"Oh my god," Haley let out a moan, "you were so right. This is amazing. I mean, my coach is going to kill me, but it's absolutely, one hundred per cent worth it.
Lucy smiled, carefully picking at the crust of a slice and popping the small bits of bread into her mouth. She watched Haley, delighting in the sounds she made and how happy she looked.
"Coach?"
"Yeah," Haley nodded as she put her slice down, "I'm, uh, I'm on an athletic scholarship. I'm a gymnast."
"A gymnast? Really?" A thousand inappropriate comments ran through Lucy's mind.
"Yeah. It's not the fluffy, ditzy sport most people think it is. We train hard, and a lot. When we're not training we're basically making sure we're fit enough to pull the tricks so we don't do like, fatal damage. I haven't had pizza since the semester started because the coach is strict as hell about diets."
"Well that sounds… absolutely terrible and like it's no fun at all. But I do like watching gymnastics. That may be the roaring lesbian in me." They both laughed; Haley ducked her head to hide her blush behind her hair. "No, but really, the stuff you guys can do, it's impressive. Maybe you could show me some time. Your favourite tricks... or series of tricks?" Lucy felt like she was rambling, she knew she was making no sense.
"My favourite routine? Yeah, sure, maybe." A minute passed in silence. Haley picked up her slice and went back to eating, silently this time. A few more minutes passed in silence, but it was an easy silence.
"Can I ask you something?" Lucy examined the piece of bread between her fingers. "Feel free to tell me to fuck off, I know it's kind of personal."
Haley felt herself get hot again, busied herself pulling her next slice slowly from the tray before forcing out a meek, "shoot."
"Why 'Cracker'? I mean, no offence, but you and your friends are white. That's kind of, racist of you, don't you think?"
"Oh my god," Haley's face fell into her hands, "I keep telling them to stop calling me that for that exact reason. It's nothing to do with that. My name is Haley Graham; Graham—graham cracker, Cracker. Those two are so obtuse they still don't get that." Lucy noticed her face soften as she spoke about her friends.
"You all seem really close. Have you guys known each other long?" Lucy was partly fishing to find out if these guys were trustworthy, but mostly, she genuinely just wanted to know more about the girl.
"Not really. I went through a kind of tough time about three years ago. I had just quit gymnastics and I was dealing with all the hate over what happened at World's. On top of that I had to try get to grips with the fact my mom had cheated and my parents were divorcing. I started riding, and the guys would come along and try to kick me off spots when they wanted to ride them. Every time, they'd come up with some lame challenge I had to do to stay. Aeriel over the bowl; ride up and off the diving board, stupid stuff. I did every one. It grew like that, us just being idiots and riding and getting into trouble." Lucy was smiling and as hard as Haley tried, she couldn't find any sign of boredom on her face. "Then a girl I was seeing decided to out me at school. Frank and Poot, besides completely ignoring the bombshell, fought anyone who said anything about it. Sometimes literally. They were my whole support system. Still are, mostly. It's actually funny, they say they knew I was gay because I hadn't fallen madly in love with both of them." Her laugh was soft. "I mean, I kinda did. But in a totally platonic-life-mate kind of way." She paused. Lucy was looking at her, an amused look on her face. "Ah-nyway, enough of me rambling like a sap about my wunder-friendship. What about you and, uh, Scud?"
Lucy sat back in her chair. She wasn't sure how to handle the question. The responsible thing to do would be lie, omit any reference to her criminal activity. But she wasn't responsible. If she was in, she was all-in. That was the way she had been doing it the last month.
"I don't know if you know this, but I come from a big crime family." Haley's eyes went wide and Lucy couldn't help but laugh: she looked ridiculous, like a deer in headlights, with a slice of pizza frozen in her mouth. Haley tore off a bite, chewed it deliberately as she nodded, adding, "Yeah, I've uh, I've heard. Not to mention your outright admission of 'upholding a criminal empire' only an hour ago."
"Ah, yes. Maybe I hoped you'd think I was joking?"
"I did. Until that startling revelation. Plus the illegal bike nights you run. Don't they call it a 'Diamond Zone'? Police stay out, criminality is rampant, world without end, amen."
"Did you google me or something?"
Haley spluttered, tried to pass it off as a laugh. "Nope. I just stay quiet a lot, you know, listen. It's amazing the information you come across that way. Anyway, you were saying, you and Scud?"
Lucy nodded before she continued, "Well when I was young, it was 24-7 people talking shop at home. I used to take my bike out to this field about a mile from my house and just ride through the long grass. Every day I was there, Scud would be under this oak tree, reading some book or other about computers. We grew up together. He became my right-hand man, head of security, whatever. But our friendship is kind of like yours. He was my only support system after I took over the business, talking me down from blowing up Australia, helping me meet girls when I was too shy, helping me pick up the pieces after the break-up with A—" Lucy looked at Haley quickly before she continued, "a girl I was dating."
Haley felt the hurt in Lucy's words and reached her hand across the table, tentatively, and waited for the other woman to respond. When Lucy slipped her small hand into Haley's, she smiled shyly.
"Was it serious?"
"Kind of," Lucy sighed, "I don't know. I mean, we went to Madrid together for a while. I thought I loved her. I thought we loved each other. But I should've known. We should have known from the start that it could never work out. She cared about her job more than she did about us. She could never reconcile her feelings about what I am."
"She had a hard time dealing with such a gorgeous, head-strong, badass chick? She was probably intimidated."
"I meant a criminal, but way to make me blush." She wasn't actually blushing, her skin stayed the even, smooth, olive tone she always sported. "And tell me," Lucy ran her fingernails down the palm of the gymnast's hand, "are you intimidated?"
"By your fantastic bone structure and your, frankly terrifying, sexual energy? Nope. I think I can take you, as long as you can deal with my brazen cheek. I hear it's a real dark spot in my otherwise flawless character."
"I think I'll manage."
Haley's smile was shy, Lucy's was triumphant.
It took them two hours to finish the pizza. When they were done, they walked slowly to Haley's car.
"Well, uh, this is me." Haley scrunched her face up and gestured at her car. She felt awkward all of a sudden.
What am I supposed to say at the end of a could-be date, with a ridiculously good-looking crime lord, who I'm supposed to be spying on? Top marks for this situation Hales.
"Would it be a dick move of me to ask for a ride home? I could call Scud, but it'd take him a while to get here. Plus, I don't think I'm done making you give me attention."
"Uh, yeah, no, of course. I should have offered." Haley felt like she had spent too large a percentage of this afternoon ducking behind her hair to hide her pathetic blush. She hit the central-locking toggle on her key, and pulled open the passenger-side door.
"Your chariot, my lady."
Lucy laughed, clutched her hands over her heart and in her best Southern damsel voice, she drawled, "Oh, you are too kind!" She batted at the slightly shorter woman's shoulder, and dropped herself into the seat.
Once settled in her own seat, seatbelt fastened, Haley cast her eye around her car. "Sorry that my car is such a mess. I keep meaning to, you know, get around to cleaning it, and then I don't. Not that it being clean would matter, it's about ready to fall apart." Haley heard her own voice, high-pitched and nervous, and she grimaced.
"It's fine. It's cute. It suits you. A hot mess, barely hanging on, but charming as hell and a beauty when you get to know it."
"You got all that from a two-hour dinner?"
"It's why I go on so many 'first dates' that have no follow-up. I'm a very good judge of character. It's kind of essential in my line of work."
"So that was a date?" Haley's confidence was buoyed by the compliment, and even she was surprised by the cockiness in her own question.
"Was that not obvious? God, I am still so bad at this." She shook her head, ebony hair flying everywhere. "Yes," she turned her body towards the driver, "yes, that was a date." Haley just looked at her and let a shy smile cross her face. Lucy took it in for a moment, then rolled her head to look out the window. Keep it cool, Luce, she chided as she tried to slow her heartbeat.
"You won't be one of those, though." When Haley flicked her eyes in her direction and made a noise something like Huhn? Lucy fought back a smile as she clarified: "I want more dates. I want follow-up."
After that, they both sat in the warm silence. Both of them, if you asked them later, would deny wearing a stupid grin the rest of the ride, or the rest of the night.