Page 6 of Hat Trick
“Aliyah.” He smiles when he says it then looks at me in the mirror. “You got a girl?”
“Nah.”
“A guy?”
“Just me.”
“Ah.” Lamar flicks on his blinker and checks both ways before turning right at a stop sign. “Do you want someone?”
“Yeah. Guess the timing has never been right.”
“Timing is a bitch. You’re a good-looking guy. You seem smart, from the three minutes I’ve spent with you. You’ll find someone.”
I laugh and close my eyes. My buzz is wearing off. Exhaustion is hitting me, and I can’t wait to crawl into bed. I can’t wait to sleep until early afternoon and finally drag myself back to a world where I don’t need to be at the rink at the crack of dawn.
I love my job. Wouldn’t pick anything else to do if I had the choice, but some time off is going to be fucking marvelous.
“Thanks, Lamar. Is your first born a boy or girl?”
“He’s a boy. Three, and an absolute fucking menace.” He snorts, but nothing about it sounds annoyed. The dark skin around his eyes crinkles with admiration. Joy and pride. “I love him. He’s a good kid.”
“And your second. Do you know yet?”
“No. My wife is hoping for another boy, but I’m holding out for a girl. I’ve always wanted to be a girl dad.”
“Girls are the best. I work with some women who are incredible. We need more of them in the world.” I reach into my pocket, grab my wallet, and dig out a wad of cash. I count out ten hundred-dollar bills and lean forward, setting them in the cupholder next to Lamar’s right elbow. “Go home after you drop me off. You shouldn’t be busting your ass at two in the morning. Not when you’ve got people waiting for you to get back safe.”
“Shit.” He stops at a light and stares at the money. “I can’t accept this. No way.”
“I’m not taking it back.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“I’m very serious. Keep it.” I smile. I’m earning eight million a year to hit a puck. It’s not right to keep that all to myself. “It’s yours.”
“Wow, man. Thank you. Are you an angel or something?”
“Nothing like that,” I say, and Lamar shakes his head. “Just a guy trying to do his best.”
“I can’t tell you what this means to me.” The light turns green, and he accelerates. “My family and I, we’re?—”
I don’t get a chance to hear what he has to say.
One minute, I’m looking out the window at the night sky and wondering what kind of trouble the boys are getting in. They’ll probably be out partying until sunrise, and I won’t be surprised if they show up to the parade with tattoos of the Cup on their arms.
The next, our car is in the air. Flipping three, four times in what feels like slow motion.
There’s a moment of panic. Of not knowing what’s going on and not knowing what to do. There’s yelling from the front seat. The sound of glass shattering and something sharp nicking my cheek.
My vision is hazy. Everything around me is blurry. I try to reach for my glasses so I can see, but they aren’t there. Pain like I’ve never experienced before races up my right leg and I scream. I grab my thigh. My fingers touch something damp and sticky.
When I look down, I find my hand covered in blood.
It’s the last thing I remember before everything goes black.
THREE
LEXI
