In Her Cousin's Footsteps Pt. 12

The following morning she awoke again to the smell of bacon. To her surprise, she didn't have the headache that she assumed would follow, but she supposed that a single glass - her first ever - wasn't enough to cause a hangover. She smiled at her dad, and this time he didn't tempt her with eggs or bacon, knowing that she was trying to eat healthier. She removed a yogurt container and fruit from the refrigerator and sat down, grinning at him.

"What?" He asked, although he knew what she was grinning at."

"So? How did it go?"

Her dad blushed and smiled, "She's ... different. She's nice. Plus, lucky for me, she has really bad taste in men," he kidded.

"So, any details? What's her name? Where did you go? What did you do? Was there a kiss goodnight?"

"You're chatty today. I should ask you the same thing. I noticed your car isn't out there. Did someone else drop you off?" He raised his eyebrows as he asked.

"Don't change the subject dad. I want to know, or," she glanced up at the stairs, "Is she still here?"

They both laughed and he blushed.

"God no. I mean, it was a first date. Not that I'm a 'goody two-shoes,' but, I mean, I'll have to get out the manual before anything like THAT happens, Jesus!"

"A goody what?"

"Goody two-shoes. Never mind. Anyway, she's not upstairs. It was nothing, just dinner and a movie."

"Oh, no dessert afterward?" Lacey winked as she asked.

"No, no dessert. So what about you? Where's your car?"

Lacey hesitated before crafting a white lie. "We all drove together and they just decided to drop me off. I was surprised you weren't home yet when I got back."

"Well, unlike you, I don't have a curfew," he laughed. Anyway, I guess we both had a pretty good night, huh?"

Lacey thought about the party and Sam. The kiss. Surprisingly she didn't feel guilt.

"Yeah dad. It was pretty good. I'm not sure though if I'm going to keep playing with them though. I mean, I like finally getting some at-bats, but they're all much older than me and kind of cliquish."

"Well, I hope you do. You're getting some momentum going now. I can see you getting more comfortable."

"Well my hitting sucked and I made a few mistakes out in the field."

"Remember the best in the world fail two out of every three times, so keep your chin up. Do me a favor? Give it another week. I have a surprise for you if you do."

"Okay dad. And dad, um, I decided not to work at SuperSlam. I hope you don't mind."

"No, I wasn't going to discourage you, but with the surprise I have it may not be a good time for you to start a job. Take it easy, focus on softball and basketball. There's plenty of time to work in your life."

"Thanks dad. So do I get a hint about the surprise?"

He thought for a few seconds. "I'm not telling, but make sure that you have some nice swimming suits, okay?" He stood and counted out $80.

Lacey smiled and said, "So, should I tell Connie I can't play next week?"

"Too soon to say, kiddo. But yeah, I wouldn't make any commitments for next week."

They finished their breakfast before getting ready for church. She felt like she was suddenly much closer with her dad and she hoped that the mystery woman was going to be good for him. She didn't remember him dating in all of the years since her parents split up. They held hands in the pew and she cringed but suppressed a smile when he sang, "It is Well," totally out of key.

She asked him to drop her off at her car after church, and he chose not to ask any questions. She noticed that Connie's Jeep was still parked in front of Susie's place, but Sam's SUV was not. She didn't bother looking toward the home, and instead quickly jumped into her car and drove back home. She was excited about the upcoming weekend, and was fairly certain that her dad was planning a beach vacation. She changed into her suddenly loose-fitting shorts and a tank top before heading to the mall to shop for her beach attire. As she walked the mall, she again wondered about Kristi and whether her cousin missed her. Her temptation to text her had subsided slightly, but her heard didn't ache any less. She passed the "Lids" baseball cap store, and the NC State caps prompted memories of their time on campus. She tried to shake the thoughts from her mind, instead window-shopping and wondering what type of suits she should try.

She slipped into Hollister and found her way to the swimwear. She picked out several different cuts and took them to the changing area, passing a smiling clerk who made a mental note of the suits. She entered the far left room, closing the curtain behind her. She pulled it to the right and grumbled under her breath at the shortness of the width. Either there was going to be a gap on the left side or the right. She turned around to face the mirror and pulled her tank top off before unclasping her bra. She unsnapped her shorts, leaving her small bikini panties on. Lacey couldn't help but look in the mirror at her more toned figure, and she found herself turning around to look at her butt in the cute panties. She hardly recognized herself and for the first time in years, she found herself longing for the new school year. As she faced the curtain she caught a glimpse of an older woman in the changing booth across from her. Although it was just a sliver of a view, she found herself studying the woman who was facing away from her. She was thick and curvy, but still Lacey found her to be attractive, and she was glad that her newfound sexual desires hadn't subsided. She almost hoped that the woman would have turned around to see her. Catching herself, she quickly turned back around and tried each suit on. Surprisingly, some of the suits were too large, but she managed to pick out a cute navy 2-piece and nearly selected a white two-piece, but she was concerned that it may not adequately hide her trimmed triangle when it got wet. She finally opted for a teal print one-piece along with a wrap. Although the purchases exceeded her allowance, she felt like they were a good value. Before leaving the mall, she purchased a fruit smoothie, bypassing the Auntie Anne's, which would have been nearly impossible to do just a month before.

Lacey returned home and changed into workout shorts and a T-shirt, then grabbed her basketball and walked down to the basketball court where she focused on the things that Kristi taught her. Kristi - just the name brought her pain. She knew she would go crazy thinking about her if she didn't stay busy, and she had only six more days before what she hoped would be a beach vacation with her dad. Shortly after she arrived, a group of girls showed up. She counted seven in total and figured that they were all college age. She stayed on her end of the court and they shot from the other end, until one of them asked if she would like to play. Normally she would have declined, but this time she had a bit of a chip on her shoulder and a burst of self-confidence, so she went against her personality and joined them for a full-court game. She started out passively, trying not to travel when the ball was passed to her, but when one of the girls elbowed her under the basket, she felt an adrenaline rush and morphed into a woman possessed. She channeled her anger from the prior week's disappointments and used it to dominate the surprised girls, first with rebounding, then actually scoring a few points. She no longer cared about being a nice and respectful. Instead she used Kristi's teachings, physically posting up and playing tenacious defense.

When they finally finished, the girls stood around under the basket and drank from their water bottles. One of the older girls - probably their leader - high-fived Lacey and complimented her on her aggressiveness.

"We could really use someone with an attitude on our rec league team. Interested?"

Lacey acted nonchalant, but her heart raced again as she responded, "Maybe, but I'm going away this weekend. When do you play?"

"We have a game tomorrow and Wednesday. I can text you with the details. I'm LeeAnne. Anyway, if you want to let's exchange numbers."

"Sounds good LeeAnne. I should be able to make it, at least to tomorrow's game. "

"Great! I'll bring an extra jersey. I'll text you with the details. Just promise to play as pissed off as you did today, okay?"

Lacey smiled, thinking that Kristi would have been proud of her. She picked up her water bottle and waved to them as she left the court.

As she drove home, she realized that she hadn't thought of Kristi for the entire game, although she wished she would have seen her. She returned home and jumped in the shower before relaxing in the house for the night. She thought of Connie, April and the rest of the softball team, and realized that the basketball schedule was in conflict with the softball team's schedule. She couldn't bear the thought of seeing Sam and possibly her family at the game, so she decided that her career with the lesbian softball team was over after only two games. Besides, Sam's comment that Connie was "after her" freaked her out. She got her phone out and texted:

L: *LeeAnne - I'm in for both games. Send details and I'll be there*

After that, she texted Connie:

L: *Thanks for letting me play. I won't be available for the next 2 weeks tho*

C: *K, the rest of the team is back now anyway. C U at the cages?*

L: *Yes probably- Bye*

C: *Bye - kiss*

Lacey rolled her eyes, relieved to be away from the drama but knowing she was going to miss playing. She killed time the following day before showing up at the court for the game along with her dad who was suddenly her biggest cheerleader. LeeAnne tossed her a plain white jersey and she turned it around to see her number twenty-two. She looked down at her white shorts and felt a bit strange to be wearing white on white, but she willed herself into her aggressive alter-ego and suddenly no longer cared. She entered the game with five minutes left in the first half and immediately made an impact on defense, even scoring two points before half-time. Despite her lack of height, she made up for it with her physicality, and LeeAnne had her starting in the second half. Although they ended up losing the game, Lacey actually scored seven points and even got into a brief shoving match under the basket which was the polar opposite of her normal demeaner. Unlike the softball team, the basketball players all went their separate ways after the game to her relief.

She was in the starting lineup for the following game and did even better. She played most of the game and scored nine points in a comfortable victory. This time the girls decided to go out for a celebration, but Lacey declined, citing her upcoming vacation as the reason. She returned home with her proud dad who told her that they planned to leave early the following day. She was dying to ask where they were going, but all he said was that she needed to pack for at least four nights away, possibly more.

The next morning she awoke, realizing for the first time that in her excitement over the week to come, the temptation to text or call Kristi had nearly disappeared. She put on a pair of cute pink shorts and a white tank top with a sequined 'Kure Beach' emblazoned across her chest, expecting that to be their destination. Her dad smiled and said, "Close, but it's not Kure." They packed up and headed east for the journey, making small talk along the way.

"So dad, you never told me your date's name."

"It's Gertrude. Trudy for short."

Lacey scrunched her nose, "Really dad? What is she, like ninety or something?"

Her dad laughed. "Just kidding. Her name's Diane. In fact, is she can get off, she may join us for a day, but only if you're good with it."

"Um, that's fine dad. But I still don't know where we're going. Not going to tell me?"

"Okay okay. I guess I kept you in suspense for long enough. Your aunt and uncle rented a place in Oak Island. They invited us down. They're going to be there for the week, but we don't have to stay that long."

Lacey felt as though she was punched in the stomach, and she was forced to take deep breaths to keep herself from hyper-ventilating.

"Oh, um. Just them? Or..."

"Well, like I said honey. They invited Diane along too. She's close to your aunt. I think it's just going to be five of us at most."

Lacey was flush with a combination of panic, hope and regret. She saw the green sign for Oak Island and as her dad took the exit Lacey's mind flooded with thoughts of Kristi. Minutes later they wove through the small town.

"Here we are honey. It's just down the block. Look, you can see the ocean from here."

But Lacey wasn't focused on the ocean. Instead, she scanned the parking lot for the white Miata.