His hands roamed around her back, down her sides, and they were just about to grab onto the full globes under those pink sweatpants when the camera crew pulled into the parking lot.

“I kissed her.”

Tyson crammed a handful of popcorn in his mouth and dragged his gaze from the basketball game to Theo. “Kissed who?” he mumbled.

Before Theo could answer, Tyson’s focus wandered back to the TV screen. The room erupted in hoots and jeers, and Buddy and his Special Olympic teammates gave one another high fives and pranced around the family room. The noise was deafening.

“Lucy.” Theo said it in a near whisper.

Tyson jumped to his feet, dumping the bowl of popcorn on the floor.

“Hey! We were eating that!” somebody complained.

“We got to have a talk, boy.” Tyson grabbed Theo’s forearm and herded him through the dining room just as Buddy tossed the empty bowl their way and asked for a refill.

“So when did that happen?” Tyson leaned up against the kitchen counter, crossing his arms across his big chest. He found a stray kernel of popcorn on the front of his polo shirt and popped it in his mouth. “And does this mean I can’t ask her out?”

Theo laughed. He’d always appreciated how Tyson cut to the chase. That’s probably why the athletes enjoyed his help as an assistant coach-he gave it to them straight. “It is what it is,” had become the unofficial slogan of the Special Olympics of Miami-Dade track-and-field team, thanks to Tyson’s all-purpose application of the saying.

“Yesterday at the high school track. I’m not sure what happened.”

Tyson laughed loudly. “What do you mean, you’re not sure what happened? Your lips don’t go running around smacking into women without your knowledge, do they? Where’s the popcorn?”

“Second cabinet to the right. Set the microwave on three minutes or it’ll fry.”

“Gotcha.”

“I will come after you if you hit on her.”

Tyson tapped the buttons on the microwave and chewed on the inside of his cheek, clearly trying not to laugh again.

“Lucy is more than one of your flavors-of-the-week.”

Tyson shook his head. “Ramona doesn’t want us dating anyone on our own roster.”

“I’m not dating her.”

“But you’re kissing her.”

“I kissed her once. And it would be a lot simpler for both of us if it doesn’t happen again.”

Tyson spun around. “So your plan is to kiss the woman one time, Walk away, and then forbid anyone one else to date her?”

“I knew you’d catch on.”

“Dayum, bro. That’s just not right.” Tyson grabbed the big plastic popcorn bowl out of Theo’s hands. “It’s plain selfish, in fact.”

Theo sank down onto a kitchen chair. “Yeah? Well, I think there’s something going on with Lucy that she won’t talk about-maybe some unresolved issues about men. I feel like I should… I don’t know… look out for her.”

Tyson frowned. “You mean she’s got sex hangups?” He smiled. “I have experience working through those things. I even got references.”

Theo laughed softly. “Exactly what I was afraid of.”

“You know, it’s not your job to fix everything about her, Theo-just help her get in shape.” The microwave dinged and Tyson got up from the table. “You don’t have to go around carrying everyone’s burden like it’s your own.”

“I know.”

“Well, sometimes you don’t act like you know. You’ve got to learn to del-e-gate.” An explosion of cheers came from the living room. “I’ll be right back.”

Theo listened as the popcorn was met with great enthusiasm in the other room. As Tyson chatted with the kids about basketball, Theo realized his friend had a valid point. Theo’s only responsibility toward Lucy was getting her to lose the weight-what she did or didn’t do with her issues after the fact was her own affair.

Of course he and Lucy should keep it strictly business. He shuddered at the thought that come December, she’d be completely in love with him, right as he went back to medical school. She’d expect to keep seeing him every day, which would be a scheduling nightmare. Maybe she’d even want a commitment, which would be impossible-not when he was about to immerse himself in the pursuit of his dream. Medical school and residency was hell on even the strongest established relationships. He’d only end up disappointing her. He’d only end up not being enough for her.

Theo rested his chin in his palm and slumped. The immediate problem was that kiss. Oh God, he’d never felt anything so good in his life. She was so hot and sexual, and if the camera van hadn’t pulled up in the parking lot there was no telling what would have happened! Since when did a single kiss make him lose it completely like that? What was his problem?

He needed to think. He needed to stop remembering how it felt and start developing a plan for damage control. If he simply pretended the kiss had never happened, it would come off as rejection, which would mess with Lucy’s head, chip away at her confidence, and possibly set her back. Which made it his problem, too.

He should never have kissed her…

“Now what was I saying?” Tyson returned to the kitchen chair.

Theo stared at his friend for a moment. Then smiled. “I believe you were saying that you’d take Lucy out every once in a while, give her a lot of attention, make her feel special and make sure she has a great time but not do anything to make her uncomfortable.”

Tyson’s eye twitched. “I don’t remember saying any of that shit.” “Ah, but you were going to.”

“I was?”

“Yeah.” Theo laughed. “I will come after you if you don’t hit on her within the next week.”

Tyson shook his head. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe you have just del-e-gated my ass.”

Office of Doris Lehman, MSW, PhD

“Have there been more kisses?”

“No.” Lucy couldn’t sit still that morning. She paced in front of the love seat, her hands fidgeting, her teeth digging into her bottom lip. She stared at the kimono girls for advice, but their small red mouths remained closed.

The little bitches.

“Have you talked about the kiss?”

“He apologized right after, when the camera crew arrived. Then last week he said I was wonderful and special but that we needed to stay focused on our goal. He hasn’t said another word about it since.”

“Do you want to kiss him again?”

“I’ve thought about it, and I’ve come to see that Theo kissed me because he didn’t know what else to do. You know how men hate it when women flip out- they feel kind of helpless.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

Lucy stared at her therapist. “Sure. I’d kiss him again if need be.”

“Hmm. As I recall, you once referred to Theo as…” Doris flipped through the chart balanced on her knee. “Hot.” She looked up at Lucy. “Was the kiss hot, too?”

Lucy’s mouth fell open in astonishment. “You want his phone number or something?”

“I have his number and he has mine. What do you find most attractive about him?”

Lucy cocked her head and stared at Doris, wondering about her therapist’s personal life, about Mr. Doris. She hoped to God Doris wasn’t getting her ya-yas out by asking these questions.

“If you must know, Theo Redmond is downright biscuit-worthy,” Lucy said.

Doris hitched up her left eyebrow. “Care to elaborate on that?”

“Sure.” Lucy grinned. “Have you ever met a man who looked so damn delicious that you wanted to sop him up with a hot buttermilk biscuit and inhale him in one gulp?”

“Why, yes, I have,” Doris said.

That was a shocker. “Really? What happened?”

“I married him.”

The angle of incline on this particular machine had always annoyed Lucy. She didn’t like the way her legs fell open a little too lewdly and how her boobs seemed to stick out like boulders, and she really didn’t like the way Theo always put his fingers just under her upper arms.