The Things No One Else Sees

It was Jacob’s birthday and Joff was wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans as he walked up to Lucy’s house. It was a small place on a quiet street with a tiny front yard. The brick exterior was weathered and had vines crawling up beneath the windows. He hadn’t seen her since the house warming party over two weeks ago. After Destiny showed up, he'd spent his evening entertaining her and wishing he could just get the hell out of Jacob’s loft. All Destiny was good for anymore was sex. The longer she had clothes on, the more annoying she was. He hadn’t told her about Jacob’s party today because he wanted to enjoy himself instead of bounce around after Destiny like a balloon tied to her wrist.

His knock was answered by the hostess herself. “Lupul,” Lucy said, nodding at him and stepping aside so he could enter the house.

“Nice place,” he said, looking around at the comfortable living room dominated by a sectional couch and a television.

“Come on, I’ll give the nickel tour that ends at the fridge where the beer is.” She walked off, not even looking back to see if he was following her. She didn’t have to look because of course he was following her. She was intimidating as hell for a girl who didn’t use her tits as a weapon. It was the first full week of April and the first real warm spell of the spring had hit the day before. She was in a blue and white sundress with ballet flats on her feet. He watched the way the hem of the dress brushed against the backs of her knees as she walked down a hall and pointed into a doorway.

“Library,” Lucy said.

Joff poked his head inside. There was a small desk, a wall of bookshelves filled with books, and two huge armchairs that looked like they belonged in a castle. He opened his mouth to say something, but she was already at the next door.

“Bathroom.”

It was small, but clean. A shower and tub combination was against the far wall and the vanity was cluttered with girl things--lotions, creams, makeup, hairspray. Her girl things. He wanted to stop and look at everything for some odd reason, but she was pointing into another room.

“Bedroom,” she explained and then backtracked down the hall.

Joff let her go, stepping into her bedroom by himself and casting his eyes over the chest of drawers and the full-length mirror hanging on the wall. Her curtains matched the tan comforter on the bed and the shaggy rug on the floor. There were two pieces of artwork on the wall--both album covers. One of them caught his eye. He vaguely recognized the album.

“Hey, nosey neighbor. Are you done stalking through my bedroom?” she said, poking her head into the room.

“What’s up with the artwork?”

Lucy walked in to stand behind him. “It’s one of my favorite album covers.”

“Twilight Singers?” he asked, turning to look at her.

She looked taken aback. “Yeah. You’re the first person who knew.”

“Why this cover?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I like it. It’s mysterious and sexy.”

Joff looked at the picture again. It was just a woman from waist to knees, lifting a white skirt up to reveal black stockings and garters. Her crotch was hidden in the shadows of the skirt. He was intrigued at Lucy’s decision to put it in her bedroom. “I like it,” he finally said.

“I’m so glad you approve, Lupul. But it’s not a surprise since the picture is of a woman lifting her skirt. Near and dear to your heart, eh?”

He shook his head at her and chuckled. “You just can’t cut me any slack, can you?”

“Judgmental bitch, according to you. Come on. You haven’t seen the state of my kitchen. Jacob put the snacks in order by color. It’s some astounding feat of OCD.”

Joff took one last look at the almost scandalous artwork on her bedroom wall before following her back down the hall and through the living room. A few mutual friends were sitting on the sectional, watching a muted television while they argued about where the best Mexican restaurant in town was.

Her kitchen was modest with a small table in the middle of the floor. An array of chips and vegetables were arranged in bowls and trays on the table. Jacob, his girlfriend, and two other guys were sitting at the table drinking beers and making lewd stick figures with baby carrot sticks. They all greeted him when he followed Lucy in.

She walked over to the fridge, pulled out a bottle of beer, and handed it over to him. “Thanks. Do you own this place?” he asked.

“I do. I bought it four years ago.”

“It’s nice.”

Lucy gave him a look that said she thought he was full of shit and feeding her lines. “Want to play DJ?” she asked.

“Depends on your music collection,” he replied.

She motioned for him to follow her back into the living room. In the far corner, away from the crowd of people was a laptop hooked up to a set of nice speakers. “I have excellent taste in music, but you can go ahed and prove to me that you do, too.”

He smiled at her and settled into a chair, pulling the computer onto his lap. Lucy perched on the arm of the chair, almost touching him. He’d never really been this close to her before and it was distracting. She smelled nice, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that, especially considering the salacious picture in her bedroom. “You know I have great taste in music,” he told her.

“It could have been a fluke,” she replied, looking over his shoulder as he scanned through her music collection. She had great stuff; their collections overlapped quite a bit, which was surprising.

He picked Animal by Neon Trees and looked up at her as the vocals started. It was upbeat and suitable for a party.

The corner of her mouth lifted in a smile that she fought. “Oh, alright, asshole,” she said. “Good choice.”

“You should never have doubted me.”

“I thought you were probably a rap guy or a country guy.”

Joff blanched. “No, no, no. Never. I’m offended.”

“Where’s your arm candy?”

He looked up at her face and those dark brown eyes through the lens of her glasses. She looked dangerous, but he wasn’t sure why. “I might have forgotten to tell Destiny about the party.”

Lucy lifted her brows. “You’re going to be in the doghouse.”

Joff shrugged. “Dennis still trying to contact you?”

He watched her shoulders slump just the slightest. “Unfortunately. I’m not sure why I ever dated him.”

“Must have seen something in him,” Joff said, watching the way she looked down at the floor in front of them. Her thick, black lashes stood out in contrast to her fair skin.

“It was probably because he looks like Jared Leto. I have a crush.”

“The 30 Seconds to Mars singer?” he asked, making a face to show he didn’t care much for the band.

Lucy lifted her eyes to meet his. “He’s a better actor than a musician. My So-Called Life as Jordan Catalano? My dream guy.”

Joff shifted in the chair and looked up at her more fully. It felt strange to be talking to a woman who wasn’t flirting with him, who was basically telling him that he wasn’t her type. Well, she wasn’t his type either. So, they were even. “He looks like a douche,” he finally said.

“Who? Dennis or Jordan Catalano?”

“Both.”

Lucy rolled her eyes. “You’re just jealous of their good looks.”

“Hey, I’ve got my own good looks,” he replied. As soon as the phrase left his mouth, he wanted to take it back. What was he doing? Why was he flirting with her?

“Don’t be cocky. That’s not a good look,” she said, standing up.

He pulled up the songs from the album art that was hanging on her wall. They were all covers, one of which was a Marvin Gaye song. He hadn’t remembered hearing it, so he clicked play as soon as the Neon Trees song finished. Motown had never sounded so dark and angst-filled.

“So, I’m intrigued by this artwork on your bedroom wall,” he said, looking up at her as she stood next to his chair.

Lucy shook her head, trying to shut down the smile that was creeping up on her lips. The challenge of making her smile turned him on in some weird way. “It’s just a great cover. Playful, sexy, dark, mysterious, haunting. I like it.”

“This is a whole new side of you, Lucy,” he teased.

“I’m like an onion. So many layers.” She looked up to scan the room. “Keep the tunes coming. I’m going to check on Jacob. The carrot stick figures are probably blowing each other by now.”

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

The first playoff game was two days away. They were traveling to Boston tomorrow and Joff felt sick. Destiny was in his bedroom, throwing her clothes in one of his extra bags. And she was screaming at him intermittently. He really couldn’t blame her; he’d just broken up with her. It would be best to cut her out before the playoffs and the summer. The breakup was a long time coming, weeks overdue. He’d just hung on a little longer because he was tired of coming home to an empty bed when he was between girls.

Joff ran a hand roughly through his hair. Jumping from Destiny to Destiny was probably unhealthy. Maybe he should get a therapist.

“You’re a piece of shit! You don’t even deserve me!”

Her screeching voice cut through the thick atmosphere. He should probably get off the couch and go make sure she wasn’t cutting holes in his clothes or dumping all her perfume on his mattress. But he didn’t really want to see her. He hated this cycle of dating and breaking it off two or three months later. Destiny had lasted longer than most others, but less than four months really wasn’t a feat when you were thirty. Half his friends were already married. That felt uncomfortable.

“Fuck you, Joff. Fuck you!”

Her voice. Jesus. He wanted to blast music to cover it up. Music made him think of Lucy. He wondered what she’d think of him, hiding in the living room while Destiny packed her things. She’d probably call him a coward and an asshole. Lucy was irritating. He’d thought of her more often than he felt was warranted in the past week. There was a concert the day after the third game of the series--a singer named Esthero. She’d gotten her start in Toronto and often came back during tours to play a couple dates there. Fortunately, one show coincided with a break in the first series.

Joff had been planning to go, but he knew he was never going to take Destiny. Another good reason to break up now. Playoffs were stressful and she liked to talk about his performance, the summer was coming up and he planned on going to Newport Beach for at least a month or two, and he didn’t want to take her with him to the show. Maybe Lucy would want to go. He didn’t know anyone else who’d be interested in seeing something in the trip-hop genre.

“I hope you break your fucking leg out there on the ice, you dick!" he heard her scream. "Oh, and I fucked one of the Senators when they were here for the game three weeks ago."

It was a low blow, and it was probably true. It was just surprising it had taken that long. Groaning, Joff pushing himself off the couch and shuffled into the bedroom. It was about time to kick her out.

Notes