“He’s a sweetheart, isn’t he,” my mom says, smiling.
“Lucy,” her dad walks up to us. “It’s just about time for you to head to the airport, isn’t it?”
“Caleb’s driving her,” my mom says, beaming up at her new husband.Where my mother looks proud, her dad looks skeptical. And I can’t blame him. Not ten minutes ago, I had Lucy’s dress in a pile on the floor and I was balls deep inside her. But he doesn’t know that.
Although, judging by the evil eye he’s giving me, I’m not entirely sure he doesn’t suspect something.
“How nice of Caleb,” Brian’s words are right, but there’s something off in his tone. “Now, Lucy, remember what we talked about, honey. Eyes on the prize and—”
“No distractions.” She finishes the sentence for him, and it’s clearly some mantra they’ve shared since she was in middle school.
Blissfully unaware of the tension that has invaded our conversation, my mom smiles warmly. “Now be careful, you two. Text us when you get to where you’re going, no matter the time. Lucy, someone’s meeting you, right?”
“Actually, yeah. My roommate’s boyfriend lives near the airport, so they’re coming to pick me up. My flight gets in at six tomorrow morning since there’s a layover in Chicago.”
There’s another round of goodbyes, and then, finally, we exit the ballroom. We make a stop in the lobby so she can change. I grab our coats from the coat-check and then stand in the hallway outside the restrooms, half-expecting Brian Alvarez to come out here and tell me to back the hell away from his daughter. And really, could I blame him?That guy is the King of Focus. He’s the very definition of having your shittogether. He’s a doctor. A freaking anesthesiologist, no less. And he’s coached his daughter into striving for the same success, albeit in a different field. But the end result is pretty much the same. And me? I’m a college student with no direction at all. I spend my days playing X-box and fervently hoping my roommates all apply to grad school so we can keep our good thing going for a few more years. I go to class, yeah. But that’s mainly because I’m a social creature. And I do okay, grade-wise. But that spark? That passion? I’ve never felt it in a classroom. And I doubt I ever will.
But Lucy’s dad never storms through the doors to ask me who the hell put that flush in his daughter’s cheeks. I consider that bullet dodged for the moment. Lucy materializes, this time wearing leggings and an oversized hoodie. Her hair is down now, curly tendrils framing her face. She’s got one of those fuzzy pom-pom hats on, and though she looked incredible tonight, she looks every bit as beautiful right now. She draws me in like a magnet. My instinct is to go to her. To tuck a wayward curl behind her ear. To breathe her in. To kiss her—the tip of her nose, the crown of her head, the sweet cupid’s bow of her lips.
But, of course, I don’t do any of that.
I can’t. Her dad could walk by at any second, so I don’t. But God, I want to.
“Are you sure you don’t mind running me to the airport?” she asks, completely oblivious to my mental recrimination.
“Of course not,” I tell her honestly. We walk out of the hotel into the cold February air. There’s valet service, and a few minutes later, we’re back in my car heading for the airport.
She buckles in and smiles at me. “Back where it all started, right?”
“Nope,” I correct, starting the car and cranking the heat up. “To get back to where it all started, we’d drive an hour west and end up at a campground.”
She blushes, and it’s beautiful.
“Those were the best summers of my life,” I tell her honestly, thinking I’m being all open and vulnerable, and then my girl—my Lucy—begins to giggle.
“Sorry, that sounded like one of those oldies songs you like.”
“Sweet Christ on the cross, for the eight thousandth time, oldies are songs from the 50s and—” She’s cracking up now and it’s clear she was just getting me riled up. Lucy tends to do that…in a lot of ways.
“Seriously,” she sobers. “They were for me too. Well, most of them. That first summer was so hard, you know? My parents were officially divorced. I hadn’t seen my mom in months, and I was holding on to the hope that she’d come to see me at the talent show. In my head, I reasoned that just because she and my dad didn’t get along anymore, that didn’t mean her relationship with me had to change.”
Pulling out onto the highway, I nod, because that’s all I can think to do besides tell her that her mom’s a selfish bitch.
“But she never showed up. Never texted or called. And it hurt so much. I grew up a lot that day, I guess. I realized that I’m really the only person I can rely on, the only person I have control over.”
There’s a lot to unpack in what she’s saying, and I definitely have my thoughts, but I keep my mouth shut. This last half hour with Lucy is all I’m going to get for who knows how long, and I don’t want to spend it arguing.
“The next summer was better though, yeah?” I ask, fishing for a compliment.
“Definitely. You were my first kiss. Did you know that?”
I hadn’t, and the thought makes me happier than it should. “I’m sorry,” I joke.
“What? Why? You’re a really good kisser. You were, even at fourteen.”
“I know,” I tell her. “That’s why I’m apologizing. I inadvertently set you up to think all guys had the same skills. What a letdown that must’ve been.”
She laughs and I reach for her hand, threading our fingers together and resting our joined hands on the center console. “I’m really glad I’m not in Massachusetts now.”
