Page 66 of Full Court Love
I turn off my brain and take in the hum of gossip. Then Kya grabs my arm excitedly, pulling me out of my state of bliss.
“Oh, my gosh, Lucy. I totally forgot to ask you about what I heard! Did you go off on Sasha? I heard about it from Jeremy, a high jumper, whose girlfriend Jill lives across the hall from a group of freshmen on your team.”
My face turns red. Even though I felt justified, I hate that I snapped like that. I’m also mortified that almost everyone has heard about it. I shouldn’t be surprised, but it’s embarrassing to know that I’m a topic of gossip.
So, I try to deflect.
“I’m struggling to wrap my brain around all the people you just mentioned.”
Britt cuts in. “Wait. Is it true, though? Did you finally put her in her place?”
I lift my hands to cover my face, but Britt grabs them. “No! Don’t mess up your makeup! And I’m going to assume by your reaction that it’s true.”
I squeeze my eyes shut and nod.
AJ starts whooping and cheering, Britt is clapping, and Kya tries to fight her smile, but fails.
“Thank the Lord. We’ve been waiting for this for years. She’s such a snake—she had it coming and she knows it.”
AJ knows all the gritty details of Sasha’s betrayal. Kya chimes in with hushed tones, like she’s afraid someone might be listening.
“I’m all for turning the other cheek, but I’m so proud of you, Lucy. You didn’t deserve anything she did to you.”
Britt is now up dancing around the room. “Ding dong, the witch is dead!”
I yank her back to the floor. “I didn’t kill anyone!”
Britt holds my hands and gets serious. Looking into myeyes, her tone is genuine–although her words are anything but. “You might as well have. Bursting the bubble of someone who always believed herself to be untouchable? A true work of art.”
I have the most loyal friends, and for the hundredth time this week, a lump lodges itself in my throat. I blink fast, hoping to salvage the makeup. “Thanks, guys.”
Sensing the impending tears, they drop the topic and fan my face instead, keeping the crying at bay. AJ brings in my outfit, consisting of mostly borrowed clothes from her own closet, Kya finishes my hair, and we are ready to go within the allotted thirty minutes Britt gave us.
It’s a blessing we’re nearing spring weather because the outfit AJ chose leaves a lot of skin uncovered. The lace tank top and leather skirt combo is finished off with an oversized blazer and knee-high boots. She claimed it was the best way to cover my–in her words–“disgusting stump of a foot.” In my defense, the swelling has gone down and I can walk without limping. It’s just that the coloring rivals that of a moldy prune.
It’s a little edgier than what I’m used to, but I can’t deny that I look good. These ladies worked some real magic. Maybe even more impressive than the look is the fact that they were able to take my mind off Jordan. This is the longest I’ve gone without thinking about him since the breakup.
We walk the few blocks down the street to the Alley Cat, another dive bar that makes up our robust Maverick City Main Street. Finding a booth on the back edge of the wall, I slide in with my root beer and spend the first few minutes people watching.
And hiding.
It’s only kind of working. A variety of people stop to wish me luck at the tournament. I give all my very rehearsed answers to their questions: “Yes, my ankle is feeling muchbetter, thank you.” “The swelling is definitely going down.” “You’re so right, it could have been much worse.”
I’ve heard this song before and done this dance. I just need to rotate through all my planned responses. I appreciate people’s concern, but it gets exhausting to feel like I always need to be “on.” It’s the main reason I dragged my feet about coming tonight.
Or one of them.
The world freezes around me as the other reason walks through the door.
It’s been only a few days since I last saw him, but it might as well be a year. He steps in with some new high-top Air Jordans, a tight sweater, and his trademark gorgeous curly hair. My breathing is picking up just watching him walk across the room.
He hasn’t seen me yet. But I feel eyes on me.
I whip around to see all my roommates watching my reaction. My eyes grow wide.
“You guys didn’t really think…”
Kya stares at the floor. The other two glance at each other, doubt written all over their faces. My head drops back and I examine the weird stains on the ceiling in defeat. I feel like an idiot for not seeing this coming.