Page 63 of Gridlocked on the Gridiron

Lucia took a sip of her wine. “I don’t want to talk about Max. How’s Charlotte? How are the analysts?”

Isa shrugged. “The analyst team is definitely lacking without you, and they know it. Charlotte asks me how you are about once a week. You can tell she’s pissed at John and the rest of the suits for making her almost fire you.”

That was gratifying. A part of her was glad to hear that they were struggling without her. She wished Charlotte didn’t have to suffer as a consequence, but she hoped John saw what a mistake he’d made.

Lucia sighed. “I’m just thankful she had the foresight to look for other jobs when she heard what happened. I didn’t even think about that when I saw the news.”

“Yeah, Luc, but I think you had other things to worry about. Nobody faults you for that. Speaking of which, if you wanna hop back on the dating roller coaster, that cute guy over there hasn’t stopped looking over at you.” She inclined her head to point at a man who was indeed looking at her, a smile flashing as he raised his glass in greeting. “You should go talk to him.”

He was cute, Lucia supposed, but a far cry from the dark-haired quarterback who drove her crazy. Who, she’d begun to realize, she wanted to keep driving her crazy.

“I’m here to hang out with you, not trap a man. Plus, I have a…” She stopped herself before she called him her boyfriend. “Colton.”

“Right. Let’s talk about that absolute dumpster fire of an idea, shall we?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She smiled at the bartender as she set their drinks in front of them.

Isa’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Okay, so let’s just imagine for a minute that sleeping with someone you’re pretending to date has never, in history, ended poorly. What’s going to happen when playoffs start?”

Lucia matched the volume of Isa’s voice. “First of all, it was one time. Second of all, we’re going to break up, end of story. We’ll be friends, probably.”

She hoped they would be. Colton had quickly become an incredibly important person to her, and she couldn’t imagine what her life would look like if they went back to a strictly analyst-player relationship. It would break her heart to lose him, and the thought of only seeing him during their sessions had her taking a bigger sip of wine.

“Oh, are we just ignoring the time he wrecked you on the plane?”

Lucia slapped a hand over her friend’s mouth, a laugh bubbling out of her. “Isa! Shh, I don’t need strangers knowing more about my life than they already do. Keep whispering.”

Isa rolled her eyes but listened. “This is a bad idea, osita. What is he gaining from this? I’m suspicious. He has to have agreed to this for some reason, something to benefit him.”

The thought was a shot to Lucia’s chest, but she tried to play it off, not wanting Isa to see how it’d affected her. “I think he’s just a nice guy. He originally did it to help me because I was distraught when the news came out. And I think he likes that it gets Max mad. But, I don’t know, something’s been different recently. It feels like he wants to spend time with me, even when cameras aren’t on us.” She hadn’t told Isa about the night they’d cuddled. Sheepishly, she continued, “I even go to see him in his hotel room at away games.”

Isa sipped her drink. “Well, are you getting dicked down?”

Lucia sputtered, choking down her wine. “Not outside of the time I told you about. We just talk and watch movies and…enjoy each other’s company?” She noted the incredulous look on her friend’s face. “I don’t know, it’s weird to conceptualize, but it’s true.”

Isa just hummed.

Lucia took a bite of the cheese that’d been set down between them, savoring the flavor on her tongue. “Obviously my luck with relationships has run out, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have fun. So what if he’s just using me? Who’s to say I’m not using him too?” She wasn’t sure the words were true as they left her, but something inside her wanted to convince Isa that it was all just harmless fun.

“Just don’t get caught up in the process. Remember why you’re here. This is the job that boosts you to head analyst.”

Isa was right. Lucia had to focus on her end goal. The last thing she needed was for her relationship to become a complication.

The mildly intoxicated pair wandered down the street to Marion Square, at which point Isa tutted playfully, talking about how Richmond would always be better. They were fast approaching the time they’d agreed to meet Jenna, Leigh, and Maya at a cute little bar inside Hotel Bennett, another recommendation from Jenna.

Lucia felt warm and bubbly as they walked into the hotel, happy to be out for a night with a group of friends for the first time in a long time. When they finally made it into the bar, Lucia and Isa both looked up in awe at the crystal chandelier, marveling at the pink chairs, pink tables, pink everything.

“This may be the only champagne bar I’ve ever been to, but it’s certainly my favorite.”

Lucia smiled at that. Her smile widened when she saw her friends already seated at a table. She was excited for Isa to meet them, even if she wasn’t certain they would get along. She’d made Isa promise to be nice, especially to Maya, but nobody could get Isa to do anything she didn’t want to do.

“Hi! This is Isa.” She then pointed at each of her friends. “Jenna, Leigh, Maya.” They all exchanged hugs before sitting down.

“We ordered first rounds for you guys, hope that’s okay.” Jenna smiled pleasantly at Isa. “How’re you liking Charleston? How long are you in town?”

“It’s nice, though I’ve only really been on King Street. We’re going to Saltwater Cowboys tomorrow, hanging by the water, and then I leave late tomorrow evening.”

“Oh, Rudy and Colton love Saltwater Cowboys. I think it’s Colton’s favorite place to be, on the rare occasions he isn’t in football mode.”

---