We Used To Be Friends
Chapter Ten
A/N: I'd like to send out a huge thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story! Enjoy!
When Carter left to go get ready to give his speech, Lucy was left on the dance floor with his Gamma. She smiled nervously.
"Lucy, can I speak with you for a moment?" Millicent asked, giving her a warm smile.
"Sure." Lucy nodded, following the older woman back to an empty table.
"First of all, let me say how happy I am to see you again. I was wondering if you'd ever come back to Chicago."
"I almost didn't." Lucy smiled, remembering her reservations about moving back here.
"But you did, and look at you now. You've grown up a lot Lucy. I bet your mother is very proud of you." Millicent guessed.
"Yeah, I think she is. She'd be happier if I had stayed in Indianapolis with her though."
"I think it's only natural for her to want you close by." She smiled. "I hope you don't think I'm overstepping my bounds, but since you have accompanied him tonight, is it safe to assume that you have forgiven my grandson for his…foolishness?"
Lucy chuckled softly at her choice of words. Foolishness was a perfect way of describing Carter's behavior. "Yes. We're good friends again."
"I'm very glad to hear that. I never agreed with the decisions he made regarding your friendship. I always thought that you were a good influence on him." Millicent paused for a moment. "You still are. This is the first fundraiser that John has come to with a smile on his face. Usually he come here and doesn't even try to have a good time or mingle and meet new people. But he seems happy tonight."
Lucy blushed at the compliments that Millicent was throwing at her, but she wasn't too surprised. Millicent had always liked her and approved of her friendship with John. His parents were a totally different story however.
Millicent watched Lucy closely, trying to figure out the most polite way of asking if she had feelings for her grandson. She could tell by the look on her face that Lucy had feelings for him. Lucy's smile seemed to glow when he was around. Millicent wondered if Lucy was even aware of that. Finally, she came up with the perfect way to delve into Lucy's personal life without making her real intentions seem too obvious. "So, are you seeing anyone since you got back?"
Lucy shook her head. "No, I've been too busy to try and find anyone to date. Working at the hospital all the time doesn't leave a whole lot of time to go out and try to meet new people."
"Perhaps the perfect person for you is hiding in plain sight though." The older woman hinted.
Lucy smiled and shook her head. She should have seen this coming a mile away. "I know what you're saying, but really, John and I are just good friends—nothing more and nothing less."
"Ok. I won't push. Just remember what I said. The perfect person could be hiding right under your nose."
Lucy laughed, not angry for the way Millicent was butting into her personal life. "I'll remember that. Thank you."
The women quickly turned their attention to the stage as Carter got up to the podium and prepared to speak.
The two women rushed over to Carter after he was finished giving his speech. "You did great. I think that was the best speech you've ever given." Millicent smiled, giving her grandson a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"Thanks." Carter replied, still feeling a little nervous from giving the speech.
"It was a very nice speech." Lucy replied, echoing Millicent's congratulatory compliments. She refrained from giving him a hug and a kiss though.
"I'm going to go check on how the silent auction is going." Millicent excused herself, wanting to give them some time alone.
Carter looked over at Lucy and gave her a smile. "I don't know about you, but I could use some fresh air. Care to join me on the balcony?" He offered her his arm to take hold of.
She smiled back and grabbed his arm. "Sure, let's go." They walked out to the balcony and found that they were alone.
"It's good to finally be alone for a moment." Carter sighed.
"Hey! You're not alone right now. I'm here. Remember me?" Lucy reminded him playfully.
"Oh you know what I mean." He joked back. "Sometimes I feel so…suffocated in there."
They were both quiet for a moment since Lucy didn't know how to respond to that statement. She finally broke the silence. "It really was a good speech."
"Yeah?" He laughed. "I made it up as I went along. This was the first year that I didn't have a speech already planned out. I just spoke from the heart."
"Well it showed." She nodded.
He walked over to the edge of the balcony and looked up at the full moon that was shining down on them. "Maybe I should speak from the heart more often."
She walked up next to him and looked at the moon with him. "Bobby would be so proud of you."
"Why?" He questioned, looking down at her. He couldn't help but notice how wonderful she looked in moonlight. The moonlight danced across her face, making her look like an angel.
"Well look at you! You're helping to obliterate the disease that took his life and you're becoming a great doctor." She paused. "Not to mention that you're also becoming a great man. I'd bet anything that he's looking down at you from heaven and smiling."
"I miss him." Carter whispered. Other then the yearly speeches he gave at these fundraisers, he rarely ever talked about Bobby. It felt good to admit that he missed his brother to her.
She chuckled softly. "He had the weirdest sense of humor!"
Carter laughed too. "Yeah. Remember when we were five and had chicken pox? You came over to play and Bobby pulled a practical joke on us?"
She started laughing harder. "How could I ever forget that?"
Flashback
A five-year old Lucy and Carter sat in Carter's house. They both had chicken pox, so their parents allowed them to play together. They were drawing together when Bobby entered the living room.
"So, you guys have chicken pox?" Bobby asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yeah." Carter replied, looking up briefly and then going back to his drawing. Shortly after that statement, he had to scratch his arm for the fiftieth time that day.
"Do you like scratching all the time?" Bobby asked, already knowing the answer to that question too.
"No!" Lucy shook her head angrily. "I hate it!"
"I do too!" Carter echoed.
Bobby smiled. "Want to get rid of your chicken pox?"
"Yes!" Carter and Lucy exclaimed at the same time.
"Well I know how." Bobby announced proudly.
"How?" Lucy asked, curiously.
"Well…," The eight-year old paused, "maybe I shouldn't tell you."
"C'mon Bobby! Tell us!" Carter argued.
"Are you sure?" Bobby asked.
"Yes, just tell us please? We'll do anything." Lucy pleaded. All she wanted was to make her body stop itching. It was driving her crazy.
"Anything? You'll do anything?" Bobby repeated.
"Yes." Carter replied, getting a little annoyed.
"I guess I can tell you how to make the itching stop." Bobby smiled. "You guys have to kiss each other on the lips."
"What?" Carter asked, in shock.
"You two have to kiss on the lips. It's the only way to stop itching." Bobby replied, trying hard not to burst out laughing. But that would ruin the practical joke, so he kept his laughter hidden.
"Are you sure about this?" Lucy asked. She liked Carter; he was her friend. But she didn't want to kiss him or any other boy.
"I'm sure. Either you guys kiss or you'll just continue to itch for the rest of your lives." Bobby explained.
"I don't know about this." Lucy told Carter.
"We don't want to itch for the rest of our lives, do we?" Carter asked her.
"No." Lucy shook her head.
"So I guess we have to kiss." Carter told her.
"Ok." Lucy replied. They leaned in closer to each other and gave each other a very short kiss on the lips. They both immediately pulled away and looked at Bobby.
"Ha! You guys actually fell for that!" Bobby laughed, holding his stomach.
Lucy started to itch again. "Hey! You said kissing would make the itching stop. It didn't!"
"Yeah." Carter scratched his leg. "You lied!"
"I didn't think you two would actually go ahead and kiss. But it sure was funny!" Bobby laughed harder and left the living room.
End of flashback
"I still can't believe we were gullible enough to believe that kissing would cure chicken pox." Lucy shook her head.
"Well we were young." Carter reasoned.
"Still…we were very gullible." She pointed out. Suddenly she noticed that it was getting cold out there.
"Yeah." He chuckled, looking over at her. He could tell that she was getting cold, so he removed his coat and placed it around her shoulders.
She looked over at him and smiled. "Thanks."
"No problem. I know how much you hate to be cold." He smiled back.
She found that she had to break away from the eye contact that they were having or else she would not be able to control the urge to kiss him. So she looked back up at the clear sky and the stars.
Once she broke the eye contact they had shared, he too looked up at the stars. But he also grabbed her hand, which was resting on the railing of the balcony. "Thanks for coming with me tonight."
She closed her eyes, trying to ignore the tiny sparks of electricity that she felt when he touched her skin. "No problem. I know how much you don't like these events."
"They are definitely a lot more fun with you around." He turned to face her, but kept a hold of her hand.
She turned and faced him, reluctantly bringing her eyes up to meet his. She realized that she could get lost in those dark, soulful eyes for hours—maybe even days. "I'm glad to help."
He stared into her bright blue eyes and couldn't help but grin like a fool. He knew it would most likely be a mistake, but he couldn't help himself. To him, this seemed like a perfect moment to lean in and kiss her. The moonlight was shining down on them, they were alone, and they could still hear the faint sounds of the band that was playing inside. So he leaned in slowly and placed a soft kiss up on her lips.
Lucy knew when she saw him slowly approach her that he was leaning in to kiss her, and she did nothing to stop him. When she felt his lips touch hers, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a deeper kiss. She knew this was a bad idea, but it felt so good that she didn't want to stop.
He was surprised that she was deepening the kiss. But he was happy about it too. So he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him. Kissing her felt so good, and so right. He didn't want to stop. Eventually though, he had to breathe. He pulled apart from her and tried catching his breath.
Lucy needed to breathe too, so she was also trying to catch her breath. She looked down at the ground, afraid to look him in the eyes. Although she had wanted to kiss him all night, she hadn't actually expected it to happen. Now she was left to wonder what that kiss meant.
Carter looked down at the ground too. He was also wondering what that kiss meant, and what kind of ramifications it was going to have. "That was…"
"Interesting." Lucy interrupted, finishing his sentence for him. She was very afraid that he was going to say that it was a mistake. "But a lot better than the one that happened when we were five."
"Yes, I agree." He nodded. Interesting was not the word he was going to use to describe their kiss. He was going to call it amazing, but apparently Lucy didn't feel the same way.
She knew that she couldn't stay out here with him much longer without kissing him again. But she knew that kissing him again would only complicate their friendship even more. "Wanna go back inside?" she suggested.
No! He wanted to stay out there and kiss her again. But she didn't seem too receptive to that, so he simply nodded and they went back inside to enjoy the rest of the party.