CHAPTER 16

Kendra walked into the restaurant and was instantly tugged by Aspen toward a side room that was more of a patio facing the beach.

“They have the whole room, I guess,” Aspen said.

“Hey,” DJ greeted. “Oh. Hey, Kendra. What’s up?”

“Nothing. What’s up with you?” Kendra said, feeling a little like an outsider in this room filled with professional athletes who looked perfect in anything they wore while she’d dressed up a little too much for the night, given that most of them looked like Aspen and weren’t wearing a shirt buttoned up to their throats like Kendra was.

“Nothing. We have the room, and there are pitchers of beer and margaritas on the table, if you want one,” DJ explained. “We have appetizers out already, and they’ll take everyone’s order soon.”

“Are you the party planner all of a sudden?” Aspen teased.

“No, I just got the details from–” DJ stopped and promptly blushed.

“Let me guess. Chase?”

“It’s Mark’s birthday. That’s why we’re all here. So, yeah, Chase planned it.”

“Mark? Mark Midson?” Kendra asked.

“Yeah,” DJ confirmed of Chase’s beach partner. “He’s turned twenty-eight. Chase thought about having everyone out tonight to celebrate. He’s actually paying for the whole thing.”

“He can afford it,” Aspen mumbled.

Kendra leaned in and asked, “What do you mean?”

“His dad is a real estate investor. Millionaire,” Aspen whispered, and Kendra shivered at the sensation of Aspen’s breath rushing over her ear and neck. “Chase doesn’t have to do anything, so he plays volleyball.”

“What are you two talking about over there?” DJ asked. “I’m assuming you’re telling her bad things about Chase?”

“She was just telling me that he can afford to pay for this party. That’s all.”

“Sure, she was. She doesn’t like him very much.” DJ pointed at Aspen. “But I do.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“You’ve heard? You told her?” DJ turned her head to Aspen.

“Where are those margaritas you mentioned?” Aspen asked instead, looking around DJ toward a long table that was covered in pitchers and various food items.

A few people sat in chairs, but most were milling about, holding drinks, and chatting away.

“You’re not a big drinker, I thought,” Kendra said.

“I’m not. But I can have one to celebrate Mark. I actually like him.”

“Hey!” DJ said with a laugh.

Aspen’s hand went to the small of Kendra’s back then, and she ushered her over to the table where she poured them each a margarita. Kendra wasn’t a huge fan of the drink, but she’d had one with Wyatt and Everly not all that long ago and now had another one in her hand. She didn’t dislike a good margarita, but if she had her pick of drinks, it wouldn’t be the one she’d choose.

“Are you okay?” Aspen asked when she returned to Kendra’s side after saying hello to Mark and a few other people.

Kendra wasn’t sure where she fit in, so she’d leaned over the banister that separated the patio of the restaurant from the beach in front of it. She’d been staring out at the ocean and the people in the sand for the past ten minutes.

“I’m okay. Why?”

“I brought you this.”

Kendra looked over and saw her holding a glass of red wine.

“You like red, right? Merlot okay? I’m sure it’s not great, but, hopefully, it’s tolerable.”

“You got me wine?”

“You’ve taken a few sips from that, I think, but I’m assuming you’re not a fan.”

“I like margaritas enough. I think this one was sitting out in the sun for a while, though, so the ice watered it down, and–”

“You can just not like a drink, Kendra. It’s okay. Why didn’t you get something else? Not a fan of beer?”

“I like beer, but it’s not my favorite.”

“What is?”

“Red wine, actually. Merlot.”

“No way,” Aspen said with a little laugh.

“Yes. You?”

“My drink?” Aspen asked and handed Kendra hers. “I cheat with white wine usually. Not a huge fan of red. I like my drinks cold, I guess.”

“And you’re cheating with a margarita tonight?”

“Yeah. But it’s cold.” She winked at Kendra.

Kendra took a sip of her wine, hoping the heat from the sun and the wine itself would help hide her blush.

“So, where’s DJ?” she asked.

“With Chase.” Aspen nodded.

Kendra turned to see Chase, the blondest man she’d ever seen, whose hair could be just called white, leaning back against the wall with a bottle of Corona in his hand, and DJ, along with three other people, standing nearby, listening to him talk about something Kendra couldn’t hear, like he was holding court.

“She has interesting taste in men, huh?” Kendra asked.

“I talked to her after I told Mark happy birthday and checked in. She does like him but knows he’s not interested in another relationship right now.”

“So, what does that mean?”

“I don’t know. Maybe they’ll just hook up. Maybe she won’t want anything. But it’s her choice, right?”

“It is, yeah.”

“I just don’t want her to get hurt,” Aspen added. “Not just because of volleyball. DJ’s a good person. She doesn’t deserve any of Chase’s bullshit.”

“If he does something, I can just say something bad about him on camera the next time I have to interview him,” Kendra suggested. “Maybe something about size. I’ll have to think about the best way to word it to make it clear that I’m talking about his tiny penis without saying the actual word on air.”

Aspen laughed hard and said, “No, you wouldn’t.”

“Probably not. I don’t want to lose my job. It would be funny, though.”

“Hilarious.”

“You don’t have another drink?” Kendra asked.

“No. One’s my limit when I’m in season. Besides, I’m driving you home, so I’m not about to risk doing anything stupid with you in my passenger seat.”

Kendra blushed again and looked out at the water.

“Nice night, huh?” Aspen asked.

“Very nice night,” she agreed. “So, you’ve got another tourney coming up.”

“I always have another tourney coming up.” Aspen leaned over the banister.

“This one is a big one, though.”

“I guess. They all sort of blend in together after a while unless they’re in a different format or for qualifying points or something.”

“I’m sorry; are you bored with your professional sports career there, Aspen Ashley? Tired of winning match after match?” Kendra teased and bumped into Aspen’s shoulder as she leaned over the banister next to her, pressing into Aspen’s side just a little.

Aspen chuckled and replied, “Not what I said.”

“You still love it, don’t you?”

“I do. I’ll miss it when I can’t play anymore. I know you understand what I mean.”

“I do, yeah,” she confirmed and took another drink of her wine. “Thank you for this, by the way. I don’t think I said that before.”

“You’re welcome. Are you hungry? They’re walking around taking dinner orders.”

“I’m starving, actually.”

“I’ll find the waiter, and we can sit down. The long table is packed. Maybe one of the smaller ones?”

“Sure.”

They ended up sitting at a six-seater table with Margo, Whitney, DJ, and Chase, who fawned all over DJ, whispering into her ear and offering to pour her more from the pitcher on the table when DJ’s glass was still half full. Kendra didn’t like the guy now that she’d seen a different side of him than she usually saw on the beach.

“So, Chase? I heard you and your girlfriend broke up,” Kendra spoke before taking a sip from her second glass of wine.

“Uh… Yeah,” he said. “Why?”

“I was just thinking about how sometimes, you’re in a relationship and, you know, you’re an adult, so the two of you do things, but then, you meet someone else and want to do those things with that person, but maybe you haven’t, you know, checked that everything’s okay. You know what I mean, right?”

“No. What?” he asked, looking utterly confused.

“Nothing,” Kendra said, meeting DJ’s eyes.

DJ’s eyes then moved from Kendra to Aspen and gave her an incredulous look.

“What? I didn’t do it. She did.” Aspen pointed at her, and Kendra chuckled.

“What’s going on?” Chase asked.

“Nothing,” Aspen repeated Kendra’s earlier words. “Kendra was just pointing out that you haven’t been single all that long and that there are steps you should probably take before you pursue something with another person. Right, DJ?’

“What are they talking about?” Chase asked DJ now.

“How is he not getting this?” Kendra rolled her eyes and finished her second glass of wine.

“Don’t worry about it,” DJ replied and leaned a little away from Chase. “Aspen is being a little bitchy tonight, but that’s probably because she hasn’t partaken in some of those things that Kendra was mentioning in a while.”

“Hey!” Aspen chuckled. “Shots fired, DJ.”

“You started it.”

“Technically, I started it.” Kendra raised her hand.

“You’re Aspen’s date, so I’m blaming her.”

“DJ!”

Kendra looked at Aspen, whose eyes were wide, and she wasn’t happy with DJ. Kendra didn’t know what that meant because she was a little tipsy and not fully functioning enough to keep up with this rapid back-and-forth.

“Shit. No?” DJ asked.

“No,” Aspen said forcefully.

“Sorry. I just thought you–” DJ cut herself off. “Never mind, then.”

“This will be over soon. Want to get out of here? My place is close,” Chase said to DJ.

“Nah, I’m good.” DJ patted his shoulder.

“Cool,” he replied. Then, it seemed to dawn on him. “Wait. What?”

“I’m not going home with you, Chase,” DJ stated.

“Oh. Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure. I’m going to the bathroom. Aspen?”

“Yes?”

“Bathroom?”

“No, I’m good.”

“Aspen!”

“Ugh. Fine.” Aspen looked at Kendra, and her arm went over the back of Kendra’s chair. “I’ll be right back. You okay?”

“I’m okay,” she replied.

Aspen walked off with DJ, leaving Kendra sitting across from Chase.

“Where do I recognize you from?” he asked before he took a drink.

“I’m Kendra Bowie, Chase. I’ve literally interviewed you on the sidelines at least a dozen times.”

“Oh, right. You’re the interviewer girl.”

“Woman,” she corrected.

“Yeah, that.”

Chase was obviously drunk and not picking things up very quickly, but she was the one to talk: she’d had half a margarita and two glasses of wine and didn’t normally drink that much in two days, let alone one.

“Hey, do you want to get out of here?” he asked after several minutes of awkward silence between them.

“Sorry?”

“My place is just down the beach. I’ve got a jacuzzi, and you can see the beach from my bedroom.”

“No,” she said plainly.

“What’s going on here?” Aspen asked when she returned to the table.

“You’re into girls, right?” he asked Aspen.

“Yes. Why, Chase?”

“Just wondering. I’m going to go mingle or something.”

“He means that he’s going to go try to find a woman who’ll agree to go home with him because DJ and I both turned him down,” Kendra stated the obvious.

Aspen sat down next to her and said, “He asked you to go home with him?”

“Yes. I said no, obviously.”

“Oh, I’ll kill him.” Aspen stood up quickly.

“He asked you to go home with him?” DJ asked, appearing back at the table.

She looked disappointed, and Kendra felt bad about blurting that out without considering DJ’s feelings.

“He’s an idiot, isn’t he?” DJ added as she sat back down across from Aspen and Kendra.

Well, Aspen was still standing and scanning the room for wherever Chase had gone. Kendra took her hand and pulled down on it to get her to sit, which she did.

“I’m not sure that’s fair. He’s drunk,” Kendra suggested.

“No, he’s an idiot,” Aspen said. “And if you want to hook up with him, go for it, DJ. But you know he’s just going to ask another woman tomorrow night and probably the night after that, too.”

“I don’t know what I was thinking.” DJ sighed.

“That he’s hot.”

“You think he’s hot?” Aspen asked her.

Kendra smiled at her then and said, “No, but I can see how some women might. He’s not exactly my type there, Aspen. You know, he does have a jacuzzi and an ocean view, so…”

“Very funny,” Aspen said with a little laugh. “You were kidding, right?” she asked more seriously.

“Yes.” Kendra laughed loudly, letting out a little snort.

She quickly tried to cover her face with her hands, but Aspen pulled down on them.

“That was really cute.” She chuckled. “Do it again.”

“No way,” Kendra told her, blushing. “Can we maybe go now? I’ve had too much to drink, and I’m now snorting.”

“No, I want you to snort more.”

“Aspen!” She laughed and playfully slapped Aspen’s shoulder.

“Fine. Fine.” Aspen looked over at DJ. “Are you okay to get home?”

“I’ve had one drink. I haven’t been finishing what he kept pouring for me, so I’m fine.”

“You know I love you, right? I just want you to be happy, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I know. And I’ll thank you later. I just… I actually liked him. Now, I realize he’s an asshole, who I’m not even sure has two brain cells to rub together, and I’m questioning how I didn’t see that before. So, I just need a minute. I’ll be good by practice tomorrow, though.”

“You were blinded by the blond.” Kendra laughed at her own joke and snorted again.

“Oh, my God. I need to get you drunk again.” Aspen laughed. “Come on. Let’s get you home.” She stood up and held out her hand for Kendra to take, which she did.

“Have a good night, DJ,” Kendra said. “Sorry about… him.” She pointed across the room toward Chase, who was leaning into another woman.

“Me too,” DJ said. “Have a good night, Aspen.”

“Don’t say it like that,” Aspen replied after DJ’s little sing-song words.

“Why not?”

“DJ…”

“Fine.” DJ laughed. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow,” Aspen replied, and they walked outside toward the parking lot.

Kendra didn’t even notice that Aspen had let go of her hand until Aspen’s hand was on her lower back, guiding her into the passenger seat of the car. She rested her head back against the seat and unbuttoned two buttons on her shirt, feeling warm from the night and the alcohol.

“Okay. No more wine for you tonight, huh?” Aspen said and started the car.

“Nope. I’m going to bed when I get home. Straight to bed.” She pointed toward the windshield as if that was where her bed would be.

Aspen laughed and said, “You’re kind of a lightweight, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” she confirmed. “Was DJ mad at you? Or me, I guess.”

“She wasn’t thrilled at first, but I told her that you and I were just worried, and she understood. Plus, I think Chase did enough on his own to make his intentions clear, so that helped.” Aspen pulled out of the parking spot.

“Can you turn the air on in here? It’s hot.”

“Sure,” Aspen replied. “Ugh…”

“What?” Kendra asked.

“Nothing,” Aspen said quickly.

Kendra looked down, following Aspen’s eyes, and she realized that Aspen had probably noticed that she’d undone her buttons.

“Did I tell you that you looked great tonight?” Aspen asked before she pulled the car out onto the street.

Kendra blushed again.