Chapter 34 Liana

Two months later

A hard knock at the bedroom door woke Liana. "Lames!" someone shouted from the other side of the door. "Lames! Open up!"

"Who's that? Go away," slurred James sleepily, drawing Liana closer to him under the covers.

"It's too early," Liana agreed, snuggling into James' chest.

"Lames, I know you're in there!" The banging continued. "Let me into your bathroom before I pee myself."

James groaned and stumbled out of bed, looking delectable as usual with his morning tousled hair, white T-shirt, and boxers. He opened the door a crack. "Oh, hey, Tori."

"Finally. Jesus, Lames," said Tori, poking her head in.

"Did you just call me Lames ?" James asked groggily.

Tori waved a hand toward him and Liana. "I called both of you Lames. It's your ship name, obviously. Liana plus James equals Lames." She raised her eyebrows as if James were being slow.

"That's not our ship name," murmured Liana from the bed. "Now use the bathroom so you can leave us in peace."

"It absolutely is your ship name," said Tori as she sprinted across the bedroom. "Or would you prefer Jiana?"

"What's the third option?" James asked.

Liana groaned. "There is no third option. We don't have a ship name! And don't you have your own bathroom, Tori?"

"Yep," Tori yelled cheerfully from behind the closed bathroom door. "But I'm sharing it with Kelsey and Isaac, as you know, and Isaac takes forever in the shower. Seriously, I thought I take a long time getting ready in the morning —"

"You do," Liana cut in.

"I'm giving you the finger from behind the door," Tori responded. "But anyway, if I waited for Isaac to be done with the bathroom, I'd be waiting until tomorrow. And we have a tournament to get to."

A large motley crew had made the two-hour drive from Miami to Naples, Florida to watch James play at the pickleball U.S. Open. Liana, James, Isaac, Tori, Kelsey, Deb, and Deb's friend Milena had surprisingly all agreed to rent a whole Airbnb house together a block from the beach. When they'd gotten to the house, Liana had offered to share a room with Tori, but literally all of the women had rolled their eyes and pushed Liana and James into the primary suite. Deb and Milena took another bedroom and Isaac said he would prefer the living room fold-out couch, leaving Tori and Kelsey to share the last bedroom with its two queen-size beds.

The road trip had already been a blast. The group had arrived in Naples two days before the tournament started to see the quaint town and spend an afternoon at the beach. Even though it wasn't far from Miami, Naples was on the Gulf Coast instead of the Atlantic Ocean, and the Gulf ocean glowed a brighter shade of turquoise.

Liana and James had been basically inseparable for the past two months. She slept over at his place most nights, and they'd fallen into a routine where he would cook dinner for the two of them and Kelsey, and then Liana would cook eggs for breakfast.

Even though they were with a group, this first trip together as a couple had been special. Liana was pleased to confirm that she and James got along just as easily on vacation as they did at home, and she was cherishing these days of being with him 24/7.

Plus, this was something of a last hurrah: it was Liana's last official weekend of funemployment before starting her new job as a product manager. Tori had indeed submitted the job referral to her company, and after several rounds of interviews Liana was offered the position. Liana wouldn't be working much with Tori directly, but she was excited to see her best friend at work every day. And while she would miss her lazy mornings working out of Panther Coffee with James, she was unequivocally happy to start working again. She'd work out of a Coconut Grove office most days, with apparent flexibility for occasional remote work. According to Tori, the company would be very accommodating if Liana had to work from home due to a Crohn's disease flare.

Tori had been more excited than Liana to hear the news, although Liana joked it was only because Tori would indeed receive a referral bonus.

So Liana was here celebrating a new career beginning as well as the first of hopefully many trips with James.

___

Liana and James walked hand in hand to the pickleball courts after checking James into the tournament, their little entourage in tow. James' cheering section was wearing matching white polos with popped collars, and Liana carried a glittery sign that said "Gonzo for Alonzo."

"James," said a familiar voice behind them. Liana and James turned and saw Peter and Daniella Alonso. James' eyes widened in shock.

"Mom. Dad. What are you doing here?"

Daniella smiled. "Watching our son play in a professional sports tournament, of course!"

James scrunched his brow in confusion. "But I didn't even think I told you about this weekend. I mean, months ago I gave you a schedule of when I'd be out of town, but I didn't even think I told you what cities I was going to."

Peter clasped Liana's shoulder. "Luckily, you have a girlfriend who was kind enough to tell us about this during our Passover dinner a few weeks ago. She told us this tournament is a big deal, especially with the bracket you're playing in. We didn't want to miss it."

Liana glanced at James nervously. Had she gone too far? While improved, James' relationship with his father was still somewhat tenuous. She hoped James wouldn't be mad. Also, when she'd mentioned the tournament to James' parents, she hadn't really expected they would come. Sure, she'd brought it up because she knew it would mean a lot to James for them to be there, but she hadn't told James about it because she didn't want him getting his hopes up for nothing. They hadn't confirmed they were coming and apparently hadn't told James either.

James kissed his mother's cheek and drew his father in for a hug. "We're proud of you," said Peter as he clapped his son on the back. Breaking apart, Peter added, "Well, we will go and get seats. See you soon."

"Oh, some of our friends are here, over there with the signs," Liana said, pointing to where Milena excitedly waved her sign that read, "If you can't handle the dink, stay out of Alonso's kitchen."

Liana continued, "My mom is there in the group. I'm about to go join everyone. You should sit with us."

When James' parents had ambled off, Liana bit her lip. "Is it okay that I invited them?"

"It's more than okay. Liana, I don't know what sort of magic you worked on them, but I never thought I'd see the day my parents watched me at a pickleball tournament. And they drove two hours to be here!" He shook his head in amazement and then tipped her chin up so he could stare into her eyes. "You're perfect. Liana, I love you."

Liana felt her heart fly out of her chest. Her whole face lit up in a smile. She knew she loved James for a while now, but neither of them had said the words out loud. This moment felt right. "I love you too, James."

James picked her up without warning and twirled her around. Setting her back down, he kissed her soundly. "God, I love hearing you say that."

"Get used to it, Alonso."

He beamed, and then they both broke out in nonsensical giggles. Liana wasn't sure why she was laughing, other than the fact that she had never been so happy.

James pulled back, and she suddenly realized that the "Gonzo for Alonso" sign had been stuck between their chests while they kissed. When they pulled apart, some of the purple glitter stuck to James' white polo shirt. He tried to brush it off, but the sparkles remained.

James shrugged. "Well, I'm definitely winning best dressed pickleballer now."