Now I’m wondering if maybe I made a mistake, and I should’ve joined Luc in St. Louis this weekend. A weekend of games, sex, and parties sounds very irresponsible but fun. Maybe I just forgot what fun meant the day Mom walked out on us. She was best friends with Maggie, Luc’s mom. When she died in a car crash, Mom was devastated and began to spend less time with us, then she was gone. She packed her bags and left five kids and Daddy behind.
Love always felt like something fleeting in our house. We loved Mom and she left us. Daddy loved her and she never even said goodbye. She just left him a note. My four brothers don’t do relationships. Phoenix, my oldest brother, is grumpy and works hard. Dad never remarried but he’s dated on and off; it was never serious though. Now my feelings for Luc were growing by the day and I didn’t know what to make of them. He was my best friend. We had been through the hardest of times together. We shared secrets and dreams. We were so close, but this new part of our relationship was uncharted territory. I was setting myself up for the greatest heartbreak of my life. Because if there was one thing I knew about my best friend, it was he didn’t want to get married and have kids. The whole idea of a white picket fence repulsed him.
I grab a slice of pizza, trying to focus on the game instead of my feelings. I’m sitting on the edge of my seat. The score is 2-2. Riverside is playing Denver.
“Yuna, how was your date with Hutch?” Priya asks.
“Um, what?” I say wide-eyed.
Yuna eyes are wide as saucers, and she winces. “Sorry, with everything going on with you and West and you not talking about Luc, I figured it was better to keep things quiet.”
“How many times have you gone out with Hutch?” I ask, the words edged with offense and a pang of guilt for neglecting my friend.
“Just had our third date,” she says apologetically.
“Yuna, OMG. Tell me everything. I’m sorry. I’ve been a terrible friend lately. Trust me, I don’t even know what’s happening with my life. Everything feels upside down,” I admit.
“You mean because you’re having sex on the reg?” Yuna asks.
“I mean yes, Luc and I are busy in the bedroom,” I say awkwardly. It doesn’t feel right to talk about us. “But I want to hear about you and Hutch. How did that happen?”
“You know we met at Black Jack’s, and we spent the night dancing,” she says.
I nod.
“We also spent the night talking and then he kissed me on the cheek and asked if he could take me out on a date,” she explains with hearts and stars in her eyes.
“Wow! Yuna.”
“I know, he’s really very sweet. He took me to dinner for our first date. It was a nice little Italian restaurant one town over. He said he didn’t want people to know him. The second time we left Riverside and went to a movie. Tuesday night we just saw each other for a bit before the team left on Wednesday. He hasn’t been pushy, but he did kiss me. I mean with tongue on Tuesday night, and it felt so good. He said he’d be willing to go at my pace, and he still wants to see me,” she says, smiling from cheek to cheek.
“OMG, Yuna, that’s so amazing.” I hug her.
“It’s been really nice,” she admits.
“Are you also seeing one of the guys?” I ask Priya.
“Hell no,” she answers super-fast. “Tyler was a huge player. He offered to rock my world, but I told him I prefer to be wined and dined than fucked into oblivion, even though now I don’t know if I made the right decision. I may be growing cobwebs down there.”
We all burst into laughter.
“Don’t be ridiculous. You can meet a guy who treats you well and wants more than just sex. And bonus, he may be out of this world in the sex department too,” I say.
“Whoa. Is that what you have?” she asks.
Her question causes a flush to crawl up my cheeks.
“Luc and I are both heading home at the end of the month. We haven’t made any plans but we both agreed to keep whatever is happening a secret. Getting our families involved will only confuse things.”
“So, you plan on having secret sex,” Priya waggles her brows. “That sounds fun. Oh, what about those waterfalls you were telling me about that you guys have out there. Will you be getting it on under one of those?” She’s just playing with me.
“You’re so bad. I’m not sharing my plans.”
“You’re being boring. You could at least share details with your poor friends who aren’t getting any,” Priya whines playfully.
“Fine, the sex is the best I’ve ever had,” I confess. “Like off-the-charts amazing. It made me realize how bad my chemistry was with West.”
“Ouch,” Yuna says. “But it’s a good thing that you can compare.”