MAX
The pizza place smelled like melted cheese and Italian herbs – a sharp contrast to the cold, sharp air of the rink we’d just left. We’d played our hearts out, surviving a scoreless overtime only to watch the game slip away on a perfect saucer pass.
“Better luck next time, boys,” a regular at the counter said. “We’ve got faith in you.”
It stung a bit less to hear that. We nodded, thanked him and found a booth in the back. As Lewis and Seth started dissecting the ref’s calls and Will tried to joke away the disappointment, my heart rate finally settled. Seth dove right in.
“So,” he said, lowering his voice just enough to make us lean in, “hooked up with this girl the other night. And, uh… she showed up with handcuffs.”
Lewis nearly spat out his Coke. Will looked like he wanted to crawl under the table. I was laughing before Seth even finished.
“Handcuffs?” I managed between chuckles.
“Yup,” Seth said proudly, tossing a pepperoni onto his plate like a poker chip. “Bit crazy. But, boys…” He paused for dramatic effect. “…loved it.”
Lewis shook his head, still grinning. “You’re unbelievable.”
The laughter was still bubbling in my chest when someone across the restaurant called out: “Emma!”
My head snapped up before I could stop myself, my heart racing. But right away I saw it wasn’t her. Not the girl from the bookstore.
I leaned back in the booth, trying to play it off, but Will was watching me. “No luck?” he asked quietly.
“No,” I admitted, picking at the crust of my slice. The disappointment was sharper than I wanted to let on.
Before the silence could drag on, Seth elbowed Lewis and nodded at two girls by the counter who weren’t exactly subtle about staring. Seth grinned, Lewis shrugged, and just like that they were off.
The space didn’t stay empty for long as two other girls walked over.
“Mind if we sit?” one of them asked, already sliding into the space where Seth and Lewis had been.
The other one giggled. “You guys played tonight, right? We were there.”
Will perked up right away, flashing a grin that could sell tickets on its own. “Oh yeah? Hope we didn’t disappoint too much.”
“Not at all,” the first girl said, leaning her chin into her hand. “You were fun to watch.”
Will raised his eyebrows and shot me a look that said Did you hear that?
I just sipped my Coke, not really interested.
“What about you?” the second girl asked me directly. “You’re on defence, right?”
“Yeah,” I shrugged. “Trying to keep the puck out of our end.”
She laughed politely, but her attention drifted back to Will, who was already halfway into a story about his “amazing” backhand that didn’t actually go in.
“Oh my God, you’re hilarious,” one of them giggled, brushing her hair behind her ear.
Will leaned in closer. “Hilarious and good with a hockey stick. That’s a pretty solid combo, don’t you think?”
They burst out laughing again, and he ate it up. I glanced at the clock on the wall, with the neon sign humming above it. The chatter around me felt distant, like I wasn’t even in the right place.
I pushed my plate away and stood. “Gonna call it a night,” I said, offering a small smile.
The girls pouted in unison. “Already?”
Will gave me a half-grin, eyes sparkling. “He’s shy. Don’t worry about him.”
“Just tired,” I said, shaking my head.
Outside, the cool night air hit me. As I walked down the sidewalk, the noise of the pizza place quieted. The sting of the loss, the chatter, Seth’s story and Will’s easy charm all faded too.
All that lingered was the memory of that brief spark in the bookstore and the stubborn hope that maybe, just maybe, I would see her again.