The Things No One Else Sees

He’d left when Lucy did. Things were precarious with her, and he didn’t want her thinking he was sticking around to pick up women after she left. He was hopeful she would text him in the morning, maybe keep their dialogue going so he could keep stroking her. Eventually something had to come of it. Unless she had will power that was beyond anything he’d seen. He knew she was attracted to him; all he needed to do was show her he wasn’t a sleaze ball. And he’d been on his best behavior. At least after the whole Francesca mistake.

He was stretched out in bed with the television on when he got her message. There was no text, just a picture. A picture that made his jaw drop. Her little hand was clutching the hem of her skirt right above her crotch. Sitting up in bed, he pinched the picture and zoomed in, looking hard to see if she had panties on or not. He wanted to believe she didn’t, that she was tempting him with nothing on underneath that skirt. But he couldn’t say for sure; the shadows were too dark.

He zoomed out and ran his eyes over her thighs, imagining them wrapped around his waist.

JOFF: I’ll be over in twenty. Keep that skirt on.

He smiled to himself and waited for her protest. He knew it was coming. And if it didn’t, then he was going to throw on a pair of pants and hope he didn’t get a speeding ticket on the way to her house.

LUCY: Too late. Already took it off. And it’s a school night, can’t have visitors.

Fuck. He adjusted himself and looked at the picture again before replying.

JOFF: Call me. We need to talk about what you’re wearing.

LUCY: Weird friendships do not extend to phone sex.

JOFF: Just sexy pictures?

LUCY: On occasion.

JOFF: I need to know if you had panties on when you took that.

He pulled up the picture again and stroked himself through the fabric of his underwear, hoping she’d just tell him the truth.

LUCY: No undies.

JOFF: Fuck you. I’m sexually frustrated. Let me come over. We can extend the weird friendship to include other things.

LUCY: No way. Go to bed, horndog.

He groaned and rolled over to press his face into the pillow next to him. If she didn’t put him out of his misery soon, he was going to explode. A little part of his brain loved the tease, though. There was something to be said for dragging things out and working for it. As long as he got it in the end, that was.

******************************************

It was his birthday and he wanted two things: a fantastic season that led up to the Stanley Cup playoffs and Lucy in his bed. The preseason was kicking off tomorrow with six rapid-fire games in the course of less than two weeks before the actual season kicked off in early October. They were playing Chicago at home, and he was itching to get on the ice and start things off right.

As for Lucy--she was a problem. He'd already celebrated with his teammates a day ago. Today Jacob was throwing him a party at the bar he frequented. It was a little place not far from where Lucy lived. They all liked it and Joff usually didn't have a problem with fans hounding him since his secret spot hadn't been broadcast yet.

Lucy had gone to get a drink at the bar, but she never came back. She'd spent the last twenty minutes talking to a guy there. He looked like a douche--long hair that flopped over into his eyes and several piercings in his ears. His arms had tattoos covering them from the elbows up. And she was sitting there beside him, laughing at something he'd said.

The guy was standing next to her stool, leaning into her, his elbows on the bar. Joff knew the stance well. It meant he was interested and he was confident that she was interested, too. He smiled and said something else. She nodded.

"Hey, man. Loops!" Jacob kicked his leg under the table. "What's up?" he asked when Joff looked over at him.

"Nothing," Joff snapped, directing his gaze anywhere but at the bar where Lucy was practically cheating on him. He thought they had a thing, an agreement that they were dancing around a real relationship until she finally gave in. He thought they were just playing a game of cat and mouse, and when she got tired of it then he'd get the prize. But if that was the case, what the fuck was she talking to rocker dude for?

He wondered if the guy was in a band. Did he have stuff in common with Lucy? They obviously got along. Fucking competition. As each minute ticked by, he got more pissed. He'd kept his dick in his pants for her and now she was flirting with some asshole at his birthday party.

"Aww, shit," Jacob said. "You're watching Lucy."

"Who is she talking to?" he asked his friend.

Jay shook his head. "No idea. Never seen him before. I thought you two were practically dating."

"We were getting there. I thought."

"Why don't you go over and talk to her?"

Joff scoffed. "Fuck that, man. I'm done chasing her. If she doesn't want me, then I'll move on. She can have him if she wants. I don't give a shit."

Jacob shifted uncomfortably in his seat. The atmosphere was charged. Despite what he'd just told Jacob, when he saw the guy buy Lucy another drink, he almost charged over there and jerked her back over to his table. But this was her choice. Maybe she was just a tease and she'd been leading him on the whole time.

Three women near the door were watching him. Over the years he had gotten good at picking out the people who recognized him, but wouldn't approach him. The girls were his type, especially the blonde with the red dress and matching lipstick. He hadn't acknowledged them because the minute he did, they'd come over. It was like a game, one that he used to relish playing.

So, Lucy wanted to fuck around with him and go flirt with other guys? Two could play at that game. If she wasn't going home alone, then he wasn't either. He waited until he felt eyes on him again and then brought his gaze up. The blonde was the alpha, that much was obvious, and it suited him just fine. She locked gazes with him and winked. A carefully calculated smirk hooked her. He'd give her three minutes before she walked by and acted surprised that she recognized him.

Why waste his time with Lucy? Things could be so much easier. A look, a smile, and boom: sex, girlfriend if he wanted one, friends with benefits if he didn't. Easy.

Jacob knew him well enough to see the whole thing play out. "Loops, are you sure? I thought you and Lucy..."

"She's interested in rockstar over there. It's my birthday, and I'm not going home alone."

His tone brooked no argument, and Jay snapped his mouth shut. Smart man. Joff wasn't in the mood to argue about the girl he'd wasted the past five months on.

"Oh my god! You're, like, a player for the Leafs, aren't you? I'm such a huge hockey fan," blondie said as she passed by and did the patented second look. Now all he had to do was reel her in.

He nodded and let a smile play at his lips as he swept his eyes down her body and then back up. Yeah, she'd work. "Maybe," he told her. "I didn't catch your name."

"Charity," she replied, stepping closer and leaning forward to shake his hand. She only did that so she could bend over and flash her tits. So fucking predictable. There was something comforting about it.

Perfect, he thought. Charity. "What do you do, Charity? I hope you're a model because you look that you were born to be one."

She took the empty seat beside him--where Lucy had been sitting before she jumped ship--without him inviting her. Forward. He liked that. Made things go faster. "I am a model, actually."

"What do you model?"

She gave him a sexy smile. "I pose for Playboy. Maybe you've seen some of my work."

Jackpot. It was too easy. "Maybe I have. What are you doing in Toronto?"

"A photo shoot. I've been looking for someone to show me around town. My friends and I just got in last night." Her french-manicured hand reached out to touch the back of his. "But you're probably much too busy for little old me."

"I might be able to squeeze you in, Charity. It's my birthday and maybe you can keep me company."

"Mmmm, whatever the birthday boy wants," she purred, stroking his hand and giving him another wink.

A quick glance at the bar showed him that Lucy's attention was back on him. Rockstar was talking in her ear, but Lucy's eyes were locked on him and Charity. Joff stared back, meeting her gaze. Fuck you, he thought. You want to jerk me around, I'll jerk you around.

For a moment, she looked stricken and he almost felt bad. But then she looked away and focused back on the douche next to her, and Joff resigned himself to the new course of the evening: small talk and then sex with Charity, Playboy Bunny.

************************************************

Charity was better at conversation than Francesca, the last girl he’d had in his lap. But she was still a little on the vapid side. You couldn’t have everything you wanted, right? You wanted a perfect body and a sex drive that would wear you out, then you had to sacrifice the conversation. Unless you had Lucy, but he didn’t have Lucy. She was still over at the bar with rockstar.

Joff kept stealing glances; he couldn’t help himself. The guy was practically salivating over her, laying it on thick. Who’d blame him, though? Lucy inspired that kind of reaction with those intelligent eyes and witty tongue and gorgeous body that she thought she was hiding with the concert tees and boot-cut jeans. She might have fooled Joff for a minute, but it didn’t look like she was fooling this guy. He knew what he’d hooked. And Joff was pissed.

Charity felt like the consolation prize. But she was better than nothing. Most guys would be on their knees, thankful for her. She had great lips. Maybe he’d just take her in the bathroom and give them a test drive. Once girls found out he was a professional athlete, they were willing to do a lot of things they wouldn’t normally. Blowjobs in a bathroom stall was one of those things.

Her two friends had joined their group. And because there were more guys than girls, they didn’t feel left out at all. Charity’s eyes were only for him, though. She was perched on his leg like he was Santa Claus, her arm extend around his shoulder while her fingers tickled the hair at the nap of his neck. He couldn’t decide if it was pleasurable or annoying.

Joff glanced up and caught Lucy watching him. Her dark eyes looked sad. When she saw that he’d noticed, she schooled her expression and looked back at the guy who was trying to take her home. She could go back to her little bedroom with him and cry her eyes out for all he cared. He had a hot girl who was probably going to give him head in the bathroom before he took her home and figured out if his dick still worked after five months of chastity.

He brought his hand up and pulled Charity’s head down so he could whisper in her ear, tell her his plans. Lucy’s eyes were on him again. He watched her as he murmured to the girl in his lap, who was giggling by now.

Hurt flashed over Lucy’s face and she flipped herself around to throw money on the bar. A couple words to rockstar and she was out the door. He was on her heels like a dog who wanted to be taken home. For a moment, Joff couldn’t breathe. His chest locked up and his lungs no longer worked because the sick pain was too much. And that was the end of things with Lucy. Over before it really began.

Charity’s hand was running up his thigh. He felt her palm his cock right as the roar from his table and the ones around it demanded that he open presents. He sucked in a breath and forced a smile as someone dropped a gift bag in front of him. Charity did her duty as the girlfriend stand-in to help him unwrap everything. When Jacob sat the last present in front of him, he looked Joff in the eye. They didn’t say anything to each other, but Joff knew the present was from Lucy. It made him feel sick.

It was square, about an inch thick, and she’d wrapped it in an old newspaper with blue and white ribbons tied around. He almost smiled because they were his team colors, and he knew she’d picked them on purpose because of that. Charity reached for the package, but he pulled it from her grasp. “I want to open one,” he told her. What he didn’t tell her was that he needed to open this one in particular.

Carefully, he untied the ribbons and ripped at the newspaper where it was taped. It was a small book, like a journal or a photo album. The front of it was decorated with glued-on black letters. Ticket Stub Diary. He flipped the book open and two tickets fell out. The XX at The Opera House in November. A notecard was nestled between the pages. He flipped it over and read her note.

Lupul,
Do you know how much I stressed over your present? What am I supposed to get the guy who has everything? Obviously an awesome diary to keep your concert stubs so you can get in touch with your inner teenage girl. Just don’t start scrapbooking or I might have to have an intervention. Oh, and tickets to The XX because if you don’t already like them, then you should. Trust me, I know these things. Don’t worry--I checked your schedule. You’ll be home the night of the concert. Take who you’d like; don’t feel obligated to take the gifter.
Sincerely and weirdly yours in his strange friendship, Lucy

“What are you supposed to do with this?” Charity asked, picking up the book and flipping it over to look at the back cover.

Joff couldn’t breathe again. “Get off,” he said.

“What?”

“Get off of me.”

Charity smiled. “Need to go to the bathroom?” she asked, giving him a wink with her overdone eyes. She had so much mascara and eyeliner or that it was a miracle she could keep them open.

“I said get off me,” he snapped, snatching the book out of her hands.

She jumped up, hands on hips, looking at him like he’d lost his mind. “What’s your problem?”

Everyone was looking at him now. He still could only pull in shallow breaths. His heart hurt and everyone was staring. And Lucy was gone. And she probably was letting that dumb asshole take her clothes off. And she didn’t even know that he was in fucking love with her.

“Loops? You okay?” It was Jacob.

“No. I’m feeling sick. I need to go home.”

Charity put her hand on his back. “If you give me your keys, I’ll drive you home, honey.”

Joff shrugged her off. “No, I got it. Have a good time in Toronto.”

He looked over at Jacob. His friend nodded. “Cool, man. I’ll grab your presents and bring them by tomorrow. Hope you feel better.”

Jay was a good friend. He understood and he didn’t say a damn word. Clutching Lucy’s present in his hand, he pushed his way through the crowd by the door and hurried to his car. Once he was behind the wheel, he let out a sigh and sucked in the first deep breath in what felt like forever.

Notes