39. Ari
thirty-nine
Ari
Ari
Luciaaaaa
Lucia
Yes?
Ari
What are you doing?
Lucia
Packing
I imagine you should be doing the same
Ari
Fuck packing
Lucia
The flight back to New York leaves in like fourteen hours
Ari
Take a break, then
Lucia
I’m still sore from last night, Ari
Ari
I don’t only think about sex, you know
Lucia
Now that’s surprising
Ari
Stop messing around and come out with me
Lucia
What for?
Ari
Because it’s our last night in Florida
Let’s enjoy the sun before we head back home
Lucia
Fine
I can spare a bit of time
Ari
Yes!
I’ve convinced Lucia Torres to grace me with her presence outside of the hotel room
Lucia
You’re weird
Ari
Never denied it
Get your cute ass dressed
I’ll be down in five
“I hate to admit it,” Lucia smiles, digging her toes into the sand as she sits down on it, “but you’re right. These are the best milkshakes.”
I laugh and sit down beside her, nudging her arm with my elbow. “What did I tell you, Torres?”
After I texted her, I drove us to Anna Maria Island, just over the bridge from Bradenton, because one of the ice cream shops here makes fantastic milkshakes.
…and we’ll be able to watch the sunset together on the beach.
It’s not meant to be romantic or anything.
I just want to spend a bit of time with her before the chaos of the season starts next week.
“You ready to go back to New York?” she asks, eyelashes fluttering as the ocean breeze blows by.
“Yes and no,” I sigh, leaning back on my palms. “I’m excited for a new season. Maybe we’ll take the World Series this time.” I gaze at her now, a small smile tugging at the corners of my lips. “But I’ve also had a lot of fun in Bradenton.”
“This is the most fun Spring Training has ever been for me.”
“That’s because you got to spend it with me, Spitfire.” My tone is teasing and playful.
“Yeah,” she replies lightly. “I think that’s a really large part of it, Ari.”
The admission makes me beam.
I’ve always liked attention, but I’ve never craved attention the way I do from Lucia.
I want every second of her time.
And if she has fun being with me, I hope she’ll want all of my time as well.
I think I’d be okay spending all of it with her.
Lucia takes a sip of her milkshake and hums in contentment.
“I still can’t believe you picked vanilla,” I chuckle.
“What’s wrong with a vanilla milkshake?” she asks. “It has marshmallow swirl, too.”
I lean in closer and rasp, “You’re just not much of a vanilla person, sweetheart. Not after what I’ve seen.”
“Vanilla can still be fun,” she winks.
“I don’t know about that.”
She pushes her cup toward me. “Try it then.”
“You want me to try your milkshake?” I ask, raising my brow.
“You’ve swallowed my cum, Ari,” she deadpans. “I didn’t think you’d be so averse to swapping a little spit.”
“You’re feisty, Torres,” I muse, taking the cup from her hand and swallowing some of it down.
“What’s the verdict?” Lucia says sweetly, leaning closer and leaving only inches between us. From this close under the setting sun, I can see flecks of different shades of brown in her irises—some dark like chocolate, some light like caramel. All absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful.
“Not bad,” I rasp, unable to peel my gaze from hers.
I’m locked in on her; she’s all I can see.
She’s all I want to see lately.
My heart beats wildly anytime I’m with her. It’s never happened to me before, so I’m struggling to understand exactly what that means.
Lucia has infiltrated every crevice within me, and I’m starting to like how it feels.
My eyes flick to her lips, and suddenly, I can’t go another second without feeling them on mine.
So, I kiss her.
I rest my palm on her cheek, and she leans into me, melting into the kiss as we both lose ourselves in the moment.
The sun sets in front of us, creating a beautiful backdrop to what might be the sweetest moment in my life.
I don’t understand what any of this means. We’re caught up in the moment—I know that—but that has to be all this is. It wouldn’t mean anything more to either of us.
Our relationship is strictly physical, and that’s the way it needs to stay.
I walk Lucia to her room when we get back to the hotel. It’s getting late, and she still has to finish packing before our flight home in the morning.
Contrary to what she thinks, I’ve already packed. Finished before I ever texted her.
I bound up the four flights of stairs between our floors, and when I swing the stairwell door open and turn down the hall, I’m surprised to find the guys literally standing outside my door.
“Um, can I help you?” I ask, walking closer as they turn to look at me.
“Fucking finally,” Cole chides.
“Why are you all here?”
Knox rolls his eyes. “You know exactly why. Let us into your room unless you’d rather talk in the hall.”
I sigh and resign myself to the grilling I’m about to face.
They all spread themselves throughout my room while I take a seat on the bed. Their expressions are unreadable… except for Josh.
“Why are you smiling?” I ask him, deflecting from the conversation I don’t want to have for a bit longer.
“Because I’m happy,” he shrugs.
“Yeah, but the other guys are all stoic and stern right now. You don’t look like that.”
“I’ve always been happy. It’s not weird for me to smile, man.”
“He’s right,” Lane pipes in. “And you know who else has been happy lately?”
I groan and fall back on the bed. “Why the fuck are we doing this again?”
“Because you’re a dense motherfucker,” Cole asserts.
I roll my eyes. “Jackass. I had to literally push you to make a move on Rory, and you want to call me dense?”
“Yeah,” he scoffs, “because you’re being an idiot.”
Knox pinches his brow. “I thought we were going to do this more eloquently.”
Josh just stares at him. “Since when do the five of us do anything eloquently?”
Knox grumbles under his breath while Lane focuses on me again. “Cole’s right, you know.”
“No, he isn’t. I’m not being an idiot because Lucia and I are just having sex. That’s it.”
“And where exactly were you while we were waiting for you, hm?” Josh crosses his arms, waiting for an answer.
It takes a lot to make me uncomfortable, but this conversation seems to be doing it.
I begrudgingly say, “I was out with Lucia.”
“Doing what?” Knox demands.
Watching the sunset.
Kissing on the beach.
Totally normal friend things.
“Hanging out,” I mumble, sitting myself back up, heat creeping up my chest.
“Where?”
I sigh and give up the fight. “We went over to Anna Maria Island. Sat on the beach for a bit. That’s all.”
“How the fuck don’t you see this?” Cole asks, dumbfounded.
“Because there’s nothing to see. Lucia and I are friends.”
Lane scoffs. “You marched over to the bar a few weeks ago because someone was flirting with her, Ari. Jealousy isn’t a friendly trait.”
“I wasn’t jealous,” I groan. “Why do I have to keep saying it?”
“Because you’re trying to make yourself believe it.” Knox shakes his head. “That’s why. You don’t want to admit you were jealous because that goes against everything you say this is.”
I fall back on the bed again, heels of my hands over my eyes. “Look, I don’t know what else to tell you guys. I get that you and your girls all want to see us together, but this isn’t that. Please just be happy we’re friends now. That’s a large step up from what we used to be.”
The four of them collectively sigh in defeat, knowing they aren’t getting anywhere with me.
“Just… be cautious then,” Cole says softly. “Lucia has already been hurt. We don’t want to see her end up hurt again.”
I let out a deep breath. “The last thing I want to do is hurt her. But she has the same understanding of what this is. Nothing has changed.”
Everything has changed, I think to myself.
I never used to light up around her.
I never used to laugh at every funny thing she said.
I never used to do more than imagine what a night with her would be like.
But it doesn’t mean anything.
None of this means anything.
The only thing that means anything here is Lucia, and she means a hell of a lot to me.