Page 34 of Hat Trick
“Here you go, Gigi. Got you another one. Malibu and Diet Coke right?”
Her smile pushes up her freckled cheeks as she takes the glass from my hand, yet her eyes look almost shocked. As if she can’t believe I would take time out of my day to get her a simple drink. “Oh. Thanks, Emerson.”
?1 I sit down in my seat next to her as the crowd continues to cheer on Lil and Dom. I think they’re on their third song, and they aren’t showing any signs of stopping. I’m both equally jealous and in awe of how in sync the two of them are. I always am.
Even Gigi, who is apparently best friends with the woman currently giving me “the eyes” as she belts Dua Lipa’s “New Rules” at the top ofher lungs, has her eyes glued to the stage. Albeit she looks more amused than in awe of Lil.
But, despite how desperate I am to get the two of them to look at me the way this entire bar is looking at them, I’m even more desperate to get my hands on them. I watch as Dom pulls her close, pressing Lil’s back against his chest, as the two of them sway back and forth singing—to be frank, I’m half-tempted to storm up there, pull them off the stage, and take them home right this minute. But I know if I interrupt what Dom is referring to as “their moment,” they will be beyond pissed.
Forcing myself not to get a hard-on, again, I refocus my attention on the redhead across the table, who I didn’t even know existed until we picked them up from their apartment building. “Why do I feel like I know you from somewhere?” I ask her.
“Hm? Oh, probably because I played for the volleyball team. Or play? I played freshman and sophomore year. Took a… a break this year. I’ll play again next year, though.” She takes a long drink of her rum and Coke through her straw as I recall a small redhead playing in the back row for the school’s volleyball team when I went to a couple of games last year.
“You played libero, right?”
Her eyes widen in surprise, as if she’s shocked I even knew what that was. “Yeah, I did.”
“So does your year off have anything to do with who I’m assuming is your baby?” And we’re back to shock. Should I have asked it so bluntly?Probably not. Dom’s always telling me to “soften the blow” of mydelivery, but sometimes it just comes out without thinking. “Lil never told us about him, if that’s what you’re worried about,” I clarify. “But she did mention she was watching her neighbor’s baby the other day. Kind of putting two and two together here.”
What looks like a mix of guilt and embarrassment passes over Gigi’s face, though I’m not sure why. Being a mom is nothing to be ashamed of. “I never—” She inhales a deep breath. “I never asked her to keep me and Charlie—that’s my son’s name by the way. I never asked her to keep us a secret. Honestly, I’m a little surprised she did. Because I’ve heard plenty about the two of you.” I can’t help it, I puff up my chest a little at the thought of Lil telling her friends about me. “I guess she just saw the situation I was in, a single mother, living alone with a new baby, and decided to protect me. To keep me safe. I love her for that, honestly. The world’s a scary place.”
“You got that right.” Which is exactly why I finally installed the automatic lock on Lil’s door.
“Nice job on the lock, by the way,” Gigi says with a wink.
What is she? A mind reader? It’s a mom thing. I just fucking know it.
“I could get you one too, you know?” I say nonchalantly, but once again, Gigi looks as if I just offered her the fucking moon. The woman plays every thought out across her face.
“Why would you do that for me?”
I’m confused. “What do you mean? You just said so yourself. You’re a single woman, living alone with anew baby. The last thing you need to worry about is whether or not you’re safe in your own home. Plus, if you’re important to Lil, you’re important to me. To us,” I say as I nod in the direction of Dom, who is now sweating from all the gyrating his hips are doing.
“That actually would be amazing. I—I’ll pay you back for it, though!”
I wave her off and take a drink of my whiskey. “Don’t even worry about it. I have a half-off code from when I bought Lil’s, anyway.”
I don’t, but she doesn’t need to know that.
“Just make sure you give the code to Charlie’s dad before he comes to get him next time,” I add, and Gigi’s face pales.
Hello, mouth. Meet foot.
I pinch my face up in regret as Gigi looks down at her lap. I want to reach for her. To apologize. But I get a sense she’s a lot like me. She doesn’t need or want to be emotionally coddled. She wants the space to process her thoughts and feelings in her own time. I think that’s why everything plays across her face so vividly. She’s actively thinking. Always processing.
So, I wait.
I wait until she finally takes a deep breath and looks up at me. “That’s probably another reason Lil never said anything about me and Charlie. Charlie’s dad—actually scratch that—Charlie’s sperm donor is pretty popular on campus. Plays football actually. He’s in one of the school’s fraternities. She probably didn’t know if you were close to him or not. The last thing I need is that piece of shit knowing anything else about me.”
I think that’s the first time I’ve heard this woman swear all evening. I wrack my brain, trying to think of someone on the football team who has mentioned that he has a kid, because it’s true, Dom and I are pretty close with a decent amount of them, but I cannot for the life of me think of a single one of them ever mentioning Charlie. Let alone Gigi. With that being said, one name comes to mind from that team. One, and I use this term very loosely,manwho would be a big enough piece of shit to have a child and pretend like he doesn’t exist. To be quite fucking frank, I’m honestly surprised the asshole is as popular as he is. I have never, and I mean not once, had a good interaction with this waste of space. My protective instincts flare because, like I said before, if Gigi is important to Lil, then she’s important to me. So is Charlie. Gritting my teeth, I ask the question I already feel like I know the answer to. “Who is he?”
“Weston Parker,” she answers softly.
“I fucking knew it,” I grit out.
“For the most part, he leaves us alone. Hell, when I told him I was pregnant, he practically ran the other direction. Wasn’t there when I gave birth to Charlie, has never spent any time with him, didn’t even sign his birth certificate. But every once in a while, he likes to just show up. Like he’s trying to blow up any bit of progress I’ve made. Seeing him be god’s gift to football and the campus shining star is bad enough, but to see him and know he wants nothing to do with—” Gigi’s voice cracks ever so slightly, but she covers it up quickly. “But to see him and know he wants nothing todo with that sweet boy makes me see fucking red. Every time I see him I want to burn the world down around him.” Suddenly she stops, and her eyes go wide, clearly worried she’s said too much. “Anyway.” She fakes a smile. “That’s me in a nutshell. Aren’t you so glad Lil’s my best friend?”
I reach across the table and grab her hand. “Actually, yeah. I really am.”
