The Thrilling World of Ice and Stim
Lexa tossed the used athletic tape into the trash can and replaced the scissors in the drawer. She sighed as she pulled up the spreadsheet she meticulously curated the week before. Every athlete that was supposed to receive treatment had indeed stopped in as scheduled. A first of the season. She smiled to herself, knowing that Nyko would be pleased and probably allow her to continue after practice care solo, as long as the treatments remained simple enough.
Lexa clicked on the little checkbox next to Raven’s name just as a tentative knock reverberated in the sterile training room.
Lexa peeked around the computer to find Clarke leaning against the doorframe, still in her practice uniform; cheeks flushed red from exertion, sweaty blonde hair matted against her forehead, a few grass stains on her shorts, and socks rolled down to her ankles. In other words, perfection.
“Hello, Clarke,” Lexa smiled softly. She was pleased that Clarke had gracefully accepted the awkward rejection and agreed to get to know one another first. In fact, she was ecstatic that Clarke even wanted to spend any time with her at all. A lesser person would have sulked away and never spoken to her again, but Clarke was different. She was special. That fact became increasingly apparent the more time they spent together. And they had spent a considerable amount of time together these past few weeks. So much so that Lexa was confident that if Clarke were to ask her out again, her answer would be a resounding yes shouted from the highest building on campus.
“Hey, you. How goes it in the thrilling world of ice and stim?” Clarke pushed her body up from the door frame and hopped up on the treatment table closest to Lexa’s desk. She crossed her ankles and swung her feet back and forth as she waited for Lexa to answer.
“Don’t insult my chosen profession. Mockery is not-”
“Nah-ah,” Clarke interrupted with a wave of her finger. “No more weird but sage sound bites from you. My head is filled with them.”
Lexa blinked and furrowed her eyebrows at the smirking Clarke. “Weird but sage sound bites?”
“Mockery is not a product of a strong mind, Clarke. Victory stands on the back of sacrifice, Clarke. We are what we are, Clarke. The living are hungry, Clarke.”
Clarke shook her head and smiled. “I swear, it’s like you are some secret warrior queen giving a rousing pep talk to her soldiers before battle.”
“Do I really sound like that when I say your name?”
Clarke let out the most beautiful laugh Lexa had ever heard. The sound was second to none. “You do,” Clarke nodded. “I actually love the way you say it. No one else pronounces it like you do.”
Lexa busied herself with needlessly stacking already organized paper to hide her ever-expanding blush. She only looked up when she heard sandal-clad feet land on the tile floor and a perfect voice break through the still air. “So what are you up to this evening?”
Lexa glanced down to her packed messenger bag. She had intended to immediately head to the library after the last treatment was finished. Her Colonial Latin America midterm was only a few weeks away after all. But she had an exhausting day, and she wasn’t sure how much mental energy she had left to spend on studying.
Lexa should…