2. Lucia
two
Lucia
What the fuck did women do to deserve having to put up with men?
I mean, the sheer fucking audacity of them alone is enough to make you want to take up religion and join a convent.
But I’d surely burn by even setting foot in one.
I enjoy having some fun, and since I’m not into women, I’m stuck with men.
There are some decent men in the world, though.
And they’re all in relationships with my friends.
Outside of them, I don’t know if a good man exists anywhere else in New York City.
Though there can’t be many worse than my ex-boyfriend.
Wasted an entire year of my life on a finance bro who thought it would be more fun to stick his dick in his coworker than in me. And then tried to talk his way out of it after the fact as if I didn’t catch them mid-fuck.
Matt is a piece of shit, and more than anything, I wish Ari wasn’t right about him.
Alas, he was, and I’ve been single since the start of last baseball season.
Too damn busy during the season to date much, but thanks to the Stars not making it out of the first round of the postseason last month, I’m free.
I’m one of the athletic trainers for the team—the only female one at that. Our physician, Dr. Coltrain, is amazing, but my coworker Logan has such a superiority complex solely because he has a dick and I don’t.
And with Logan and me both gunning for the Head Trainer position that will be open at the end of next season, I can only imagine how annoying he will be then.
All of this leads me to here, where I’m on a terrible lunch date with a man who has me seeing red.
And he’s so damn full of himself that he can’t see how pissed I am.
“You agree, don’t you?” he prods me. I think his name is Brian. I didn’t even realize he was still talking, but I also don’t think he’s stopped since we sat down.
“What am I agreeing to?” I ask.
“That sports are starting to be overrun by women. As a woman, you have to see that.”
“Excuse me?” I scoff, blood boiling.
“Oh, come on,” Brian says. “Men need those spaces to just be men.”
“And what does that mean, hm?” I snarl, sitting up straight. “You need space away from the women who cater to your every damn whim so you can be misogynistic in peace?”
“What the hell?”
I sneer at him. “Did you even read my bio?”
He actually looks a bit nervous, and I take pride in making him sweat. “No. I saw you were five-ten, and that’s all I cared about. I like tall women.”
I roll my eyes. “Well, this tall woman is a fucking athletic trainer, dipshit. I work for the Stars.”
“You?” Brian looks at me like I have two heads. “You’re an athletic trainer?”
“I am,” I state with a saccharine smile. “Who knew owning a pair of tits didn’t preclude you from working with athletes?”
“I mean, I—”
“Save it. You thought I was another meek woman you could push around. Hate to break it to you, Brian, but that’s not me.”
“My name is Brad.”
Whoops.
“Doesn’t matter,” I say, standing up and fixing my skirt. “Thanks for lunch, Brad, but there won’t be a second date.”
I stalk out of there with my head held high.
Sure, it’s yet another failed date for me, but at least I get to leave with my dignity.
“Seriously?” Ella sighs. “Another bad date?”
Ella is my closest friend and the first female friend I made in NYC. She came with Josh when he signed with the Stars right as I started my first season with the team. We’re both California girls, and we immediately clicked.
“Yup,” I state, tipping back my glass of Chardonnay. “No such thing as a good date in this day and age. Men suck.”
“They aren’t all bad,” Harlow tries to reassure me.
But of course, she would think that. Her fiancé, Knox, was so broody before they started a fake relationship. Obviously, that relationship is very real now. He went from always grumpy to basically skipping anytime Lo is even in his presence.
To her, the “bad ones” are still good underneath, and they just need to find a reason to let that show.
Except Matt. She agrees that he’s shit.
I try to put on a playful smile. “You guys took all the good ones. I’m left with the ones no one wants.”
“There’s someone out there for you, Luc,” Olive states.
I know why she thinks that. Liv has more trauma than most people and still managed to find the most patient and gentle man in Lane. She deserves that, though.
“Maybe online dating isn’t for you,” Rory shrugs.
“Hey, I gotta look somewhere. We can’t all end up with our best friend’s brother.”
She just chuckles. “Nah, you can keep your hands off Cole, thanks.”
Ella pipes in now. “Let’s move past Lucia’s abysmal love life.”
“Gee, thanks, bitch,” I laugh, no actual bite to my tone. “But you’re right. We’re here to celebrate our Liv, not listen to me lament on my lack of romance.”
Liv grins softly. “We don’t have to celebrate me getting my GED, guys. Honestly, Lane having everyone over right now for that is more than I expected.”
“But you deserve to be celebrated!” Harlow chimes. “That’s still a major accomplishment. Don’t sell yourself short.”
“Thanks,” she smiles shyly.
Sage walks up now and tugs on Liv’s shirt sleeve. “Mommy, can I have more juice?”
“Of course you can, sweet girl,” Liv says happily, taking Sage’s hand before looking over at us. “Be right back, ladies.”
We watch as they go, and the four of us just smile at them. Olive can’t have kids of her own, and we know how much she loves Sage.
Lane knows she does, too, because he asked her to adopt Sage last month.
So fucking happy for both of them.
And a little bit jealous.
I know I want kids one day, but I’m a thirty-one-year-old single woman—I don’t have forever to wait. I can’t even guarantee it’s in the cards for me.
But I can’t focus on that when Rory brings up my current ticking timebomb.
“How has the apartment hunt been going?”
My landlord decided to raise my rent, and I can’t afford it on my own now. My lease is up in a month, and I don’t know what I’m going to do yet.
“It’s… going,” I sigh. “Everything in my budget is a shithole. I’m lucky I found my current apartment at the price I did a few years ago.”
“We all have rooms you can stay in for now,” Ella reminds me.
“I appreciate the offer, but still, no thanks. Rory and Cole are pretty much always in bed. Harlow and Knox are getting married in two months. Olive and Lane currently have a sassy toddler. And you, my dear Ella, are trying to create one of your own with Josh.” I let out a deep breath.
“I’ve still got a month. I’ll figure something out. ”
Harlow looks at me nervously. “Don’t forget about your other option, Luc.”
“Nope, not a fucking chance,” I reply emphatically.
“It might be your only choice if you don’t want to live with one of us,” Ella shrugs.
“He’s not that bad,” Rory adds.
Like hell he isn’t.
He’s been nothing but irritating since I met him almost two years ago, and I’m nothing if not really fucking stubborn.
“I am not moving in with Ari fucking Morgan.”