Maggie
“Oh, thank God, you’re here!” Lina exclaimed as she opened her front door. Her hair was tied in a messy bun, like she was in a rush, and her t-shirt hung loosely over her leggings. She opened the door wider to welcome me inside and took the bottle of wine from my hands. “What is this? You didn’t have to bring anything.”
“Hi, to you, too, Lina,” I chuckled. “I thought it would help coax some information out of you.”
We walked through her cottage’s open-concept living area into the small kitchen, where Lina set the wine on the counter and opened the fridge to pull out some cheese and crackers. “I don’t think this is something you’d be too excited to hear,” she sighed and gestured to the wine glasses on the counter. “Mind grabbing those?” I nodded, and she led us toward the couch and set everything down on the coffee table.
“It can’t bethatbad,” I half-laughed and sat down.
“Oh, trust me. It is.” She gasped. “Wait! I have your mocktail in the fridge. Let me grab it.” I laughed, opening and pouring her wine as she scurried to the kitchen. She was stalling. Therefrigerator door quickly opened and shut, and before I knew it, she was kneeling beside me on the couch, fingers tapping nervously on her now-full wine glass.
“Okay, go. I need the full story.”
“Ugh, okay.” Lina looked at me with a slight question before rolling her eyes and submitting to giving me an explanation. “Okay, okay.”
When she still didn’t talk, I tipped my head forward and raised my eyebrows.
“Fine! Just know this is freaking hard to say, and I expect the full, detailed story of whatever is going on between you and Jack.”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, yes. I will tell you everything. Now, go!”
“Okay, here we go.” She took a deep breath. I was almost amused at her dramatic exaggeration. “So…do you know Felix Aguado?”
“Briefly.” I had seen him play with Jack on their team and knew he was a hotshot from Argentina on his way to the top. According to Jack, though, he was notorious for getting into trouble with his sponsors and colleagues.
“Okay, well, he’s who I was running from today. Things with him are a little… complicated, so to speak.”
“Oh? Complicated, how?” I spoke without judgment. I could tell whatever was going on caused her to worry about her polished reputation as a polo trainer and part-time player.
“So, I may have kissed him a few nights ago.” Lina cringed and threw her head back. “But I didn’t know it was him!” she quickly rebutted, voice raised. “It was…it was dark, and we were bothsodrunk. Paula Franklin had a little bonfire for her players, and since I taught her kids to ride, she invited me. And I swear to you it was pitch-fucking-black, Maggie. I couldn’t see a thing when Francisco poured his full beer can over the fire because hewas drunk. I was off grabbing another drink at a cooler further from the fire and ran into someone—I had no idea who at the time—and we tried to find our way back to the group together. Of course, as intoxicated as we both were, we had no sense of direction or common sense, so we just ended up talking for a while.”
“And then you kissed him?” I probed.
“No, no, not yet.” She shifted. “He just smelled so good! And God, even the way he held my forearms to keep me upright loosened my control. Then he told me he wished we weren’t at this party, and I thought it was because he wanted to be like, you know, alone together.”
I nodded.
“SothenI kissed him. And Maggie, it was literally the best kiss of my life, and I didn’t even know his name.” My jaw dropped.
“You’re sure you didn’t know it was him?” I asked in surprise.
When Jack and I spent nights in each other’s arms, we knew each other. Wefelteach other. Every touch, every whisper, every kiss.
“Yes, I’m absolutely, completely, one-hundredpercent sure. I wouldneverkiss that man. Ever.” Knowing Lina and her go-lucky, optimistic attitude, her firmness took me by surprise.
“And why is that?” I asked.
“Why is what?”
“Why would you never, ever kiss him? He’s just a guy,” I added with a slight shrug, “A cute one, I guess.”
“Because.” She sipped her wine as quickly as she swallowed it. “Felix Aguado is bad news.”
I motioned for her to continue.
“He’s rude, a total womanizer, has no respect for his sponsors or the game,” she counted off her fingers. “He’s just a bad guy all around.”
“Okay, so…what’s the point of this whole thing? So, you kissed him. It’s notthatsmall of a club. You can just avoid him.”
