The Things No One Else Sees

He had the flu. The symptoms started during the last away game in Pittsburgh, but he ignored them, hoping it was all in his head. It wasn’t, and by the time he was back in Toronto, he was flat on his back in bed when he wasn’t bent over the toilet emptying his stomach. The medical staff told him he wasn’t playing until he had recovered. The worst of it was over, but his body was still trying to build up energy reserves. Which was why he was at home on the day of a home game instead of at the rink for morning skate with the rest of the team.

He was sprawled out on the couch watching an infomercial on the Insanity workout program when his doorbell rang. Jacob had offered to bring by lunch, so he shuffled over to the door and opened it without checking the peephole. Standing in front of him was Lucy. She was in jeans, a white shirt and a black wool coat. Her black hair was tamed into a french braid and her glasses stood out on her fair face. She was kind of cute when she wasn’t looking at him like he was an asshole. And she was standing at his door with a bag.

“Uh, hi, Lucy.”

Lucy gave him a strained smile and held up the bag. “Jacob sends lunch.”

“I thought Jacob was bringing lunch.” He stepped back to let her in. He was in sweats and an old T-shirt. And he hadn’t showered this morning. Not that impressing Lucy was on his list, but he didn’t like any woman to see him when he wasn’t at his best.

Lucy ducked past him and looked around his place, finally walking over to the coffee table and putting the bag down. “I told him I would bring it because you were nice to me a couple weeks ago and you deserve a pay back. Sorry to disappoint.”

Joff walked over and sat down on the couch, watching her pull a couple salads out of the bag and then a foil tray of chicken and pasta. She pushed one of the salads and the pasta down the coffee table to him. “I’m not disappointed. Just surprised. You and I aren’t exactly friends.”

“Yeah, I’m a judgmental bitch,” she replied, glancing over at him with a cheeky smile on her face before she pulled the clear lid off her salad and dumped the dressing over it.

He chuckled. “I wouldn’t have put it exactly like that. But that’s the gist of it.”

“Well, you’re a playboy who can’t keep it in your pants.”

“There’s that judgmental bitch. I knew she was in there somewhere.”

Lucy laughed and dug into her salad. He did likewise, watching her out of the corner of his eye. He had never paid much attention to Lucy. He didn’t even know her last name, just that she was Jacob’s cousin and she didn’t care about hockey. She was probably the only person in Canada who didn’t care about hockey. He’d met her several times, usually at parties or when Jacob invited her to a go out with them to a club or bar, but they had never had anything that qualified as a conversation. She’d just faded into the background pretty easily. He wondered why they’d never talked now that he’d gotten more of a taste of her personality.

“I hope you’re not still contagious,” she said when he finished up his salad and picked up the container of pasta.

“Fever broke yesterday. I’m safe.”

“Good. I’ve got a field trip tomorrow and I can’t be puking my guts out behind the bus.”

“Field trip?”

She nodded.

“What kind of field trip?”

“To the Science Center,” she said. He must have looked at her like she was crazy because she rolled her eyes at him. “I’m a teacher. My class is going to the Science Center.”

She was a teacher? Weren’t teachers supposed to be old? All his teachers had been. “What do you teach?”

“Grade five. Hellions.” She sat her salad container on the coffee table and settled back onto his couch.

“Oh, that’s cool. Do you like it?”

Lucy nodded her head. “I do. Except for when I get a little Lupul in my classroom and then I hate it.”

He finished chewing his food. Finally, he said, “Can’t you ever stop busting my balls? I thought you were trying to pay me back for being nice to you.”

“Yeah, sorry. You’re any easy target.”

“Whatever happened to, uh, Dennis?”

She grimaced and leaned her head back, closing her eyes. “It’s a mess. He’s still calling and texting me. I might have to take out a restraining order.”

Joff swallowed his food. “What? Are you serious? Jacob and I will talk to him if he’s still...”

“I’m joking, Lupul,” she said. “Well, I’m not joking about the calling and texting, but things aren’t so bad that I need to get the court involved. No rescue needed.”

He narrowed his eyes at her, noticing the faint dusting of freckles sprinkled over her cheeks and nose, the way her lips shined with the coral lipgloss she’d probably put on when she left the house. “You’re such a bitch,” he told her, smiling all the time.

Lucy let loose a bark of laughter. “You’re such an asshole. How’s Destiny, the model slash stripper?”

“Still Destiny.”

“Still dancing on bars and living the Katy Perry I-Kissed-a-Girl life?”

“Judgmental bitch,” he reminded her.

Lucy stood up and slung her purse over her shoulder. “Her name is Destiny. It’s hard not to judge.”

Joff tried to keep the smile off his face as he followed her to the door. Laughing at a joke made at your girlfriend’s expense was not appropriate. Lucy opened the door for herself, but turned around to look at him once she’d gone outside.

“I suck at thank yous. But, thank you for being a nice guy and waiting outside with me that night. I appreciate it.”

“There. Was that so hard?” he asked.

“I’m dying inside,” she admitted with a grin. “Stay out of trouble, Lupul.”

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

Jacob had horrible taste in music. As soon as he stepped into his friend’s new loft, he started scanning the room for the source of the rap music. It was a laptop on a table by the window. While Jacob went to get him a beer from the fridge, Joff scanned through the list of albums in iTunes, trying to find something that would go over well with the ten to twelve people in the loft.

Jacob had just signed the lease two weeks ago and had invited friends over for a housewarming party. Destiny had agreed to go, but she came up with some last minute emergency photo shoot. Secretly, Joff was pleased that he could fly solo and just hang out with Jacob and their small circle of friends.

Pulling an armchair closer to the table, Joff accepted the beer bottle and settled himself in as the new Black Keys albumstarted. Much better than the shit that had been infiltrating the air when he walked into the place.

Jacob and his girlfriend were sitting on the chaise lounge a few feet away, laughing about the crazy woman downstairs who sang Michael Jackson songs in the shower. Joff was only half listening to them, the other ear tuned into the punchy drums and bass of the first song.

He took a long swig from the beer bottle and shifted his eyes around the room. Lucy was sitting across the way on a plush sofa beside the tall window. The early evening light of the setting sun was full on her face, giving her pale complexion a warm glow and bring out faint freckles. Her hair was straighter than usual, but still wavy and falling around her face. Her glasses were perched on her nose and one corner of her mouth lifted in a small smile when she caught him looking.

Joff didn’t think about it when he smiled at her. She was a bitch, but she was interesting. And she looked cute in her black leggings and oversized white silk shirt that was cinched around her waist with a wide black belt. She rolled her eyes and smiled back at him. No one else was around her; she was sitting by herself. Joff wanted to get up and go talk to her, but wondered if she would be annoyed with him. She always seemed to be annoyed with him.

Instead of getting up, he pointed at the laptop and lifted his brows. Lucy gave him a thumbs up and nodded her head. He felt a rush, like he’d impressed a girl he liked. But he didn’t really like her. She wasn’t his type. And he had a gorgeous, blonde model for a girlfriend. Which made it weird that he kept stealing glances at Lucy. She was looking at her phone screen and nursing a bottle of beer.

“What do you think?”

Joff looked over at Jacob. “What?”

“About my new place. And stop looking at my cousin like that.”

“Awesome place. And looking at her like what?”

Jacob narrowed his eyes. “Like she’s next on the list. You know she’d eat you alive. She thinks you're a dick.”

Joff almost physically reeled back at the accusation from one of his best friends. “I’m not looking at her like anything, man. I’ve got Destiny.”

“I thought you were halfway to breaking up with her. She’s a couple weeks past her shelf life.”

“What’s her shelf life?”

“Two months.”

He shook his head at Jacob and laughed, even though it wasn’t really funny. “Am I that predictable?”

“Totally, Loops.”

Instead of continuing a conversation he didn’t feel like having, he turned back to the laptop and switched to a Morning Benders album. In the middle of March, it made him nostalgic for the summer and the beach. Lucy was still by herself, peeling the label off her bottle. He pushed out of the chair and walked over, casually draping himself on the far edge of the couch, leaving plenty of space between them.

“You saved the day,” she said, not bothering to look at him.

“Did I?”

“Mmm, hmm. They were about to play T-Pain. And I was about to slit my wrists.”

Joff laughed as he settled into the couch, throwing his arm out and resting his hand just a few inches from her shoulder. He felt hyper aware of her body in relation to his. The feeling was strange, and he wasn’t sure he liked it. “Glad I could avert a suicide attempt. The world needs more judgmental bitches.”

“Someone has to balance out the hair-flipping Destinys out there, buddy,” she said with a grin.

They sat side-by-side just listening to the music. He kept his eyes down, looking at the peep-toe wedges on her feet. They revealed her burgundy polished toenails. The second track of the album came on and Joff finally looked over at her. “You like this?”

“The Morning Benders? I love it. Did you know they’re still making music under the name Pop Etc?”

Joff raised his brows at her. He didn’t know that. It wasn’t often that a woman told him something about music he didn’t know. Destiny listened to Mariah Carey almost exclusively, so they never talked about music. “No, I didn’t. Is it good?”

Lucy shrugged. “It’s okay. Different. More pop, more electronic. Worth a minute, though.”

A commotion at the door made them both look up. Destiny had just walked in with her sequined platform heels and a skin-tight tube dress. She looked amazing with her rack on display, and her legs were a mile long between the hem of the short dress and the beginning of those heels. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and opened her mouth to squeal with delight over the loft. Joff felt his teeth clench and a wave of irritation wash over him. She looked gorgeous, but she was so fucking obnoxious.

Notes