Page 75 of Scoreless Nights

Lily threw me off when she asked me to meet Angel. All I could surmise was that she had to prove to her why she ran off the night before. I didn’t mind, nor would I have minded if she told me I could kiss her. But since she wanted Angel to be a permanent part of her life, it was probably best we kept that secret. We didn’t know Angel, what if she took pictures and posted them all over the internet?

It was a relief that I was meeting one of her friends though. Not that I wanted to be like her mom, but I was curious what Lily’s friends were like when we got a chance to talk. Angel didn’t do much talking at Tico’s, Jackie was the one in charge of that conversation.

When I got home, the balcony door was open and I knew Lily and Angel had gone out there to wait for me. I could hear laughing, so that was a good sign, and I shook my hands out and bounced around as if I was about to defend the goal.

“Hey,” I said, popping my head out.

Angel’s eyes widened and she stood up, her mouth opening and closing while she looked for something to say.

“I’m Cruz,” I reached my hand out. “We didn’t get to chat last night.”

“I’m Angel,” she sighed. “Holy shit.”

Behind Angel, I saw Lily roll her eyes and stand up to join us.

“See?” Lily waved between us.

Angel stayed quiet for a few minutes before she finally whipped around to face Lily. “All this time. We took you to a game. We even got you a jersey. You’ve listened to Jackie go on and on about Cruz, and you didn’t think we could handle the fact that he’s your step brother?”

“You heard Jackie,” Lily countered.

“You knew Cruz way before you knew Jackie was a bitch. You could have said something.”

Lily looked taken aback, like she hadn’t expected Angel to turn on her the second she met me. Their laughter, before I showed up, told me they were actually getting along and were fine. So what changed?

Instinct told me to jump in front of Angel and tell her to get lost. No one talked to my girl like that, especially in our home. But that was still a secret Lily was keeping, and I had to rein myself in. She also needed me to stop overprotecting her. Lily could handle her friends and herself.

“You know what?” Lily fought tears, her voice strained. “Just leave.”

It was Angel’s turn to look dumbfounded, not understanding why Lily was the one upset.

“I know I haven’t been honest,” Lily explained. “But I don’t have it in me to defend my choices. So I didn’t tell you I knew Cruz Martin? Oh well. As my best friend, you should just get over it. It's not like I blatantly lied, and it's not like you don’t understand why. You’re upset because you feel like you have some reason to be embarrassed, but you don’t. Or maybe you feel betrayed, but you’re not. And being upset doesn’t mean you can yell at me now that the truth is sinking in.”

Fuck, my girl was amazing. Angel was fighting her own tears and backing up into the living room. She grabbed a bag off the coffee table and stomped toward the door. Lily was following her, but I stayed back, not putting myself in between their fight.

“I love you, Angel,” Lily said, making Angel stop and listen. Her hand was on the door handle, ready to open it and leave, with her back facing both Lily and I.

“I just wish you had told me.”

“Well I have bigger secrets than this,” Lily admitted. “You don't know all there is to know about me. But you just showed me that you can’t handle it when Idotalk to you. So I love you, but I’m glad this is as far as my secrets go with you.”

Angel pulled the door open and ran. I strode across the room to make sure the door shut tight, and then turned the lock. When I faced Lily again, she was in the exact spot she was in when she spoke to Angel, with her shoulders pushed back and her jaw shaking.

“Fuck,” I whispered as I approached her, taking her into my arms. “I know this hurts, baby. I’m so sorry.”

“Whatever,” Lily sighed. “I tried to be honest with her, but I guess I was too late. I don’t regret it. It's my right to have a few secrets. I don’t owe anyone anything.”

“You don’t,” I agreed with her, kissing her lips. “We all deserve to have our secrets.”

She nodded while wrapping her arms around my shoulders. Scooping her up, I settled her on the counter then backed up so I could look into her eyes. There was sadness, and anger at Angel, but there was that lingering want she always had when she looked at me.

“What do you need me to do? I want to make you feel better.”

“You know what I want, Cruz. Don’t play dumb.”

“I mean when it comes to your friends.”

“You’ve done everything I’ve asked you to do. I’m thankful for you,” she leaned in and kissed me gently. “I stand by what you just said; that we all deserve to have our secrets.”