44. Lucia
forty-four
Lucia
“Koreatown?” I ask, following Ari down the street as I try to keep up.
He turns around and smiles at me brightly. “K-town is one of my favorite places in the city.”
The Stars have had an incredible start to their season, going 5-1 in their first six games. We’re off today before starting another three-game home series tomorrow.
I suggested that Ari and I get out for a bit since the weather is actually great today. He didn’t tell me what he wanted to do, but I can’t really say I’m surprised we’re here right now.
“I’ve lived in New York for a decade,” I say, finally catching up to him, “and I’ve never actually been to K-town.”
“Am I popping your K-town cherry, Spitfire?”
I practically cackle. “Please don’t ever say that again.”
“Deal,” he chuckles before taking off again down the street.
“So what are we doing here?”
Ari slows down again and waits for me to catch up. “Exploring. K-town isn’t large, but there’s a lot here.”
We turn the corner onto 32nd Street, and everything in front of me is Korean-themed.
Shops. Restaurants. Karaoke bars.
A lot is packed into a small space.
“Wow, look at everything,” I say. “Is Seoul anything like this?”
“You’ll definitely find things like this in Seoul, but the city is huge. Larger population than NYC.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,” he smiles, but I don’t think it’s so much at my disbelief as it is the fact that I’m here with him right now. Like he’s happy to be sharing this with me. “Over nine million people compared to NYC’s eight million.”
I elbow him playfully. “Eight million people here, and you got stuck with me as a roommate, Casanova.”
The look on his face now is sweet, almost tender. “That’s actually one of the best things that’s happened in my life. Found a pretty great friend.”
“Yeah,” I grin. “It was pretty great for me, too.”
We stand there for a moment, gazes locked on each other with smiles etched on our faces.
Ari looks so good when he smiles.
It crinkles the skin around his somewhat almond-shaped eyes, and every crease it creates feels like a crack on his surface. A crack that lets more of the real Ari shine through, the one that I could see willing to take a leap of faith one day.
For now, that part still remains hidden, but I’m hopeful that I can fully bring it out of him.
I want him to see what’s in front of him.
I want him to see me.
I never set out to develop feelings for Ari Morgan, but it happened anyway. It’s clear as day to anyone who sees us together.
Whether or not he’ll ever be able to accept that remains to be seen.
I just hope that I don’t fall any more than I already have.
Ari takes my hand in his and starts dragging me down the street. His muscles flex beneath his tight gray hoodie, and the wind catches the hairs sticking out from beneath his backward Stars hat.
I’m doomed.
“Let’s start here,” he says as he leads us to a storefront.
“This looks like a souvenir shop.”
“It is,” he shrugs. “But you are kind of a tourist right now, Luc.”
I throw my head back and laugh. “I’ve lived here for ten years.”
Ari smirks at me. “Yet you’ve never visited the best block in the entire city.”
“I never really had a reason to come before,” I say softly.
“Do you now?” he asks, eyes pleading.
“Yeah,” I breathe. “Now I do.”
Ari shows me things around the shop. This doesn’t seem like a typical souvenir shop. Most of the items here appear to be handmade, giving everything a much more personal touch than some mass-produced I Heart NY T-shirts.
Candles, jewelry, hats, bags, clothing, soap.
The shop seems to have a little bit of everything.
When I’m distracted by the candles, Ari comes up behind me and puts something on top of my head.
“What is that?” I ask, looking back at him.
He points to a mirror. “Take a look.”
I walk to the mirror and find that a headband is sitting on my head. “A headband?”
“A yellow headband. Your favorite color.”
He remembers my favorite color?
“It’s a little more gold than yellow,” I tease, and he shakes his head.
“It also has little pearls sewn on it. Matches the pearl studs you put in your ears before we left.”
I whip around to face him now in surprise. “You remembered my favorite color, and you saw the earrings I put in?”
Ari smiles at me sheepishly. “I pay attention to you, Lucia.”
Butterflies erupt in my stomach, and I can’t fight them off. The gesture is small but meaningful.
I turn around and reposition the headband, tucking it behind my ears and letting my hair fall around it.
It actually looks cute with my outfit. Cream-colored sweater dress with thigh-high brown suede boots.
“It looks nice, Ari.”
I catch his eyes in the mirror. “It’s missing something.” He glances around the shop for a moment before he spots what he wants. He walks away before coming back over, carrying a gold chain with a green pendant.
“You’re adding some color to me today,” I say breathily, pulling my hair over one shoulder as Ari positions the necklace on my chest.
“Well, yellow is your favorite color.” He closes the clasp on the chain, and I let my hair fall back around my shoulders. “And that is a jade pendant.”
“Is there something significant about jade?”
“Jade is meaningful in Korean culture.” Ari leans closer now, whispering against my ear, “Green also happens to be my favorite color.”
“It’s beautiful,” I state, running my fingers over the smooth stone hanging around my neck.
He softly kisses my temple. “Yes, you are beautiful, Lucia.”
Forget what I said about being doomed.
I’m well and truly fucked.
After the surprisingly romantic visit to the souvenir shop, Ari and I walk around the block to see the other shops. K-town is small; it really only encompasses a single block of 32nd Street.
He then brings me to one of his favorite Korean BBQ restaurants. According to him, it’s the most authentic one he’s found and tastes like what you would find in Seoul.
And the entire day, he’s just been buzzing with excitement. He’s shown me so many things and talked so much about his Korean culture. Ari is cute when he’s passionate about something.
Now, we’re sitting along the edge of a cement tree planter in Greeley Square Park, a box of Korean desserts sitting between us. We ended up eating all of the hotteok before we even sat down, but we do still have all of the chapssal-tteok—Korean mochi.
“Try this one,” Ari says, holding up one of the desserts.
I lean over and take a bite out of it, trying to figure out what flavor this is. “What is this one?”
“Sweet red bean paste,” he answers. “Most common filling for these.”
“It’s… interesting,” I say. “I don’t hate it, but I’m not sure I love it either.” I grab another one from the box. “What’s this one?” I ask.
“Mango,” he answers.
“Ooh, that’s good,” I say, swallowing down the mango mochi in just two bites.
“You’ll like this one, too.” He holds another one up for me, and I take a bite out of it just like I did the first.
“Mmm,” I hum, swallowing down the rich chocolate inside the rice cake. “This is delicious.”
“Ganache. One of my favorites.”
I go to take another bite, but Ari pops the rest of it into his mouth instead.
“Dick,” I chide playfully.
“I know you’re a big fan of my dick, sweetheart.” He winks, and I can’t help but smile.
“We’ve been out here all day. How did you go unrecognized?”
Ari laughs. “I’m not even kidding when I say it’s the glasses. I don’t wear them on the field. I’ve had a lot of people squinting today, trying to see if I am Ari Morgan, but it’s not nearly as obvious when I’m wearing glasses.”
“Oh my God, you’re like a real-life Clark Kent right now.”
He cocks his eyebrow. “You my Lois Lane then?”
The breath has been stolen from my lungs, and I can’t form a reply even if I wanted to.
I’m saved from that, though, by the vibration of my phone.
Ari looks down between us to where my phone sits on the cement, and Matt’s name lights up the screen. His jaw ticks.
“Why the fuck is he texting you?”
I sigh. “Because he does it periodically. He finally stopped asking me to move in, but he’ll still reach out sometimes to try to talk. I never reply.”
“Why don’t you block him then?”
I mull it over. “I don’t know. I guess I’m just holding out hope that he’ll actually apologize and express his regret for what he did. I don’t want him, not in the slightest, but maybe I just need some closure to truly forget about him.”
“I hope he’ll give you that then.” He smiles at me softly, and my heart beats wildly in my chest.
I don’t think Matt ever made me feel half of the things I feel around Ari.
I flip my phone over and ignore him. “You’re much better company.”
“Am I?” he teases, wrapping his arm around my lower back.
“Yes, Casanova. Today has honestly been a lot of fun.”
“I had fun, too,” Ari grins. “I liked getting to show you around.”
He reaches out now and rubs his thumb over the jade pendant—he insisted on getting both the necklace and the headband for me.
Then, he leans forward and softly kisses me.
Anybody could see us right now, and he kisses me anyway.
I know that thought will have my mind racing tonight.
Ari pulls away, running his thumb over my bottom lip. “Do you want to head home now?”
“Yeah,” I breathe. “We can head back.”
“Good.” He leans in for another kiss, whispering against my lips. “Because I want you to fuck me tonight, Lucia.”