Page 5 of Trick Play

Mom got out a stool to drop the top over my head. I could only put my free hand in a sleeve, so she started tucking in the material around my waist. After, she took the suspenders from Kelli and clipped them to the pants.

“What are you doing that needs a clown costume?” Kelli asked. “If you don’t mind me asking.”

I lifted my arm when Mom poked it. “It’s a drop-in for kids for Halloween. We booked an arena with two rinks, and the older kids will play hockey and the younger kids can skate for fun. We’ve got skates and equipment for everyone, and we’re ordering in pizza and drinks. The idea is to have an option for kids to enjoy themselves without getting into trouble on Halloween, when there’s a lot going on.”

Raggedy Ann smiled at me. “That’s a great idea. What ages are you expecting?”

I shrugged and Mom slapped my chest. She was trying to work fabric around the arm attached to Kelli now.

“It’s my first time, since I’ve been playing on American teams other years, but I was told we’d get a range. The ones who play hockey are older, but some of them are responsible for younger siblings so we don’t know exactly who will come.”

“I’ve never heard about it.”

Mom was behind me, finishing up the top. The thing was bunched up and uncomfortable, but it was definitely on the silly side of clowns, rather than scary.

“Guys on the Blaze have done it for a few years now. They don’t want it publicized, with fans sneaking in and making it about the hockey players instead of a safe place for the kids. That’s why we all dress up like clowns with makeup to disguise us.”

“Wow. That’s such a great thing to do.”

I checked her expression, to see if she was blowing smoke up my ass to impress me. The best I could tell, she was sincere, unlike a lot of the responses I’d heard.

Mom got the wig and shoved it on my head. A rainbow-colored mess of what looked like cotton candy and felt like plastic.

“I cannot put the makeup on your face.” Mom stepped back, shrugging. I couldn’t do my makeup using my left hand.

“I can help. I did mine.” Kelli waved a hand at her face, and yeah, she was wearing as much as a clown would.

Mom brought out the kit I’d bought to go with the costume and held the tubes for Kelli to work with.

Kelli was shorter than me, by about six inches. Mom shoved the stool over for her so we could stand face-to-face. Kelli brushed white onto the sponge and met my eyes.

“Ready?”

I nodded. She pulled our joined arms up so she could hold my chin in place. Her fingers were soft, but firm. She dabbed the sponge over my forehead and down my nose, wiping gently. It was surprisingly intimate being this close, bound together, her attention focused on me, her teeth biting her bottom lip and distracting me.

When the white base was done, she changed to red for an exaggerated mouth. As her fingers moved around my lips I was tempted to open and taste them. Whoa. Where did that come from? Not appropriate. I resolutely kept my face still and my mind away from wondering about Kelli beneath her makeup.

“Do you need your nose done?”

I cleared my throat. “No, there was one of those round red ones with the costume.”

“Here it is!”

I’d forgotten my mom was even in the room. What the hell was going on?

Mom passed the nose to Kelli, who gently pressed it over my own nose. I leaned back. “That feels weird. I’ll save that for the rink.” I used my free hand to pull it off.

“Excellent, Kelli,” Mom said. “You must have good control of your hands for work.”

“What do you do?” I didn’t know much about this woman I was cuffed to, except that she was Dylan’s little sister and might have had a crush on me way back when.

“She is a dentist for children.”

“Not a dentist, a dental hygienist,” Kelli corrected. “But yes, in a children’s practice.”

I’d had a lot of dental work over the years, so I had an idea of what the hands of a dental tech would have to do. “You enjoy it?” Working in someone’s mouth all day didn’t sound like fun to me.

“I do. I like kids.”