Worth The Wait

19|𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐈𝐓

𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐘 𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄

The second margarita hit, and suddenly, everything felt lighter. The stress of training, the tension of River's hands on my waist, the way my heart had stuttered when he'd caught me—all of it faded under the buzz of tequila and Sophia's relentless determination to dissect my life.

I slumped back against her couch, my glass resting against my thigh. "I just need to clear my head."

Sophia, curled up in the corner with her own drink, smirked. "You need to get laid."

I choked on my sip. "Oh my God."

She cackled. "I'm serious. You're wound so tight I'm afraid you're going to snap."

"I am not wound tight."

She shot me a look. "Lucie, you spend every waking second either training or glaring at River. When was the last time you even went on a date?"

I opened my mouth, then hesitated. When was the last time? A year ago? Two? Had it really been that long?

Sophia's grin widened. "Exactly."

I sighed, rubbing my forehead. "I don't have time for dating."

"No, you don't make time for dating. There's a difference." She sat up, eyes bright with mischief. "And I, as your best friend and occasional life coach, am officially making it my mission to change that."

I groaned. "Soph—"

"Nope. No arguments. I'm setting you up."

I frowned, already regretting margarita night. "With who?"

She pulled out her phone. "Do you trust me?"

"Not at all."

Sophia laughed. "Too bad." She tapped her screen a few times before holding it out. "How about him?"

I squinted at the picture of a guy on Instagram—dark hair, strong jaw, looked like he probably owned more than one suit. "Who is he?"

"A perfectly respectable, nice, normal man named Daniel."

I hesitated. A date wouldn't hurt. Maybe it was exactly what I needed—to remind myself that there was a whole world outside of the rink. Outside of River Prescott and the way his hands had been on me today, guiding me in that stupid lift. Not that I cared about that.

"Fine," I muttered, grabbing the glass for another sip. "One date."

"How do you know him though?" Soph didn't have guy friends and if she did, they were all Kolton's friends.

She waved me off, clearly not bothered by the lack of details. "It doesn't matter. What matters is you getting out there."

I barely heard the words as I took another sip, my mind drifting back to River. That moment earlier when he'd caught me—that damn smirk of his. I hated how it made my chest feel tight, but I wasn't about to let him see it. River was nothing but a distraction, and I had bigger things to focus on than whatever weird tension was building between us.

Sophia's voice interrupted my spiraling thoughts. "What's going on between you and River, really?"

I froze, my fingers tightening around my glass. "Nothing. It's just...training. We're just...working together."

She arched an eyebrow, clearly not buying it. "That's not what I asked."

I rolled my eyes and took another drink. "We're training. Nothing else."

Sophia leaned forward, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Lucie, come on. It's obvious. The way you look at him. The way he looks at you. You're more than just annoyed by him, and you know it."