Hat Trick 3: Penalty Shot Read Online Free

I stepped up to our sinks and got to work. We used to just bolt to the rink for practice, now we did a little bit more to wake up and eat. I considered this a sneak peek into what a weekday morning might be like this time next year.
    “Morning guys,” I finally said, looking back at some of them in the mirror. The usual grunts and half waves went up. Alex and I were among the only true morning people in the dorm. Trent was morning friendly, too, but he was usually out for a run before practice so we seldom saw him.
    We were out the door in about fifteen minutes. We’d do a real cleanup after practice.
    While Trent ran for his warm up, we quickly walked or sprinted to the rink for ours. It was our way to shake off the remaining sleep before we hit the ice, unlike some of our teammates who would be sluggish for the first fifteen minutes of practice, or more.
    “How are the legs now?” I asked as he locked our door behind us.
    “You’d never know anything was wrong. It tapered off about a half hour before I woke you.” He shrugged. “That’s the other thing, it never lasts long. How bad can it be?”
    “No idea. One of us should’ve been a doctor.” We chuckled at that notion. “Maybe you could just engineer yourself new legs.”
    “There’s a thought. I’ll bring that up at work in the next brainstorming meeting.”
    “You do that, but make sure I get partial credit,” I said as we started walking across the dark, still mostly sleeping campus, to one of my favorite parts of any day.

Chapter 5: Thursday, September 14
    Desk duty.
    I loved it. My responsibilities at the LGBT Community Center had expanded over time, but I made sure I worked the front desk at least once a week. I enjoyed seeing everyone come and go, and talking to people I didn’t see as part of my regular duties. Sometimes I’d talk to a visitor only briefly to direct them to a meeting room, but sometimes it was someone who’d gotten up the nerve to come in for the first time and didn’t know what to do next. It would be my job to guide them.
    Other times sitting here was a perfect moment to catch up with some of my favorite people, like Judy and Lisa. They were in their late twenties, met at Michigan, and still lived in the area. They volunteered in the cafe for a shift or two a week and I loved talking to them. They gave me some ideas of what Alex and I could be like in another five or six years, super tight and obviously in love.
    Today they showed me pictures from their Mackinac Island getaway, which looked very fun. I’d just returned to my homework reading when someone else came to the desk. This guy I’d seen around, but we’d never talked.
    “Hi.” He looked unsure as he stood there, so I smiled, hoping I could put him at ease. “Can I help you?”
    “Uhm, hi,” the young man said, stumbling over his words. “You’re Simon, right? Play for the Wolverines?”
    It was hard to tell since the desk was on a raised platform, but he seemed slightly shorter than me. He had a great mop of super dark curly hair and brown eyes. While his expression was serious, his voice was higher than I expected.
    “Yes and yes,” I said.
    “Cool. It’s so great to meet you. I love watching you play. Anyway, I figure if anyone knows what’s up with the hockey flyer I saw upstairs it’d be you. Is it for real?”
    Talking hockey seemed to help him relax.
    “It’s for real. Scottie’s forming the team because he was rejected from playing on a league team. He’s a good goalie and wants to build a team for the season. You play?”
    “I haven’t for a couple years. Before that I played, about six years, as a wing and did pretty good.”
    “Why’d you stop?”
    He took a deep breath and looked anxious. He should know it was safe to talk to anyone here.
    “Once I started identifying as a guy, neither side would take me.” I nodded. I wasn’t expecting this answer, but it was good he knew he could share this with me. “I figured I