14. Jordan
CHAPTER 14
JORDAN
L ucy barely makes it through the first half of the movie. When the snacks go untouched for longer than five minutes, I know I’ve officially lost her.
I don’t mind. I knew she would be exhausted. I just couldn’t wait another day to take her on an official date. I was getting antsy.
Shutting off the screen, I slip one arm under her knees and one behind her head to lift her from our mess of blankets. She nuzzles her face into my neck, and my heart melts. I turn the corner and walk quietly up the stairs, making sure her head isn’t smacking any walls as we go.
Lucky for me, the rooms are labeled. I push Lucy’s door open and gently lay her on the bed. I grab a blanket from the basket in the corner and cover her. How many blankets do these girls need? The basement is covered in them and there are still more in every nook and cranny of this house. Lucy’s room is overflowing with them.
Chuckling to myself, I take a look around the room. The walls are covered in pictures. Some are framed and some are just taped. It looks like she had a plan at first but ran out of space and refused to leave any out. What that must feel like, to have so many happy memories you literally run out of room for all of them?
Each picture holds a piece of the Lucy puzzle. Pictures with family and friends, pictures of what looks to be a young Lucy, and even older family pictures from before she was born. I spot one of a man who has to be her dad. He has the same piercing blue eyes and same electric smile. Even in a picture, you can tell he shares Lucy’s exuberant joy.
I want to explore more, but I know I need to let her sleep. Hopefully, after tonight, I will have ample opportunity to learn every minor detail that makes this girl tick. I close the door and walk back to the living room. AJ is just walking through the front door.
She looks at me expectantly. “So, how did it go?”
She was one of my co-conspirators.
“I think it was good. I mean, she seemed super happy, so thank you for all your help. I couldn’t have done it without you guys.”
She drops her backpack and plops down on an oversized orange chair. “Of course. We were happy to help. I’m sure this is obvious, but we would do anything for Lucy.”
“Yeah, you guys are awesome friends, that’s for sure.”
She nods thoughtfully. “We feel more like family at this point. Which is why I’m glad I caught you…”
She trails off like she’s got more to say. I have no clue where she’s going with this, but her tone has shifted.
“Okay… what’s up?”
“This is going to come across a little odd coming from me, a female the same age as you. But Lucy doesn’t have a dad to do this, so as one of her closest friends, I feel like I just need you to know some things.”
This is just getting more bizarre.
“All right. Go ahead.”
She takes a breath and launches into what seems to be a prepared speech. “Number one: Lucy is way too good for you. It’s kind of wild. Like, she’s playing professionally and you are in Little League. And not even Little League World Series. I’m talking like T-ball.”
One of her hands is reaching down to the floor and the other toward the ceiling, as if I need a visual of how far apart we are. Ouch.
“Damn, AJ. Tell me how you really feel.”
“Am I wrong?”
I don’t even hesitate. “No, you’re not.”
She nods like a wise sage, then continues. This speech has definitely been rehearsed. “I know I’m not. I just need you to know that. She’s talented enough to go to the WNBA and smart enough to be a doctor and a good-enough person to be a saint. Got it?”
I jokingly bow. “Yes, sir.”
“Good. Okay, number two: with how amazing she is, she doesn’t need you. Again, I’m not trying to be mean—it’s just the truth. Like she’s the man on campus. Present company included. I’m talking about men's and women’s sports here—Lucy is the face of this place. So, you’d better be supporting the hell out of her and not trying to bring her down because your ego can’t take being with someone more famous than you.”
AJ isn’t pulling any punches whatsoever. Oddly enough, I’m not offended. I don’t feel defensive at all, probably because I know she’s right. I run my hand through my hair and meet her eyes.
“I agree with everything you’re saying. I really do. Please continue.”
She looks down at her hands like she’s really picking her words carefully now. “Number three: Lucy has decided you’re something special. In the time I’ve known her, she’s never done that before. I’ve seen how she looks at you and talks about you and how her face lights up when you text her. ”
She notices the massive grin spreading across my face. I can’t help it.
“Don’t tell her I told you that.”
“I mean, I do all those things now too, thanks to her.”
“Well, duh, that’s no surprise. I mean, look at her. But here’s the thing: to the world she’s Lucy Townes, the basketball star and unbreakable human. That’s her public persona. She turns it on like nobody else. But Lucy has been through some crap in her life that forced her to toughen up her exterior. Under it all, she’s super vulnerable to being hurt, especially by someone she has chosen to let past the walls. Very few people are actually allowed to know her on that level.”
My grin is now gone. AJ’s eyes are piercing a hole through my soul as she speaks. I’m nodding silently, but my mind is buzzing.
We sit there for a moment while her words sink in. I look at her, waiting for a conclusion, but she just stands abruptly and walks toward her room. Right before closing her door, she leaves me with one final message.
“For whatever reason, you’re one of the lucky ones she’s choosing to let in. Don’t take that for granted. And please, just don’t hurt her. That’s all I’m asking. She’s been hurt enough.”
The closing of her door feels foreboding. Like I’ve been left with a massive quest, and if I screw it up, the women in this household will be locking me in their dungeon for all eternity. I wouldn’t put it past them.
Thankfully, I don’t think I’m dumb enough to mess this up.
I mean, I really hope I’m not.
The absolute last thing I want to do is cause Lucy any more pain. Or derail her career in any way. Or distract her. Basically, I want any effect I have on her life to be a net positive. That’s my end goal here.
Grabbing one of the thousands of blankets stashed in this little house, I curl up on the lumpy old couch, and after tossing and turning to try to find a comfortable position, I eventually fall asleep. I convinced myself I’m too tired to drive the three minutes back to my apartment, although deep down I know I just want to see Lucy as soon as possible tomorrow.
The next thing I know, someone has made the decision to drop a weight on my stomach.
It’s not a crushing weight, but it’s enough to pull me out of my deep slumber. Lucky for me, the weight smells really good.
Like lavender.
I crack one eye open and see a mess of blonde hair laying on my chest. The rest of Lucy’s limbs are wrapped around me like a koala. I lift an arm, which actually feels more like a twenty-pound dumbbell after such a short night, and start rubbing her back.
Her head lifts up, and her tired eyes break into a squinty smile. Oh, boy. I could get used to this. She’s evoking the same emotions in me that an adorable puppy would. I just want to scoop her up and protect her at all costs.
As I wrap my arms around her and we lay cuddled up, with the morning light streaming through the window and the smell of coffee drifting in from the kitchen, I’m not sure I’ve ever been in a more blissful state.
This is it, right here.
I’m officially peaking.
I want to hold on to this moment for as long as I possibly can.
After about five seconds of peace, I hear a crash. Britt flies out of her room like a tornado. She’s grabbing items and shoving them into a bag. Upon finally noticing me and Lucy, she chucks a shoe at us.
“Eww, gross. I did not sign up for this. Get a room.”
Lucy laughs and to my great sadness, sits up. She’s still perched on top of me, though, so that’s a bonus .
“Where are you off to in such a chaotic and I assume late state?”
Britt groans as she pulls a sweatshirt over her head.
“Team breakfast. We wanted to do one last thing before finals week and all of us going home. Unfortunately, there was a Dance Moms marathon on last night, so naturally I didn’t go to bed until two a.m.”
Lucy nods like this totally tracks. I’m choking down laughter at the ridiculousness of everything she’s saying. Britt notices, and her stink eye shuts me down.
Hopping on one foot as she pulls on her other shoe, she finally makes it out the door. Right before it closes, she pokes her head back in. “I was totally joking, by the way. I’m loving all of this.”
She gestures her hand in a circle toward me and Lucy. “Keep this up. It’s cute as hell. Okay, bye!”
The door slams, and she’s gone. She’s sort of like a hurricane, or a toddler after drinking a vat of sugar–just absolute chaos.
It’s the total opposite of Tyler. He’s reserved and steady regardless of the situation. He looks the same at the end of a close game and studying for a microbiology test–calm, cool, collected. So maybe they’d be a good match. They’d definitely balance each other out.
But as much as I want to play matchmaker for my friends, right now I need to soak in the fact that I have a whole day with Lucy ahead of me. Both of us have a full day off from workouts and any other typical duties required of student athletes. Maybe I’m being presumptuous, but the way she’s now cuddling back into me like a bear preparing for hibernation, I’m going to guess she’d be down to spend it together.
I resume scratching her back.
“Good morning.”
I swear she’s almost purring when she replies. “Mmm. Good morning. That feels so good. Please never stop. ”
“Deal. I will stay like this forever. No take backs.”
At long last, she sits up and adjusts the vintage Broncos shirt she’s wearing. I’ll wait until later to tell her I’m a Patriots fan. That usually doesn’t go over super well. Besides, she looks so cute as she fixes her hair in a messy bun on the top of her head, I couldn’t care less about discussing football at the moment.
She stands up and walks to the kitchen, so I’m able to take in exactly what she looks like in the morning. Sporting what appear to be oversized boxer shorts, her long legs suddenly have me feeling warm. You can see her toned muscles flexing with each step, and I find it ridiculously sexy.
Disappearing around the corner for a few brief moments, she returns carrying two steaming mugs of coffee. She hands me one and climbs back onto the couch, draping her legs onto my lap. I can’t help but run my hand up and down her calf, and like clockwork, goose bumps form.
I smirk and meet her eyes. She’s biting her lip again. I have no clue where or why that specific habit of hers started, but I am eternally grateful. My mind goes back to last night, when I was the one biting her lip.
I grab her hand and start kissing her fingers one by one. Sadly, she yanks her hand back with a laugh.
“Hey, not right now. I mean, I would love to, but we’ll have plenty of time for that later, I hope.”
Heat rises in her cheeks as the words leave her mouth. I pretend not to notice. “Oh, we’d better.”
She continues. “Right now, I’ve decided that I’m going to force you to talk about yourself. I didn’t want it to come to this, but you leave me no choice. Don’t think I haven’t noticed how you redirect the conversation back to me whenever I ask you questions. And don’t deny it, we both know it’s true.”
Now it’s my turn to look sheepish. Dang, she just rolled out of bed and already isn’t playing around.
She’s definitely not wrong—I do this a lot. I always have. Talking about myself always inevitably leads to talking about my family and my past, and it gets awkward. Even the brief information I provided at our Friendsgiving celebration made everyone look at me like a lost kitten. I hated it. I don’t want pity.
Lucy is giving me a pointed look, and I realize I haven’t given her any sort of response, simply because I don’t know what to say. I’m the king of deflection, and she’s the first person to call me out on it.
“See! You can’t even disagree. So, here’s all I want: I will ask you questions, and you can answer them or you can tell me that it’s not something you want to talk about at the moment. If you say that, I won’t press the issue. I promise.”
I trust her to keep her promise, and I genuinely do trust her with most of this information. There’s just so much I’ve never told anyone that I’m not even sure I know how to talk about it. But for some odd reason, I feel like Lucy will help me figure it out.
Her smile fills me with warmth as she begins. “All right, first question…”