Page 96 of Hat Trick
“You do not look silly.”
“I kind of do.” I smile. “I didn’t mind dressing up for games, but now, it’s a pain. Pants are difficult to wear these days because my prosthetic makes my right leg a different size from my left. And don’t get me started on shoes.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s a whole thing with my feet.”
“I like feet,” she says.
“I didn’t know that was a fetish of yours,” I tease, and she smacks my shoulder. “Kidding. My right foot is smaller than my left.”
“It is?”
“Yup. And it doesn’t bend and flex like my left foot does. I’ve had to rebuy the shoes I love in a half size down so my foot doesn’t slip out.”
“What do you do with the shoe you don’t wear?” Lexi asks.
“Nothing. I can’t bring myself to throw them away, and donation centers won’t take a single shoe. It would be cool if there was a foundation for amputees that let you find the sizes you need without wasting the other half of the pair.”
“Maybe you can start one,” she suggests.
“I don’t have a ton of free time.” I laugh. “My plate is kind of full right now.”
“True.” Lexi’s hand moves from my shoulder to my back, and she rubs her palm down my spine. “You just grimaced. Are you hurting right now?”
“A little. I don’t want to lose out on my dance though.”
“We could’ve danced in the chairs.” She pauses and giggles. “Okay. That makes it sound like we’re at a strip club.”
“Wouldn’t know. I’ve never been.”
“Really?”
“Yup. Not my thing.”
“What is your thing?”
You.
Naked and on top of me.
“Somewhere that’s not so, ah, public?” I clear my throat. The tips of my ears are on fire, and I shrug again. “I’m selfish, I guess. I want things that are just for me. I want to know I’m special.”
“Such a romantic. You are special, Riley. I hope you know that.”
“So are you,” I say.
Comfortable silence nudges its way between us. We keep dancing, and at some point, she rests her head on my chest. I wrap my arm around her when she shivers, trying to warm her up, and her sigh is content and on the cusp of happy.
“I’m glad you didn’t leave,” she whispers.
“So am I. You would’ve had to dance with Ethan, and that’d be a travesty.” I press my thumb into her nape, rubbing the tension I find there, and Lexi sighs again. “Are you staying in DC for Christmas?”
“Yeah. My mom has a cruise booked with some of her girlfriends, so I’ll be ordering Chinese and watchingIt’s a Wonderful Lifeall day. What about you?”
“I’ll be in town. I’m nervous to fly commercial for the first time during the holidays to Chicago to visit my parents. I’m going to set off all sorts of alarms, but my dad says that’s the best part. The look in people’s eyes when he tells them he has to be pat down because of a metal leg is always priceless.”
“Wait. Your dad has a prosthetic leg too? What happened?”
