CHAPTER 25

“Do you want me to get my own room instead?” DJ asked.

“Huh?” Aspen asked back.

“You’ve been staring at Kendra while she interviews Chase and Mark for the past, like, five minutes. We’re rooming together, and I’m not a fan of the idea of walking in on you two all over each other later. Maybe I should get my own room for this one.”

“What? I’m not staring.”

“Yes, you are. So, should I? Honestly, it’s not a big deal.”

“We’re not there yet,” Aspen told her partner as they sat on the bench, preparing for the second set of their opening match back from Aspen’s injury.

They’d won the first set easily, using most of what Kendra had suggested they do, and it had worked so well, they’d won by nine points, which was a large margin when the score only went to twenty-one and all of these teams were made up of solid pros.

“Not there? You haven’t…”

“We haven’t even kissed yet,” Aspen shared.

“What? Why not? Didn’t you basically spend the entire week together?”

“Not the entire week. I was with you for a lot of it, in case you forgot.”

“She was there, too, so I’m counting that. She was at four of our practices, Aspen. And you helped her paint, like, half of her house, from what she told me.” DJ wiped her face with a towel. “You didn’t kiss the girl and have one of those paint fights or something before you roll around on the floor, and clothes come off?”

“When was the last time that happened to you, exactly?” Aspen laughed.

“Never. I’m living vicariously.” DJ shrugged a shoulder. “What are the odds that I’ll meet some guy who’s willing to do that?”

“I bet Chase would.”

“Okay. We’re done making fun of me about Chase.” DJ stood up. “Let’s get back out there because the sooner we win this, the sooner I can get my own room so you and Kendra can finally just get it on.”

“Hey!” Aspen followed her back out on the court, laughing a little. “We’re not going to finally get it on tonight. You’re staying in our room.”

“Are you scared, Aspen?” DJ teased her right there on center court. “You’ve done this before, so I’m pretty sure you know how it works.”

“I hate you,” she joked. “And it’s not about that. I’m working this weekend, and so is she.”

“You were working when you hooked up with that woman while Alex was right across the hall.”

“That’s different,” Aspen replied as she heard the ref whistle for the other team to join them so that the playing could resume.

“Why?”

“That was always going to be just me hooking up with her. When I’m finally, as you put it, taking that step with Kendra, it’s not a hookup. I want us to go out first, you know. It’s not just about sex for me.”

“Why haven’t you asked her out yet? We’ve talked about this.” DJ pointed at her before moving over to her own side of the court.

“I’m waiting for the right moment. I almost kissed her the other day, but I didn’t.”

“What? Why not?”

“Because I want us to go out first. A real first date. Old-school. Why is that so hard to understand? Can we please just play now?”

“Fine. Fine.”

Aspen rolled her eyes and waited for the serve that she knew would come her way. It did, and she passed it up to DJ, who set her low, and Aspen went for the kill, earning them the first point of the set. She turned to see that Kendra’s interview with Chase and Mark, who would play after them, was over, so Kendra was watching the match now. Aspen almost waved at her like a schoolgirl seeing her crush at recess, but she managed to keep her hand at her side. DJ went back to serve, and Aspen regained her focus. Some seconds later, DJ blocked the ball that returned to them after the serve, but the tip went into the backcourt. Aspen dug it out of the sand, and DJ hit it over in two. The other team managed to keep the rally going, but after a few more rounds going back and forth, Aspen put it away for point number two.

She turned again and saw Kendra applauding as she walked back to the service line. She took a deep breath, rolled the ball in her hands, and waited for the whistle. Then, she hit a flat floater and ran to her position. Her ankle had felt fine in every practice and in their warm-ups that morning before the match, but she’d still had the trainer wrap it up for her to be safe and would ice it after the match because she wasn’t about to reinjure it. She’d been lucky throughout her career to heal fast and not to have any major injury that had taken her out for too long, and she hoped that continued until she was ready to retire, whenever that would be.

Five points later, they were up by seven now, with the other team hardly able to keep up today. Kendra had been incredibly accurate in her prediction about what would happen in the second set. Aspen served once more and hurried to her spot. DJ was blocking the line, so she would guard the angle. When the ball went through DJ’s hands on the block, she hurried up to it and flattened her body in the sand to dig it out. DJ set her up, and Aspen jumped. She hit a pokey over the net, which gave her time to get back into her position. Becky got to it and passed it up to Steph, who set Becky up, but DJ was there and blocked the ball. When Becky tried to dig it out, the pass went into the net, and Steph wasn’t fast enough to get to it before it hit the sand on their side of the court.

“Want to try out that serve thing Kendra suggested? Not like we’re going to lose the set if we lose this point,” DJ said when they high-fived in the middle of the court.

“Sure,” Aspen agreed.

During one of their practices that week, Kendra had suggested that Aspen work on her hard jump serve because she’d gotten a lot stronger and had improved at hitting her spots, too. Kendra had told her to spin the ball a different way and that if Aspen timed her jump right, she’d be able to hit it with some wicked spin on it that would make it really hard to pass. The main problem with hard serves in beach volleyball was that the court was so small and the net so high, that really hard serves, especially in the wind, tended to go out of bounds or hit the net because the server was trying to keep it in and didn’t get enough height on it as a result. Since they wouldn’t be risking much now, she could try it and get some real game experience with it instead of just trying it in practice.

Aspen rolled the ball in her hands, finding the seam she wanted, and tossed it with a little spin high into the air, jumping up after it and smacking it as hard as her shoulder would allow. It landed on the arms of Becky, who shanked it badly into the stands. Aspen turned her head toward Kendra immediately. Kendra smiled wide and gave her a little laugh. Aspen gave her a thumbs-up and went back to the service line. She repeated that serve again, and this time, it landed in the sand just inbounds, with Becky and Steph staring at the ball as it did.

Finally, Aspen went back to a floater, and it sailed a little to the left and went out of bounds, but they were up eleven points to one, so she wasn’t worried. In the end, it would be a set that Steph and Becky would want to forget, no matter how it ended. They got the serve back one point later and got another quick three in rapid succession off DJ’s serve. They lost a few points down the road, but eventually, they won the set and the match by eight points.

“Good game,” Aspen said to the other team at the net.

“It was an awful game,” Becky replied. “Where were we today?”

“What the hell was that serve, Aspen?” Steph asked as she shook her hand. “I don’t think I’ve seen you do that before. You two usually just like to get your serves in and let your defense do the work.”

“Trying something new,” she replied.

“Not like you had to worry about it going out… We sucked today. Good game, though, guys,” Becky said.

They walked over toward the bench, where Aspen ran a towel over her entire body, which was still covered in sand, before she reached for her water bottle.

“Got a minute for a curious reporter?”

Aspen looked up and saw Kendra standing there with her cameraman and microphone, ready to go.

“DJ, do you want to take this one?”

“Yeah, right,” DJ said and sat down, running a towel over her face.

“You wound me, Aspen,” Kendra told her in mock-outrage.

“I was kidding,” she said and walked over to her.

“We’re ready,” Kendra spoke into her earpiece and stood facing the camera. “Thanks, Jean. I’m with Aspen Ashley, who just won her first match back from injury. How are you feeling about the win today, Aspen?”

“Pretty good. We played a great team today, but we were able to take advantage of a few things our strategic advisor mentioned to us earlier, and we came away with the win.”

Kendra shook her head and smiled ever so slightly.

“Do you mean your coach?”

“No, we don’t have a coach right now. Just someone who knows the game really, really well and keeps up with the tour, so she knows all the players and was able to help us out this week. We’re grateful for her advice and hope she has more for us later.”

“Well…” Kendra looked like she didn’t know where to go from there. “How is your ankle?”

“My ankle is great. All healed up. I’ve got tape on it now more to be aware of it than anything else, but I’ve had no problems with it today. And before you ask, because I know a lot of people have been worried about it, I do plan on icing it when I get back to my room later.”

“I wasn’t–” Kendra bit her lower lip. “So, Aspen, tell me, do you enjoy answering the same questions after every match?”

Aspen laughed and said, “No, not really. But it’s part of it. And I don’t mind your questions, Kendra. Can I ask you one, though?”

“Me? Sure. Go for it.”

“Do you like asking the same questions and getting the same answers?”

“I do, actually, Aspen, because sometimes, the person I’m interviewing surprises me and changes up their answer just enough.”

“Am I one of those people?”

“You definitely are today,” Kendra said. “You have another match tomorrow for a chance to go to the semifinals. Are you meeting up with that strategic advisor again before that match to get her thoughts?”

“I’d like to, if she’s available. I’ll have to check in with her later and see.”

“I’m sure she can find the time.”

“I hope so,” Aspen replied.

“And we’ll be right back with the men’s round of sixteen match, right here on center court,” Kendra said to the camera.

“We’re clear,” her cameraman told her a moment later.

“Aspen.” Kendra laughed and handed her cameraman the microphone before she pulled out her earpiece.

“Sorry… Am I in trouble now? Did I get you in any trouble?”

“No, it’s fine. I think it was a funny interview, honestly.”

“Can I see you later?” Aspen asked.

“For strategic advice?”

“Or just to hang out. I need to watch some film in my room with DJ today, but maybe when you’re done with work, we can all grab dinner?”

“All of us?”

“Did you want to just go with DJ? I can ask her, if you want.”

Kendra rolled her eyes and said, “Can we go? Maybe DJ can have dinner with Chase or something.”

“Oh, we’re not supposed to make fun of her for Chase anymore. She’s over him now.”

“Bummer. I was having fun with that.”

“Me too. I wonder who she’ll have a crush on next.”

“I’m going with Dan or Rocky.”

“Oh, she would like a guy named Rocky.” Aspen laughed.

“Dinner?”

“Yeah, let’s do it,” Aspen agreed. “Text me when you’re done with work?”

“I will. And, Aspen?”

“Yes?”

“That serve was killer.”

“It was, huh? I have to keep it down, but not in the net, and it’s not easy, so I can’t use it all the time.”

“Just enough to keep the other team on their toes.”

“That’s the plan,” Aspen replied.

“Great game, DJ,” Kendra said then, causing Aspen to turn and see that DJ had come up behind her.

“Hey, thanks. And thanks for the advice, too. It worked.”

“I’m glad.”

“Aspen, are you ready? I want to get out of here. Chase keeps looking at me.”

“You’re the one that got away, I guess,” Aspen said.

“Hey, I was going to make that joke, but you said we couldn’t make fun of her for Chase anymore.” Kendra laughed and reached for Aspen.

It looked to Aspen like she’d planned on pulling on Aspen’s shirt or something, but Aspen wasn’t wearing a shirt; she was still in her bikini. Kendra dropped her hand, and Aspen watched her flush a little.

“You told her not to make fun of me anymore?”

“Just where Chase is concerned. Hey, what do you think about Rocky?”

“What?” DJ asked. “Why?”

“Just curious.” She looked back at Kendra. “I’ll see you later.”

Kendra nodded. Then, Aspen reached out and tugged on Kendra’s shirt just a little, not enough to risk anything revealing the scar she knew Kendra wanted to hide.

“Oh, my God. You’re totally into her,” DJ said, teasing her as they walked toward the player tent.

“Duh. You knew that already.”

“No, I mean, you just looked at her like you want to marry her, not like you want to date her.”

“I did not,” Aspen argued. “I was flirting. We flirt. It’s our thing.”

“When will your thing become kissing each other already?”

“I don’t know. We’re going to dinner tonight.”

“A date? You asked her out?”

“Not exactly. Just a dinner. But maybe I’ll ask if it can be considered a date later.”

“You two are exhausting,” DJ stated.

Aspen turned around to see that Kendra was still looking at her. She waved at her how she’d wanted to do during the match, and Kendra waved back.

“Yeah, exhausting. I’m right,” DJ added.