Perhaps it was a good thing that the door slammed when it did. I’m not sure where I was going with Mandy, or what I was going to say, but it’s probably just as well we were interrupted. Partly I feel strangely grateful to Mandy for sticking around, but she arrived fresh from work, dressed in her damn sexy skimpy outfit again. When I was watching her stirring the soup on the stove earlier, I couldn’t take my eyes off of her perfect backside. It get’s me every single time.

If I can’t stand Mandy most of the time, then why can’t I help but fantasize about taking those sexy clothes off of her. I look towards the kitchen doorway in anticipation of seeing who the mystery door slammer is and see Isabelle walking through the door.

“Hey you guys, Noah called me and told me that you were cooking dinner Mandy. Since you could easily burn cereal, I thought I’d better stop somewhere after work and get some takeout, I don’t exactly want Lucas to starve to death,” and with that, she hauls the takeout bag stuffed with food and her work bag full of books onto the table.

I see Mandy roll her eyes, I feel bad for her. It’s not enough that her parents don’t take her particularly seriously, but her own sister and brother don’t either.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence sis, I’m not that incapable you know,” she replies.

Now I feel stuck in the middle, feeling slightly awkward. Somehow though, I feel like I need to defend Mandy. When all is said and done, I do feel a little protective of her.

“No, it’s fine Isabelle. I’m happy with soup, really I am,” and I take another spoonful of soup as if to prove that fact beyond all doubt. I’m lying of course. She’s brought in food from my favorite take-out place, and it smells like fucking heaven in a takeout bag. I decide to try and ignore it just sitting on the table tempting me.

Isabelle looks down at me as if I’m one of her naughty kids in her class. “Hmm,” she says before adding “doubtful,”

“Anyway, what’s the deal with your knee then? How long will it be until you are back to normal? I mean with your knees. Not normal of course, I mean, you hang around with Noah, so I know that won’t happen,” Isabelle laughs.

“Well, I don’t know, I guess they are waiting for the swelling to go down a bit. I’m waiting for them to do some more tests and things. They haven’t really given me time on it all, to be honest,” I feel bad lying to Isabelle, and Mandy too for that matter. It’s still too soon to talk about the possibilities of how my career might be over, but Isabelle doesn’t let up.

“It’s just so shocking Lucas, I mean, you hear horror stories where football players get injured and then before you know it, they can’t play again. Thank god this injury isn’t a career ender,”

Ouch, she’s getting too close to the truth, she hasn’t any clue about how on the money she is, and I still can’t bear to tell them. I don’t want the sympathy. I’ve managed to get through my life this far with more obstacles than the average person, so I’m not going to let this thing get to me until I really have to deal with it.

“I’ll be fine, honest Izzy, it’s nothing, really. I just need some relaxation and recuperation, that’s all. I don’t want anyone to worry about me,” I add.

“Hmm, well, I can’t help It, Lucas. I just worry about you, and Noah of course when you are playing. It gets pretty rough, and you could get hurt pretty bad,”

“You worry too much,” I add, even though she’s actually got every reason to be worried given what happened to me,”

“Well, I can’t help it, I just do,” Isabelle protests as she gathers her bag and books back up.

My eye wanders back to the take out on the table, and I wonder if she’s going to leave it here and whether there is any possibility I can sneak back down later and reheat some of it. Then I remember that there is no chance of me sneaking anywhere while I’m stumbling around clumsily on these crutches.

“Well, good luck Lucas, with Mandy looking after you, you might need it,” She laughs before leaving the room and before long I hear the front door closing behind her, and a damn sight quieter than when she came in.

I can’t help but be slightly thankful that she was so noisy coming in though. I mean, who knows what would have happened if she hadn’t.

I look back down at my soup only to see it sliding out from underneath me. I look back up at Mandy who is clearing away her own plate too.

“What are you doing? I was eating that!’ I complain.

“Really? Isabelle just brought in take out…and I know it’s your favorite too, so don’t even lie,”

“But I’m not, I was enjoying that soup,”

She looks at me with a doubtful expression before pulling away the dish of bread from the table too. She then sets down two fresh dinner plates in front of us and some forks.

“You say you know me well Lucas, well I can tell when you are lying too, and you couldn’t take your eyes off of that take out bag. Admit it!”

If she can tell how much I want that take out from the look on my face, what else can she see? Can she sense when I’m looking at her body too? I thought I was better at hiding stuff than this.

“There is just no way you prefer canned chicken soup to your favorite takeout, don’t even lie,”

Mandy reaches past me to grab the bag of food. She smells amazing, and her arm brushes past mine as she stretches across the table. For a really inappropriate minute, I’m thinking about the idea of peeling off her clothes and having her spread across the table. Fuck, thank god I’m sat down right now, my dick can’t take that image.

Without a second thought, instinct takes over, and I grab Mandy’s arm and pull her back towards me. Her beautiful blue eyes widen, and her full lips part slowly in surprise. I want to kiss her beautiful soft lips, and for a split second, I think about doing it. I want to know what her kiss tastes like, and I have to fight my urge just to take her.

But I remember who she is, she’s my best friends sister, and it’s still more trouble than it’s worth, but I’m having a hard time convincing myself that I really believe that. The idea of her taste and feeling her soft skin against mine seems like it would be worth every bit of the shit I’d get for it, but I can’t do it. I know I can’t.

Instead, I just let her go and make up an excuse,

“The soup was a really lovely thought, Mandy, I really appreciated the effort you went to. I just thought that perhaps you deserve some credit for once,”

She smiles and nods acknowledgment.

The problem is, when I grabbed her, she didn’t fight me. She didn’t call me names, swear at me or tease me. She looked like she wanted me to kiss her. I shake my head of the thoughts and help Isabelle get the takeout cartons from the bags.

She’s right about one thing, of course, I am a lousy liar.