A/N: Alas, we are to the couple of chapters I enjoyed writing maybe the most of all! Here we have, Ladies & Gentleman, "The Lake House Adventure." Get ready for lots of Duck interaction, and even the guest appearance of a special somebody!

Btw, just let me go on record for saying, as I did in my prologue statements, I am NOT for teen drinking. You will see some people indulging here as 17-18 year olds, and it's not that I'm trying to glamorize the behavior. I'm just trying to be true to what high school life is often like, or at least was when I went to school.

Portman also makes a good-natured jest to Mendoza about being Hispanic, which isn't taken seriously and doesn't offend. I figure this is the kind of thing Portman might do from time to time.

There we go, I think I covered all bases. Just don't want to offend anyone. It's easy to do these days…

Also, the "cheerleader girlfriend" I mention Mendoza having isn't the same cheerleader we see in D3. Knowing him, he's moved on. Ummm, what else?

Oh! It occurred to me the other day that I'm not sure I ever actually said what Phil's occupation was! He is a high-end commercial real estate broker in Minneapolis. Managing the commercial real estate properties, like the home Lacey's family lives in, is just something he does on the side.

Okay, I think that's it. Enjoy!

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"I'm scared as hell to want you. But here I am, wanting you anyway." – Unknown

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"Wait, I didn't press time! Okay, now!"

Lacey stood in the stands, timing Adam as he threw all he had into his line-to-line sprints, hoping he could beat his last record. He was pretty sure that by the end of today, he was going to need to get his skates sharpened.

Speed and agility had never been difficult skills for Adam to hone. As a matter of fact, almost no part of hockey had been, with the exception of maybe defense, and he had to sometimes remind himself to be a team player with the other Ducks. He would love to be able to say he remained humble at all times and didn't care that he was the better hockey player all-around, or revel in his skating and puck-handling ability, but that wouldn't be honest. He could occasionally feel himself growing impatient with those team members who didn't have as big of an edge over the competition as he had, but in such times, he had to remind himself of all Coach Bombay had taught them: to love the game, have fun and be loyal to each other. And usually when he re-grounded himself in those principles, he could work past any arrogance he felt and just be grateful some things came easily to him. He could then redouble his efforts to help the others perfect the skills he was proficient in. The satisfaction that then came out of playing hockey was pure and unadulterated, his reward being that he had spent the last six years enjoying the sport more than he had for the first six, making real friends in the process.

But right now, he needed to catch up. He had been out of the game for nearly a month allowing his shoulder and collarbone to heal, and he was ready to jump back in head first. Charlie and Fulton, both separately and together, were meeting him at the rink at least every other day as school allowed, drilling alongside him and ensuring his puck handling was up to par despite the injured shoulder.

"I can't receive like I used to. That side just… my movement isn't as smooth," Adam had sighed, throwing his stick down onto the ice one day after Charlie tried to pass him the puck and he received it barely in the nick of time.

"Adam, come on. This is going to take time," Charlie had pulled up to skate alongside him. "You know that."

"Time is the one thing I don't have," Adam retorted. "The playoffs are practically here. I've gotta get this right. Leave it to me to get so hot headed over a jackass that I make an enemy of him, and he comes along and breaks his damn stick over my shoulder. What is it with people doing that?"

He could remember back several years ago to the Junior Goodwill Games when a goon on Team Iceland did the very same thing over his wrist when Adam had scored a goal against him–and made the mistake of getting cocky about it. The difference was, Adam had had on hockey gear then, which partially cushioned him from the impact, even if not entirely. Out in the alleyway behind the rink at Driskell, he hadn't had the advantage of pads and a helmet to absorb the sharp blows.

"Yeah, but…" Charlie paused his skating, looking at Adam. "You at least took Shipley out of the picture. I mean, who knows what other damage he could do to someone else? Now he's getting what he deserves. Plus, you got his girl, right?" his friend's eyes lit up with mischief.

Adam laughed at Charlie's comment. The guy had definitely become bolder and edgier with his words and behavior over the years. "Well, you know, we're not…really…dating," he stammered. "I just don't have time for that right now."

"Hey." Charlie held his arms out. "I made time. And it's been the best thing ever, trust me."

But,Adam wanted to reply, you have no designs on the NHL.

It was true. Charlie loved hockey, and he would likely play it in college. But it wasn't his ultimate dream. That seemed to be gaining a good solid education, moving on to a fulfilling but not overly ambitious career, and having a family. All of those things were fine, but for Adam, hockey would be coming first.

If he could hang onto his skill through the broken bones, the pain, and the fatigue that came with rheumatoid arthritis.

For today, Lacey was timing his drills. Charlie was cleaning house for his mom and Fulton was working at his after school video store job. Adam knew he could ask someone else on the team to work with him, but instead he chose Lacey. He wanted time with her, and the good thing about his choice was that she was ensuring that he wasn't going to overwork himself–even if she was somewhat rigid in her views of what that meant.

Wearing himself out to the point he could barely put one skate in front of the other, Adam paused and leaned over, breathless, resting his hand on his knee. "How'd I do that time?"

Lacey checked the timer. "Well, you were a little slower. Fifteen seconds to do ten sprints."

"What?" Adam looked up. "I was down to twelve seconds!"

"I think you just need a break. We've been doing this for two hours, Adam. You're tired." She stood up from the bleachers and came down, stepping tentatively onto the ice with her new skates, which she'd gone back and bought from Jan's shop with Christmas money. She skated slowly over to him, helping him stand up straight. "How's everything feeling?"

"Fine," he shrugged his right shoulder. "My shoulder's jostling a lot less with this brace. Think I might be ready for the next game."

"Uh, no," Lacey replied, which him slightly. "I think you've still got a lot of upper body strength to work on. I know you want to make it to the playoffs, but what good would it do if you bottom out halfway through because you're not properly healed?"

He sighed in exasperation. "It's just not that easy."

"I know. I know it isn't," she reached up and brushed his sweaty hair away from his eyes, and he couldn't help but smile. How many girls even want to come within a foot of a stinking hockey player after practice? But Lacey didn't seem to mind.

"I'm sorry I'm not a little better at keeping up with you on the ice," she smiled sheepishly.

"Hey, you really helped me with drills today. I've got PT and my sports medicine trainer coming tomorrow. By the way, do you feel like doing something tonight?" He slapped the question on the end of the conversation, surprised at how easily it came out.

Lacey perked up. "Like what?"

He reached out, taking her hand to skate slowly with her back to the bleachers, as she was still very unsteady on the ice. "Like um…" he thought. "We could go to Loring Park?"

Adam's parents used to take him and Travis to Loring Park when they were kids, and he had thrived on the excitement and busyness of Minneapolis's city center. As a child, he'd enjoyed whipping in, out and around the masses of clumsy rookie skaters he shared the pond with. But as he got older and had all but mastered the skill, he came to view skating there as an impossible hassle. Lacey, however, might love it.

"And skate there? We can skate here," she chuckled. "No seriously, I don't want to be this bad of a skater at Loring Park."

"Why? Virtually ninety percent of the people there are bad skaters."

"Oh, so you think I'd fit right in then?" she raised her eyebrows at him.

"No! Okay, say we don't skate. We could go to a restaurant?"

"Or how about," she stepped up onto the bleachers, heading to the first row, "we go see The Wedding Singer?"

Adam sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Oh come on, Adam Sandler's supposed to be funny! You pay attention to the humor and I'll pay attention to the love story."

"I mean it isn't that I hate love stories or anything. They're just not very stimulating." He sat to remove his skates but found it nearly impossible to do one-handed. He always forgot about that part until he actually tried it.

Lacey knelt down in front of him to unlace them and pull them off herself. "Not for you, maybe."

"Okay, fine. Wedding Singer then. When we get home, I'll call MovieFone and find out when it starts, then I'll call you and we can plan a time for me to pick you up. Fair enough?"

Lacey looked up at him and beamed. "That is very fair. And you're really sure you've been okay driving?" she got up and sat back down on the bleachers to undo her own skates as he wrestled with his shoes.

"Yeah, I've been happy to get back to it. Which is a good thing, isn't it?" he smiled and she stuck her tongue out at him. Lacey had tried driving his car to the Daily Grind on their first outing after he'd been hurt, and one time was about all he could stand. He had to try to tell her, without showing her, how to drive a stick-shift, and she'd done such a miserable job at it he was afraid she might tear out his transmission. As if her operating the stick wasn't bad enough, it was worse that, as she studied which gear she was supposed to switch to next, she twice nearly collided with someone. He was glad he lived so close to the coffee shop, because even though he'd hoped she'd do better coming back… no. She didn't.

But they could laugh about it now, and Adam could safely say he felt more relaxed around Lacey than he felt around almost anybody. Her presence was color. His life had always been rather black and white, and even though before he would always have said he was perfectly happy with it-and he was-he was happier now with her in it, notwithstanding their botched up attempt at romance. Apart from his teammates, she had become his best friend.

Which was good, because he'd rather not have gotten beaten up for anything less.

The trickiest part of the whole thing had been Valentine's Day a week ago. He had never really thought much about the holiday other than tolerating its hype and looking the other way when the Secret Admirer lollipops were given out in homeroom and he ended up with seven one year. But he'd noticed Lacey being a bit quieter a couple days beforehand, like she was sad, or that something was on her mind. He'd scrambled to figure out what it was, even going so far as to discuss it with his mom in order to tap into the female brain.

"She was with Max for a couple of years, Adam. She might be thinking about things they used to do on Valentine's Day, or presents he gave her. It might have her feeling lonely. And maybe even a little regret," his mom offered.

"But she hated Max by the time they broke up, Mom. And since all the rest of this stuff happened, why would she regret letting him go?"

"It can be complicated sometimes. I think the best way to explain it is, your heart yearns for what could have been, or what you thought was there. Or even for the feelings you experienced when you were with the person. Make sense?"

When she'd put it that way, Adam did start to understand slowly, but wondered what he could possibly do for Lacey on Valentine's Day to make it better.

But it was once again his mom that cautioned him: "Babe, this isn't something you, of all people, are going to be able to fix."

Her words had given him pause. Did she know what happened at Christmas? Had she been able to sense it somehow? Mother's intuition was a real pain to work around sometimes.

"If you make plans with her for Valentine's Day, or pay any special attention, it's going to look as though you're fanning the romantic flame. So I would think very hard about whether that's a good idea or if you're ready for it. Lacey's been a good friend to you. Don't string her along."

So he hadn't. But refraining from paying special attention to her had been hard. He hadn't made plans with her for Valentine's night, but he hadn't been able to hold himself back from at least calling to casually say hi. When she'd picked up the phone, he could tell in her voice she'd been crying. And it hurt him mightily not to say anything to make it better, or immediately jump into his car and ride across town to break down her door, running up the stairs calling, "Lacey? I've realized something…"

But he would never let himself finish that story in his head. And so on Valentine's night, he hung up the phone dejectedly after they'd shared a half-hearted conversation.

In light of all that, heck yes he was going to go to see The Wedding Singer with her. He was going to do whatever he needed to do to make up for all of it, both the parts that were and weren't his fault. He was at least glad that her coming over alot to support him coupled with going back to see her therapist seemed to take her mind off her dad's hearing, which was now only about a month away.

Adam might not be ready to play hockey yet, but he could do most things with his right arm and hand now without causing his left shoulder to throb from the pulling and jostling. He'd tried recently to go for a run, but the jarring movement was far too much for him, despite wearing his brace. But Lacey ran alongside him, trying to keep up. "Trying" was the operative word, because even though he didn't get very far, he apparently got too far for her comfort, as she was gasping the whole time and immediately laid down on the foyer rug the minute they got back to his house. He'd wanted to laugh, but didn't want her to think he was making fun of her. But when she had begun to laugh at herself, he joined in.

Soon she had finished putting on her shoes and they were on their way to the car. "Your skating is better, you know," he commented.

"Really?" she smiled at him. "Thanks! I'm enjoying it a whole lot more. I just can't wait to one day be able to really fly out there. That's something you did for me the night we went skating that I absolutely loved-whipping me around the ice really fast. Let's go do it again first thing after your shoulder heals.

He laughed. "So that's the first thing we're doing when my shoulder heals? Not that I'm complaining."

"It is. I fully expect it." Lacey slowed her walking a bit. "By the way, when anyone on the team comes by while I'm at your house, I can kind of get lost if I need to. Like when Jesse and Guy came to go rollerblading with you last Thursday, I could have just gone home instead of waiting for you to get back. For some reason it didn't occur to me."

Adam looked over, wondering if he could ever mend this fence for good. "Lacey…they haven't said a word to me about you in a while, good or bad, other than Jesse apologizing over not believing you about the attack. I don't know that they're ever going to give you a warm and fuzzy welcome or anything, but if you hang out with them sometimes and just be who you are, flaws and all-heck, especially flaws- you guys might bond. Hey, if they can like me after I bullied them as a kid, they can most certainly like you. The Max thing is over, and they obviously know by now that you weren't with him on this. I think before, it was a matter of them being afraid you were infiltrating to try to gather information on our weaknesses for the Rockets. And that theory has basically blown up, so…"

"Yeah, I know. I just... " she paused. "I'm used to people either liking me for superficial reasons, or hating me for the same thing. The team doesn't seem to really like me, so I tend to assume they hate me. And the way everyone acted at the Vulcans game that night didn't exactly help."

"Yeah, well that was months ago. Why don't you look at this as a chance to start fresh? You took a pretty big blow to the face trying to defend me back there outside the locker room. You shit-canned Max, you've been here for me while I've recovered. I mean, there's lots of reasons for them to accept you now, and maybe they would if you didn't hold yourself at such a distance. I told you you could go rollerblading with us that day. I had another pair of skates."

"Oh, and I could have fit them?"

"Well, yeah. If I gave you really thick socks, but my point is, try one more time to get to know them. Connie and Julie already seem to like you pretty well. You just have to work on the guys some."

"Odd," Lacey commented offhand. "Usually it's girls who don't like other girls. But I'm glad I at least have two on my side. So… what can I do to get to know them,? I'm willing to try again."

"Well…since you asked," Adam proceeded carefully, pressing his key fob to unlock his car door, "hear me out."

Adam started the car to get the heat going, but he didn't pull out of the rink parking lot yet, instead turning as best he could to face her. He took a deep breath then, and told her about the lake house getaway.

It was a yearly tradition for him to take the team to his family's vacation house on the lake right before playoffs so everybody could blow off a little steam before the big week. It had initially been against his nature to decompress before the playoffs, as he liked to press harder and harder into practices from now until then. But his old coach had suggested, after an impromptu visit to a practice that he had been invited to by Coach Orion, that a team activity prior to the games might facilitate better playing.

Thus, the idea of the Lake House Tradition was born. The first three years of high school, the group had been accompanied by Coach Orion and sometimes his handicapped daughter, who was an "honorary" member of the team. But this year, Orion had another obligation. So Adam bravely soldiered the cause to his dad of allowing them to go on their own as high school seniors. It had taken weeks of making his case and showing his responsibility by taking over the daunting task of collecting defaulted rent from his dad's tenants before his father finally relented, handing over the lake house key with the instructions not to break Mom's collection of African vases and not to let anyone drunk dial 911.

"I'd prefer no drinking at all. You're all way too young," Dad had lectured sternly. "But I was in high school once and I know your age group, so let me just say: I'm not going to raise the roof if your buddies have a beer, but you had better not be drinking at all, no matter what anyone else does. I need you keeping alert to check on everything. And no pot and no sex. Think you can enforce that?"

Adam had blushed furiously. His dad had never, in so many words, talked to him much about sex. It felt awkward for him to mention it now. "Dad, yes. And they all know I will."

Not that he fancied policing everyone's activities. He might be able to identify who was smoking pot by the sheer stench, but sex? People could easily dodge his attention on that, and he wasn't about to do bedroom checks at night to butt into anyone's business. But it was a timely concern on his dad's part as the team had unanimously voted last year to allow girlfriends and close buddies to come along.

The additional guests had definitely added interest to the mix. Given that half the guys on the team had cashed in their card and brought a girl with them last time, and Connie had brought her college-aged sister, Adam felt there shouldn't be any issue with him bringing Lacey.

Only she wasn't quite in agreement once he had nervously laid it all out for her.

"No way. Noooo way." She turned to face forward in the car, indicating the conversation was over.

"Why not?"

"Why not? Because of everything we just talked about. I mean, give them another chance, sure. I thought you might mean going to Twin City Slice again. Not going for a whole weekend to your dad's lake house."

Adam hated to play a guilt card, but he was ready to do so since a normal request wasn't working. "Even if it meant something to me for you to come?"

Lacey gave him a sidelong glance. "Why though? You have a team full of buddies you can hang out with. I don't need to be there."

"Because it will give you the best chance to get to know them all. I mean, really know them, which might fast track them coming to accept you as more than just Max Shipley's ex."

And I want you there, he wanted so much to add.

He had been spending so much time with her lately that he frankly didn't want to go an entire weekend without contact. But he refused to say that, or even completely admit it to himself.

"Adam, it will tear my nerves up to deal with that kind of pressure. And right before my dad's hearing," she protested.

"If you have a panic attack, I'll take you someplace private and stay with you. I swear. They always seem to pass kind of quickly…" But saying that might have made him sound like an insensitive jerk. So, sighing, he turned back around to prepare to drive. "You know, if you really think it would cause more anxiety for you, I understand. I'd never want you to do something that could make you feel worse."

He pulled out of the parking lot then, and headed toward her house. Things got quiet, and he was reaching to turn on the radio to cut some of the tension when she spoke again.

"Can I think about it?"

Adam glanced over, trying not to break out into a grin. "Yeah, of course you can think about it. It's next weekend, so take the whole week."

She nodded, and they spent the rest of the trip companionably listening to music. He was just about to turn the station from Janet Jackson's dumb song "Together Again" when he caught the sound of Lacey softly humming along to it.

And he realized he would do just about anything to make her happy.

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Lacey lay on the couch flipping between MTV and VH1 to catch a good music video and, more importantly, to put off calling Adam to tell him she had decided to take the plunge and go with the team to the lake house.

She'd rather stab her eyeballs with a cactus. But she would do it, because it was important to him to reconcile his friend and his team. Her parents had finally approved it, though her mom did so with some trepidation and stern words of caution: "You better not drink," and her favorite, "If you drink, at least keep an eye on your glass the whole time so you don't get roofied. I know boys." Stuart had then reminded her mom that Lacey was old enough and smart enough to take care of herself for one weekend with friends.

"Well, 'friends' is kind of a strong word. But thanks, Guys."

So there was only one thing left to do. She raised the cordless phone she'd been holding onto for a while, and dialed the numbers.

"Hello?" came a rushed greeting.

"Hey, it's me. I'm going to go to the lake house."

"You are?!"

"I am. What time do we leave?"

Come to find out, Adam was in a hurry to go to the gym to lift-with his right arm, he clarified-and do his range of motion exercises on his left.

The guy absolutely refused to let his injuries keep him down.

He told her they would leave on Friday right after school, and "Don't pack a lot of extra stuff because you know how small my car is."

"That's okay, if we can't fit it in there, we can always take Stuart's smoking, backfiring station wagon," she smiled into the phone,

"No thank you. Stuart needs his car." Great deflection.

"How long does it take to get there?" She inquired. "What lake is it?"

"Three-ish hours? It's Lake Vermilion. Nice and scenic drive, and the water should still be frozen. If, you know, you want to practice stopping on the ice some more." She heard the mischief in his voice.

"I'm stopping fine, thank you very much. My skates are different than yours. You can't stop the same way," she replied with sass, not sure if that was true or not. But it was an admirable argument.

"Sure thing. Okay, well, gotta go. Friday after school, okay? Can you get a lift to Eden Hall by chance? I don't think I want to go back over to Driskell for a while if I can help it…"

"Oh yeah. Perfectly understandable," Lacey cringed herself every time she looked toward the locker room exit, where they had to actually spread sawdust to absorb the blood Adam had lost. It wasn't much, but it was enough to make her so angry she wanted to go into the home team locker room and break every single hockey stick she could find.

Good thing was, it didn't matter, because the Rockets were officially disbanded. It more than served them right.

"There might be one thing that could thaw the ice a bit, no pun intended" Lacey smiled. "Shall I tell the team how much you enjoyed The Wedding Singer?"

"Okay gotta go bye!"

Lacey laughed before hanging up.

Had this been a mistake? She'd find out soon enough.

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Early Friday morning, Lacey packed.

Then unpacked and repacked.

Was this too much? Would she look like a diva? On the other hand, would she come up short on outfits?

What exactly would they be doing? She packed her skates just in case, then took them out, because she would basically be showing the entire team she couldn't skate if she got out onto the ice.

But what if she and Adam had some time to themselves to skate together again?

She picked them back up and set them on the bed beside her duffel.

Finally she settled on some casual sweatshirts and jeans, but threw in one nice jumper in case it was needed.

Lastly, she went to her mom's medicine cabinet and took out her emergency anxiety meds. Because she never knew if she would regret not having them.

Taking a deep breath, Lacey sat down on her bed, closing her eyes. She knew she needed to hurry and get ready for school, but she felt nearly paralyzed with fear. What if her anxiety got so bad during a tense moment that she was unable to keep from having a panic attack or pulling? If she was sharing a room with one of the girls, what if they woke up the next morning to see thick strands of blonde hair lying on the floor next to her bed?

But, she reminded herself. Adam would be there. His very presence was a balm over her heart. And she knew that she could pull, she could chew her nails off, she could hyperventilate, and he would be right there with her.

She could do this, and she would. Because he wanted her to, and it was the least she could do for him.

"Nice job bringing half your room," Adam commented, getting into the driver's side of his car after having helped Lacey-much to her consternation-arrange her stuff in his small trunk with his good arm. "You do realize we're not wining and dining every night, right?"

Lacey smirked. "You're a hockey player. You may be okay not changing clothes for two days, but I'm not. And I brought something nice just in case."

Adam paused and glanced over at her, but quickly turned his eyes forward again, cranking up the car. She cleared her throat. "So you've got all your pain meds packed?"

"Yeah. And my hockey stick…"

She turned to stare at him. "Adam Banks."

"What? I just want to see if there's any improvement in my puck handling, that's all. I promise I won't overdo it, Mom."

Lacey shook her head. "You'd better not. Because I don't know if I can hang in there with you for another month."

"Oh jeez," he laughed. "That wasn't mean at all."

"Seriously," she admonished. "You could re-injure yourself. So please promise me the minute you get a stab of pain, or anything feels off, you'll stop playing."

"I promise. If you'll promise me something, too."

"Yeah?"

"If you start to feel really tense, like you could…you know… come get me. Wherever I am, whatever I'm doing, or hey. Even better? Let's have a code word. You can say it and I'll know I need to get you by yourself. What would you like it to be?"

Lacey paused, thinking. "Um… how about a phrase? 'I wonder how the twins are'?"

"Nah," Adam replied. "Because what if you actually are wondering how the twins are? It could be confusing."

"Okay, true. But what about if we have a couple of different phrases? So if I have to use it one day, I won't make people suspicious if I use the same one again a little while later? Not that I anticipate that happening, just," Lacey shrugged. At least, she sure hoped she wouldn't have to use it more than once.

"One thing at a time," Adam glanced over. "How about we come up with one phrase now, then if we have to use that one, we can come up with the next one? What about 'I talked to Robbie yesterday'."

"Robbie? Robbie Hart? OH!" Lacey burst out giggling. "The guy on The Wedding Singer. You must have liked that movie even more than I thought."

"Well, it's the first thing that came to my mind! I know you liked it, too."

Lacey smiled, thinking back about the movie they had seen together last week. The truth was, something about it had plucked her heart strings even more, in some ways, than Titanic even had. Maybe it was because the main characters' relationship had reminded her so much of…

"Okay. Let's do it. 'I talked to Robbie yesterday'."

"Right. Then I'll say, 'Oh yeah?' and if anybody asks me who that is, I'll just say it's a mutual friend. And then as soon as I can, I'll pull you out of there," he gave her a reassuring smile.

She wanted nothing more in that moment than to wrap her arms around him and cradle her head on his chest. "Thank you," she replied after swallowing hard. "And listen, if it gets too intense, I can just call Stuart to come get me."

"Yeah. And if you have to, that's okay," he glanced over, "but try if you can to talk to me first so we can see if it's something we can work through together."

"Deal," she nodded resolutely. "I think I can do that."

Then, likely in attempts to keep her pumped, Adam put in a Weezer CD and they sang until they were hoarse.

And that must have done the trick, because Lacey was content to curl up in her seat and fall asleep for the remainder of the trip.

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"Lacey? We're here."

Lacey opened her eyes, blinking a few times before she yawned and looked over at Adam. "Oh. We are?"

But as she looked out her window, she knew they had to be. A gorgeously rustic yet contemporary house, only a fraction smaller than Adam's actual home, sat in front of her with floor to ceiling windows, coated by snow, which made it an even more beautiful sight. The lake lay behind it, a flat sheet of solid ice. Quickly, she got out of the car and stared around.

"You know you can see the Northern Lights up here sometimes?" Adam spoke up behind her. "Maybe we'll get lucky and see them. I did once and it was so cool."

Lacey felt a rush of excitement as she turned back to him, having never been anywhere other than her Aunt Rachel's farm. Imagine seeing the Northern Lights.

"You have?"

"Yeah, actually. Dad and Mom hosted a big anniversary celebration weekend up here for Grandpa Greg and Grandma Molly when I was pretty young. My mom woke me up in the middle of the night–come to think of it, I'm not sure why she was awake–and took me to the window to show them to me. She tried to wake Travis up too, but he wasn't having it. We stood there staring for the longest time. Sorry, I'm rambling. Point is, they were every bit as beautiful as all the pictures."

Lacey smiled, enjoying the rambling. "Let's say we're going to see them this year. Maybe if we claim it, it'll happen."

Adam chuckled. "Whatever you say," he said, giving her ponytail a quick tug before opening his trunk. Her heart nearly exploded out of her chest, but she shook it off and went over to help him.

After they toted their own baggage into the immaculate, beautifully decorated house, Adam headed back outside. Lacey followed him in case he needed more help. "It's okay, I just have one more bag of some stuff," he called back over his shoulder, taking out a paper grocery bag before she could stop him. "I generally tell everybody to bring their own food, because you never know what people like. Plus, none of us knows how to cook except Goldberg, and he says he does enough of that at the deli. But I do bring some things, and," he winked. "I made sure to bring something for you."

"Adam, are you serious?" She followed him back into the house, curious as he set the grocery sack on the long kitchen counter and took out a can of Folger's coffee.

"You do like Folger's okay, right?"

"Yes! Oh my gosh, you remembered! It didn't even occur to me, but I don't think I could go a whole weekend without coffee. You're a prince," she came around the counter to hug him, but he stopped her. "Careful, the shoulder!"

"Oh, right. Thanks though. Seriously."

"And I'll just put this here," he opened a cabinet pretty high up. "So nobody gets into it."

Then he turned back to her. "Mind if people drink?"

"Coffee?" She asked, confused. "Uh, no. I mean I'm not going to drink a whole pot at a time, so if you brew one-"

He snorted. "Not coffee. Like alcohol."

She stared at him. "Oh! Says the guy who lectured me about it the first time you saw me at that party last summer."

"Hey, I wasn't entirely happy with you then. Don't hold it against me," he took out a small key from his pocket, hanging it on a hook nearby. Lacey figured it was for the liquor cabinet.

"And your dad knows you drink?"

Adam gave a half shrug. "He just said nobody had better get completely sloshed on my watch."

Lacey clucked her tongue. "Okay, tell me where I sleep."

"With Julie and Connie," Adam answered. "Let me show you the room."

"Are they the only girls?" She grabbed her bag and skates and followed him up the two flights of stairs, marveling over the landing that served as a bridge, connecting two hallways and overlooking the main living area. She wanted to ask Adam if his dad had designed this place, but she was already asking a lot of questions.

"No, Averman's bringing his girlfriend–imagine that–and so are Charlie and Mendoza. But you know Connie and Julie already, and I knew you wouldn't feel as anxious if I kept you with them. The other girls will be in a different room."

Lacey smiled warmly at Adam. It was so good to be known. It made her feel safe. "By the way, I like how you've planned what rooms to put everybody in. You're so organized, Dude."

"Well," he turned to her before he approached the room she was to sleep in. "I learned the hard way one year when one or two of the guys turned out to be the odd men out. Guys don't usually take stuff like that hard, but that year we were kind of facing a rift within the ranks, so things didn't turn out so hot. That's when I said forget the drama, I'm making a room chart." He opened the door to a pleasant looking room, painted light blue with white eyelet curtains. It felt breezy and calm, and Lacey instantly liked it. There was a set of bunk beds on one side, and a day bed on the other.

"Shall I pick a bed, or do you have that planned out too?"

Adam smirked. "Pick whatever bed you want. And then come on, I want to give you a tour."

Lacey loved how animated Adam was, infused with the energy of hosting the people he loved at one of his homes. It was awesome how much he wanted to treat his team.

Adam loves big, Yvette had said. And it was true.

But no sooner than they arrived downstairs did a Honda pull up in the driveway.

"Charlie and Linda," Adam informed her as they stepped outside.

"Hey," Charlie smiled as he and his girlfriend got out of the car. "Gosh it's good to be here. You have no idea how much I've needed this."

Linda gave Lacey a brief, cursory smile, then turned back to Charlie. She remembered from Twin City Slice that Linda didn't seem keen on making friends with the other girls, remaining aloof.

"We get to sleep in the same room, right?" Charlie put his arm around Linda's shoulders.

She noticed Adam blush slightly. "Oh. Well, actually I put all the girls kind of on the same hall, because I thought it could get messy if… I mean…" he paused before relenting. "Sure. Come on and I'll show you a room. We've got enough."

Adam headed upstairs with Charlie and Linda as next, an old Nissan pulled in, smoke billowing from the hood as four guys sat in the car, laughing as they parked. Lacey recognized Portman, Fulton, Jesse and Kenny Wu. The back of the car had sunk almost to the ground.

"Gah, we barely made that trip, huh?" Portman climbed out of the driver seat, coughing. "This thing's a total piece of shit," he slapped the hood.

"You got that right." Jesse emerged and looked over at Lacey. "Oh, hey."

"Hi," she smiled. "Adam's up showing Charlie and Linda their room. Um… if I knew where you were going to be, I'd show you, but…"

Fulton got out, chuckling. "Nice, responsible Banksie."

Another car pulled up, much nicer than the one Portman had driven, and Lacey began to feel overwhelmed. Where was Adam?

This time Guy, Connie, Julie and Russ got out, and suddenly it was like the entire team was talking at once. Finally Connie came over, smiling. "Hey. We were following Portman because we weren't sure that the total piece of garbage he still drives would make it all the way here."

Lacey had to laugh, feeling more at ease now that the two people she knew accepted her were here. "You and Julie are with me. Want me to show you where?"

"Oh, sure." Connie didn't seem to take issue with being separated from Guy, turning to give him a quick kiss before waving Julie over and following Lacey upstairs.

"Awesome. Girl time," Julie gave two thumbs up after she set her bag on the lower bunk. "Connie, you good with up top?"

"Guess I am now," Connie winked, slinging her duffel onto the top bunk. Then she looked over at Lacey. "You take the twin bed. It's a congratulations for finally snagging Adam." Her eyes sparkled. "We were beginning to wonder if he'd ever become a sucker for anything besides hockey."

"Oh, we're not…" Lacey trailed off, blushing.

Julie broke out into a giggle. "Oh please. Everybody knows he's crazy over you, Lacey."

Lacey froze. "Does… does he talk about it?"

"Nope," Connie cut in. "But he doesn't have to."

With that, the girls became distracted when they noticed out the window that Mendoza, his girlfriend Whitney, and Dwayne had arrived, followed immediately by Averman, Goldberg, and…

"I heard her name is Kristy," Connie remarked.

"Is she a cheerleader?" Lacey asked, in awe. She knew Averman to be kind of a nerd, and even though she didn't want to assume he couldn't score a cheerleader girlfriend, she was pretty sure he wasn't looking in that direction anyway.

The girl who got out wore glasses, a zipped up multicolored coat with baggy jeans and Keds. She looked a little backwards, much like Davy's girlfriend had, but Lacey scolded herself for going there. If only she herself had enough confidence to wear what she actually wanted instead of what she felt she had to in order to be accepted…

Still looking out the window, Lacey observed that Mendoza's girlfriend was most certainly a cheerleader. And Dwayne, she knew, was what they called a "redneck". How had the drive here gone for such a mixed bag of people?

"Oh! Show Lacey what you brought, Connie," Julie grinned, turning away from the window. "I'm excited."

"Yes, okay! Wait, it's still in the car." Connie turned to rush downstairs, and Julie looked back at Lacey.

"I'm glad you came. I know it's not easy to break into this team's dynamic, I mean… the truth is, that's why my boyfriend didn't come. He's never really felt welcome, especially because he played varsity back when we were all JV."

"Oh?" Lacey hadn't realized Julie was dating anybody. "What's his name?"

Julie chuckled. "Theodore. But he goes by Scooter. He's in college."

"He is?" Lacey grinned. "Older man."

"Yeah. It's kind of awesome," Julie whispered, sounding conspiratorial. "But that's the other thing. He's off at school right now."

Connie then returned, lugging a big bag. "So this is my dad's karaoke machine. He has all these tapes!" She set the contraption on the floor after removing it from the bag, and laid all the tracks out.

Julie sat down and started going through them, her face falling a bit. "Connie, wow. These songs are all pretty old."

"I know, I know. Dad's had it awhile," she replied. "I mean, here's some stuff from like 1992…"

Lacey combed through the tapes herself, finding more than a couple songs that she had heard Stuart sing to. "I know most of these, sad to say."

"This eighties stuff? Really?" Connie marveled.

"Yeah. My mom's boyfriend-well, he's more like my stepdad-gets all into this stuff, especially the British singers. He definitely loves Billy Idol and Pet Shop Boys. Oh, and New Order."

"Who?" Julie stared at her. "I mean I know Billy Idol…"

"Yeah, the others are kind of obscure now. But you've heard "Bizarre Love Triangle," right?"

"Oh! I have," Connie answered. "I actually think that one's in here somewhere…"

It was then that Adam appeared in the doorway. "I'm… sorry to interrupt, but Lacey, can you come here for a second?"

Julie looked over at her her face turned away from Adam as she smiled.

"Sure." Lacey got up off the ground and went out into the hall.

"Everything good?" he asked nervously.

"Yeah, everything's fine. How about you? Getting everybody settled in?"

"Oh I'm good. I mean, I had to switch things around this year. Mendoza wanted a room with Whitney like Charlie and Linda had, and I couldn't really say no 'cause if I'm doing it for one couple, I should do it for both of them. Just don't tell my dad…"

"Adam," Lacey stopped him. "Everything doesn't have to be perfect. You know that, right? Flexibility. You gotta have it."

Adam shook his head, reaching up again to rub the back of his neck. "Yeah I know."

She gave him an encouraging smile as he turned to head back into the chaos of setting things up. But before she could stop herself, she reached out and grabbed his hand.

He turned back, coming closer to her than he normally did. She stared into his intense eyes for a moment.

"Thank you," she whispered. "For talking me into this. And for hosting everybody. You're seriously good at it. So really, don't worry about stuff. It's all good."

She wanted more than anything to lean in and kiss his cheek, but she steeled herself against the temptation. Adam studied her face for a second, then nodded and flashed her a smile before squeezing her hand. Then he let it go, and was gone.

Lacey knew she was in trouble if Adam didn't soon act on the feelings she was pretty sure he had for her. Should she initiate things again? Dare she get her heart broken one more time? She stood there in the hallway alone for a moment, thinking. The fact was, if neither of them ever acted, would they completely lose their chance? The reality of graduation happening in a few months and Adam moving on to either the NHL or college made Lacey feel like this was urgent.

She had to nudge him a little. Just one more time. And if he didn't respond well to it again, Lacey would have her final answer. Then she could let go.

"Hey Lacey!" Julie interrupted her thoughts. "Come in here and pick out a song!

She smiled after Adam once more before turning and heading back into the room.

"We're each going to do one, then do one together. That's our way of roping the boys into joining us," Connie explained, then gave a short laugh. "But there are two we don't ever have to push."

"Um… Averman and Kenny?" Lacey tried.

"Nope. Goldberg and Russ" Julie grinned.

"You're kidding!" Lacey laughed, though from what little she knew, she could see it. "Does Adam ever do it?"

"Oh no way," Connie rolled her eyes. "Adam's not nerdy enough for karaoke."

Lacey thought about all the times they had held a Weezer concert in his car, and smiled. Apparently this wasn't something he did in front of just anyone.

"But he always enjoys watching," Julie pointed out. "You know, I think you should sing him a song."

Lacey snorted. "Have you ever actually heard me sing?"

"No. But right now, sing the Beauty & the Beast song," Connie directed.

"Okay, good thing I've watched it so many times with my sisters." Lacey then belted out a plain rendition of the first verse of the Celine Dion song.

"Hey, you're not nearly as bad as you think! You pick first." Connie splayed out all of the tapes. "A song you'd like to sing to Adam. Really"

A flush hit Lacey's cheeks. "Oh wait, no no. I can't sing a song and look right at him like that!"

"You don't have to look right at him, just glance over during the parts of the song that don't apply to him. Because almost any song you pick won't match your situation perfectly."

Lacey pondered Connie's words. "Are you singing to Guy?"

Connie grinned. "Who else would I sing to? Okay, so! Look through there and pick a song. And Julie, pick out a good one for us. We get to have first dibs before anybody else."

Lacey began to flip through the cassettes, seeing several songs on each that she knew. Nothing really jumped out at her however, until she saw a Donna Summer song she actually remembered on her own from when she was a little girl. In her mind, she recited the lyrics, then realized…

They were perfect.

Could she really do this?

Would he realize she was talking to him? Would anybody give him a hard time over it, though?

She voiced her concerns to the other two girls.

"I think half the hockey team assumes you guys are already together," Julie replied. "So they're probably not going to think a lot of it. But trust me, he will. And that's what we're counting on."

"Hey, can I see the songbook for a sec? I want to be sure this is the one."

Connie handed it over. "So, a favor for a favor. Would you show me how to do my eye makeup like you do?"

Lacey looked up from flipping through the pages, surprised. Connie was absolutely stunning with her flawless skin and prize-winning smile. She really ought to be getting tips from the other girl instead. But she replied, "Sure. I mean, I can show you what I do. But you've got a better eye shape than mine, and longer lashes."

"Both of your techniques are better than mine are. But then, I'm also not a makeup fiend." Julie shrugged, flipping through the tapes herself.

As promised, Lacey gave Connie all the pointers she could think of for applying eyeshadow and exhorted her on the virtues of eyelash curlers, all while Julie went about picking songs for the night.

Apparently, the tradition for their first night at the Lake House was karaoke and takeout pizza-no one delivered where the lake house was, but the nearby city of Tower had a Dominoes. Jesse and Averman went out to fetch the many pizzas that Mr. Banks, no doubt, was picking up the tab for.

By the time Lacey saw Adam again, she and the girls were setting up for karaoke and he was giving into their list of demands.

"Do you have candles we can put on this back table here?"

"Is it okay if we turn the coffee table into a mini-stage as long as we put tablecloths on it to keep it from scratching?"

"How about sparkly streamers we can hang?"

"Are you serious right now?" The last question came from Adam, still good-humored but growing visibly tired after having spent all day setting things up and conceding to everyone's requests.

Julie chuckled. "Go take a nap, Adam. You're gonna want to feel primed and ready when it's time for karaoke." She winked at Lacey.

Adam paused and looked back and forth between Julie and Lacey.

Lacey just shrugged innocently and turned back to busy herself stringing Christmas lights around the "stage."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lacey had apparently underestimated how much noise an entire hockey team could make when hungry for pizza and thirsty for endless beer.

But it was quite possibly the most fun night she had ever experienced in a group of people.

When tipsy, it appeared that Dwayne liked to talk philosophy, Jesse hugged everybody, and Mendoza cried over everything.

"We just blame it on his passionate Latino side," Julie chuckled.

Music blared from radio as the lake house-blessedly far-removed from everything-rocked from the sounds of a high school party. Lacey was no stranger to those, and she recalled one she had gone to not so long ago that had bored her off her mind until she'd run into a polite, familiar guy with a need for Percocet tablets.

It's funny how much could change in six months, not the least of which was Lacey's attitude about parties. They were finally fun again.

Once karaoke launched, half the team was buzzed and ready to get down to action. First song was, as Lacey had already been warned, courtesy of Goldberg. He had a surprisingly good voice, belting out "Total Eclipse of the Heart" with so much gusto he went hoarse halfway through.

"Luis, sing 'Macerena'!" Portman called out, swaying slightly on the stage.

" Asshole!" Mendoza countered, accompanied by a gesture.

"Nah nah, just kidding, Dude. This one's coming to ya live from Chicago's leanest and meanest. Oh, and two other people more talented yet slightly less awesome."

Fulton and Kenny then jumped onto the rather small coffee table, all three bumping hips without any sense of rhythm whatsoever as they sang their rendition of "We Are Family". There wasn't anyone who wasn't laughing.

Charlie and Linda came up next and sang "Don't Know Much" from Linda Rondstadt and Aaron Neville, and Adam glanced over at Lacey from where he stood watching against the back wall with his seltzer water, rolling his eyes.

She beamed, unable to inhibit her facial expressions in light of how happy she felt.

"Whoa whoa, watch it, Sister!" Russ leaned over to her. "Can't be givin' it away til the song comes on."

Lacey turned to him quickly. "Wait, what?! How did you know?!"

"Ha! Cuz you girls are nothin' if not predictable." He shook his head, walking off.

Lacey raised her eyebrows, looking over at Julie, who took that as her signal to start.

Julie held her thumbs up to Connie, who was manning the machine, and she switched the tape just as the Aaron Neville song was coming to a close.

"Ugh, Connie, when you gonna have your dad buy updated tapes?" Jesse protested the situation, nursing his own drink while Lacey, not at all ready to do this yet, kept making the "cut" gesture wildly to Connie until she noticed half the players staring at her, including Adam.

Lacey let her hand drop into her lap, then, and, realizing the whole thing couldn't be undone now, gave a little shrug and stood up.

But Guy stood up at the same time. "First off, let's be thankful Connie brings it at all, Jesse. Secondly, allow me to take this moment to sing a little-"

"Save it for a minute, Guy," Connie called out. "Lacey's going first."

Guy looked over at Lacey in confusion, before shrugging with a smile. "Alright, you first then."

Lacey took another big huge gulp of her watered down drink before setting it down with a loud clink. "Okay, yeah. I do have something I'd like to sing. I know some of you in here don't care for all this old stuff, but old stuff is good stuff as my stepdad Stuart knows." She stepped up onto the coffee table stage, a little ungraciously at first, nearly falling back off. But she saw Adam push off from the wall he was standing against as though about to come to her rescue.

"I'm okay!" Lacey called over to him, a little louder than she meant to. "Okay. So… the person I'm singing this to is gonna know it's for them when they hear it. And probably most of you will, too. Which, you know, is totally fine because I already know I-"

But just like that, the song started, and even in her slightly buzzed state, Lacey knew Connie was trying to save her from her own rambling.

The fast-paced intro chords of Donna Summer's "This Time I Know It's For Real" popped out over the air, and Lacey found it nearly impossible not to dance. So she did -kind of-relishing in the hoots of laughter and hollering. How could she have gone her whole life without deliberately making a fool of herself this way? It was so freeing.

She didn't miss a beat when the song started, and she crooned the introductory words sincerely, having already mapped out in her head which of the lyrics she would look at Adam during, trying to give him a message with her glances.

What would I have to do

To get you to notice me too

Lacey slid her eyes to Adam's.

Do I

Stand in line

One of a million

Admiring eyes

The lines resonated in her heart, and she wondered how she hadn't thought of this song before now.

Walk a tightrope way up high

Write your name across the sky

I'm going crazy just to let you know

You'd be amazed how much I love you so, baby

When I get my hands on you I won't let go

This time I know it's for real

She glanced back at Adam again during that last line, noticing the small smile that formed on his lips as he stood watching her, maintaining their eye contact.

Should I write or call your home

Shout it out with a megaphone

Radio, tv news

Got to find a way

To get the message to you

To say I love you with a neon sign

Anything to make you mine

In a motion that flowed with her dance antics, Lacey pointed directly back to him. Half the hockey team looked back at Adam, whooping. But he seemed not to hear them, continuing to watch her with an expression of earnestness and a little fond amusement.

She made it through the song without tripping and falling off the coffee table, mispronouncing the words or forgetting them, or overly embarrassing Adam. As it was over and she garnered much more applause than she was expecting, Lacey bowed and looked back at him once more as he remained leaning against the wall swirling his drink, without letting his eyes leave hers. They smiled at one another and she shrugged bashfully before jumping off the coffee table.

"Whoa, Banksie for the win, Man!" Guy gave her two thumbs up.

Lacey couldn't resist teasing Adam by keeping herself just slightly out of his line of vision or grasp for the rest of the evening. It was a move Julie swore would make it worth her while when they did finally connect again. So Lacey took advantage of the time to mingle, trying to make conversation, however short, with everyone present. But this time, instead of using her typical "shuck and jive" routine from parties past, she found herself interacting with the other Ducks and their own friends more naturally.

This especially included Averman's girlfriend Kristy, who turned out to have a gorgeous, thousand-watt smile and one of the best personalities Lacey had ever encountered. The girl hadn't had the first drop to drink, yet still managed to sing a beautiful and very soulful rendition of Mariah Carey's "I'll Be There" to Averman. Afterward, Lacey settled on one end of the couch next to the girl and had a two-hour nonstop conversation. She learned that Kristy, also, loved coffee and cats and worked part-time at Eden Hall's library, which was where she'd met Averman. Her dad was the pastor of a local church (she was nearly not allowed to come on the weekend getaway until she promised her dad that there were other girls going that she could sleep in a room with), which they pieced together was the very one Ariel's crush went to. Kristy's biggest passion, though, was music. "I love singing," she beamed. "That's why I was so excited we were doing karaoke." She was apparently a member of Honors Choir and Honors Ensemble along with directing the youth group choir at her dad's church.

But Kristy's life was far from perfect, and even though the girl didn't come out and said it outright, Lacey managed to read between the lines to learn that the girl had been made the target of torment and unkind pranks, due to her shyness and lack of fashion expertise, by girls on the cheerleading team, and the popular crowd in general.

Girls that could have been Lacey.

Even though she had previously made herself feel better with the reminder that she had never made fun of or bullied people at her high school, the fact was she'd stood by lots of times while it happened to others and was ashamed to have, many times, thought to herself, "I'm just glad it isn't me anymore."

What if, instead of "bettering" herself by putting on a mask of confidence, dressing in trendy (if second-hand) clothes, learning how to do makeup and dyeing her hair to be Marilyn Monroe perfect, she'd just stayed who she was in the first place-frizzy-haired Lacey from Phil Banks' rental houses-and maybe learned a whole new level of actual self-confidence like Kristy seemed to have?

She should be giving a girl like me a wide berth after what's been done to her.

But no. Instead, the other girl was trusting and kind. And fun and interesting. And very much in love with Averman.

Lacey had just opened her mouth to ask another question when Kristy appeared to be staring behind her. Out of instinct, Lacey turned around too, but saw several people, not the least of who was Dwayne, singing an out-of-key "Under the Bridge" by Red Hot Chili Peppers alongside a three-sheets-in-the-wind Portman.

"Who were you looking at?" Lacey inquired.

Kristy smiled with a glint in her eyes. "It was the guy you were singing that song to. He was coming over here, but he just got stopped by somebody."

"Adam? Oh, he was?" Lacey felt like letting out a loud, high-pitched giggle suddenly like a fifth-grade-girl. She wasn't sure why the idea of talking to Adam caused her to feel so heady since she'd sung the song, but it seemed like they were suddenly on a whole new, incredibly exciting playing field.

"Where did you meet him?" Kristy asked, interested.

Lacey settled in to explain the whole thing to her new friend. "Well w-"

"Hey Babe!" Averman came over and gave Kristy a quick kiss on the head. "We're headin' up, a couple of us lightweights. You're still sleeping in a room with Linda and Whitney, right?"

"Actually," Lacey found herself cutting in. "Whitney and Linda are sleeping in other rooms tonight, but you're welcome to come to mine and Connie and Julie's."

Averman's eyes lit up. "You'd do that? Hey, thanks Leslie! Or Lisa. Or Leslie Lisa."

"Stop it," Kristy reached up to slap his arm, then chuckled. "He's just playing with you, Lacey."

Lacey chuckled. "It's fine. I'll take her up here in just a few minutes."

For some of the guys and girls, the party was coming to a close. For others, it would be going on for hours. Which meant it would be for Adam, too.

So Lacey stood and went to find him while Averman and Kristy said their goodnights. He was upstairs, just coming around the hallway corner with a bunch of toothbrushes in his hand when he nearly collided with her.

"Adam!" she caught the toothbrushes before they could clatter to the floor. "I was wondering how you were holding up."

"Truth?" he asked, looking exhausted.

"Well, I thought so," she answered, giving a short, nervous chuckle.

"I'm hurting. Kind of a lot."

Lacey paused, regarding him solemnly and feeling so selfish for having been so preoccupied with what he thought of her singing a song when he had been suffering for probably hours with grinding pain.

"Adam, I...I didn't even think. Is it your shoulder? Or all over your body?"

"It's a little all over, but a lot my shoulder. I just kind of overdid it today, and I should have known I would." But he stopped, studying her. "It's okay. I mean everything's pretty much done, I just had to run toothbrushes around to people who forgot theirs. After a party, not many people worry about their toothbrush, but you've always got the handful that do."

"How weird is that," she shook her head. "Okay, so then what? Do I need to help you cut off some lights, set anything up for tomorrow? Or I can get up and fix breakfast."

But Adam snorted softly. "You think I was gonna do that? That's what leftover pizza's for. Anyway, I'm trying to get everybody what they want tonight, because tomorrow morning I'm resting so I can scrimmage in the afternoon."

She was too tired herself to argue him down over that part now. "I just wish there was something I could do to help. Anything at all. Want me to deliver toothbrushes?"

"Lacey, you've already done something for me."

She hesitated. "How do you mean?"

"The song," he stepped in closer to her. "I've been trying to catch you to tell you…or, well, to first ask you... do you really think you're standing in line? For me?"

Here was the moment she'd been praying for. Lacey took a deep breath, then started, "Well I've always assumed, Adam, there are any number of girls who might stand out to you and make a better match than I would be. Or let me say, that's what I used to think. I don't really know now, because we've…you know, gotten close before…but I do know that I'd regret it if I didn't let you know that nothing's changed for me since that night at Christmas when we nearly kissed-"

"Hey, that my toothbrush?" A bedroom door swung open and out popped Whitney's head.

"You have got to be kidding me." Adam snapped for the first time Lacey had ever seen, not turning around, eyes shut tightly in irritation. Mendoza's girlfriend stood gaping as Adam finally looked over at her. "Oh hey. Sorry, I thought you were somebody else. Here you go," he handed her over a toothbrush, his standard politeness resurfacing.

Placated, Whitney gave Adam a seductive smile, twirling a lock of her hair as she turned around and sauntered back into her room, closing the door.

Adam turned back to Lacey then, coming a little closer still and whispering, "I want us to talk about this. I'm not going to forget."

"I know you won't. But for now, there's toothbrushes," Lacey smiled a little, patting his good arm. "Just know this. I'm not going anywhere."

And with that, she slipped around him to head back downstairs with the determination to find out what anyone else might require to get a good night's rest so Adam wouldn't have to.