The Men Next Door

Ch 36 - Luca

"I think I'm dying," I huffed as soon as Addy's feet touched down in her apartment. Turned out I could carry her a few east-west blocks, despite my best efforts to pass on the challenge when she suggested it, and I felt like I'd just run an ultramarathon. "And if I make it through the night?" I paused, using the bottom of my shirt to dab the sweat from my face. "Then that's it. I'm calling in. Cashing out. Not going to the gym for the next three years."

"Three days, maybe." She giggled. Giggled. I needed an inhaler and some electrolytes, stat, and my human backpack was fucking giggling. "You won't last longer than that."

"I'll last as long as I damn well please."

She shook her head faster than a hummingbird's wings. "Not a chance. Three days was generous."

"You know what?" I asked, already falling for her competitive psychology again. Is that a thing? Like reverse psychology, but where Addy always wins? Because the woman always came out on top, even when I did end up proving my point. "I'll do you one better. I'll stay here for three days."

"In my apartment?" she asked skeptically, making her way to the kitchen. "Why?"

"Might be fun." I shrugged, following close behind. "Like a lock-in. Did your school ever do one of those?"

"A lockdown?"

"No, no. A lock-in. Where they lock all the doors and you spend the night on the gym floor with a bunch of your friends." I saw the golden opportunity that was unfolding right in front of me and gave her the flirty version of a pointed look. "Or in this case...on the bed." I wagged my eyebrows. "With your boyfriend."

"Luca..." she warned.

"Addy..." I echoed.

And suddenly, the back of the cereal box I'd left out that morning was the most intriguing thing she'd ever seen. "We've talked about this."

"Have we?" I asked.

"Yes." She doubled down. "And you know how I feel about taking things—"

"—one day at a time," I finished for her. Because we had talked about it. Sort of. And it was the same, vague answer she'd given me every time I tried.

That part wasn't the issue. I'd gladly take her one day at a time. But every night that we fell back into bed, my brakes got a little more worn down. By April, my steering wheel was locked up, pedal to the metal. And sometime around the middle of June, when Brooks and Bella were out of town and I was plumb out of distractions, my emergency brake snapped clean off the center console.

I'd lost control.

I'd crashed straight into feelings.

And there wasn't any chance of turning back now.

"Is that the only place this is going though, Ads?" I asked. "One day at a time, until the end of time?"

"Why does it have to be going anywhere?" She sighed. "Can't we just enjoy the ride?"

I smirked, yanking open the fridge to see what kind of sugary drink I could find inside. Despite her hesitance to put a label on things, she always kept her apartment well stocked. Just for me. And joking around or not, I needed a boost to get through this conversation. "You certainly enjoy the ride."

Addy rolled her eyes and threw a crumpled up napkin at me. I kicked it to the side when it hit the floor. "And so do you. So why fix it if it isn't broken?"

"Same reason I might go back on my meds," I told her. Because the truth was, things could just be...better. Even if there were trade-offs for the reward. I mean, we'd had our fair share of obstacles, with Campbell and Walker and everything else in between, but I was still hoping to make it to the end of the cluttered racecourse in one piece...