Serious Potential

by Maggie Cummings

  The table fell silent, as Lexi locked eyes with Marnie first, then Chris.

  She couldn’t believe it. Mary and Kam had no idea. Lexi was too upset for words as she dropped her eyes to the table and swallowed her anger using everything she had to hold back the tears. “Yes, it is,” she managed, before scraping her chair back across the floor as she continued to glare at her mothers. Without another word, she stood up and walked out of the house, leaving her parents to pick up the pieces.

  Chapter Eight

  “You ready?”

  Meg looked up to see Sasha swaying halfway into her doorway, the exact same way she had for the last two weeks in a row when they met up for their standing Thursday lunch date.

  “Yep.” She saved her document and bounced out of her chair. “Let’s go.” Trailing Sasha by a half step through the office, Meg browsed her phone. “So there’s this new crepe place a few blocks away. Any interest?”

  “Ooh, crepes. That could be fun. Sweet and savory?”

  Meg nodded. “Yeah, both. It looks like a nice menu. And not that expensive actually.” She handed her phone over so Sasha could check it out herself, continuing to talk while Sasha perused. “The only thing is, it’s a few blocks north and it’s all the way over on First Avenue. Kind of a hike. That okay?”

  Sasha nodded emphatically. “Fine.”

  Meg was enjoying these lunches more than she wanted to admit. In truth, Meg knew she was enjoying Sasha herself way more than she should. Just the other day she’d had to forcibly redirect her thoughts from a Sasha-filled fantasy during the weekly staff brief. There was no harm in it really, but she reminded herself to be careful just the same. Keep it light, friendly. Nothing good could come from falling for a straight girl.

  “Hey, I heard you got the Ardmore project,” Meg said, as they walked in the direction of the restaurant.

  “Yeah, I did.”

  “Fun.”

  Sasha curled her eyebrows challenging Meg’s enthusiasm. “Fun?”

  “Yeah, fun,” Meg repeated. “Big client. Massive restructuring. Long-term overhaul.” She nodded affirmatively. “Fun.”

  A labored laugh escaped Sasha’s lips. “If you say so.”

  “What’s the matter? You sound stressed.”

  “I am actually.” Sasha twisted her lips to the side. “I have my first deadline on Monday and I’m a little behind already.”

  “Do you need help?”

  “No, I’m fine. Just a little nervous, I guess.”

  Meg stopped walking and reached for Sasha’s arm, forcing her to stop too. “Sash, I will totally help you. It’s no big deal.” When she saw Sasha’s face relax at her suggestion, she was happy she’d pushed it.

  “Would you really help me?”

  “Yes, of course.” Meg smiled and shook her head at Sasha’s surprised expression as she opened the door to the restaurant. “Let’s stay and work on it tonight.”

  “Then I’m buying lunch,” Sasha said, some calm returning to her voice.

  “No, you’re not.” Meg chuckled. “I’m starving and I may eat everything on this menu. I can’t feel like I have to hold back when I’m ordering.”

  Sasha shook her head at Meg’s playful seriousness. “Ice cream, then. Tonight. When we’re done.”

  “Now you’re talking.”

  *

  On Friday afternoon, when she had finished up her own work, Meg stopped by Sasha’s office to check her progress. Even though she could see from the hall that Sasha wasn’t there, she stayed in the doorway, looking at Sasha’s workspace. There was a photo of her in casual clothes surrounded by a group of dogs, probably taken at the recent adoption event at the dog rescue place where she volunteered. Next to it was a double frame photo with a shot of Sasha and her mom on one side and one of Sasha with a guy on the other. Boyfriend or brother?

  “Hey, stalker.” Scott came up from the rear and walked into the office he shared with Sasha. “If you’re looking for Sasha, she’s in the production room.” He sat down at his desk. “Or you can continue to look around, sniff her seat. Whatever. Just pretend I’m not here.”

  Meg rolled her eyes and left without responding at all. She hated that Scott caught her looking at Sasha’s stuff, but she was equally peeved at herself for being so curious in the first place. She shook it off and located Sasha in the copy room.

  “We working tonight?” she asked over the hum of the scanner.

  “You don’t mind staying again?” Sasha curled her eyebrows looking hopeful.

  “I’m in.” Meg knocked on the wall emphatically. “We’re going to knock it out,” she said as though it was a cheer, getting a real laugh from her colleague.

  At eight o’clock, they were mostly finished, with just the final set of numbers to add to the breakdown. Meg raided the Sullivan snack closet while Sasha sat at one of the two tables, her feet up on the opposite chair.

  “Fritos or pretzels?” Meg said over her shoulder.

  “Are the pretzels sticks? Or the small pretzel-shaped ones?”

  Meg brought the package close to examine. “Baby pretzels.”

  “I’ll take those,” Sasha answered.

  Meg tossed the bag to her and grabbed two Diet Cokes from the fridge.

  “Happy to be done?” Meg asked, sitting down and ripping into the Fritos.

  “Relieved.” She took a sip of her drink. “Thank you so much for your help.”

  “No big.” Meg crunched away. “So what’s the rest of the weekend look like?”

  Sasha shielded her mouth as she chewed. “My mom and brother are coming tomorrow.”

  “Nice. What will you guys do?”

  “I don’t know. Walk around. I’ll show them my neighborhood. Go to dinner.” She popped a tiny pretzel in her mouth. “Nothing fancy.”

  “How old is your brother?”

  “Devon. He’s twenty-one. He’s a senior at Georgetown.” She swallowed with satisfaction. “He’s awesome. I wish I had my phone with me, I would show you a pic.”

  “Is that him in the frame on your desk?” Meg knew she was revealing her hand a little, but she didn’t care.

  “Yes.” Sasha smiled. Clearly thinking about her family made her happy. “Next time he comes to New York, like without my mom, we’ll all have to go out. You’ll love him.”

  Sasha loosened her hair from the bun on top of her head and shook it down her back.

  “What about you?” She reached up into a stretch. “Anything going on this weekend?”

  Meg thought about it for a second. “I don’t know. No real plans yet.”

  Sasha chewed her lip. “How is it living in your development?”

  “Awesome,” Meg responded without needing to think about it at all.

  “What’s it like?” She leaned in, her curiosity apparent.

  “It’s like…regular. It’s all condos, or town houses, whatever you want to call them. Lots of trees. It’s pretty. Suburban, but nice.”

  “Do you and your friends always hang out there, where they throw the parties?”

  “Sometimes, yeah.” Meg searched Sasha’s face, wondering what she was really asking. “But not all the time. We come into the city too. Brooklyn, sometimes.”

  “Oh, cool. I wasn’t sure.” She fidgeted a little. “I mean, I know you mentioned going to the Kitchen and everything, but I just…” She shook off a self-conscious smile. “We should meet up, hang out sometime.”

  “Definitely.” Meg kept her voice even, but inside her heart pounded.

  *

  At 4:20 Saturday afternoon, Tracy turned Meg’s spare key in the lock and pushed the door open. She dropped her overnight bag in the hall and flopped into a kitchen chair.

  Fresh from a shower, Meg pulled a T-shirt over her head as she descended the stairs. “You’re back.” She tore two paper towels off the roll and patted her short hair dry.

  “Dude, it’s hot as fuck out there.”

  “Here, have a water.” Meg grabbed two bottles from the fridg
e and tossed one across the kitchen to Tracy, who caught it with ease. Meg pulled the chair opposite Tracy out from the table and sat down. “How was your week? Three days, whatever,” she corrected, remembering Tracy had left just Wednesday morning to visit her mother and stepfather on Long Island.

  Tracy nodded as she downed half the bottle. “Good.”

  “Family’s good?”

  “Yep.” She twisted the water bottle in place on the table. “Mom and Don are good. I got to spend a lot of time with Lily, which was awesome.”

  Meg was well familiar with Tracy’s family, having spent countless hours at her house during her junior year of high school. Even though she couldn’t picture Tracy’s decade-younger half sister as anything but a gawky little kid, she remembered Tracy’s mother and stepfather being lovely people, warm and supportive. Meg had been genuinely surprised when Tracy chose to move out to California with her dad after graduation, but she’d gotten a full ride to college, and the West Coast lifestyle clearly suited her.

  “How’s Lily doing?” Meg asked.

  “Great. She’s a freshman in college, if you can believe it,” Tracy said, grabbing her phone and pulling up an updated photo of the two of them.

  Seeing them side by side in the picture, Meg could see the resemblance between the siblings. They both had beautiful dark almond-shaped eyes that slanted slightly upward at the corners, courtesy of their mother’s half-Korean lineage. They had also both lucked out with her tiny nose and elegant smile. It was there the similarities ended, though. Lily was short and pale like Don, with full hips and a heavy chest, while Tracy was tall and angular like her own father. From his Greek roots Tracy had inherited gorgeous olive skin that turned golden brown in the sun. She had no real curves but was a head turner just the same. Her androgynous look worked for her, making her equally beautiful and handsome at the same time. For a second Meg felt a pang of empathy for Lily, having to grow up in the shadow of such a stunner.

  “What did you guys do?” Meg asked, looking back at her friend.

  “Nothing. Hung out.” Tracy leaned into the chair back, stretching her arms over her head. “I know I said I’d be back yesterday, but Lily asked me to stay so I figured why not.”

  “You didn’t miss anything here.”

  “You didn’t go out last night?” Tracy didn’t hide her surprise.

  “Nah. I ended up working late.”

  “On a Friday? That’s dedication.”

  “My friend needed help with a project,” Meg offered in her own defense.

  Tracy smirked. “Oh, right. The straight girl from your office.” Her grin widened. “The one whose pants you’re trying to get into. How’s that working out?” She squinted as she thought. “Sandra, Sarah? What’s her name again?”

  Meg couldn’t hide her smile or keep her face from going hot. “Sasha. And I’m not trying to get into her pants.” She turned in her seat and put her feet up on the chair next to her. “I’m helping her with a client. It’s totally platonic,” Meg added, as much for her own benefit as Tracy’s.

  Even though she didn’t look convinced, Tracy let her off the hook. “Anything shaking for tonight?”

  Meg looked out the window, inadvertently checking a glance to Jesse’s house. “Not really.” She scratched her head. “No social. Not even an open house, I’m afraid.” She assessed Tracy’s demeanor. “We could go into the city or Brooklyn, if you’re feeling it.”

  Tracy half shrugged and checked her watch. “Let’s go hit some golf balls.”

  Meg crinkled her brow in disbelief. “It’s like four hundred degrees out.” It was an exaggeration for sure, but it was midnineties for the third straight day in a row.

  “Don’t be a pussy,” Tracy deadpanned.

  Meg gave in easily. “Fine, but that counts as exercise. Which means we are totally stuffing our faces afterward.”

  “Deal.”

  *

  The driving range was surprisingly crowded considering the intense heat and they were lucky to find two lanes open next to each other. Meg set herself up on the near mat, brushing off some small debris with her sneaker before selecting a driver from Tracy’s set of elite clubs. They each hit a few balls before Meg turned around and faced Tracy. She watched her friend’s perfect form and waited until she’d finished to talk.

  Meg knew this wasn’t the right time, but over a week had passed and the ideal moment had yet to present itself. She had no clue what was going on with Tracy other than she had come out east two weeks early and didn’t seem to be adjusting her return date at all. That didn’t bother her. As a matter of fact, she was loving her buddy being around. But Meg was concerned because when Tracy had initially scheduled her trip months ago, Meg knew she’d timed it meticulously around major tournaments. While her friend could be spontaneous about some things, she never messed around when it came to golf.

  “So did you take, like, a hiatus from golf?”

  Tracy bit her bottom lip and huffed out a breath before meeting Meg’s gaze as she answered. “I sort of took a hiatus from my life.” She broke eye contact and put her driver back in the bag. “A much-needed one,” she added emphatically.

  “Are we ever going to talk about it?” Meg’s voice was full of concern.

  “Nothing to talk about. I just needed a break.”

  “Okay.” Meg played along, realizing she was going to have to pull it out of Tracy. “So that’s what this trip is? A little R and R from your life, chill out for a few weeks, then back on the bandwagon?” She dropped a ball and took a hasty swing at it, bouncing it in a straight line ahead of her.

  “Maybe I go back, maybe I don’t.” Tracy took a swift cut, driving the ball deep into the field ahead.

  Meg looked over her shoulder. “I meant golf. Not whatever is going on in California, obviously that’s a bigger issue. We’ll get to that next.”

  “Yeah, I meant golf too.”

  “Wait, you’re quitting golf?”

  “I don’t know.” Tracy looked serious but not uncertain. In fact, she looked like her mind was made up.

  Meg turned all the way around to face her. “Trace, don’t take this the wrong way. You can stay with me as long as you want. Fuck, move in. Mi casa es su casa, you know that. But golf is your life.”

  Tracy had taken another beautiful swing while Meg was talking. “That’s the problem, though. I spend ninety-five percent of my time doing something I’m mediocre at, at best.”

  “So you’re not the best player in the world. So what?” Meg was ready to give her a mini confidence boost but Tracy didn’t give her the chance.

  “Meg, I’ve spent the last six years barely making it onto the tour.” She smiled her calm, beautiful smile. “Maybe it’s time to find something else.”

  Meg was genuinely curious. “Like what?”

  “That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” She drew an iron from her bag. “I do a lot of volunteering for Every Youth Counts, the charity, you know, out in LA. They’re headquartered here in New York. One of my friends put me in touch with someone in the corporate office. I’m going to meet him for lunch next week. So that’s something.”

  Meg nodded, taking it in as Tracy continued to talk.

  “I also have something set up with the head of the LGBTQ center about a sports program they are trying to get off the ground.” She sent another drive aloft. “Not really sure what that’s about, but I’m intrigued.” She tightened the glove on her left hand. “And”—she smirked a little—“the other morning I talked to Toby, he’s the manager here, about giving some pro lessons. So that’s an option.”

  Meg smiled ear to ear. “Holy shit. You’re staying.”

  “At least until I figure some stuff out.”

  Meg did a small happy dance around her club. “Sorry. I mean it’s obviously because your life is in shambles—which we haven’t even talked about yet—but selfishly, this totally rocks.”

  “It’s okay then, if I crash for a bit?” Tracy’s eyebrows were rai
sed in hopeful consideration. “I know I literally showed up on your doorstep. Honestly, though, being around you is awesome. I missed you.” She looked down, as if a little shy to admit it. “And Bay West, what a vibe. It’s so chill, I think it’s maybe just what I need right now.”

  Meg took three steps and hugged her friend. “Of course you can stay.” She couldn’t stop grinning as she backed up to her lane. “Hey, I have some news for you.” She gave a nod with her chin. “I’m pretty sure Betsy and her rocker girlfriend are officially over.” She called over her shoulder as she drew into her backswing.

  “Is that right?” Tracy responded, but her tone was flat.

  Meg was surprised Tracy didn’t sound more interested. “That’s what my sources tell me.” She sliced a drive to the right. “Anyway, you can see for yourself tomorrow at Lexi’s barbecue.”

  Tracy drove a ball deep into the field, well clearing the two-hundred-yard mark. “Shit. About that, Meg. I can’t go.” She looked up.

  “Why not?”

  “I have to go back to Long Island tomorrow.”

  “Really?” Meg turned to face her.

  “My mother is having a dinner. Like, for me. My uncles are coming, my grandmother. I’m just going for the day, but there’s no way I’m getting out of it.” She pushed back the brim of her bright red Angels cap. “Sorry, dude.”

  “Don’t apologize to me.” Meg took another hasty swing. “I’m just bummed you won’t get to see Betsy.”

  “You’ll have to keep an eye on her for me.” She sent another beautiful shot right down the center of the range. “Anyway, we don’t know for sure she’s available. She seemed pretty excited to see her ex, or whatever she is, last week.”

  “I did some digging. Turns out she was just in town to pick up some stuff.”

  “Yeah, but you know how these things go. One night it’s over, the next it’s not.”