“Last game was brutal. We played against our biggest rivals—complete assholes.” He limps over to the couch and sits with a groan. “Their forward nearly broke my leg.”
I perch on the armrest. “Want me to take a look?”
He nods, and it takes him less than a second to whip off his pants, proudly showing off in his boxers. I roll my eyes.
“You’re so dumb. Got any balm anywhere?”
“That drawer right there.”
I grab the tube and head back over to him, settling down on the edge of the couch and warming the gel in my hands as he points out where it hurts.
“Jeez, that’s some bruise. Did you ice it?”
“Yeah.”
“If it gets too painful, just holler.” I place my hands on his thigh.
“Now you’re talking, Mistress Lois! We need a safe word.”
“Don’t start.”
“How about ‘kryptonite’?”
“If you want me to help you, Don, you are going to have to pipe down.”
Donovan falls quiet, and I focus on the tension I can feel beneath my fingers. It’s wild to think how jealous some of my classmates would be if they could see me now…
He slides an arm under his head. “You’re good at this.”
“Thanks. You need a muscle relaxant, though.” I smooth a little more ointment over his skin.
“How come you’ve never been to any of our games? Because of Kirk?”
“Yeah. I’ve always watched him play, so it hurt when that stopped. But now with everything that’s happened…”
“I can ask my dad to kick him off the team, if you want.”
“No!”
“I’m just kidding, Lois.” He smiles. “But it would be cool to see you around sometime. You could get your pom-poms out for me. Shake a little confetti around.”
“Not in a million years.”
“Donny! Donny!” he squeals.
“Don’t you think you have enough fangirls for one ego to handle?”
He pretends to think, before shrugging. “I like you.”
I glance up at him, surprised.
“I’m serious,” he adds. “You’re cool.”
“You’re pretty cool yourself.”
“I’ll take that!”
I keep it to myself, but I like that he likes me. I’m starting to build something for myself in the space Kirk left behind, and instead of feeling anxious, my confidence is blooming. Maybe Kirk was right, after all. Maybe I made him too much of a focus.
