by Elicia Hyder
“I like it. Did they treat you well at CarMart?” he asked.
“They did. Thanks to you.”
He shook his head. “They would have anyway. They’re a good company.”
“Still, I appreciate you letting me throw your name around.”
“Anytime.”
We walked into the downstairs lobby. “You really don’t have to walk me back to the office. I’m fine.”
He laughed and looked over at me as he pressed the up button for the elevator on the wall. “No, I need to see you safely back to work because if I’ve learned anything in the very short time I’ve known you, it’s you’re a liability.”
I playfully shoved his shoulder with my left hand, and he reached out and grabbed it. He didn’t immediately let go. One Mississippi…two Mississippi…three Mississippi….
“I saw you trip on the stairs, by the way,” he said, watching the numbers above the doors light up as the elevator descended.
“What? When?”
“The day I dropped you off after you wrecked your car. You tripped walking up the front steps outside.”
I opened my mouth to lie, but what was the point? “I didn’t know you saw that.”
He chuckled. “I know.”
Eight Mississippi.
The doors slid open and two men in business suits walked off. West’s hand was still wrapped around mine when we stepped inside. I feared I might drop dead from a heart arrhythmia by the time we reached the sixteenth floor. He looked over at me from where he was leaning against the glass wall and handrail. “I’m sorry you hurt your hand today, Lucy, but I’m glad I got to see you.”
God, I hoped my hand wasn’t sweating in his.
“And I’m glad it wasn’t broken,” he said, cracking a smile.
I lifted an eyebrow. “Are you?”
He nodded. “Absolutely. It takes all the pressure off me having to plan a perfect second date.”
Yep. I’m going to die. Cause of death: heart explosion.
“It’s going to be hard to top urgent care though, so good luck,” he said, managing to keep a straight face.
I wished I could say something witty back, but my mind had turned to goo…pink, bubbly, glittery goo. When the elevator dinged at my floor, I actually forgot to get off. West had to tug me forward before my feet started moving. He looked toward Claire’s desk. “Think you can handle it the rest of the way by yourself?”
“I think so.” But dang it, I didn’t want to. “Thanks again, for everything, West.”
He squeezed my hand. “I’ll play the hero anytime you need me.”
We lingered there for a moment, neither of us wanting to move. Finally, he smiled and took a step back, dropping my hand but not my heart as he backed away. “I’ll see you Friday?”
“If you don’t do anything between now and then to make me forget I’ve forgiven you for not calling.” My brain definitely worked better outside his cologne-filled bubble of personal space.
He laughed and bowed to me at the elevator. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
The doors slid open again, and he stepped backward inside.
I waved with my good hand. “Bye.”
“Bye, Lucy.”
The parking lot at the Rollers’ Sweatshop was packed when I pulled into the lot that evening. I ended up having to park across the street from our practice building. Zoey pulled in behind me, and we walked toward the building together. “What on earth is going on?” she asked, looking around at all the cars.
“I have no idea, but I have a bad feeling about it,” I said.
She looked over at me. “I’m surprised you’re skating tonight. How’s your shoulder?”
“It still hurts like hell, but I wasn’t about to skip out on practice. I’m going to tell Shamrocker I have to take it easy though if we do any contact,” I said.
We walked through the front door and found the entire team putting on their skates. I gulped. Olivia was gearing up with Grace and Monica near the bathroom. Zoey and I hurried over and dropped our bags. “What’s going on?” I asked my roommate.
“I’m not sure, but Styx said the whole team would be here tonight,” she said.
“Probably because of the disaster at playoffs,” Grace whispered.
I unzipped my bag. “This is bad.”
“Why are you here?” Olivia asked. “Shouldn’t you be on the injured list?”
My eyes widened. “Do we have an injured list? I feel like I should have a permanent spot reserved if we do.”
She smiled. “Sorry I didn’t respond to your messages earlier. It’s been a crazy day. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to make it.”
“It was a weird day for me too,” I said, pulling on my knee pads.
“Yeah. What happened? Your messages were very cryptic.”
“I had a date.”
“A date?” Grace asked.
“A date with who?” Zoey wanted to know.
I held my finger over my lips. “I don’t want to say. Nothing may come of it, so let’s not make a bigger deal out of it than it is.”
“Make a big deal out of what?” Monica asked, scooting closer so she could hear.
“Lucy went on a date,” Grace told her.
“Was it him?” Olivia asked.
I couldn’t stop my lips from bending into a smile.
“Wait. Are you talking about the guy you were stalking at the bout?” Zoey asked.
“That’s the one,” Olivia answered, tying her skates. “You saw him today?”
“He took me to the emergency room,” I said.
“The emergency room?” all four of them asked in unison.
“Well, urgent care.” I held up my hand. My middle finger was taped to my ring finger. “I slammed my hand in my office door. Nothing’s broken, but the doctor taped my fingers to keep me from moving the middle one. It’s bruised pretty bad along the joint.”
“Geez, Lucy,” Olivia said, shaking her head. “You really should be permanently on the list.”
I tightened a loose wheel on my skates. “I know.”
“And a visit to urgent care isn’t a date,” she added.
“He called it a date, and he held my hand when he walked me back to the office,” I told her.
Her head snapped back in surprise. “Really?”
“Wait. What kind of hand-holding?” Monica asked. “Pancaking or waffling?”
We all turned to her.
“What?” I asked.
“The kids in my class say this is pancaking.” Monica clasped her hands together. “And this is waffling.” She laced her fingers together. “Waffling is for dating.”
“I guess we were pancaking,” I answered.
Monica shook her head with mock sadness. “I’m sorry, Lucy. I just don’t know how serious he is about it then.”
We all laughed. “Do sixth graders hold the jury on the telltale signs of true love now?” Grace asked.
“They’re probably a hell of a lot smarter about it than we are,” Olivia said, strapping on her helmet.
“Truth,” I agreed.
“Amen, sister,” Zoey said.
Olivia stood. “So are you going to see him again?”
“Friday night.”
This evoked collective “Ooos” from my friends.
“Where’s he taking you?” Monica asked.
“Anywhere I want. He lost a bet, so I get to pick. And you guys will have to help me plan it because I have zero dating experience in this city.”
Suddenly, all three coaches skated out from a group that was gathered at the cage, grinding to a stop in front of us. Midnight Maven was still sporting a busted lip from the bout. None of them were smiling.
“Fresh Meat!” Shamrocker screamed. “I need your attention! There’s been a change of plans.” She pointed toward the cage. “We have a guest coach this evening! Medusa!”
For the first time ever, there was no applause when Medusa rolled into view. I think we were all too stunned
to clap, and certainly too worried to be excited. Her skates pounded against the floor as she skated over.
“Listen up, everyone.” Medusa didn’t even have to shout. It was so quiet in that crowded room, a mouse would’ve been heard taking a dump in the rafters. “I’m embarrassed,” she said flatly, resting her hands on her hips. “I’m humiliated, actually. We were the fifth-ranked team in the world, and we were beaten by the thirty-second ranked team on our first day at the division playoffs.” She pointed out at all of us. “And if you aren’t as ashamed as I am, you don’t belong here.”
She crossed her arms and stared at the floor a moment. “So here’s what’s going to happen. Since, obviously, we don’t know how to play this game, we’re going back to the basics. I’m demoting everyone in this room back to Fresh Meat.”
The few jaws I could see in my peripheral vision dropped just a smidge. I wanted to turn around and survey the room, but I didn’t dare.
“Shamrocker tells me this session of Derby 101 has four weeks left,” Medusa continued. “Every person in this room is now required to attend all of them if you want to play for the Music City Rollers next season.”
She crossed her arms and stared the whole room down. “Any questions?”
Eleven
I have some bad news.
That’s not the kind of text message a girl wants to get from her crush two days after a wonderful, albeit very weird, first date. My heart withered, and I would have slumped back in my office chair if my body would’ve allowed it. There had been no taking it easy as I’d planned for practice on Monday night. Medusa had punished the Rollers, and our Fresh Meat group certainly earned our title because of it.
You’re really a woman? I texted back.
West: Not the last time I checked.
Me: Then what’s up?
“I feel like it’s something I should explain in person.”
I looked up, and West was standing in my doorway holding a small bouquet of colorful daisies. Butterflies erupted in my stomach, and my face broke into a huge smile as he walked in the room. “How do you keep getting in here?” I got up and walked around my desk to meet him. “You’re going to get our receptionist fired.”
He handed me the flowers and pointed to his head. “It’s the hair. Ladies can’t say no to the hair.”
“I have absolutely no doubt of that.” I lifted the daisies to my nose. They smelled like feet. “Thanks for the flowers. They’re beautiful.”
“They’re fake,” he said with a chuckle. “I stopped at the Dollar Barn for paper towels this morning and saw them.”
I laughed. “Excellent. Then I can’t kill them.” I leaned against my desk. “What’s your bad news?”
He stuffed his fists into the pockets of his jeans, causing his shoulders to stretch the pale blue fabric of his polo shirt. “Friday isn’t going to work for our second date.”
I steeled my face, refusing to show my disappointment. I forced a small, pathetic laugh and waved him off with my hand. “It’s OK. Not a big deal.”
He took a step toward me and hooked his fingers around my hand. “I was hoping we could push Friday to date number three and have lunch today instead.”
I swatted him across the head with the fake flowers. “That’s a dirty thing to tell a girl, West Adler.”
He laughed and moved even closer to me. The testosterone wafting off him was making my brain hazy. “But isn’t this the phase of dating where we’re supposed to be all mysterious and not say what we really mean?”
I pointed at him. “Don’t you dare start that with me.”
He pulled our hands up between us, then pressed his palm against mine and laced our fingers together. Waffling! We have waffling!
“Then how about I tell you that I simply couldn’t wait till Friday to see you again?” He kissed my fingers. “Can I take you to lunch?”
“Lily?”
Crap.
West turned toward the door, and I looked around him after a quick survey of his backside, of course. Audrey walked into my office carrying a legal pad and a pen. “Am I interrupting something?” she asked, her eyes daring me to say that she was. A second later, Peter walked in behind her, seemingly flustered, like she’d pulled him away from something important—because she probably had.
I stood, and West took a step back. “Of course you’re not interrupting. Audrey, this is my friend West Adler. West, this is my boss Audrey Scott and her assistant Peter Jansen.”
They all shook hands.
Audrey cut her eyes with clear disapproval. “Yes, I remember you were here on Monday as well.”
West nodded. “I was here on business Monday when I heard Miss Cooper scream out in pain.”
On business?
Audrey’s brain must have been riding the same train as mine. “You were here on business? What did you say your name was?”
He tapped his finger over the embroidered logo on his shirt. “West Adler.”
Peter leaned forward and whispered something in Audrey’s ear. I watched the light bulb flicker on behind my boss’s glaring eyes. “Oh yes, Adler Construction. I didn’t realize you weren’t finished with the building.”
“We are finished. I was doing a walkthrough to make sure we didn’t miss any details,” West lied. “That’s when I heard the young lady scream, and I took her to the hospital.”
“That’s right,” she said, turning her attention back to me. “Was anything broken?”
“No, ma’am.” I’d already told her that, twice.
“Excellent. Well, thank you, Mr. Adler, for coming by to check on her, but we really do have a busy day ahead of us,” Audrey said.
West touched the small of my back. “I actually came by today to take her to lunch.”
Her laugh dripped with derision. “She doesn’t go to lunch.”
West crossed his spectacular arms. Even Audrey glanced down at them. “Is she not allowed to go to lunch? Because I’m pretty sure that’s illegal,” he said.
She checked her watch. “I didn’t even realize it was so late. And yes, of course she’s allowed to take a lunch break. I just meant, she usually eats in her office.”
He frowned at me. “Well, we’re going to have to change that.” He smiled and motioned to the door. “Shall we?”
Before Audrey could think of a reason for me to stay, I scurried behind my desk and picked up my purse off the floor. “I’d love to.” I grabbed my phone and dropped it in the bag. “Audrey, can we bring you something back?”
Audrey’s wide eyes couldn’t figure out where to stare. She looked at Peter for help, but he didn’t offer any. “No—No, thank you,” she stammered. “But I need to talk to you about the email you sent me this morning. I’ve got a call with Jake in about twenty minutes.”
I joined West by the door. “We can talk about the video stats when I get back. Please schedule some time with Jake to record a couple of short teaser videos to post over the next week. Just short clips to remind people that he’ll be streaming live from the party next Saturday. The clips don’t have to be live though.”
“I agree. I’ll talk to him about it today.” She looked down at the clipboard. “I’m thinking he should post them on Sunday and Thursday.”
“That’s a great plan. We can put them on all his social-media accounts and send it out to the fan club. All he has to do is record them.”
“Will you be available for the recording session?” she asked.
I smiled. “Of course, just let me know when and where after I get back from lunch.” Instinctively, I almost clamped my hand over my mouth and apologized, but I didn’t. Behind Audrey’s back, Peter was struggling to keep a straight face. West and I passed by them into the hall. “Can you pull the door closed on your way out?” I asked her, shocking no one more than myself.
I heard a tiny snort from Peter’s direction.
“Um, sure,” she said.
As we walked toward the front office, West was struggling to keep a straight face
. I couldn’t even look at him. We heard my office door shut behind us, and he lost it. I covered his mouth with my hand to stifle the laugh as we stumbled into the reception area.
“Oh man. That was so funny,” he said.
“I’ve never talked to her like that. Maybe roll—” I stopped myself from saying “maybe roller derby is starting to toughen me up.” I laughed to cover my blunder as the door to the hall closed behind us. “Did you see the look on her face?”
West nodded, still chuckling. “Priceless.”
Claire looked up, confused.
“We’re going to lunch,” I told her. “Please send my calls to voicemail.”
“OK. Have a nice time.” She waved as we walked out the door, unable to mask the pleasant surprise in her voice.
My phone buzzed with a text message on our walk through the lobby. It was from Peter. You just made my life —P.B.J.
I snickered as West pressed the button to call the elevator. “I hope I didn’t get you in trouble back there. Maybe I should have called first,” he said.
I waved my hand. “Don’t worry about Audrey. That was her resting bitch face. She’s like that even on a good day, if she ever has any.”
“How do you stand it?” he asked as the elevator doors opened and we stepped inside. He pressed the button for the lobby.
“I avoid her as much as possible. Her sister’s pretty great though. Ava. I like her a lot,” I said.
He shook his head. “I can’t believe she calls you Lily. How long have you worked here?”
“A couple of months.”
He turned to face me. “Why don’t you say something to her? Correct her?”
I shrugged. “There’s a certain window of time for making corrections like that, and that window closed a long time ago. I honestly worry she might fire me out of embarrassment.”
“Let her fire you. You can come work for me. What is it you do again?”
“Online marketing.”
He nodded. “Our company could definitely use some of that.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Audrey was coming in to talk about the views and clicks on the new music video Jake Barrett released to promote his album that drops this week.”
