"Yeah, no. I mean, it's fine. Just caught me a little off guard."
"I'm sorry. I should have messaged you first. Asked when a good time to call was. Let you call me." He stopped and paused and Mandy couldn't think of anything to say to that. All she could do was revel in the warmth of his voice. His voice was deeper, she thought perhaps. At least from what she remembered. She tried to think about his voice on television, but she'd been so focused on his image she hadn't heart his words.
"How are you?" he said, breaking her erroneous train of thought. Good grief, this was conversation was going badly from her end. It was just Kip. She had talked to Kip for hundreds, millions of hours on the telephone and in person. She had co-existed with him the same house for an entire year. Why was she feeling as jumpy as the first day he'd approached her?
"Good. Just finishing up homework before bed. The whole routine. How are you? I've been kinda watching the standings and whatnot. You're having a good year."
"So far. I haven't played much yet, being the new guy on the team."
Mandy nodded. He couldn't hear that. Was he calling to just make small talk? Or had he called to ask if they could meet? Could she just blurt that out? Why are you calling me Kip?
"I'm coming up on days off. Christmas time and whatnot. Are you going home for the holidays?"
"No. My car it's unreliable. I made plans with friends here." Was he planning on asking her to come home with him? Or did he want to get together back there? That would have been too creepy. "You?"
"Everyone is coming down here. Then catching a game."
Okay, this was not leading to getting together. It was just small talk. Mandy relaxed a little. Getting together was a stressful thought. She had to find a sitter and have an extra evening away from Colton. She didn't like the thought. And what did getting together with Kip mean?
"That sounds like fun."
"Not really. But they are family."
"That's true. My parents are coming here the twenty-seventh until the thirtieth as well. You play New Year's right?"
"Yeah, then I'm off for a few days."
"Me too," she said.
"Maybe," he sounded nervous, which wasn't like her Kip at all. One of the things she loved about him was his confidence. "Maybe, we could make plans for New Year's Day. They never make us practice then. I could drive up. We could have dinner."