Chapter 12
DANNY
I wasn’t expecting the bookshelves to fit in Sadie’s car, so when I approach my mother’s humble apartment building, a sense of shame takes hold of me. I don’t know why I don’t want her to know that I don’t have a lot of money. Maybe it’s stupid male pride.
Sadie doesn’t bat an eyelash at the faded paint on the building or the yellowed grass and sad-looking garden at the front. When she gets out of the car, she does glare at the stairs leading to the second floor with her hands on her hips though.
“Please tell me your mother’s apartment isn’t on the top floor.”
I circle to the back of the car and open the trunk. “I can’t say that.”
She looks over her shoulder, glowering. “You suck.”
“Come on. It’ll be great exercise. You were upset you missed your morning run. This ought to compensate for it.”
“Breaking my back is not how I envision leading the Ravens to victory.”
“Leading the Ravens? Does Vanessa know you’re vying for her position as the team captain?”
She waves her hand dismissively as she walks over. “I don’t want to be captain, but I do want a starting position. Melody McCoy thinks she’s Megan Rapinoe, and someone needs to knock her off that pedestal.”
“Ah, naturally. Because there can’t be two queens on the field.” I smirk.
Instead of backtracking, Sadie smiles wickedly. “Of course not. There can be only one.”
My eyebrows arch. “Please tell me that was an actual Highlander reference and not a coincidence.”
“You can’t drown, you fool, you’re immortal!” she replies, trying her best to sound like Sean Connery as Ramirez.
I throw my head back and laugh from the belly up.
“Blimey, I didn’t know my Sean impression was that bad.”
I wipe tears from my eyes. “It’s actually spot on. I’m laughing because… well, I don’t even know.”
Deep down, I do know the reason. I’ve never met a girl who was into classic ’80s movies, especially that particular one. My laughter wasn’t from amusement but a rather pleasant surprise.
She shakes her head. “You’re such a confusing boy. Come on. These boxes won’t get themselves up those steps.”
She nudges me out of the way and slides the top box off the trunk.
“It’ll be easier if we carry the boxes together,” I suggest.
“Are you implying I can’t lift one by myself?”
“Not at all, but go on, try.”
She narrows her eyes at me, and I sense she’s taking my comment as a dare.
Bending her knees, she lifts the box using her core strength and legs.
But getting the box off the ground was the easy part; balancing the long board is what I predicted would be hard.
Sadie staggers back as she tries to find her equilibrium, bumping into me.
“Watch it,” I say through a suppressed laugh.
“If you laugh, I swear I’ll do more than just pinch you.”
I grab the end of the box. “Stop being stubborn and let me help you. I know you’re strong, but there’s no reason to make your life harder just to prove a point.”
She moves forward to hold the other end of the box. “Fine, Hudson. You win.”
We trudge toward the building and then up the stairs, carrying all the boxes up first before I open the front door and bring them into the apartment.
As usual, the scent of baked cookies hits my nose.
Mom always has them around when she knows I’m coming by.
What she doesn’t know is that I never eat everything she makes.
If I did, I’d be a round little pig. Instead, I bring her treats to school and share them with my classmates or teammates.
“This is cozy,” Sadie remarks. “Is your mum not home?”
“No. She’s at work.”
After all the boxes are inside the apartment and propped against the wall, Sadie glances around the room. “Where do you want the bookshelves to go?”
“Oh, we don’t need to put them together now.”
She gives me a droll stare. “I bet you were planning on assembling them right away. Two can get the job done faster than one.”
“Are you sure you’re up for it? I think I’ve already abused your friendship too much.”
“Abuse away. I always prefer to have people indebted to me instead of the other way around.”
“Is that so?”
“Yep. So they can’t say no when I call asking them to help me bury a body.”
“Jesus, Sadie. You have a twisted mind.”
She sticks her tongue out at me, and all the blood in my body seems to whoosh south. This cannot happen. It’s the second time in less than an hour that the urge to push Sadie against the wall and claim her mouth hits me. I need to reset my brain somehow.
“So, where are they going?”
I point at the wall where several book towers are lined up. “There. I need to make room first so we can set up the working area.”
With Sadie’s help, I move the furniture around.
It’s a small living room, so there isn’t much space to work with.
In the end, I have to carry the coffee table to the kitchen so we can spread out on the floor.
It takes an hour to get all the bookshelves up, and we manage to do it without cursing at the furniture, or worse, bleeding all over Mom’s rug.
“Done. Finally.” I wipe the sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand.
“Not quite. What about all those books?”
“It’s probably better if we let my mother organize them as she prefers. I’m sure she has a system.”
“Fair enough.”
“I’m parched. Do you want something to drink?” I head for the kitchen.
“Yeah. Water, please.”
I fill a tall glass with cold water from the fridge and hand it over to Sadie, brushing the tips of her fingers with mine during the transfer.
I’ve never believed in romantic nonsense such as sparks, but as we both drain our glasses of water, it does seem that the air around us is crackling with electricity.
Maybe I shouldn’t have locked gazes with her while I was drinking, and I most definitely should have looked away after I set the glass back on the counter.
“So, what now?” she asks.
I’m so caught up in the fight between reason and desire going on in my head that I totally misunderstand her question.
“What now what?” I ask in a high-pitched tone. Shit. My heart is racing.
“Do you have any other chores you’d like my help with while I’m here?”
Fuck. It seems only my mind was in the gutter. I’m glad I didn’t do something stupid.
“No. We’re all done. We should be heading back to campus.”
No sooner do I say that than the sound of a key turning announces Mom’s arrival.
Hell and damn. I wasn’t planning on making introductions today.
Probably never, if I’m being honest. Mom has always been able to tell what I’m feeling at any given time.
If I don’t control my emotions around Sadie, Mom will know I have the hots for the coach’s daughter.
She was never a fan of Gwen and was secretly hoping I’d find a new girlfriend soon.
I don’t need another matchmaker. Andy is bad enough.
“Danny, I didn’t think you’d be here today. Isn’t your car in the shop?” She walks over and then stops when she spots Sadie. “Oh, hello. I didn’t know Danny had company.”
Sadie steps forward, extending her hand. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Hudson. I’m Sadie, Danny’s friend from school. I gave him a ride today.”
“Oh, how nice of you. You can call me Martha.” She smiles as she shakes Sadie’s hand, then turns to me. I can see the glint of curiosity shining in her eyes.
“I owed him the favor considering I’m the reason he doesn’t have a car.”
Mom’s brow furrows. “I don’t follow.”
“Sadie was the one who wrecked my car,” I explain.
“Oh.” Mom’s eyes grow larger. “Well, it’s still nice of you to offer.”
“She also helped put the bookshelves together,” I add.
“She did?” Mom’s eyebrows arch slightly. “Well, thank you, dear.”
“You’re home early,” I say, trying to divert her interest on Sadie.
“Slow day at the office today, and Dr. Francis is out of town.”
I turn to Sadie. “Mom works at a plastic surgeon’s office.”
“Cool. You must be busy all the time, huh?”
“Oh yeah. Everyone in this town wants to look younger, better, or different. So, what brings you to LA?”
“Sadie’s Coach Clarkson’s daughter,” I blurt out thanks to nervous agitation.
I look at Sadie, trying to convey that I’m sorry about my outburst. She shakes her head as if to say I’m the worst.
“Really?” Mom asks. “I didn’t realize Coach Clarkson had kids. But you have an accent.”
“Yeah, I’ve lived in London since I was six, after my parents split. I would have gone to uni there, but my parents had a deal that I’d come back to attend college in the US.”
That’s way more information than she volunteered to me in the car. Maybe she’s telling Mom all that to avoid questions she isn’t keen to answer.
“Well, we have to go now to try to beat traffic,” I butt in.
“It’s already too late for that, hon. Why don’t you stay and have dinner?”
“Eh….” I can’t think of an excuse to refuse, but I know I don’t want to subject Sadie to my mother’s inquisition.
“Oh, I can’t stay,” Sadie replies. “I promised I’d take my roommate out tonight. Maybe another time.”
Mom’s face falls. “Oh, that’s too bad. Thanks for driving my son around and for helping him with the bookshelves.”
“It was my pleasure,” Sadie replies through a beaming smile.
Before we rush out, Mom shoves a bag of cookies into my hand and also Sadie’s. By the time we make it back to her car, she’s already on her second cookie.
“I thought you had dinner plans. You’re going to spoil your appetite eating all that.”
“I don’t have dinner plans. I only said that because you looked so pained. I figured you didn’t want me to hang out with your mum.”
Shit. That’s what she thought?
“Sadie, you got it all wrong. I was just trying to protect you from her billion questions. I’m sorry I told her who you were.”
“I didn’t mind that. It’s the truth, after all.”
She stops in front of her car and offers me the keys. “Do you mind driving back? I’m knackered.”
“Not at all.”
Our fingers connect again, and I try not to react to it. I should have learned my lesson when I pulled her into a side hug back at Ikea. She felt too damn good in my arms, which means I have to keep my distance and avoid all contact, even innocent ones like this.
“Since I’m driving, maybe I should pick the music this time?” I ask once we’re both inside.
“Sure. Go ahead. I’m curious about what your musical tastes sound like.”
“I like a lot of different styles.”
“I’m the same. Don’t judge me through my friend’s choices.”
“Oh, it’s already too late for that.”
She rolls her eyes but refrains from replying.
I pick a random radio station and drive away from my mother’s building.
We don’t speak for several minutes, but this time around, the silence isn’t uncomfortable.
When traffic slows to a stop, I glance at Sadie.
Her head is propped against the window. She’s sound asleep.
Glutton for punishment that I am, I stare like a creep until some asshole honks behind me.
I see then that the line of cars has moved and I had been holding traffic.
Mom was right; it was too late to avoid rush hour, and it takes me an hour to get back to campus. Instead of driving to my place, I head to Sadie’s building instead.
“Sadie.” I shake her arm lightly. “We’re home.”
She blinks her eyes open, looking a little confused. Her gaze is unfocused as she stares at me, but when she looks out the window, her body seems to tense.
“You drove to my place, not yours.”
“You were passed out. I didn’t want you to have to drive back alone when you’re that exhausted.”
“How are you getting home?”
“I’ll figure it out. Don’t worry about me.”
“Take my car.”
My eyes widen. “What? No. How are you getting to practice tomorrow?”
“I can jog there. Seriously, it’s no big deal.”
I shake my head. “No, I’ll pick you up. What time do you have to be there?”
“Six. Is that too early for you?”
Yes, but I don’t tell her I don’t need to be at practice until eight.
“Not at all. I’ll see you tomorrow, then. And thanks for the ride and everything.”
She leans across the gap between our seats and kisses me on the cheek. My breath catches.
What the hell is she doing?
“What’s that for?” I ask when she returns to her side.
“That’s my thank-you for today. I had fun. See you later, alligator.”
She’s out of the car before I can recover. In fact, it takes me a full minute to finally snap out of my paralysis and drive away.
I’m so fucked.