Lucy Park

Lucy hadn’t exactly been the best friend lately. After the Hampton’s, she’d kind of hidden away, burying herself in work. It was only recently that she’d resurfaced and seen a Gazette blast about Maya having a heart attack at a family dinner or something like that. Lucy had immediately called Kian and scheduled a walk in the park for the pair to catch up. With two of her favorite fall drinks, caramel apple ciders in hand, Lucy waited for her friend at the designated meeting spot. When she saw the familiar brunette, Lucy immediately rose to her feet to greet her in a hug and with a friendly smile. “Okay, I know I suck and fell off the face of the earth. I’m sorry!” she apologized profusely. “But I come bearing Starbucks as part of my apology” she offered, extending the warm drink towards Kian. 

“But isn’t he the cutest??” Lucy cooed as the adorable puppy jumped out of her lap and slowly made his way to Nicolette’s. Lucy had kidnapped her best friend and taken them to a local shelter with the intention of simply playing with the puppies. Was it a dangerous idea because she knew she was going to come away from it desperately wanting a puppy even more? Yes. But hey, Lucy was a glutton for punishment. 

Since their little run in at Butter hadn’t gone terribly, Lucy had decided to take it upon herself to re-establish her relationship with Steve. He needed a friend right now and Lucy was more than happy to be that for him. Not to mention, she missed having him in her life. So, she did what Lucy knew how to do best. She showed up at his door with two bottles of wine. She rang the doorbell expectantly, and when he eventually opened she offered him a smile. “Red or white?” she asked, holding out the bottles for him to choose. 

Lucy didn’t often drink alone. But with the way things were lately, she needed some time alone with her thoughts. She was already a drink or two in, seated at the bar when she saw him walk in. Her first instinct was to turn her face so he wouldn’t notice her. She’d really tried not to let things get awkward after the Hampton’s, but sleeping with Alex had made her painfully aware of her growing affection towards him and being around him now was just... well, difficult. But she couldn’t avoid him forever. Beyond what she felt for him romantically, or whatever it was, Alex was her friend, a good one at that. And he didn’t deserve to be just cut off and ignored. That wasn’t fair to him. So she turned and waved when his eyes found hers, a small smile tugging at her lips as he approached. “Hey there, stranger.” she greeted when he was close enough. 

Were she a woman with a stronger conscience, Regina might have felt guilty over the part she played in encouraging Lucy’s shenanigans in the Hamptons. Especially with how disastrously they turned out, nearly on par with her own antics. Yet with her plan in perfect motion and full corruption mere breaths away, she settled into a chair opposite the other woman with both of their drinks in hand. “I thought I told you we’re not pacing ourselves. You need to let loose, guapa. The only person standing in your way tonight is yourself.” @lucyjpark

A few months ago, Lucy never would have guessed that she’d be getting drinks with Regina Salazar, of all people. A few months ago, Lucy was pretty sure Regina didn’t even know who she was, if she were perfectly honest. But life had a funny way of turning out and despite their differences, Lucy couldn’t say that she didn’t enjoy the time she spent with the beautiful model. She did. Being with Regina was unlike anything Lucy had experienced in her life. It was like having a tiny glance into what life truly was like for an Upper East Sider. 

She knew just how to get to him – by appealing to his sense of responsibility. Of course, he wouldn’t want to leave her alone in this part of town or any part of town, for that matter. “It’s not that I’m unenthusiastic,” he defended. Bookstores were a personal favorite of his, and he’d learned that judging them by their outward appearances – like with people – could often mean missing out on treasures. “I just hate finding some hole in the wall shop that I fall in love with only to watch it inevitably fall victim to the e-book trend.”

Her heart practically melted at his explanation, and her face showed it. She couldn’t help the smile that came to her lips. “Well, we’ll just have to give them lots and lots of business so that they don’t go out of business!” she offered with a shrug, before reaching out to take his hand and tugging him along behind her. “Come on, let’s just check it out. Maybe it’s not even worth our time.” she sent him a wink before they entered the shop. 

As the door closed behind them, Lucy was immersed in her favorite smell. The smell of books. A smile came to her face as she gazed upon the shelves and shelves stacked with books that lay in front of her. “Okay, so what do you think?” she asked, turning around tentatively to face him. “Worth the time? Or should I just go ahead and buy you that drink now?”

“Lucy! Thank god,” Joaquin said with a soft laugh, handing her Hector’s leash without hesitation as he took the phone and stuck it into the baby’s bag that was hanging off his shoulder, sure that it had landed among the scented wipes he had in there. “As you can see, I’m a bit of a mess right now so you showing up is especially serendipitous and appreciated.” He smiled at her before glancing down at Lourdes who was still sleeping. “Will you walk with us for a bit? Do you have time?”

She happily accepted Hector’s leash, bending down to let him sniff her hand and then scratching him behind the ear. Lucy loved dogs, and she definitely loved Hector. He was a cutie for sure. She stood back up and immediately smiled at the sight of a sleeping Lourdes. “Today is simply my lucky day, I get to walk a super cute dog, see a beautiful, adorable baby, all while spending time with you? I must’ve done something REALLY good, to have earned this kind of karma.” she said with a grin as she fell into step besides Joaquin. “How have you guys been?” she asked. Lucy probably should have stopped by a little more often, but she always had a hard time knowing what was and wasn’t appropriate when it came to new parents. Do you give them a little space so they can spend time truly getting to know their baby? Or do you spend as much time as you can with them so they know they’re not alone? It was tricky. 

“Oh my god, thank you!”

“I assume you know that you’re the best!” @nicolettexmont

“Correct.” @alexnielscn

“Correct.” 

“umm... nope. steve and my relationship was never like that. Besides, he’ll always be alessia’s.” @stevicari @alessialacroix

“Correct. A lot, actually.” @stevicari