Page 98 of Hat Trick

Lexi

Speaking of our session, do you mind if we push our time back by thirty minutes? Hudson is having soreness in his ankle, so I’m going to tape up his foot to see if that helps. The rest of the AT staff is off for the holiday, so I’m working overtime on everyone’s aches and pain.

Me

Of course. If you’re too busy, we can push our session to after the holiday.

Lexi

Nice try, Mitchy. I’ll see you at 10:30.

* * *

I groanwhen I finish my last set of bridges on the treatment table. An hour of Lexi’s rigorous exercises, and my whole body is screaming at me. She didn’t show me any mercy, and when I sit up to stretch my back, the leather is covered in sweat.

“How is it these movements kick my ass more than the drills Coach used to make us do?” I take off my glasses and wipe my face with a towel, grateful when she hands me a bottle of water. “I never thought I’d take an hour of edge work drills over lifting my ass off a table ten times.”

“You’re building back the strength you lost, and I’m working parts of your body you didn’t work before. I’m not rehabbing you to just be a hockey player; I want you to be able to walk and move and jump and crawl and stand on one leg.” She tosses a towel in the hamper. “How is your lower half feeling today?”

“Fine. That quad set was hell on earth, but nothing is causing me pain.”

“That’s great to hear. Like I mentioned in one of our other sessions, as we head into the new year, I really want to focus on the exercises you’re familiar with and relate our activities to the hockey movements you would do on the ice. That’s going to give us a good baseline for your capabilities,” she says, and excitement runs through me.

I trust Lexi completely. I know the timeline she’s giving me is what’s best for me long-term, but I’m fuckingstokedto hopefully get back on the ice soon. I’m not sure how it’s going to go, and I bet I’ll take a spill or two, but knowing all the time and energy I’ve put in won’t be for nothing makes me giddy.

“I can’t wait for that,” I say, and she smiles.

“We’re almost there. I’m proud of you for sticking with our routine, and I promise it’s going to pay off in the long run.”

“I trust you.” I swing my legs to the edge of the table and slide my glasses back on. “Are we finished for today?”

“Yup. You’re officially free from me until after the three-day break. How are you going to spend your time?”

“By giving you a present.” I point at my backpack shoved against the wall next to my prosthetic. “It’s in my bag.”

“You really didn’t have to get me anything,” she says, standing from her stool and walking to my bag. “It’s wildly unnecessary.”

“The same can be said for you. Besides, we’re friends. I like to get my friends gifts.”

Lexi digs through my backpack and pulls out a wrapped gift with a red bow on it. I spent too many hours wondering how I should sign the card, finally settling on a lame as fuck salutation ofbest, Riley.

“We are friends.” She grabs a bag that’s been hiding under one of the tables before she plops back down on the stool. “Which is why this is for you.”

“Holy shit, Lex. Whatever is in here is way too big.”

“There’s a joke somewhere in that comment.”

“Get your head out of the gutter,” I say, and she laughs.

“It’s not that big, I promise.” Lexi waves her hand in front of her face and lifts her chin. “You first.”

“No way. You open yours first.”

“If you insist.” With a smile, she reads the note on the front and tucks it in the pocket of her jacket. She rips open the wrapping paper, no rhyme or reason to her process, and my eye twitches when she rolls it into a ball and chucks it at the trash can. “You look like you’re going to be sick.”

“I didn’t know you were a goddamn savage when it came to opening gifts.”

“You’re one of those people who folds up the wrapping paper, aren’t you?”

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