Overlooked

The sloppy, wet kiss on my forehead was not what I anticipated as I slowly closed my eyes. He never noticed thank god. Joff was oblivious when it came to girls and that was probably a good thing. I was slightly embarrassed, trying to control the blush that spread across my cheeks. “Car, I know. I know how she is, hell I am the one who has to deal with her. What am I supposed to do? Look at my reputation. Who wants a guy that can’t keep it in his pants and parties all of the time? Maybe she is perfect for me. She lets me get away with murder, and I let her complain and drive me crazy.”

I just shook my head. “Don’t you want a family? Don’t you want some stability?” I asked and he looked sullen.

“No, I don’t. I’m not responsible. I can barely take care of myself, let alone be responsible for a baby that will have a part-time father. So let’s stop talking about me. How are you and Schenn? He missed optional and he never does.” He looked at me and waited for me to answer.

“Things are ok I guess. He is nice to me, good looking, funny. I don’t know Lupes. Its still early still.” I stretched across the sofa and put my feet into his lap.

“Do you want to watch a movie? I don’t have any plans tonight and Lena isn’t even home.” He asked with a small smile forming.

“Umm, sure. You want a beer or wine or something?” I asked, pushing the school books aside. I was carrying awesome grades, one night wouldn’t kill me.

He asked for a beer and I grabbed myself a glass of wine. He looked through the movies until he found one and I grabbed comforters and pillows. I laid down one end of the sofa and he stretched out from the other. The minute I realized it was a horror film I wanted to cry. I hated them, rarely would even watch one and he knew it. I rolled my eyes at him and he winked.

“Come here you big baby, you have to get over this fear eventually. Besides, I have been dying to see this.” He sat for a minute watching the opening scene before jumping up and hitting pause. “Wait, I forgot, I have your gift still.” I just shook my head.

“I though Schenn was my gift Lupes.” I said winking and he groaned.

“No, he just wouldn’t leave me alone about you so I finally gave in. Here you go. Open it.” He said, handing me a medium sized, rectangular box.

I looked down and tore the red wrapping paper and looked at the box I knew jewelry came in. The word Movado was across the box. I opened it slowly revealing a beautiful silver watch with an opal color face and diamond bezel. I was stunned he would buy me something so expensive. I was speechless.

“So, do you like it Car? I even picked it out myself. I went through four stores before I found it. It just looked like something you would wear, you aren’t really big on jewelry.” I nodded and gave him a hug.

“Wow, this is beautiful Joff. I love it. You are amazing.” I said quietly and wrapped my arms around him again. He pulled me closer to his body and I leaned against him, his attention focused back on the screen.

I looked back to the screen. The movie was scary, I jumped a few times. At one point, I was so freaked out I felt like crying. Joff rubbed my forehead and told me to calm down. “Honey it is just a movie. I am right here.” He said and I stopped freaking out.

Ninety five minutes of torture ended and I was totally freaked out. I looked up at Joff and he was sound asleep, snoring softly. I nudged him gently and his eyes fluttered open to meet mine. “You want to sleep here?” I asked and he nodded. It may not have been the best idea in the world, but I grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the guest bedroom, his eyes still half-closed. I gave him blankets for the guest room and walked into my room, getting myself comfortable.

He woke up the next morning while I was in the shower. He opened the door and said goodbye, surprising me enough that I slipped and hit my back hard on the side of the tub. “Ouch, damn it.” I said as the water sprayed me in the face and I tried to pull myself up. Joff raced over, shutting the water off and helping me stand after viewing my entire naked body. I was embarrassed as hell. I put my head in my hands as he wrapped a towel around me.

“Are you ok? Car, please don’t cry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I just didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye. Please don’t be embarrassed.” He said, running his fingers along my cheek bone.

I was in tears, almost sobbing. My back was throbbing and I was running late. I needed to get ready for class. “I’m fine Joff, just go. I have to get dressed.” He walked out wordlessly and I stood and washed my face and checked out my back, which had a large bruise across it already. I dressed quickly. I had three classes today and was determined to get through them without being distracted. I took two Tylenol and headed out the door.

I was sitting in my second class of the day when Luke sent me a text message asking if I wanted to meet for lunch. I agreed telling him to meet me at noon at a café near campus. After my class I walked towards the café a little nervous. It was less crowded than the dining hall, but still frequented by a ton of people. I wasn’t truly ready to go public with my relationship with Luke. He was standing outside, wearing sweats, a large puffy black coat and a black toque. He gave me a small kiss and grabbed my hand as we walked into the little café. We sat down at a table in the back ordering soup and sandwiches. It was blustery cold out and I felt terrible. My back was still throbbing.

“Are you ok?” He asked and I figured Joff had said something to him.

“I am, my back is sore as hell though.” I said and he just shook his head.

“Only you would fall in the shower. Joff said you took a nasty spill. Why don’t you get it looked at by a doctor?” He asked and I shrugged my shoulders.

“No time, I have to make my classes today.” He just shook his head.

“Listen, I want to talk to you about something, but I don’t want you to get mad ok?” He said and I nodded.

“I know you and Joff are friends and have been for awhile but could you lay off having him stay over. I had to listen to the guys all morning about how he cuddled with you and you two watched a scary movie. I know its innocent but the guys are trashing me for it.” He said, looking like a little boy who was just bullied.

I was going to kill Joff. “Umm, yeah, I can’t believe he said that. Nothing is happening. He fell asleep during the movie and slept in the guest room. Now that I know he threw it in your face, it won’t happen again.” He leaned over and gave me a long kiss, attracting some of the other students’ attention. I probably turned beet red. We finished our lunch and he walked me back to campus, his hand gripping mine.

“Listen Luke, thanks for lunch. It was really nice of you to come and take me out.” I said, leaning in and giving him a quick kiss. “I will see you tonight. Go home and get some sleep.” I said and he smiled.

“I’ll leave two tickets at the window. Bring a friend. Have a nice class Carly.” He said as he walked away shoving his hands in his pockets. I was pissed at Joff for trying to embarrass him. It wasn’t right. I was going to make sure Joff knew tonight my intentions were to be with Luke.

My last class was over by three and I headed back to my apartment. I did some homework and relaxed for awhile, catching up on some shows on DVR. I had two episodes of Vampire Diaries recorded and a few other things as well. I also left a message with a girl named Heather. She had been my friend since I came in as a freshman at the University. She was 23, athletic and had the prettiest blue eyes and dark brown hair. She agreed to meet me at the arena at six o’clock.

I left for the arena around five-thirty, really excited. This was my first game that I was going to watch and cheer for someone I was actually dating. Heather was easy to find, wearing jeans and a Toronto shirsey. I spun her around and grinned. The number 42 gleamed off the back of her shirt. “So you are a Bozak fan now?” I asked and she smiled.

“Well since you and Lupul are friends. I figured maybe I would get to meet him.” She said and I laughed.

“No problem.” I said and we walked up to the desk for our tickets. The lady handed me the two tickets and we went inside the arena. I stopped outside one of the fan stores and pulled Heather inside. “Come on, I need to find a jersey or something. I winced as the lady rung up a Schenn jersey. One hundred and twenty bucks down the drain, but I wanted to surprise him.

We each grabbed a beer and looked for our seats. The were right off center ice, about six rows back. Heather could barely control her excitement as the guys came onto the ice for pre-game skate. “Wow this is amazing.” She said, looking around.

“Have you ever been to a game?” I asked and she told me she hadn’t. “Well we are going to have a blast tonight.” I said as the Canucks came onto the ice and we booed.

I looked down at the ice to see if I could see Luke and he smiled once he looked up. I gave him a small wave and he winked at me.

“Luke and I are dating.” I said to Heather and she smiled.

“He seems nice. Better than Joff.” She said and it didn’t surprise me. Heather never hid the fact that she thought Joff was a player.

“You have been alone too long. You deserve a good guy Carly.” She said and I nodded my head.

“I know, I just hope he is as good as he seems. I don’t want to be disappointed.” I said and she squeezed my shoulder.

We watched the game intently. She was taking in all of the sites. Bozak scored with two minutes left in the second period to put the Leafs on the scoreboard and the place went wild. It hadn’t been the best of seasons so far, but the fans here were passionate and loved their team.

The scored stayed that way and I knew the guys would be excited over the win. The Canucks were a good team and they had taken them down. We headed down towards the locker room and sat outside in the waiting room. Lupes was one of the first out, giving me a hug that I pulled away from before kissing Lena. I just shook my head in disgust. I couldn’t wait to get him alone or on the phone to yell at him about starting stuff with Luke.

Luke came out about ten minutes later, hair wet from the shower, looking good. “Hey Luke, this is Heather.” I said introducing her to him. He asked if we wanted to get something to eat before heading home and we agreed.

“Ok, just waiting for a few of the guys.” He said and then he pulled me softly into his chest. “You shouldn’t have bought that. They charge a fortune for them. But thank you for thinking of me.” He said quietly. I looked up and gave him a long kiss. Someone whistled and Joff threw me a look that told me he wasn’t happy. I did my best to ignore him as Luke and I talked. Heather looked at me as soon as Luke we into the locker room to hurry the guys up.

“Let Joff be an ass. Luke is a nice guy and you deserve someone who is going to treat you like a princess.” She said and I nodded. She was right. I did deserve someone good in my life.

Notes

Poor Carly..... I'd die of embarassment too.