Page 66 of Slapshot
“Probably still worth it.”
“Worth not playing tomorrow?” Coach Keller takes absolutely zero shit from his players. He will not hesitate to bench anyone that shows up late or breaks one of his rules.
He grimaces. “Damn, it’s a real tough call. I think your boobs edge out victorious though.”
I smile and laugh and absolutely don’t believe him. “You are going to be great tomorrow.”
I say the last part loud enough that my dad overhears.
“Lex, Kaitlyn said Coach switched up the lines for tomorrow.”
“That’s right.” Lex can’t hide his grin.
“She also tells me you’ve been working hard, even outside of practice, to earn more playing time each game. That’s great.” My face warms a little. I didn’t realize how much I told my dad about Lex.
He squeezes my thigh under the table. “Yeah, it’s trippy, but I’m excited.”
“What are your plans for the summer?” my dad asks as he leans back in his chair, beer in hand.
“Going back to Arizona, most likely. I’m covering my own room and board so I have to work as much as I can in the off-season to save up.”
I didn’t know that, but it doesn’t surprise me. There are only so many hockey scholarships. Even insanely talented players like Lex don’t always get full-rides.
My dad nods speculatively. “What kind of work?”
“Probably working for my dad. He owns a tire shop.”
“And what about hockey?”
“Oh, I’ll still practice every day and I’ll get on the ice with some of my old teammates as much as I can.”
Of course, he’s already planned out his summer training regimen. His dedication is something I admire about him. I’ve never loved anything that much. At least not in a long time.
“You know, Lex, Dalager has internships over the summer. We always hire first from Burlington before looking at other applicants.”
I feel a prick of annoyance at the underlying tone like working at a tire shop is somehow not as good. I’m not sure that’s how he means it, but it certainly comes off that way.
Lex doesn’t seem offended. “Yeah, I think Kaitlyn mentioned that. It’s awesome that you still look out for your alma mater.”
Dad nods. “I’ve been going through the applicants this week, and I noticed you didn’t apply.”
“Oh, well…” Lex looks to me for help, but I can’t find words fast enough. “Working in an office isn’t really for me.”
His grip on my leg tightens.
“I get that.” Dad chuckles lightly. “A lot of the jobs are your typical office grunt work, but we have one opening in particular in our testing department that I think might interest you. If you give me your application, I can put it at the top of the stack. A summer of testing sticks, skates, pads… it’s a pretty cool job.”
He’s basically saying the job is his, but I can’t tell if Lex realizes that or not. My boyfriend looks shell-shocked and doesn’t respond.
Dad keeps right on selling it. “You’d be close enough to still commute back to Burlington on weekends to train or—”
“Dad!” I find my voice.
They both look at me, but I avoid meeting Lex’s gaze.
“He has a job,” I say. “He doesn’t need your handout.”
“I didn’t mean it like that,” he says at the same time Lex says, “Kait, it’s okay.” He faces my dad. “I really appreciate the offer.”
