Page 143 of Hat Trick
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“A subway?”Riley laughs when I tap my phone against the machine and nudge him through the turnstiles. “This is the big surprise?”
“We have to take the subway to get to the surprise.” I tap my phone a second time and follow behind him. “We’re not there yet.”
“Darn. I was looking forward to seeing all the boroughs.”
“We can do that instead if you want.”
“Nah.” He drapes an arm over my shoulder and ruffles my hair. “I want to see what has you all fidgety.”
“I’m not fidgety,” I challenge, but it’s a lie.
I’m so goddamn nervous about this surprise, and I have been since the idea came to me a couple of weeks ago. I’ve spent days exchanging phone calls and emails with important people, and even though Maverick told me everything is in place, I’m still holding on to the doubt that I won’t be able to pull this off.
“Whatever you have to tell yourself, Lex.”
The train comes and we find two seats next to each other. The hour ride passes quickly as we talk about tomorrow’s game, and Riley lights up when he mentions the line switches he helped Coach make that have led to a two-game win streak.
A couple of people do a double take when they step on the subway and spot him, but no one approaches us. When we get close to our stop, I make him put on a pair of noise-canceling headphones so he can’t hear station announcements. I lace my hand in his when we climb the stairs at the exit so we don’t get separated, telling him to keep his eyes closed.
“Almost there,” I say after a short walk in the March sunshine after I take his headphones off. It’s warm out, the start of spring in the air, and I keep our fingers intertwined. “Sorry it’s taking so long.”
“I have gone over a hundred possibilities of what’s about to happen, and I don’t know which one to pick.” Riley shuts his eyes and lets me lead him down the sidewalk, excitement pounding in my blood as I see the entrance gates. “I feel like a kid on Christmas.”
“Okay.” I stop us in front of the ticket booths. I loop my arm through his and put my head on his shoulder. “You can look.”
He blinks and covers his face with his hand to block the sun from hitting his eyes. He squints and reads the words stretched across the welcome sign. “Coney Island? What the hell are we doing at Coney Island? Are they even open?”
“No. I, um, had Maverick pull some strings.”
“What kind of strings?”
“A generous donation. He can afford it.” I pause and swallow down the nerves sitting in my throat. “We wrote out a life list for you, and I want to help you check off some of the things you want to do because you deserve to be happy and have fun, Riley. You mentioned going on a roller coaster and screaming until your throat is sore. There was also discussion about carnival games, so. Two birds, one stone.”
“You rented out an entire amusement park?” Riley spins so we’re facing each other. “For me?”
“Yeah. I know it’s not much, but with us having the afternoon free, I figured we could do something besides sit in our hotel rooms. The fresh air is nice. There won’t be anyone else around, and if you’re bored after two hours, we can leave and grab pizza somewhere.”
“This is unbelievable.” He holds my face in his hands and shakes his head. His glasses slide down his nose, and he smiles when I push them up for him. “I'm so excited.”
“You are?”
“Of course I am. I get to spend the day with you. And on Maverick’s dime? We’re buying everything in the park.”
I smile so hard my cheeks hurt. I tug on his arm, laughing when he lifts me up and spins me around. “Put me down, Mitchell. We have a busy day. We’re starting on the Cyclone. It’s been standing since nineteen twenty-seven, and it’s three minutes long.”
“Look at you being a theme park expert.”
“I did a lot of research for today.”
Riley sets me back on the ground, and I let him hold my hand as we walk toward the roller coaster. We pass photo booths and benches, the entire area deserted save for the occasional theme park worker. They wave to us but keep their distance, and when we make it to the entrance of the Cyclone, a bubbly blonde welcomes us.
“You must be Lexi and Riley.” She smiles and gestures to the front row of an empty car. “Hop on in.”
“I sure hope I don’t lose my leg,” he whispers to me, a hand on the small of my back as I climb in first. “Can you imagine how embarrassing that would be?”
“I bet it wouldn’t be the first time.” I yank him next to me and smile when he puts his arm around my shoulders. The car is a tight squeeze and our legs are pressed against each other, but I don’t mind. “A lost prosthetic is probably infinitely better than two teenagers humping each other on the ride.”
