Page 71 of The Player Penalty
“We’re friends, Dad. It’s nice having a friend again.”
I yank her hand, and we leave the tent.
“Where are we going?” she asks.
“Anywhere but here.”
26-Julian
“We found my new hobby,” Lily says as she checks out her new jigsaw puzzles. After leaving the go-kart race, I took her to a local bookstore, where we discovered a large puzzle selection. “At least until I master the basics, get bored, and move on to something else.”
“Maybe this time it will be different.”
Lily removes the cellophane wrapping from one and eyes me. “It won’t, but it won’t happen until I develop an enormous collection with no place to put it.”
“You could keep it here.”
“I don’t think you understand my hoarding potential.”
“I’ll buy a house to put it in.”
“Why? You already have a big one right over there.” Lily points out the window to the nearby dwelling.
“I have tenants.”
“Not for much longer. Didn’t you say they were leaving?” I don’t respond. Lily dumps out the tiny pieces for sorting. “You can come help.”
The box cover shows the puzzle’s design: a bouquet of lilies in a glass vase.
“Lily. Like the flower,” I say. “Tell me when you’re ready for the next hobby so we can get you started in the most inefficient way possible.”
Secretly, the bookstore trip was a delaying tactic. I may enjoy risks on the racetrack, but this has the potential to blow up in my face. We’re a decade apart, and both of us are inexperienced in many of the same ways.
“We caused a scandal earlier,” she says. Her busy hands rapidly sort the pieces by color. Lily once told me her brain gets hyper, not her body. That’s coming out right now.
“Boone Rivers told me to stay away from you.”
Her hand freezes. “Are you?”
“Jake gave me the opposite advice,” I say, rather than answering her question. The drive back to my place was silent, with my hand on her leg and me wandering how to approach this. Apparently, head first and downright reckless. “He believes we’re already in a relationship.”
“Okay.”
They were both right. We have been, only I was blinded to that reality. Boone warned me but ended with an admonishment to think it over first. I had thought it over for months, an activity which always lead to the same conclusion. Lily.
So, screw that. Taking risks is the best part of racing.
“Our agreement is no longer working for me.” Whatever label we settle on, mere friendship isn’t cutting it. “We need to talk about that.”
“Are we still friends?”
Lily’s voice shrinks, and its quiver triggers the alarms in my head. I was so deep in my thoughts that only a fraction of themwere spoken. To her, this is a signal to our end while I’m trying for a new beginning.
“Oh, shit, no. That’s not it at all.” That sounds worse. I stand, knocking my chair over, to pull her into my arms. I carry us both to the oversized lounger and settle her into my lap. “I’m saying we’ve been more, and it’s time we admit it. We’re in a relationship, Lily. We have been, and for some reason, neither of us could recognize it.”
“You want to date?” Lily grips my shirt as her shallow breathing slows.
“I want to date you.”
