There was a story there, for sure, but it didn’t show up online.
He wasn’t on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any of the other social media sites. I even did a search for “Stick” in conjunction with Lucas Kade. Nada.
Then I googled myself to see what would show up, just in case, on the crazy off chance that Lucas would google me.
Not surprisingly, it was all stuff about my dad, where I would be mentioned in the last line, as part of his bio.
Yep, my entire online footprint was as an afterthought to my father’s many political king-making coups. There were a few mentions of me winning swim meets. But that was it. So I would remain as much a mystery to Lucas as he was to me.
Except there wasn’t much more to me.
And I knew there was much, much more to Lucas.
I waited until the last possible moment on Friday night to go out with Syd and Jane. Lucas hadn’t called or texted and I didn’t want to call him. I’d called guys before, and had nothing against it. But those were with guys whom I was sure wanted to hear from me. And although I knew Lucas was attracted to me—he couldn’t hide that big erection while he was pressed up against me—I wasn’t totally convinced he wanted to see me again so soon.
Or ever.
No. I knew he did. I knew he felt the bone-deep connection that I did. You just couldn’t fake that. What I didn’t know was if he’d act on it.
I’m not what you need.
He wasn’t. I knew that. But I also knew that I’d be available the next time he called.
So we went out on Friday night. Jeff, one of the kids on the floor below us, had an older brother who lived just off campus in one of the few nice apartment complexes. The brother was having a party, and Jeff had been trying to get on Jane’s good side from day one, so we were invited.
We partied. Jane drank too much beer and gave poor Jeff no encouragement whatsoever. That didn’t keep him from hanging around her all night, feeding her beers and hoping.
Syd made a play for the older brother, who looked like he’d be stepping into daddy’s law firm the moment he passed the bar.
Pretty, entitled rich boy. But basically an okay guy. Bribury was full of ’em. I’d grown up with them. But Syd hadn’t. And you could tell she desperately wanted to be part of that. I could have told her it wasn’t anything special.
The older brother wasn’t biting at Syd’s hook, so she left when Jane and I did. On the walk home, Jane pinballing between Syd and me, I kept an ear out for a louder, older car, but none came.
A text woke me up the next morning at nine.
You awake?
Lucas.
I snatched the phone off my pillow and texted back that I was. The phone was ringing seconds after the text went through.
“Morning,” he said, his deep voice the best wake-up call ever.
“Hi,” I said.
“Did my text wake you?”
“No,” I said, though it had.
“Liar,” he said, a chuckle in his voice.
I smiled. “It’s okay. I’m glad you called.”
“Late night last night?” he asked. It should have been a routine question for waking someone up at nine, but there was a hint of…just a smidge of…pissiness in his voice. And that pissiness made me tingle with excitement.
“Not too late,” I said, not willing to let him off the hook quite yet.
“How late is not too late?”
