Press Your Luck 43 (Patreon)

After her conversation with Valerie and bidding her goodbye for now, Lucy found in her fright that she had hung up on the good doctor. But calling him back would have to wait as she was going to be late for work if she didn’t call her favorite uber driver. The work night passed in fits and stalls and finished before she even realized it had come to an end. The moments between when she had no orders from anyone to focus on her mind couldn’t help but regret her decision to go back to the Sanders’ home. ‘But there’s, like, no way I can afford a new ID and surgery on top of the motel!’ She reminded herself. Truth was she likely could afford it with her jobs but it would take much longer to complete.

Lucy officially moved into Valerie’s room on her next day off two days later. “I still need my office but when I moved into the master bedroom I didn’t need my bed.” Valerie explained as she helped carry one of Lucy’s bags into her room. Structurally the room was laid out in a mirror image of Danny’s so it was the same size as his, but due to Valerie’s white queen size canopy bed positioned at an angle between the right hand corner of the room taking up a majority of the floor space it felt far more cramped than Danny’s. The soft pink gossamer curtains that hung loosely did nothing to hide the boxes of books, old clothes, and a dozen throw pillows still meticulously placed on the bed behind an old worn brown knit rabbit in a pastel yellow dress.

“I don’t think you could’ve, like, got that thing outta here anyway.” Lucy giggled as she pulled back the curtain and sat her bag on the bed beside the rabbit and took in the rest of Valerie’s room. Directly across from the bed in the opposite corner was a small flat screen television, mounted precisely on the pastel pink wall to be seen from the bed and not be disturbed by opening the closet door and not obscured by the dresser against the left side wall. The dresser was the same color white as Valerie’s former bed, but at some point Valerie had painted the plain dresser, adding colorful flowers of various colors. Above the dresser were the words “Live Laugh Love” in flowing script. In the rear wall sat the singular window which at some point had had three shelves added. The middle shelf held three small potted plants while the other two held books. Which surprised Lucy, outside of magazines, she couldn’t remember ever seeing Valerie reading anything.

Hanging on the back wall beside the bed were two words in flowing script “Memory Wall” above a large cork board filled with ribbons interspersed with photos. Some of a younger Valerie at camp. Some of a much younger Valerie in a gymnast uniform standing next to trophies that came up to her waist. A few of her and young Danny standing awkwardly in various family vacation spots, both matched for height until Danny’s growth spurt. Naomi and the cheer squad squeezed together as Valerie’s arm was stretched out to take the group selfie. The squad during one of their games. A blurry photo of musicians on stage and a broken plastic wristband were pinned together. A photo strip of Naomi and Valerie making silly faces at the camera culminating in the two of them kissing that they had gotten from a photobooth at the carnival was tacked onto a ticket stub from that night. Along with a photo of Valerie in a go cart furiously trying to catch up with Naomi’s. Several more photos of Naomi and Valerie together with an accompanying souvenir whenever seemingly possible.

One which caught Lucy’s eye hung at the bottom of the memory board. In the photo was Daniel in his graduating cap and gown holding his diploma high in the air as Valerie stretched on her heeled feet to reach the diploma. Lucy pouted as she took the photo off of the board, not noticing Valerie stiffen behind her. Daniel told her, or rather Danny told Harlow later that Valerie kept trying to steal his diploma saying she was much smarter than Danny and since she was sooo much smarter than him and didn’t want to spend another year in high school she should have the diploma.

“Even though Harlow, like, didn’t care about school,” Lucy said morosely, “he still planned to go for his friend’s big moment. He even bought a nice new suit just for that day.”

“Why didn’t he?” Valerie asked, making a note of Lucy’s separation from her past for later.

“The, just, total idiot was on a good run.” Lucy huffed. “I think he won, like, eight grand that day.” It wasn’t even as much as Harlow had won in later games or previous ones. But you never walk away from the table when you’re on a roll. Harlow had eventually met up with Danny later that night and treated him out to make it up to him. “I would have loved to have been there for Daniel. Harlow was just…so stupid sometimes.” She lamented and imagined herself in a long flowing gown with a high side slit to show off her long legs accentuated by her high heels. ‘We would’ve had so much fun.’ She thought. Harlow had won enough money to bankroll a pretty sweet party for Danny and his friends that weekend. Something Lucy could not have afforded to do, but she could have shown him how proud she was of him and just how much he meant to her in a way Harlow was too afraid too.

“You’re not Harlow.” Valerie said while putting an arm around Lucy. “You’re better than him.” She added, joining Lucy in separating herself from her past as Harlow if it made Lucy comfortable. Valerie took the picture and stared at it for a moment before carefully replacing it on the board. “Why don’t we finish getting your things and get you moved in?” Lucy nodded silently with a frail smile.

It took Lucy and Valerie less than an hour to finish moving Lucy’s belongings into Valerie’s old room. Most of that involved moving Valerie out of the room, taking Valerie’s boxes out and putting them in the master bedroom and the discussion of what to do with Valerie’s memory board before ultimately deciding to leave it where it was. The time it took Lucy to sort out her dirty clothes and her clothes to put up was relatively brief by comparison.

After starting a load of laundry Lucy was left alone to wait in what would be her room for the time being. For the next half hour she sank into Valerie’s mattress that welcomed her like a gargantuan marshmallow. She stretched out on the oversized bed crossways, so as to not disturb the mountain of throw pillows, and watched television in comfort for the first time in a long time. This momentary reprieve did not last long before the buzzer of the washer woke her from the unexpected nap. After swapping the laundry over to the dryer that she could she decided to busy herself by cleaning rather than risking another nap and potentially miss work. Being free from the motel was certainly a blessing but she couldn’t afford to fail now, not when she was so close to escaping.

Lucy spent the next hour cleaning her new room of the thin layer of dust that had collected, namely on the television, dresser, and most surprising to Lucy was the lack of dust on the books on the makeshift bookshelf, or it might have been had she not become distracted by a phone call. “Hey, miss thing.” Rosemarie’s smile was audible even through the phone, causing Lucy to smile in return. “I wanted to make sure you were still available for your date tomorrow.”

Lucy’s smile vanished immediately as it dawned on her she had forgotten to call Rosemarie. “Um, like, I totally forgot to call you!” She hissed. “I can’t. I’m sorry.”

“No worries. Schedules change.” Rosemarie shrugged, “I’ll give another girl a call and we’ll set you up for something next week.”

“Oh…um, like…about that.” Lucy pouted, biting her lip in frustration. She had had two jobs in her entire life, while Harlow had zero that she could possibly draw from, and now she was about to quit one on such short notice.

“Is something the matter?” The obvious concern in Rosemarie’s voice only made what Lucy had to say all the harder to put into words.

“See, like, I meant to call you, cause, like…” Lucy bit her lip, trying desperately to put her thoughts and feelings into words. She had enjoyed spending time with Rosemarie and the money was good, but now that Lucy didn’t have to worry about paying for a motel room every week she no longer needed to subject herself to sex with random men. Even she had managed to find pleasure in the act. Finally she blurted out, “Cash for sex is, like, sooo nice, but, like, I’ve seen enough cocks to last a lifetime." Lucy licked her lips, ‘I should make dinner!’ She thought as her mouth watered and she felt a sudden yearning in the pit of her stomach.

Surprisingly Lucy heard her ex-boss laughing on the other end, causing herself to giggle as well, “I know just how you feel.” Rosemarie said, with a giggle still in her voice. “If you want to quit that’s fine, sweetie. Just…only if it’s your decision and no one else.” Her voice suddenly became very serious.

“It is.”

“You’re certain? If not ask about pizza.”

“Well I was thinking hot dogs actually.”

Rosemarie laughed again. “Okay, sweetheart. I just want to be sure.”

“You’re not mad?”

“...Why would I be?”

“I mean…I hear things.”

Rosemarie clicked her tongue and said, “I know, sugar. I’ve heard them too.” Leaving unsaid that she had experienced one of those stories herself. But she was glad that at least Lucy and other girls she brought into the scene would never have to experience that as long as they worked with her. “But you know I’m not like them. It’s a job like any other.”

“Oh…okay.” Lucy’s smile returned slowly.

“Are you gonna be okay for money then?”

Lucy nodded, forgetting that Rosemarie could not see her. “Definitely. I’ve, like, still got my waitressing job and, like, I moved in with…with friends.” She hesitated to say, not exactly sure what to classify the Sanders’ siblings before settling on the simplest word.

“Oh? It’s not your ex is it?”

“I…” Lucy blanched.

“It is?!” Rosemarie gasped, “Are you two back together?”

“Wh-how did-no! We’re not…I’m staying in his sister’s room for now.”

“That’s so risky.” Rosemarie hissed.

“What? How?”

“Close proximity to your ex? That could complicate so many things for the both of you.”

“Um…” Lucy bit her lip, considering Rosemarie’s words.

“Proximity is…uh…look.” She started to explain but decided she really did not have the time.  “I really hate to do this but I really do have to go. I was just making a quick check-in call. We can talk about this tomorrow, okay? You’re still off tomorrow, right?”

“Oh, okay. Yeah. I am.”

“Great, we’ll get a cup of coffee and talk then. Take care, missy.” Rosemarie blew a kiss into the phone and hung up. Lucy stared at her phone with a pout for a moment before the hunger that still lingered reminded her of her growing need.

Later, Valerie came out of her own room, hearing the bubbly singing of Katy Perry blasting out of the kitchen and smelling the scent of meatloaf cooking. Valerie crept up behind Lucy quietly and watched her. Not that she even needed to be quiet. Lucy seemed totally absorbed in the music as Lucy danced in place and sang along with the song while she washed dishes. A small smile formed on Valerie’s face as she watched her dance in time with the song and singing along with every word. Something Harlow would never have done before. ‘It’s no wonder she separates Lucy and Harlow in her mind.’ She thought, ‘They really are completely different people.’

The simple act had calmed Lucy’s anxieties somewhat as she let herself forget about anything else but cooking. It wasn’t until the music suddenly stopped in the middle of a song that she had even noticed that time had moved on without her noticing. “Hey!” Lucy shouted before turning and noticing Valerie standing in the kitchen with a smile on her face, “Oh, hey. Sorry, was I, like, being too loud?”

“No, you were fine. I just wanted to see what smelled so good.”

“Well, I was, like, in the mood for hot dogs but, like, you guys didn’t have any so I figured I’d make some meatloaf. And, like, you know how messy that is so, like I had to wash that ick off my hands and then I thought, like, well since I’m here, might as well wash the dishes in the sink, right?”

“You did?”

“Yeah. You, like, weren’t saving it for something were you?” She giggled awkwardly.

“No, no.” Valerie giggled back, shaking her head. “Need any help?”

“Sure.” Lucy smiled and the music resumed as Valerie joined Lucy.

After dropping Elana and her parents off at home after their own dinner, Danny was relieved of duty and returned to his house with a loud growling in his stomach the entire walk from his truck into the kitchen. Underneath the meatloaf that permeated the kitchen, dining room, and no doubt much of the house, if he could smell it from the garage, there was the scent of a perfume he knew all too well. ‘Lucy.’ He thought, walking out of the kitchen and into the dining room where he found Valerie already seated and eating at her plate with her face firmly buried in her textbook.

Lucy stood and he thought he saw her ever present smile flicker briefly as she adjusted her hair and rounded the table and trotted up to him on her four inch heels. “New suit?” She asked, looking up at him from under her thinly plucked eyebrows.

Danny’s hand started to move on its own in an automatic reflex of habit to reach out to grab her arm and pull her into him. But he jerked his hand away and pulled the tie clip away from his dress shirt instead. “Sorta.” He said. “Elana’s dad is in town on business or something and wanted to go to a fancy restaurant that required everyone to wear these stupid ties.”

“Even the drivers?” She giggled before swallowing it down.

“Mr. Velasco insisted we join them for dinner.” He answered, leaving out that he and two other of Velasco’s guards were placed at separate tables around Elana’s and her parents’. From the little interaction Danny had with him, the man was all business, if not more than a little paranoid when it came to protecting himself and his daughter. Danny was happy to note that the business-like attitude was completely absent when it came to catching up with his daughter. His ‘little corazón’ as he kept calling her, the number of times Elana rolled her eyes or sighed did not slow him down one bit.

“You-you look good.” Lucy’s breathy voice caught in her throat as she stood awkwardly in front of him. “If you already ate, I guess, like, you’re probably not hungry now. Huh?” She pouted. Danny licked his lips as he stared at her shimmering bubblegum pink lips. Fond memories of Lucy’s lips against his own, around his cock, filled his mind and again he felt another urge to reach out and touch her. “What?” Lucy whined, pulling anxiously on her skirt hem. “I, like, look totally gross don't I?”

“Huh?” Danny shook his head, exterminating the thoughts from his mind before answering, “Yeah.” He winced and cleared his throat, “No. You don’t. I mean you look ama-” Danny cleared his throat again, “You look good…too.” He cleared his throat a third time.

Lucy blushed happily as she smiled up at him. “Please…I’m, like, all sweaty from cleaning all afternoon.”

“Day one and Val already has you cleaning the house already?” He turned his head and stared at Val still in her seat.

“She wanted to!” Valerie shouted back and threw her hands up in defense.

“Uh-huh. Sure.” Danny rolled his eyes at his sister. “But yeah, I could definitely eat. I need the extra calories if I’m back in training right?” He flashed a bright brief smile before turning back to Lucy. He wanted to pick her up and thank her for this second chance, to celebrate even the possibility of earning a spot on a national team, to welcome her home, to welcome every inch of her home. “Just let me get out of this monkey suit and I’ll join you guys.” Forcing his hand to his hair instead of hers and choking back his smile he couldn’t help but laugh awkwardly before leaving.

“O-okay.” Lucy nodded and sat back in her seat, watching Daniel as he walked to his room. His room. Not theirs. She reminded herself.

Lucy had known it would be awkward being around Daniel again but she hadn’t realized just how ingrained her habits had become. As soon as she saw him she ran to him fully intending to throw her arms around his neck and welcome him home with a kiss. It wasn’t until she stood in front of him that she remembered. ‘You look good.’ She cringed internally at her words. She had grown used to men flirting with her, in and out of work, she even flirted back. At work it meant more tips. Outside of work it was just a bit of harmless fun. So why was she suddenly so tongue-tied when it came to Daniel?!

“Lucy?”

And he had been so awkward around her too. He had even said she looked bad! Daniel always complimented Lucy on her looks…but maybe that was just him playing the part? Danny had no problem telling Harlow if he was dressed like a clown. Maybe he wasn’t sure if he should be honest with her now that they’re not pretending to date anymore?

“Helloooo!”

That must be the case. Daniel had to run out of the room to keep from laughing in her face!

“Luce!” Valerie shouted.

“Huh?!” Lucy gasped as she jumped in her seat and turned to look at Valerie who had finally closed her book.

“I asked if you were going to be okay being around Danny but I think I know the answer.”

“What? No…I’m fine.” She lied.

“Uh-huh.” Valerie said, not convinced.

“There’s, like, totally nothing to worry about with me and, like, Daniel. Danny.” She corrected herself. They weren’t dating. ‘There never was.’ Lucy thought with a heavy pout.