Hidden Gem (8 page)

“Fine by me!” Gavin called through the window before speeding off.
  

Lugging both heavy bags, Gemma ran for cover as quickly as she could.
 
She squeezed herself under the bit of roof that hung over the front steps as she searched her bag for keys.
 
She couldn’t feel them.
 
Slightly panicked, she dug deeper and checked in every pocket.
 

Oh shit.
 
Gemma noticed the unsnapped front pocket of her tote and quickly remembered that she had stored her keys and phone in there.
 
The pocket was empty.
Shit, how did this happen?

“Damn it, Gavin!” Gemma blamed him for her predicament.
 
She would have noticed that her phone and keys had fallen from her bag had he not made her carry his as well.
 
That was at least how she saw it.

Please come back
,
please come back
.
 
She stared hopefully down the street, willing Gavin’s BMW to come barreling through again.
 
It didn’t.
 
To make matters worse, the extended portion of the roof was not wide enough to keep her dry.
 
The wind whipped the rainfall in steady streams towards her and she cursed her luck, tossing her soaked hair back.

Through the sound of the heavy rain hitting the pavement, Gemma suddenly heard barking.
 
She looked towards Lucas’s house to see him by the window.
 
He appeared to be trying to calm Leo, who was just as troubled by the rain as she was.
 
Leo then turned towards her direction, barking yet again.
 
Gemma watched as Lucas looked over at her for a moment before disappearing from the window.
 

Just as her mind began to wonder if he had seen her at all, the front door of his house swung open and out he ran with an umbrella.
 
Smiling.

“What are you doing out here?” he yelled over the rain, holding the umbrella over her.
 
His body leaned in close to hers.

“I left my keys in Gavin’s car.
 
And my phone.
 
Do you think I could borrow yours for a second?”

“Yeah, sure,” he replied.
 
“Come inside.”

“Oh.
 
Okay.”

They looked at each other for a moment, blinking raindrops out of their eyes.
 
Lucas laughed and shook his head.
 
“Sorry, this umbrella’s too small.”
 
He pulled her closer so they could huddle tight underneath, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

“It’s okay,” Gemma said, feeling the warmth of his torso through his soaked tee shirt.

It was disturbing to think about what Gavin was so busy doing that he couldn’t pick up her calls.
 
Gemma eventually gave up on him to call Mira, though Lucas only had her work number.
 
She scolded herself for not bothering to memorize any of the numbers in her contacts.
 
She was only able to reach Mira’s assistant, who informed her that she had just stepped out.

Gemma sighed.
 
“I guess I wouldn’t want her to drive back from Manhattan just to let me in anyway.”

“Well. I’m here for now,” Lucas said.
 
“Usually
it’s
just Leo by himself until dinnertime.” He rubbed the yapping puppy’s belly and smiled up at Gemma in a way that made her heart pound.
 
“You can stay here while you wait for someone to get back.
 
My parents are at my sister’s piano recital right now, but they wouldn’t mind if you stayed.
 
Actually, they told me that they wanted to meet you.”

Gemma’s stomach lurched and she blushed. “Why?”
He’s told them about me!

“My mom was excited when Mira said Gavin’s sister was coming to live here too,” Lucas explained with a chuckle. “My mom loves Gavin, he’s got her convinced that he’s a good kid somehow.”

“Oh,” Gemma’s ears burned.
 
She changed the topic. “How old is your sister?”

“Elisa? Thirteen.
 
She’ll be at the high school next year.”

“That’s so nice.
 
Are you guys close?”

“Yeah, she’s a pretty cool kid sister,” Lucas said.
 
“Except for when she overplays Tyler Chase.”

“Oh, give her a break.
 
Every girl has a crush on Tyler Chase.”

“Oh yeah?” Lucas squinted at her playfully. “Do you?”
 

Heat raced to Gemma’s cheeks.
 
“He’s not really my type,” she mumbled, suddenly feeling silly and a bit self-conscious.
 
Having all of Lucas’s attention on her made her feel exposed somehow.
 
She realized that she looked close to how she did the first time she met him – soaked to the bone and totally insecure.
 
As if he sensed it, Lucas got up from where he sat on the floor and started up the stairs.

“Do you want some clothes to change into?”

The thought of wearing his clothes made her skin tingle. “Oh.
 
No, you don’t have to get anything,” Gemma said apologetically.

“I don’t want you to be cold,” Lucas said.
 
He nodded up the stairs.
 
“Come on.”
 

“Okay.”

Gemma followed him up the steps and into his bedroom. She commended herself for the calm she exhibited despite the bubbling excitement that surged through her body.
 
Stop being so hormonal,
she scolded herself.

She could see her own bedroom from his window, the custom curtains finally installed and drawn.
 
“So close yet so far,” she joked, putting her hand to the window.
 
Lucas laughed as he rummaged through his closet.

“I’m giving you my stuff since Elisa’s like, barely five feet tall,” Lucas laughed to himself.
 
He took a Beauford Warriors sweatshirt, a pair of basketball shorts and a towel out.
 
“I hope these fit okay.
 
They’re the smallest things I have.”

“Thanks,” Gemma said as Lucas placed the clothes in her arms.
 
He walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

“I’ll be downstairs.”

“Okay,” she called after him.
 
Once the door clicked shut, she examined the room.
 
She was somewhat familiar with it from stealing glances out her bedroom window.
 
The walls were midnight blue with white borders and his sprawling bed was covered in a deep silver and charcoal striped comforter.
 
A large framed photo of him with his family sat on his desk.
 
Stuck to the corner of the frame was a photo booth strip of him and Madison making silly faces.

Water dripped from her hair and onto the desk as she leaned in to look.
 
She wiped off the drops with her bare hands and stepped away, peeling her wet shirt from her body.
 
It was strange to be undressed in Lucas’s bedroom.
 
Strange and exciting.
 
She could hear him opening cupboards downstairs in the kitchen.
 
Gemma wondered if he was thinking about her at that moment.

When she finished getting dressed, she searched the room for a mirror.
 
There was none.
 
Lucas clearly didn’t hold vanity to the same importance that Gavin did.
 
It was strange to think they were friends sometimes.

As she made her way downstairs, Gemma couldn’t help feeling silly and most definitely unsexy in the oversized sweatshirt and pants.
 
But Lucas didn’t seem to notice when he looked up at her.

“Do you drink hot chocolate?” he asked as he set two mugs on the coffee table in the living room.

“Of course.”

“I wasn’t sure because Madison doesn’t.
 
Which sucks because it’s the one thing I make well.”

“You made this from scratch?” Gemma marveled as she wrapped her hands around the warm mug.

“Well, no.
 
I just get the right amounts of milk and mix together,” Lucas laughed sheepishly.
 
Gemma laughed with him as she sipped the hot chocolate.
 
It
was
perfect.

“So, what is your type then?” Lucas asked.

“What?” she blinked.

“You said Tyler Chase wasn’t your type.
 
So what is?”

“Oh,” Gemma said, taken aback.
 
She had forgotten about that exchange.
 
She hardly remembered anything that happened prior to undressing in his bedroom.
 
“I honestly don’t know. Why?”

“I don’t know, just curious.
 
All the girls talk about
who
they like. Leah has a huge crush on Gavin.”

“I thought that was a secret!” Gemma laughed.

“Well, only to Gavin.
 
Everyone else knows, though,” Lucas smiled as he put down his hot chocolate.
 
He crinkled his nose. “So you really don’t have a type?”

“I guess not.
 
Do you?”

“No.”

“I thought you preferred blondes,” Gemma blurted.
 
Lucas furrowed his brow.

“I don’t think I do.
 
Where did you hear that?”

“Oh, I don’t know.
 
Just ‘cause of Madison,” she shrugged. There was a brief moment of silence.

“Damian’s been asking about you,” Lucas finally said.
 
“I think he’s interested.
 
Would you be?” He watched her face closely, as if trying to interpret her reaction.
 
Gemma’s emerald eyes widened.

“Damian? Really?”

She had certainly noticed Damian.
 
He wasn’t as tall as his teammates, but he had quite an appeal that no one could put their finger on.
 
Kate, whose weakness was lips, said that Damian’s was perfectly shaped like a Cupid’s arrow.
 
Jillian theorized that his quiet demeanor paired with his smirking, inquisitive eyes was what made girls swoon.
 
“It’s very confusing like, are you a bad boy or are you a good boy?” Jillian had wondered. “I can’t tell but like, I want to find out, you know?”

Gemma giggled at the memory of her friends’ musings. “Damian is everyone’s type,” she joked.

Lucas didn’t laugh.
 
“Yeah, well,” he picked Leo up from the ground to play with him, but the dog promptly fell asleep in his lap.
 
“Too bad he can’t play defense to save his life.”
 
Gemma smiled.

“And how good are
you
at basketball?”

“Me? I’m amazing.”

“Oh yeah?” Gemma challenged coyly.
 
“Here I thought you were the modest type.”

“I am modest.
 
But I don’t want to lie to you,” Lucas said with a grin.
 
He was somehow even sexier when he acted lighthearted.
 
It was a side Gemma didn’t get to see often enough.
 
He always played the role of the silent and solemn protector when he was out with Madison and the girls.
 
With that thought, Gemma became suddenly aware of their solitude.
 
She was alone with him in his home.
 
She was wearing his clothes.
 
No one else knew what
they
were doing.
 
They could do anything.