary replied at last.
Again, Rebecca shrugged. "Maybe he was tired," she said. "He came over right after a game and they had an early morning practice."
"So why come over at all?" Mary asked and Rebecca wasn't sure if that was merely a rhetorical question. "What else happened when he was over?"
Rebecca flushed right up to the roots of her hair. It didn't matter that she was alone in her apartment talking on the phone. She blushed every time she thought about what had happened between her and Josh that night.
"Rebecca?" Mary's incredulous voice came over the phone and Rebecca knew her friend was guessing on her own what had happened. "Oh my God."
"It wasn't that bad," Rebecca protested immediately. "We didn't sleep together."
"But you were going to?" Mary's voice reached a new pitch as she spoke.
"Mary, calm down," Rebecca replied as she rubbed her forehead. "We didn't because he ran out of here like... like I'd shot him or something."
"This is unbelievable," Mary murmured. "I can't believe he'd walk away from you like that."
"I can believe it," Rebecca muttered to herself. She'd acted like an idiot and Josh had realized in that moment that he didn't want her that way.
"OK. Tell me everything," Mary said, obviously having missed Rebecca's self-conscious remark. "Start at the beginning and don't leave anything out."
With a sigh, Rebecca did. She repeated their phone conversation, even the bit about the bathtub and then she haltingly went over the events after Josh's arrival in her apartment. Finally, she finished and waited to hear Mary's reply.
"Well," Mary spoke slowly when she finally did speak. "He's an idiot."
"No, he isn't," Rebecca replied with a laugh.
"He walked out of your apartment while you were half dressed?" Mary said. "He's an idiot. Only an idiot would walk away from someone like you."
Rebecca smiled as tears stung her eyes. She loved her friend and missed her hometown very much. "Thanks, Mary."
"I'll get Max to talk to him and straighten him out," Mary went on.
"No!" Rebecca cried, sitting up straight on the couch. "No, Mary, please. Don't tell Max. He'll call Josh for sure and say something and that's just too embarrassing to even think about!"
Mary fell silent at her words for a long moment and Rebecca was the first to speak again.
"Please, Mary," she whispered. "I don't want to think about this anymore."
Her friend reluctantly agreed to keep the whole tale to herself, even though Rebecca suspected she'd still tell Max. He was her boyfriend after all, and they were very close. They weren't living together yet but they told each other everything.
After another few minutes of half-hearted casual chatter, Rebecca hung up the phone and stared blankly at her television. It was late and she knew there was a Penguins game on somewhere. She couldn't bring herself to watch it. So she found a different game, willing to admit to herself at least that she was hooked on hockey now. She was slowly picking up all the rules and penalties and was fascinated by the movements on the ice. For such large men, they moved with a swiftness and agility that was simply breathtaking at times.
I don't need Josh to teach me about it anymore,
she told herself as she lay down on her couch to watch a game between two teams that didn't include a certain tall, broad shouldered, fair-headed man.
***
"Josh!" Someone hollered his name and he veered sharply to skate off the ice. Several of the guys shuffled out of the way on the bench as play on the ice continued while he stepped behind the boards.
Popping his mouth piece out, he reached for a water bottle and drank greedily. It wasn't just that he was playing hard but he was simply exhausted. After walking out of Rebecca's apartment the other night, he was tortured with images of her and thoughts of what might have happened between them.
It couldn't happen though, not after what she'd said.
Shaking his head, Josh took another long swig of water before setting the bottle back down.
"Josh!" Coach yelled at him from behind.
Cringing, Josh twisted his torso slightly to look into the bespectacled eyes of the team's coach.
"Where's your head?" he demanded. "You've been skating like a bloody junior all night."
"Sorry, Coach," Josh mumbled. "I'll do better." He didn't offer up any excuses, since any real reason for his actions on ice were nothing he wanted to discuss on the bench at that moment.
"See that you do," Coach replied and moved on, leaning close to another player to speak to him.
Josh turned his attention back to the ice where Sean was facing off against the opposing center at the dot just inside the neutral zone. He pushed all thoughts of Rebecca out of his head and tried to focus on the game. Another minute passed and he was jumping over the boards as his teammates skated off.
