I laugh at that, then listen to Josh chatter with Maria as I dart upstairs to grab a couple of jerseys. I poke my head into Lucas’s room when I hear him laughing on the phone. He looks up at me, and I’m about to turn away. But then he waves me in, and I take a few steps closer as he ends the call.
“Look,” he says, holding up a small box.
Light catches on the silver heart locket inside. My chest tightens a little. “She’s going to love it,” I say, smiling. He beams at my approval, then closes the box, but I can tell something else is weighing on him.
I hesitate. “Everything okay?”
He nods quickly, but there’s a twitch in his expression I can’t miss. “Yeah… we’re going to Levi’s tonight. He’s having a party. Well, not really a party. Just a few friends. His parents stocked us up with candy.”
“That sounds fun,” I say, but I study him. Something’s off.
“Levi’s parents are…pretty chill,” he adds.
If they’re so chill, why does he look like he’s carrying the weight of the world?
“They’re also going to a party, so it’s just Levi and his girlfriend, Ari, and me. We have the place to ourselves…and Levi has a hot tub.”
Oh, fuck. I know exactly where this is going.
I take a small step closer, trying to keep it casual. “You know how to be careful, right, Lucas?”
His face turns bright red. He picks at an imaginary speck on the bedspread. “Yeah…of course,” he snorts, like that will hide how mortified he is.
“Then…you have protection?”
He doesn’t look at me. He shakes his head. “No. But…I think I should.”
Goddammit. My chest tightens. When I was his age—hell, younger—my dad had sat me down, warned me about girls, about taking responsibility, about consequences. Then he gave me condoms. But Lucas doesn’t have a father to lean on. Right now, under my roof, I’m the closest thing he has to one.
Do I just…hook him up?
My mind races. What would his mom say? Should I tell her? Did my dad even tell Mom? And most importantly…what’s the right thing to do for him?
“Wait here.”
I drag my feet across the floor, hand running through my hair as I wrestle with this. I step into my room, pull open my nightstand, and grab a few condoms. Shit. I hope Maria doesn’t kill me for this. But the alternative—letting him go in blind—is worse.
When I return, Lucas is still sitting on his bed, fidgeting. His T-shirt catches my eye. Cereal Killer. I laugh, shaking my head. “Nice…very fitting, considering I can’t keep cereal in the house.”
He chuckles nervously, glancing at me with anticipation. I sit down on the edge of the bed, my feet planted firmly on the floor. “Take these.” I hand him the condoms. He hesitates for half a second, then accepts them.
“Thanks, Tuck.”
His words catch in his throat, and my chest tightens again. I like being here for him, being someone he trusts enough to come to with a problem. It hits me how much that matters—how much he needs guidance and safety. Despite the rules, despite the distance I should keep, I can’t turn my back.
I didn’t become captain because I step aside when people need me. I didn’t become captain to abandon my team, or anyone who counts on me. And Lucas…right now, he’s my team.
“It’s good that you came to me,” I say, keeping my voice steady, even though my chest tightens a little.
“I wanted to go to the store to get some, but I never have wheels anymore.”
I hesitate. No, I’m not his father, and I’m not supposed to be handling this…but it wouldn’t feel right to just hand him condoms without a little guidance. “Lucas…no means no, right? It never means yes?”
“Yeah. Got it.”
“You treat a girl with respect,” I continue. “And what happens between the two of you stays between the two of you, okay?”
He chuckles. “I’m not Nicklas.”
