Page 73 of Full Court Love
We’ll celebrate privately later.
We are now strolling through the halls of the hotel, chatting about our games tomorrow, when Lucy’s phone pings. She pulls it out and lets out a shriek of excitement.
“Oh, my gosh, Jordan! You made the All-Conference team!”
My stomach does a flip. I don’t think I heard her right. Or maybe this was a mistake.
“Are you sure?”
She looks even happier than she did about her own awards as she ferociously scrolls and clicks her phone.
“My mom just said to tell you congrats! The men’s awards just got released.”
Finally, she holds it up, revealing a graphic of me shooting a three with the words “First Team All-Conference” written across the top. I take it from her in disbelief.
Grabbing my face with her hands, she pulls me toward her. Right before kissing me, she looks directly into my eyes. “I’m so, so proud of you.”
She inhales like she’s going to say something else, but stops. It’s a brief enough pause, I almost wonder if I’m imagining it, but it felt like she might have considered using the “L” word. She covers it up by kissing me hard, throwing her arms around my neck.
It takes my breath away. It’s a good thing we’re in an empty hallway near a supply elevator because I can’t help but push her back against the wall. She runs her fingers through my hair, and I feel goose bumps erupt. Just when my fingertips graze the skin where her shirt is slightly coming up, the elevator dings.
Lucy hurriedly steps back, blinking and smoothing downthe front of her clothes. I bite back a laugh, jokingly stepping toward her.
“Should we give them a show?”
Her face turns red. “Could you imagine that headline? ‘Beloved couple gives innocent maintenance worker heart attack.”
I give her my most seductive smile. “You know how much we both love being in the news.”
She gives my shoulder a joking shove and snorts. “Yup, I’m truly only with you so I can be one-half of an almost-famous couple.”
“And I’m fine with that.”
As we continue walking hand in hand down the hallway, I wonder what she was going to say after she told me she was proud of me. I bet I could guess. I hope I’m right. It’s probably the same thing I’ve been holding back saying for a while now.
I do love her.
So much.
And I want her to know more than anything. But it feels like we are both still scared–I know I am. My reasoning is sound, at least in my head. I’m waiting to have this difficult conversation with my dad, and there’s a lot that needs to be said. There are boundaries that need to be established and hurt that needs to be worked through. The conversation will only be the first step, but it will get the ball rolling.
I’m planning to do it after the tournament. Both my parents are coming, so it’ll be my chance to do it in person. I’m both dreading it and excited to have it over with. Lucy has been incredibly supportive about whatever I choose to do.
But deep down, I think she’s nervous I’m going to get spooked again. The last time I spoke to my dad in person, I went radio silent and then broke up with her. It’s fair thatshe’s hesitant. A lot is riding on this single conversation, so she’s holding back the words until it’s clear I’m all-in.
I know for certain that we’re in love, though. It’s obvious. Every look, every kiss, every conversation, every laugh–this is what love is. It’s actually better than what I’d envisioned.
Having someone see all the worst parts of me–the baggage, the failures, the wounds–and still choosing to stay? I genuinely didn’t believe it was possible.
Granted, basically everything about Lucy seems too good to be true. So far, nothing is. She’s as real, beautiful, kind, loving, selfless, and talented as it gets.
Even her body heals faster than a normal person. The team doctor couldn’t believe how good her ankle looked after only a week of recovery. I’ve decided to take some credit for that one, considering I killed it as her live-in nurse.
Lucy gives me that credit willingly.
Maybe I’ll bypass law school and go into the medical field. If I wasn’t such a wimp when it comes to blood and anything regarding the human body except bruises, that would be a viable option.
Lucy’s bruising is becoming a disgusting shade of yellow. Even that isn’t enough to turn me off from wanting to be close to her. Unfortunately, even though we are temporarily living in the same hotel at the moment, we have even less time to be together.