Page 161 of Fielder's Choice

“Josh is a lucky man,” Lucia chuckles.

It’s only been a few days since she found out Matt was cheating on her, and while she seems to be trying to not let it affect her, we’ve all noticed that she’s down. That’s to be expected, of course, but that doesn’t mean we’re just going to accept it. An impromptu girl’s night after today’s game—before they all fly off tomorrow morning for two more away series—seems to be working well so far.

“How have you been doing the past few days, Luc?” I ask softly.

Lucia sighs. “I’m fine. I don’t let men bring me down. I’m stronger than being upset over a cheating scumbag.”

Harlow puts her hand on Lucia’s arm in comfort. “It’s not weakness to be upset, Luc. You dated Matt for more than a year, and then you found out he was cheating on you. It’s normal to have feelings about that.”

“The only feelings I have are anger,” Lucia chides. “Anger that I wasted a year of my life on a man who never deserved a minute of my time.”

“It’s okay, though, if you’re sad, too,” Rory reassures her. “You loved him.”

“That was a fucking mistake,” she says through clenched teeth. “I should never have fallen for a finance bro that couldn’t keep his dick to himself.”

“I may not have much experience here,” I jump in, “but you shouldn’t be blaming yourself for this, Lucia. Idohave a lot of experience with blaming myself for things that I had no control over. It’s not your fault that he cheated on you. You fell in love with the version of himself that he portrayed. He hid the deeper parts of him well.”

Lucia takes a deep breath and throws her head back, staring up at her ceiling. “Then I’m just a goddamn fool.”

“Nope,” Ella cuts in. “We’re not doing that. You’re not a fool for falling in love with a man who would later come to hurt you. We all make those mistakes. But we get through the heartbreak and come out stronger on the other side.”

“Can we just… talk about something else?” Lucia asks softly, voice breaking slightly.

“Of course we can, babe,” Harlow smiles before turning her gaze to me. And based on every girl’s night we’ve had, I knowwhere this conversation is now heading. “So Liv…” she says sweetly. “Anything interesting happen recently?”

The rest of the girls perk up now, catching Harlow’s underlying meaning.

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” I shrug nonchalantly, focusing instead on the very interesting glass of wine in my hand and not their curious eyes.

“Oh, I know deflection when I see it,” Ella grins deviously. “What happened, Liv?”

“I mean, Lane and I had a date over the weekend. That happened.”

“And what happened at your date?” Rory prods, elbowing my arm.

“We had mac and cheese for dinner and then danced at the studio,” I chuckle. “It was a really low-key night and honestly just perfect.”

“I feel like we’re only getting bits of the story here,” Lucia states. “What happened next?”

I blush slightly but smile brightly. “I told Lane that I loved him.”

“Liv!” Harlow shrieks. “You didn’t tell me that!”

“Did she tell you something else?” Ella looks at her excitedly.

“She might have had something else to say when Knox and I brought Sage back over Monday morning.”

Harlow tries to bite down her smirk as the other three girls stare at me expectantly. I can’t help but shake my head and laugh.

It’s not like I thought I’d keep this from them.

“So we had a nice date. I told him I loved him… then we went back to his place and…” I try to tamper my smile, but I’m unsuccessful. “And then we had sex for the first time.”

I wince at the loud cheers, but the girls don’t seem to notice.

“You had sex with Lane?!” Rory shouts.

“Yes,” I reply honestly. “We’d been slowly working up to it, and I was finally ready. I was finally in the right headspace for it.”

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