She couldn’t stay away. Knowing he was coming to the end, she sat on the bottom step, waiting for him to finish and approach the deck. He did the last move, where he flipped the ball up off the back of his foot and it sailed over the top of his head, where he trapped it with his foot. Then he flipped it back up into his hand and began moving toward her.
“Shit, Dr. A., how long have you been sitting here?” Lex said, obviously startled.
She laughed. “Since about halfway through. It’s the same?” she asked even though she knew the answer.
He grinned. “Yup. You remember?” he said, a little surprised.
Returning his smile, she said, “I watched you do that every day since you were eight. If I had any coordination, I could probably do it. The choreography is embedded in my brain.”
“Dr. A., I really want to hug you, but I’m sweaty as hell.”
“If I remember your ball tricks, do you think I’d forget how much you sweat?”
He threw his head back and laughed. “No, I don’t suppose you could forget that.”
“How many times did I have to get on you for trying to hug the girls after practice?”
“More times than I can count. It was just too fun making them run away screaming.”
“And you were always about eliciting a response,” she said, smiling at him fondly.
“How was dinner?” he said, suddenly remembering the occasion.
“It was fine. Your uncle is here, so we thought we’d entertain him. He had some stuff to talk to your mom about, so I made myself scarce for a bit. I’m not sure how good of an idea it is, but your mother needed a distraction, so the gang is coming over.”
“That’s fine. I figured as much. Should be interesting to see everyone.”
Amber couldn’t help herself. “Everyone?” she asked.
Lex intentionally misunderstood her question. “Yeah. I guess it’d be nice if I saw my mom before chaos rules, huh?”
Properly put in her place, Amber backed off. “Yes. It would. She’s going to be a little bit still. Probably time for you to shower so you can give her a hug,” she joked, putting things right between them.
“And you too. Once I’m cleaned up, I owe you a hug. Thanks for taking care of her the last two days while Pete and I made our way here.”
“She’d have done the same.”
“I know,” he said. “But still.”
“Go shower. I’m going to go make sure we have everything we need.”
Lex started up the remainder of the stairs. But stopped and turned back. “Good to see you, Dr. A.” And with that he went into the house to get ready to face his mother.
Lu felt a little like a stalker. She watched him come out of the garage, mesmerized by his grace. He danced with the ball into his spot and performed a routine worthy of the stage. He’d gotten better, more fluid and sure. Floored by his persistence and determination, she couldn’t look away. So she watched, struck still, while he practiced. She missed her mother walking in the house and leaving to head to the Pellitteri’s. She missed it until Lex finished and headed into the house. She noticed her mother then. She took in the conversation. It worried her that she lost herself in Lex—that easily, just like when she was sixteen.
“Lu, we need to head over,” Willa called, shattering the spell.
Steeling herself, she walked upstairs.
“I don’t think I can go over there, Will,” she stated, sitting heavily upon Willa’s bed.
Willa finished messing with her hair and turned to her sister. “You can and you will. You’re not going to be able to avoid him tomorrow. Might as well get it over with tonight.”
Heaving a huge sigh, Lu fell on the bed. “I don’t want to go.”
“You’re acting like Nina. You realize that, right?”
Lu smiled. “But I’m a bit more dramatic, wouldn’t you say?”
“If it will make you feel better, I’m sure Nina would be proud of your two-day pout. Now, why don’t you make me proud—get your ass up off the bed, put on something cute, and get control of this situation.”
“You know I hate you right now, right?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Fuck! Can we at least come up with a code so I can let you know when I’m ready to go?”
“Don’t we already have one?” Willa said, smiling at the memory.
Lu returned her smile. “Yes, but somehow I don’t think ‘Can I borrow your pink pants?’ is going to work.”
“Probably not. Why don’t we just agree to stay for an hour? We have to clear out of here anyway tonight. So let’s just agree to one hour. Everyone will understand. I don’t think this is meant to be a throw-down anyway.”