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nine

Olive

“Why are you still here, Cole?” are the first words I hear when Rory lets me into her apartment.

“Good to see you, too, sis,” a blond man chides. That must be Cole. “I’m heading over to Ari’s now, though.”

“Ew.” That came from the woman with silky black hair sitting on the sofa. “Why the fuck do you want to see Ari?”

“Because we’ve been friends since before we were in Kansas.”

“I like Ari,” says another woman, this one with light brown hair falling well past her shoulders. “Maybe one day you two will tell us why you hate each other so much.”

“I don’t hate him,” the first woman groans. “He’s just pushy and irritating.”

“Only to you, babe,” Harlow says, taking a seat next to her on the sofa.

Rather than just awkwardly standing here while waiting for Rory to get a chance to introduce me, I decide to make my presence known. “Ari seemed nice enough to me when I met him. He was with Lane when we ran into each other at Urban Grind.”

“See, Luc,” probably-Cole prods. “You’re the only one not in the Ari fan club.”

Rory crosses her arms. “Can we not show Olive our true selves yet? She needs to like us before she learns how batshit crazy we all are.”

“My sister asked me if Lane was a porn star when I told her about him,” I laugh. “Believe me, this is nothing.”

“Okay,” Harlow interjects. “I need context here because what?”

“My sister Violet doesn’t have a filter.

Honestly, her wife Luna doesn’t have much of one, either.

But when I met Lane and Ari, Ari told me they worked in entertainment.

They didn’t explain what that meant, so when I told Vi about it, she asked if he was a porn star.

When we met again at Sage’s ballet lesson the next day, I learned entertainment just meant baseball. ”

Probably-Cole rears his head back and laughs. “Sounds like Ari. The fucker probably said it like that on purpose.”

“Before we get too far into this,” Rory steps in, “let me introduce you to everyone. You met Harlow earlier. The blond man who looks just like her is her brother and my husband Cole. The brunette in the chair is Ella. And the Ari-hater is Lucia.”

“It’s nice to meet you all. I’m Olive, but you can call me Liv.”

“Cole,” Rory says, looking right at her husband. “I love you very much, but this is girl’s night. You gotta go.”

Cole gets up and wraps his arms around Rory’s waist. “First, my sister. Now, my wife. I’m not feeling the love right now.”

“I’ll show you the love later tonight, Sparrow.”

“Rory Elizabeth Pierce!” Harlow yells. “We agreed you weren’t going to talk about fucking my brother in front of me.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she chides before pecking Cole’s lips. “Have fun with Ari, baby. I’ll see you later.”

“See you later, Starlight.”

Cole waves his goodbyes before grabbing his keys and walking out the door, leaving us girls to ourselves.

As soon as the door closes, I realize my situation, and the nerves start. The only woman I know here is Rory, so I feel completely awkward right now.

“You said there would be wine, right?” I ask.

Harlow laughs and stands up. “Oh, you’re going to fit in with us just fine, Liv. Follow me.”

Harlow leads me to the kitchen, where I pour myself a generous glass of Cabernet Sauvignon before we join the girls back in the living room.

“I’m so glad you made it tonight, Liv,” Rory smiles.

“Thank you for inviting me.”

Ella grins at me. “We’re a welcoming bunch. Lane’s girl will always be welcome.”

“Oh,” I blush. “I don’t think you could say I’m Lane’s girl. We’ve only met a few times.”

“I’m not sure he knows that,” Lucia smirks. “Man told us excitedly last night that he finally asked for your number.”

“That’s because I’m his daughter’s teacher. He just needs to be able to contact me.”

Lane and I both know that’s a lie. The looks on the girls’ faces tell me they know that, too.

“So he didn’t text you last night?” Lucia cocks her eyebrow knowingly.

I take a large gulp of my wine. “He may have…”

“I fucking knew he would,” Rory laughs. “It’s so funny seeing him like this. He’s never acted like this before.”

That takes me by surprise. “He literally has a child.”

“You don’t need to be into someone for more than a night to create a child,” Ella says.

“Right…”

My face falls. It’s obvious that he has a past—Sage is living proof of that. I guess I just didn’t consider what that past might actually entail.

Lane’s a one-night kinda guy, and I’m a not-sure-I’ll-ever-be-intimate kinda girl. It’s not just the age difference between us. We’re fundamentally different people.

Harlow seems to be the first to see my thoughts on my face. “That hasn’t been him in years, though, Liv,” she reassures.

Rory looks at me now. “He hasn’t slept with anyone since he found out about Sage. He’s a completely different guy now.”

“He can be however he wants,” I shrug. “Like I said, I’m not his girl. We’re more like acquaintances than anything.”

Ella shoots me a sympathetic smile. “Don’t judge him too harshly just yet. I’ve known Lane since Josh and I came to New York almost eight years ago. The guy you know is the man he truly is. It just took him a while to accept that.”

“I won’t judge him,” I breathe. “I know attitudes can change. I’m proof of that.”

“What does that mean?” Harlow questions.

“It’s… nothing,” I lie. “I’m just saying.” I take another gulp of wine and try to gather my composure. “So, how do you all know each other?”

“We all have some connection to the team,” Ella says. “Josh Garro, the third baseman, is my husband.”

“I’m one of the athletic trainers,” Lucia states. “I work with the guys on a daily basis during the season.”

“My brother, Cole, is the shortstop for the team, and my boyfriend, Knox, is one of the starting pitchers,” Harlow adds. “I also run a blog about the Stars.”

“And then I’m obviously married to one of the players,” Rory laughs. “But my dad is the Field Manager as well, and I’m Lane’s nanny.”

“Wow, you guys are literally all connected. So are the guys all friends then?”

“Yeah,” Harlow says. “The five of them are good friends.”

“Five?” I ask. “I’m guessing that means Ari, too.”

“It does,” Rory replies. “He just signed with the team last offseason as the first baseman. He and Cole played together in Kansas years ago, so he joined the group when he came to New York.”

“And Ari and Lucia don’t like each other?”

The three girls laugh while Lucia rolls her eyes. “He’s fucking irritating, and I’m apparently the only one who sees it. Well, Matt does, too.”

“Who’s Matt?”

“My boyfriend.” I expect Lucia to smile as she says that, but the happiness on her face seems forced.

“What made you go into ballet?” Ella asks me.

“My mom is Eileen Finch. She spent a decade with the New York City Ballet before opening Finch Ballet Company. I would spend time at the studio with her when I was little, and I was just drawn to it. I’ve practically been a ballerina since I could walk.”

“Ballet always seemed so fun to me,” Harlow says. “But considering I’m about as graceful as an elephant, it wasn’t meant to be.”

“I don’t think Knox minds you not being graceful,” Rory smirks.

“He does not.” Harlow bites down her smile.

The girls seem to be open about sex. I can’t deny that it makes me a bit uncomfortable, especially when I have nothing to contribute to those conversations, but I’m going to keep that to myself. I want to get more comfortable in these situations, and maybe this can actually help me with that.

“As you can see,” Lucia says, gesturing to the girls around her. “We’re a feral bunch. But we have a lot of fun together.”

“Strong female friendships are so important,” Harlow adds.

“Fuck the patriarchy!” Ella yells, raising her glass in the air quickly as wine sloshes over the sides.

Rory places a hand on my shoulder. “Welcome to the insanity, Liv.”

I can’t help but smile genuinely at that.

I’ve been closed off for so long, but for the first time in years, I think I actually have friends.