Page 61 of Going for Two
Chapter 28
Lottie
“So, when are we going to discuss Christmas?” Olivia asked me as the two of us got ready on my bedroom floor.
The week following Christmas had been full of trying to prepare for the game the day before New Year’s Eve. Things between Nolan and me fell into a perfectly comfortable routine as we prepared for him to play potentially his last regular season game. His coaching staff had already expressed interest in giving Caleb the last game of the season for more experience and to give Nolan rest before the playoffs. Today’s game was solely for working out any last kinks in plays that they would need for the postseason before Caleb took over with the offense. And when the team came away with a win, we solidified our first-place ranking in the postseason.
Nolan and I went through our normal routine every day. The attraction and sense of comfort I felt for him had only grown after he had given both me and Olivia the Christmas of our dreams. The two of us had crossed every professional boundary on Christmas, with neither of us able to deny the chemistry between us.
Somehow, I’d managed to brush off Olivia’s inquiries about what happened between Nolan and me after she’d left, but it had only been a matter of time before she cornered me again and I had no way of avoiding answering. The two of us were getting ready for the New Year’s party at Nolan’s parents’ house,applying our makeup in silence, when Olivia turned to me with raised eyebrows.
“I’m not sure what there is to talk about,” I started, even though I knew it was a lost cause to try and deflect again.
“Just the fact that he was thoughtful enough to try and make this Christmas one that you and I would remember. Or that he’s invited both of us to a New Year’s Eve party at hisparents’house.” Olivia stopped applying her eyeshadow so she could turn and look at me head on.
“We’re just seeing where things are going,” I told her with a shrug.
Olivia scoffed as if she couldn’t believe that was the avenue I was trying to take with her of all people. She turned back around and threw her makeup brush back in her bag.
“Lottie, I love you,” my sister started, “but I’m tired of watching you play second fiddle to everyone else around you in your life. When are you going to go after whatyouwant instead of always playing it cautious solely because that’s what is expected of you?”
“Not everyone can be as unexpected as you are,” I snapped back at Olivia, heat filling my cheeks for having to defend myself to her.
“Because you never had the chance to be a little wild. You always had to do what’s best for me.” Olivia’s features softened as she reached for my hands. “But you weren’t meant to be the parent in this relationship, Lottie. You have your own life to live. I’m an adult and you don’t have to play that role anymore. So maybe it’s time you go after what you want in your life. I’ve already watched you step out of your comfort zone these past few months. I think there are a few items left on your bucket list.”
Olivia’s message was clear.
My eyes drifted toward the door where I could see the list stuck up on my fridge. Everything was crossed out except for kissing someone on New Year’s Eve and finding that spark with someone. Both of those felt like they could be crossed off after tonight if I just summoned up enough courage to do something about it.
“You and I both know that you’ve found someone special.” Olivia gave me one more look before she turned back to the mirror in front of her to finish her hair. “Take a risk tonight, Lottie. Have fun for once.”
“Take a risk,” I whispered to myself as Olivia and I climbed the stairs of Harry and Francesca’s porch.
Harry and Francesca lived in a suburb on the south side of the city. Tall trees lined either side of the road like sentinels welcoming us to the neighborhood as we drove to the address that Nolan had sent me. The sun had set hours ago, and the darkness already wrapped around everything, but Nolan’s parents’ house shone out like a beacon with golden light spilling from the massive windows on the first floor. The snow that had been steadily coming down all week had finally stopped, leaving everything draped in a blanket of white. Cars already lined the street and filled their driveway when we arrived, and we could see the shadows of people on the other side of the curtains.
“What’s going through that beautiful head of yours?” Olivia asked me as we stopped at the front door.
The corners of my lips pulled downwards as I tried to put a name to what was happening. “I’m not sure why I feel nervous. These people are our friends, and nothing has changed.”
Olivia reached down to lace her hand in mine. “Well, that’s not true, Lottie. You’ve changed. You aren’t the same woman who started this season with the Bobcats. But that doesn’t change the fact that the people inside are your family,ourfamily.”
My sister let me take a few moments to let her words sink in before she reached out to ring the doorbell. That golden light that looked so inviting from the outside spilled out as Francesca stood on the other side of the open door. She wore a light-up New Year’s headband and the most welcoming smile.
“Lottie!” In an instant her arms were wrapped around me and just like the last time she hugged me on Christmas Eve, I sank into her arms and allowed their comfort to wrap around me. Every time that I had wanted a hug from someone who cared about me rose closer to the surface.
Memories of my father ignoring me when he got home, more concerned about opening a beer from the fridge or whatever my mother had cooked for dinner. Then memories of my mother, so beaten down by my father’s verbal abuse that she could barely care for herself, much less me or Olivia.
“And you must be Lottie’s sister!” Francesca exclaimed when she caught sight of Olivia over my shoulder.
My sister shifted awkwardly from one foot to the next as Francesca’s warmth was directed at her.
“You must be Francesca,” she responded nervously.
Francesca waved my sister off. “Please, call me Fran. Only my mother called me Francesca.”
I watched Olivia stiffen as Fran released me and wrapped my sister in her arms. Olivia looked at me with wide eyes, unsure of what to do, before she finally wrapped her arms around Fran and welcomed the kind of hug that she also had been missing most of her childhood.
“I know you two are about to liven this party up,” Fran exclaimed as she looped her arms through each of ours and pulled us inside.