37. Lucia
thirty-seven
Lucia
No matter how hard I try, I can’t erase that night at Tipsy Turtle from my mind.
Ari was jealous.
He’s emphatically denied it, but that doesn’t make it any less true.
He was jealous watching Lucas flirt with me, and his marching over to us at the bar was nothing short of him trying to claim me.
It’s not like he had anything to worry about. Lucas was kinda cute, but I know that type. He’s not someone I’d ever want to spend a night with.
I also just didn’t want to.
It’s just sex between Ari and me, but I’d much rather have sex with him than anyone else I might meet. Our bedroom chemistry is off the damn charts.
Lately, though, it’s feeling like we might have some chemistry outside of the bedroom as well.
We’ve had multiple nights since his birthday last month where all we’ve done is spend time together. No sex, just enjoying each other’s company.
We’ve watched countless episodes of Modern Family.
We’re reading the same books, and our unofficial book club is actually meeting more than once a week.
We’re just… having fun. A lot of fun.
I never knew how funny Ari could be, but I absolutely love getting to know that side of him. He’s an entirely different person than I initially thought him to be, and the man he is is someone I can see myself actually getting close to.
I like having a friendship with him.
Because even though I smile more around him than I ever have around anyone else, we’re still only friends.
Dr. Coltrain walks into the training room now, chipper as always. “Good morning, Lucia!”
“Good morning,” I smile.
“It’s nice to see you getting into the baseball spirit already,” he chuckles, gesturing to the jersey I’m wearing.
“I like supporting my friends.”
That’s totally the only reason I’m wearing Josh’s jersey right now. It’s not at all because I know it will annoy Ari.
“You’re one of the only trainers I’ve ever had who formed genuine friendships with some of the players.”
“Is that a good thing?” I ask, a little bit nervous that I’ve crossed some sort of unknown line.
Dr. Coltrain grins as he stops outside his office door.
“I think it’s great. You’ve got a phenomenal rapport with the players, Lucia, and that makes them more likely to heed your advice.
” He unlocks his door and looks at me again.
“Why don’t you join me in here for a moment? I’d like to talk to you.”
“Of course.”
I cross the room with anxious steps. I might be good at my job, but an unplanned meeting with your boss would make anyone wary.
Dr. Coltrain sits behind his desk, and I take the seat across from him.
“Is everything okay?” I breathe.
“Oh, yes,” he chuckles. “I wasn’t trying to scare you. I just wanted to talk about your newest idea.”
“Oh,” I reply, relief washing over me. “What about it?”
“Well, I spoke with the dean of the School of Natural and Behavioral Sciences at Brooklyn College yesterday. I ran your idea by him, and he loved it. He’s talking to the President because they want you to come in and speak.
There are a good number of women enrolled in the exercise science program, and we think having you speak to them can really help them see their potential. ”
“That’s incredible!” I smile so broadly my cheeks would be hurting if I weren’t so damn happy right now. “That would be an amazing opportunity.”
“I think it would be as well,” Dr. Coltrain replies.
“I have no doubt you’ll have an incredible presentation for them.
We don’t have a firm date yet, but the dean is hoping to have you sometime next month.
The semester will end shortly after that, and most of the students will be gone for the summer. ”
“I’ll start putting together some talking points. I can at least get a head start while we wait.”
“Perfect,” he replies. “I’ll let you get back to your work now, but I’ll keep you in the know for the rest of the process. I’ll make sure the dean includes you in emails to get everything situated.”
“Thank you so much, Dr. Coltrain. I really appreciate it.”
“Thank you for sharing your idea. I look forward to seeing what you can do.”
I walk out of his office with a bright smile on my face. Dave is doing his own thing on one side, and Logan seems like he’s ten seconds away from losing it on the new guys.
I sigh and walk over to them.
“Good morning,” I say as happily as I can muster, ignoring Logan completely. “Nathan. Greg. Why don’t you guys join me in the clubhouse? I’m going to work with some of the players before practice, and it’s always good to have some help.”
They both nod eagerly, thankful to be away from Logan and his negative attitude.
We walk to the clubhouse down the hall, and I knock on the door when we get there. “Knock, knock. Trainers coming in, so make yourselves decent if you aren’t.”
“All good, Luc,” I hear Lane chuckle from the other side. “Nothing in here you wouldn’t want to see.”
I push the door open, and Nathan and Greg follow me inside. “Bold of you to assume I want to see any of you, Brooks.”
Ari starts to laugh before he finally notices my jersey. His nostrils flare, and his eyes darken. I just smirk.
Josh doubles over, though. “Nice jersey, Luc.”
“Gotta support the team,” I tease before turning on Nathan and Greg. “I’ll work with the guys over here. Why don’t you two start over there and see who needs a little work before practice?”
They agree and cross the clubhouse while I join my friends.
Josh elbows Ari as soon as the other trainers are out of earshot. “Can’t even get your girl to wear your jersey, huh, Morgan?”
Ari rolls his eyes. “Lucia is not my girl. She’s free to wear whatever she wants.”
Cole leans back against the sofa with a shit-eating grin on his face. “Do you fuck her when she’s wearing our jerseys?”
“Fuck off,” Ari chides, shoving Cole’s shoulder while Knox laughs. “She takes that shit off.”
“Along with everything else,” I mutter under my breath.
If the rest of the guys hear that, they don’t acknowledge it.
But I can immediately feel the heat from Ari’s gaze as I know he’s picturing what’s underneath my clothing.
“Luc,” Ari says. “Think you can help loosen up my hip?”
I stare at him deadpan. “I’m an athletic trainer, Morgan. Yeah, I can help you loosen up your hip.”
I move Ari off to the side where there’s a bit more open space.
“Are your hip flexors acting up again?” I ask.
“Yeah,” he sighs. “I don’t know why.”
“Because you’re changing your position on the field too quickly.”
“I kinda have to.”
“You do,” I shrug. “But you could always try to make those sudden movements with less force on your hips. You won’t keep pulling your hip flexors if you can manage that. For now, you know exactly what you need to do, Ari.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he chuckles before dropping to the ground, leaning on one knee with the other leg stretched out in front of him.
I kneel down beside him, resting on the balls of my feet. “Why exactly did you need me for this? You don’t need help with these. You could probably do these stretches in your sleep.”
“Maybe I just wanted to chat with my favorite trainer.”
I put my hand on my chest and gasp in faux-surprise. “I’ve worked my way up to being your favorite trainer?”
Ari shakes his head while smiling. “None of the other trainers let me fuck them, so it’s a pretty easy choice.”
“Sex is just another way I help stretch you out,” I tease, lowering my voice.
He licks his lips with his gaze locked on mine. His eyes sparkle under the lighting. I don’t think I’ve ever noticed how warm and inviting his eyes are.
“My favorite workout.”
“Of course it is.” I readjust my stance and have Ari switch his before changing the subject. “What are you thinking about our current book?”
“I like it,” he shrugs. “I quite enjoy baseball romances.”
“I’m really enjoying it as well. I love a good why-choose, though I didn’t expect a step-brother romance to be so hot.”
“The forbidden fruit is the hottest,” he smirks. “I usually prefer MMF, but a good MFM is nice, too.”
I cock my head to the side in confusion. “You prefer when they all share each other? I figured you’d be more of an MFF kinda guy.”
“I have an open mind,” Ari replies quietly, and I can’t help but feel like there are things he holds back. Like there are parts of himself that he doesn’t share, but I’m starting to get an idea of what those parts might be.
I spare him more of that part of the conversation. “Have you made it to the double penetration scene yet?”
His tongue wets his bottom lip as his eyes lock on mine. “Read it last night.”
“That’s on my list, you know.”
“Oh, I know,” he chuckles darkly. “Wanna try that tonight, Spitfire? Want me to fuck you while we stuff the other hole full of one of your toys?”
This is a terrible conversation to be having at work because now I’m wet, and I can’t do a fucking thing about it.
Goddammit.
“Yeah.” I lean in closer and whisper, “Fill me up tonight, Ari.”
Ari throws his head back and groans. “This is going to be the longest day ever.”
Yeah, I’m pretty sure it will be.