Olivia
I wake up to the sound of thunder.
“So no flights going in or out?” Luca snaps into his phone. There’s thunder outside too, which is probably why his voice is booming. We are supposed to fly out today. And guessing by the sheets of rain hitting the windows, I’m thinking that’s not going to happen.
“Is everything okay?” I ask, sitting up in bed and hugging the sheet against me.
It takes me a moment to remember all of the events of last night, not because of alcohol either.
Luca sent me to heaven for a moment, more than once, and my brain is still a bit fuzzy from what I’m pretty sure is the best sex of my life.
“Yeah,” Luca sighs irritably as he shoves his phone in his pocket. “The storm has every plane grounded.”
“So we are stuck here another day?” I ask.
“Another day. Another week. Who really knows at this point,” he says, turning his back to me to look out the window.
“Damn,” I say as my eyes run laps up and down his bare back, admiring every toned line. “Whatever will we do?”
Luca turns around slowly, his eyes falling hard on me. “Don’t you start,” he warns. “Unless you want me to finish you…again.”
It’s tempting. I have to admit that. But I’m also sorer than I’ve ever been in my life. Honestly, he’s probably split me in two.
“Yeah, I think I need a shower,” I say, standing up from the bed.
“Invitation or explanation?” he asks, and I smile, wrapping the sheet around me.
“I need a shower,” I reiterate and make my way to the bathroom, half afraid he is going to come in after me.
After closing the door, I drop the sheet; I turn on the water and watch as three rainfall showerheads steam up the glass of the walk-in shower, and smile. Then I look in the mirror and smile again.
I have no makeup. My hair is a hot mess of curls from the humidity. And yet, I am smiling. Really smiling.
I’m not supposed to be smiling.
But I am.
My phone buzzes, and I look down to find Sadie calling me. Of course.
“Hey,” I answer.
“Hey! Are you on your way home?” she asks urgently.
“Such a funny story…” I say, clicking my fingernails on the counter.
“No funny story ever actually starts with that line,” Sadie says. I can hear the skepticism in her tone. It’s probably best that I keep going.
“There’s some freak storm off the coast and all flights are grounded,” I tell her.
“So…you’re not coming home,” she deduces.
“No,” I answer. “Not yet, anyways. But I will be home as soon as the flash flooding subsides.”
“You would be so lucky,” she grumbles, and I laugh.
“I’m not so sure being stuck in a hotel in the middle of a storm constitutes as lucky,” I say, rummaging through the complimentary soaps and lotions on the counter.
“You’re in Miami at a fancy ass hotel with Luca Laurent. I think that does constitute as lucky,” she grumbles.
“I thought you hated him,” I remind her.
“Oh, I do. Trust me, I loathe the man, but I’m still jealous,” she says. “And on that topic, how are things going? Have you snapped his ego like a potato chip yet?”
“That I have not,” I tell her.
“Why the hell not? You’re there with his friends and colleagues. It’s like the perfect place to crush him like the cockroach he is,” she says. I can literally see her clenching her fists and her teeth.
“You know, Sadie,” I say carefully. “I’m not entirely sure cockroach is the right word.”
“So worm. Or snake. Whatever he is, I’m sure he’s laying it on thick. Just do me a favor. Don’t fall for it. And don’t get distracted,” she says.
“I won’t,” I tell her. “But I need to go. I’m about to hop in the shower.”
“Promise me,” Sadie says. “Promise me you won’t let him fool you.”
I hold my breath for a moment before letting it out skeptically. “I…”
“Olivia…?” Sadie pleads.
“I won’t,” I give in. “I promise.”
Unmatched Dating 101- Rule #93: Never lie to your friends about your feelings. If you’re lying to your friends, you’re probably lying to yourself.
* * *
Two, four, six, eight.
I said I wouldn’t be distracted by Luca. But as I count his abs in my head in an internal cheerleader chant, I can’t promise that because I do appreciate them.
Yes. Luca has eight impressive sets of ab muscles, rivets in his hard, marbled torso that lead into the perfect V which tapers into his gym shorts.
It’s not that I haven’t noticed his body like this before, but I’ve also never watched Luca at the gym before either.
From pull-up bar, to bicep curls, to deadlifts, every movement showcases a new set of muscles. All equally distracting.
“Aren’t you going to work out?” he asks as he drops from the pull-up bar to his feet, running a hand through his glistening hair.
“I’m on the stair climber,” I tell him.
“And you’ve been standing on the same stair for a solid three minutes,” he says. He’s right. I have literally been in a freeze frame as I watch him go through his circuit.
“Oh, right,” I nod, my cheeks hot. “I think it’s broken or something.”
“Broken?” he asks.
“Or…something.”
Luca walks over to the stair climber and stands on the floor right behind me. I look back over my shoulder at him.
“Go ahead,” he nods. “I’ll see if there’s anything wrong.”
“Right,” I nod again, turning to face forward. Then, slowly, I take one step at a time. And suddenly, I become very aware of my body. I am wearing purple leggings and a matching sports bra. It’s neither revealing nor unflattering. If I had to guess, he is thinking about my purple leggings too.
“Faster,” he says, and I pick up the pace a little. I’m not sure if there’s a point to this, but I bet he’s enjoying the view.
“Very good. It looks great from where I’m standing,” he says. I roll my eyes and smirk.
“What looks great?” I ask.
“Everything…” he says and I bite back a grin.
You promised…
Sadie’s voice rings in my head, and I swallow back my excitement.
But at the same time, I’m not doing anything wrong. I’m not doing anything at all. I’m working out in a hotel gym. I’m on a stair climber. In tight pants that make my ass look great, a strappy bra, a day-old tan, and smell like coconut from my leave-in conditioner.
I grip the bars, breathing heavily. I don’t usually go this fast, on the stair climber or with guys. Then I slow to a stop and turn around.
Luca is staring up at me, his eyes darker than the storm outside.
“I guess it works…” I say, my chest rising and falling with adrenaline.
“Sure looks like it,” he says, and I step down the climber. For a moment, Luca just stands there in my way. I wonder if he would bend me over here in a gym where anyone could walk in at any time.
Then he steps aside.
“I think I need some water,” I say, making my way over to the fountain.
“Are you alright?” he asks.
“Yeah,” I smile, though my chest is still rising and falling pretty visibly. “Just a little…winded,” I say.
You mean distracted…Sadie’s voice pops into my head again.
“Maybe we should do something more relaxing,” he suggests.
“What did you have in mind?” I ask.
A smirk crawls across his lips. And even though I’m not sure if it’s a smile I can trust, I decide to follow it anyway.
Luca leads me outside. The rain is still falling pretty heavily, but he grabs me by the hand and tugs me across the sidewalk in a very un-Luca move. I say un-Luca because he doesn’t strike me as someone who goes for walks in the rain.
“You’re not thinking of going for a swim, are you?” I shout over the storm.
“Not exactly,” he says, and my eyes widen.
“The ocean?” I ask with slight concern.
“Just trust me,” he says and the next thing I know, we are descending a small staircase of winding steps into a cave that is the pool grotto.
Somehow, it’s designed to keep rushing rainwater out and the heat of the grotto in.
It’s dark, humid, and warm. The sound of the raindrops sounds like white noise.
“Oh,” I let out because while it’s kind of crazy, it’s also pretty amazing.
“Nice, right?” he asks.
“Are we supposed to be in here during a storm?” I ask. “I’m pretty sure it’s closed.”
“And?” Luca asks, stepping out of his shoes.
“And there’s probably cameras,” I say.
“Cameras blurred by sheets of water. I doubt anyone is watching them right now.”
Luca steps into the water and sinks down with a sigh. Then he looks up at me.
“Aren’t you going to come in?” he asks. “It feels amazing on sore muscles, and if I had to guess, you have a lot of those.”
I give him a look and he gives me a smirk.
“I don’t have my swimsuit,” I say. “My gym clothes don’t exactly double as a bikini.”
“No, but your sports bra and panties do,” he says as he leans back, his eyes closed.
And as I watch him relax in the hot water, I realize that this is officially the second un-Luca Laurent thing Luca has done today. I don’t hate it.
I look around, questioning one last time who might see or if we could get in any trouble. And then I realize that if Luca doesn’t care, why do I?
I peel off my leggings, leaving on my lavender purple sports bra and black cheeky panties, then I step into the water.
“Oh my god,” I say as every muscle in my body begins to melt. Despite it not being particularly cold, I am very sore from…all the things…and this is heaven.
“Nice, huh?” he asks, his words relaxed and fluid.
“Nice doesn’t come close to the right word…” I say as I sit down on the step, leaning my head back against the edge.
“What is the right word?” he asks.
“I’m not sure. But right now it might be better than sex,” I say. Luca snorts out a chuckle. Immediately, I am mad that my eyes are closed because I would have loved to have seen him make that noise.
“Careful,” he warns me. “I might take that as a challenge.”
I am watching him now, and his eyes are also closed. He does peek out of one, probably to see if I can see his smirk. I can, and I love it.
“This really is nice,” I admit. “I think I needed this.”
“Stressful trip?” he asks.
“Stressful life,” I sigh.
“Surely podcasting isn’t that wild,” he says.
“Surely the dating app world isn’t that unpredictable,” I say, and both his eyes pop open.
“Alright. I have to ask,” I go on. “Why dating apps?”
“What do you mean?” he asks.