Page 44 of Fractured Ice

A smile tugs at my lips. "Hi."

"Is this a good time?"

"Yeah."

"Good. I wasn't sure if I'd be interrupting something."

I glance through the restaurant window. "No. Just dinner."

"With friends?"

"Sort of."

His voice stays easy. "What are you up to tonight?"

"I'm covering a hockey game for a class project."

"Hockey?"

"Unfortunately."

He laughs. "Not a fan?"

"I like hockey. I just got assigned to follow one of the players around all semester."

"That sounds interesting."

"It sounded better before I found out who it was."

"Oh?"

I shake my head. "It's a long story."

"Now you've got me curious."

"Trust me, you don't want the story."

"I don't know. You've made it sound pretty entertaining."

I smile. "Maybe someday."

"Fair enough."

A brief silence settles between us, which makes sense. We barely know each other. He’s just a football player I interviewed once upon a time. Even us just having a personal call is a stage that’s new to us.

"So how does that work?" he asks. "The project."

"I basically shadow him. Practices. Games. Interviews. Team events. Then I write a feature piece at the end."

"That seems like a lot of time with one person."

"It is."

"At least he's cooperative."

I laugh. "You don't know him."

"No?"