The Things No One Else Sees

He was standing outside the small concert venue with a baseball cap pulled low over his eyes. They were down one game in the first series and he was feeling like they had a chance to come back and tie it up before they returned to Boston. And he was hopeful no one would recognize him tonight so he could enjoy the show and de-stress from the intensity of the playoffs. Joff glanced down the sidewalk and saw Lucy making her way toward him. It was obvious she hadn't seen him waiting yet, so he was able to give her a once-over.

She was in a pair of boot-cut jeans and a bright yellow t-shirt that clung to her body. And she probably didn't realize it showed off her chest to great advantage. The toes of her low-heeled boots poked out from beneath the jeans. He never knew what to think when it came to Lucy. Was he attracted to her? Was she trying to make herself attractive? Her hair was in soft black waves and just brushed her shoulders. Her indie-girl glasses framed her face nicely. Her lips were shiny with pink lip gloss and her makeup light enough to reveal her freckles underneath. She certainly didn't try to make herself up like Destiny or any other girl Joff had shown interest in, but he still found he liked to look at her. Only when she didn't know, though. If she knew, then she'd bust his balls over it.

He saw the moment that she recognized him. Her gait picked up and she headed to where he was standing. He felt like it was a strange first date. But it wasn't a date; he hadn't even asked her to come. Well, he had, but through Jacob. Two days before the concert, he realized he didn't have Lucy's phone number. He had called Jacob and asked him to text Lucy and see if she wanted to come with him. Jacob had been suspicious and protective, but Joff had assured him it was just as friends since they shared a similar love of music.

Lucy hadn't even called him. She'd told Jacob to pass along her agreement to go. It felt strange. Joff wanted say he was going to a concert with a friend, but she wasn't even that. He still didn't have her number, and she was just an acquaintance at best.

"Lupul," she said, greeting him with a nod and stopping far enough out of his reach that he couldn't shake her hand or give her a friendly hug.

"Judgmental bitch," he replied, nodding back.

Lucy grinned and then succumbed to laughter as she bent over, holding her stomach. It was almost musical, her sweet giggles and gasping breaths. "Why aren't we friends, Lupul? You're funny as hell sometimes."

"Hey, I was thinking the same thing. I don't even have your cell number so I can invite you to concerts. I mean, I'm probably the only person you know with flawless taste in music."

Lucy composed herself, crossing her arms over her chest. All it did was push her breasts up and together. The yellow shirt was tight and gave him an amazing view. Damn, he thought. This is bad. I shouldn't be looking at her like this.

"You have Jacob’s number. He can call me if you need a concert partner. Why isn't Destiny with you, anyway?"

Joff drew a line across his throat with his index finger. "We're through."

She raised her brows. "Oh yeah? Your choice or her choice?"

"My choice. But she said it was a good thing because she fucked one of the Senators a few weeks ago.”

Lucy winced. "Serious?"

He nodded.

"Shit, I'm sorry." When he responded by just shrugging his shoulders, she added, "But I guess thats what you get when you date model slash strippers named Destiny. Let this be a lesson to you."

"I knew I could count on you to make a joke about it. Everyone else is walking around like I got my heart broke."

"Which is obviously not true since you don't have one."

Joff opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Her comment had cut deep. He knew she was just joking and didn't really mean it, but it hurt all the same. "I didn't have one for Destiny," he finally agreed.

They stood in silence for a long, uncomfortable moment. Eventually, Lucy cleared her throat. "So are we going to go inside or what? I bet the opening act has already started."

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

Lucy was on the short side, only five feet, four inches. Another reason she wasn't his type at all. But she fit perfectly in front of him in the press of the crowd against the stage. The had started out side by side, but as the crowd shifted, he found himself behind her, protecting her from everyone behind him. The place was hot, and she had pinned her hair up on top of her head, revealing the back of her neck. And despite how good the show was, every shift of her body kept distracting him.

The opening strains of Country Livin' started and he looked down to see Lucy's smiling face turned to see him over her shoulder. "This is my favorite," she said, eyes shining with excitement. Of course it was. It was one of Esthero's older songs. Unique and vaguely sexy. Like Lucy. The pure happiness on her face made him glad he had invited her.

The dreamy song road over the stifling air of the club. Every now and then Lucy's ass would push back and brush the front of his pants. He glanced down and watched her hips sway from side to side as she moved to the beat. He flexed his fingers, resisting the urge to grab her hips and pull her back against him so they could dance properly. Or at least dance the way he was accustomed.

Lucy glanced over her shoulder, looking to see if he was enjoying himself. Her eyes were almost sparkling as she sang along to the lyrics. The music was too loud for him to hear her, but he knew she would sound sweet with just a little roughness to her voice. This was a very different side of her. Why hadn't they ever talked before now? He should have been friends with her all along. Maybe she could have given him advice on not dating the wrong kind of woman. Then he wouldn't feel this weird shame that his ex had cheated on him with other hockey players.

After a two song encore, the band left the stage for good and Joff bought two bottles of water on their way out the front door. The baseball cap and the oversized hoodie that hid his body coupled with the dark venue had helped prevent anyone from recognizing him. And whether it was intentional or not, Lucy had avoided calling him by name for most of the night. He was grateful.

"That was fantastic," she said before taking a long draw off her bottle of water. They were walking down the deserted side of the street toward the parking lot where they had both parked. "I've never seen her live."

Her yellow T-shirt was damp with sweat and Joff wondered if she was chilly now that they were in the cool April air. He pulled his hoodie off and hand it to her. "Here, take it," he said. When she gave him a quizzical look, he continued with, "It's cold."

"Aren't you just full of surprises," she said, wrapping the fabric around her shoulders, but not actually putting it on.

Joff shrugged and knocked back half his bottle of water. "So, how have you been?"

“The usual,” she answered, adjusting his hoodie around her body. “We’ve got a couple months left before summer break at school. I feel like I need to get out of town this summer. Maybe rent a place up north on Lake Huron for a week or two.”

“The grind getting to you?”

“Yeah. Dennis won’t leave me alone. It’s getting old. I thought he’d forget about me after we broke up.”

Joff shifted his eyes over to her and then back in front of him. After you got to know her, Lucy was pretty hard to forget. He wasn’t surprised that Dennis was after her, but he still didn’t like it. “You want me to talk to him and tell him to back off?”

She laughed and shook her head. “No. You don’t need to do that. I’ll just keep ignoring the texts and phone calls. But the minute he stops by my house, I’ll take you up on your offer to intimidate the shit out of him.”

“You should go out west. I really love southern California. Such a different vibe. People live outside there year-round. It’s amazing.”

They were in the parking lot and he was going to have to say goodbye to her. And he wasn’t quite ready yet.

“I think southern Cali is a bit out of my reach. I was thinking of driving my clunker three hours northwest and renting a little cottage for a week. Catch up on my reading and think about what I’m going to do with my life other than teach kids how to create a baking soda volcano.”

He could see her sitting on the front porch, feet bare, hair pinned up, little shorts showing off her legs, and a tank top dipping down to show a glimpse of her cleavage. The image made him feel a strange warmth deep down in his stomach. It wasn’t really desire, or at least not like he’d known it before.

“That sounds nice,” he replied, watching as she unlocked her gray hatchback and tossed the half-full bottle of water inside.

“Thanks for the concert, Lupul. And thanks for this, too.” She held out his hoodie. He accepted it from her and watched her slide into the driver’s seat. “I had a great time,” she said.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “Me too. Thanks for coming with me. Good luck on the last couple months of the semester.”

He turned away, wishing he could come up with a reason to keep her talking. “Hey,” he heard her call out.

Joff turned back around. “Yeah?”

“It’s the playoffs now, right?

She was so clueless. One side of his mouth curled up into a grin. “Yeah. Game four of the first series is tomorrow. We’re down by one.”

“Good luck, then.”

He held her gaze for a long moment. “Thanks,” he finally said before turning away to find his car.

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

He lifted her phone number off Jacob’s cell when his friend wasn’t looking. Was he proud of snooping? No. But he didn’t want to deal with Jacob’s questions about why he wanted Lucy’s phone number.

They had lost two in a row. One more loss and they would be eliminated. The stress was palpable because he needed to perform extremely well each second he was on the ice if they wanted to come back with the three wins they needed to advance. They were leaving in the morning for Boston, and he needed to get his mind off the frustration of not winning when he knew they were capable.

To blow off some steam, Jacob had invited him out for drinks at a local bar they frequented. It wasn’t a popular place, and Joff enjoyed getting away from all things hockey. It was nice to relax and not talk shop with anyone, to just act like a normal person.

Except a dirty blonde at the pool table a few yards away had recognized him. He could see the predatory look in her eyes as she strutted around the table and bent over to show him how her ass hung out of her denim shorts when she was practically lying on the felt of the table. She was hot--short shorts and a thin cotton tank top that showed off her bright pink bra. His type. For a fleeting moment, he stared back with heat in his eyes, letting her know he saw what she was offering.

And then he remembered standing behind Lucy a couple days ago, watching her look back at him and smile. When he looked back over at the blonde, he just saw desperation. She’d probably end up pulling a Destiny and fucking another player. It wasn’t like it hadn’t happened before. The women that flaunted it usually got around, usually had a thing for hockey players. He’d fallen into that trap for so long, gotten caught up in the drama and emptiness.

He dropped his gaze and picked at the label on his beer bottle. Maybe this was what it felt like to grow up and realize that doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result was just insane. Destiny version 2.0 wasn’t going to make him happy. She might make sure he had a great night, but that probably wasn’t worth the bitching and attitude.

“Next on the list?”

He looked up to see that Lucy had slid into the empty chair beside him. Jacob was at the bar getting another round.

“Next on what list?”

“Do-me-now over there at the pool table. Next on your list of conquests.”

He shook his head. “Nope.”

“Don’t lie. You thought about it. She’s your type all over.”

Always busting his balls. She drove him crazy, but he really enjoyed it. “I thought about it, but it’s not worth my time. I’m a new man. I’m going to do things different this time around.”

Lucy snorted. “Sure, Lupul. Whatever you say. Twenty bucks says you take her home tonight.”

He stuck out his hand. “Deal.”

After two more beers and some conversation with Jacob and Lucy, Joff excused himself to use the bathroom before he headed home. He needed to get some rest for tomorrow morning. When he came out of the men’s room, blondie was standing by the door.

“You play for the Leafs, don’t you?” she said in her best impression of a sexy voice. He almost wanted to laugh. Why did he ever fall for this shit?

“Nope, I just look like someone who does.” He pushed past her and made his way back to the table.

Lucy’s eyes went from him to the girl in the hallway. “Did you really just turn her down?” she asked.

Joff grinned. “You can keep your twenty, but you owe me lunch.”

Notes