Chapter 12 #2
Her eyes stayed on Vivienne throughout the match.
So strong, so smooth … muscles rippling under glowing skin.
Vivienne ran a ball down like a gazelle and brought it back into the court, the easiest thing in the world.
She allowed Lee to give her an exuberant butt smack before she crushed a gorgeous jump serve.
The usual irritation flared up Jess’s throat when she thought about Vivienne, but …
this time it was a bit different. Because “irritation” was the wrong word. It was … jealousy.
Wait … I’m … jealous of Vivienne?
Jess had been a quiet kid, labeled “Teacher’s Pet” for most of her school career, with distant parents who didn’t seem to mind that she spent more time with private tutors and volleyball coaches than with them.
Always gawky, she was tall enough that she had made every volleyball team she’d tried out for, but her awkward frame hadn’t always cooperated as she grew.
She saw the eye rolls from the other girls when she didn’t get to a ball fast enough, or touched the net on an unbalanced block jump.
Girls she had never really fit in with. Girls she had always been jealous of—smaller, faster, more graceful …
and conventionally pretty … like Vivienne.
An idea smacked Jess in the face as she watched Vivienne now.
It wasn’t just that Vivienne reminded her of Phoenix, the first person to break her heart.
… Was she lumping Vivienne in with the girls she hadn’t really fit in with?
Was she just stewing in jealousy over how perfect Vivienne was, both on and off the court?
Was she being unfair to Vivienne this whole time?
Vivienne scored another point with a cleverly placed roll shot to win the first set.
Maybe she was being unfair.
Jess sat with that idea as the second set began. Once it was clear that Vivienne and Lee were going to win that one too, Jess headed for the locker room to get ready.
When she and Tania came out and headed for their bench, Vivienne didn’t see her, just breezed right by and went to sign autographs for the kids who were hanging around.
“Vivienne, I love you!” one teenage girl cried, eyes practically heart-shaped. “Will you sign my ball?”
“Vivienne, you are so amazing!” her friend squealed. “We love you so much!”
Jess shook her head. Yes, maybe it was unfair of her to lump Vivienne in with the mean girls she’d encountered on every team she’d played on. And maybe she was just choking on jealousy. But … Vivienne lived in a different world. It was important to remember that.
Jess had a tight schedule on Saturday. She had an early afternoon game and an eight-hour shift right after. In fact, she was glad they had lost in two, or else she would have been late for work.
It was a busy day for the SoCal VL—lots of matches that day on all three courts, and the locker room was humming with the athletes milling around and chatting. Jess was just pulling on her shorts when her phone rang. It was Nelson.
“Hello?” Jess said, heart jumping, imagining bad news about Fleming.
“Hey, hon. Don’t worry, Fleming is fine, but I got called into work.
Big emergency, server meltdown, screaming CEOs, I won’t bother you with the details.
I had to leave Fleming in your apartment and head to the office.
I took him for a quick walk and put out some food but I’ll probably be gone for hours, maybe even the night. ”
“Okay, no worries. I’ll figure it out. Good luck with the servers!” Jess hung up and put her hands on her hips. “Shit.”
“What?” Tania asked, toweling her hair.
“Nelson had to leave for the office and I have an eight-hour shift starting in, like, twelve minutes. Is there any chance you’d be able to swing by and let Fleming out tonight?”
“Oh, sorry, wish I could help. George and I are heading straight to his niece’s ballet recital, then to a big family dinner.”
Argh. Who else could she ask? Chrissy, maybe.
“I’ll do it.” It was Vivienne, with wet hair, emerging from the crowd in a sundress.
“Um. Thanks, but that’s…”
“That’s what? I don’t mind helping.”
“It’s too much to ask.”
Vivienne rolled her eyes. “You didn’t ask, I volunteered. I can go check on your dog. It’s not a big deal. I don’t have any plans today.”
“Okay. Um. Thank you.” Jess dug in her bag for her key. “Apartment 202. Can you head over around dinnertime and take him for a walk and give him a scoop of kibble? And, actually, you know what? You can grab your banana bread off the counter.”
Vivienne’s mouth twitched right as Lee walked by and clapped Jess on the shoulder.
“Jess!” Lee said. “Your banana bread is delicious. Thanks so much.”
“Oh, er, you’re welcome,” Jess said to Lee’s back as she continued on her way by, then she added a few more instructions as Vivienne nodded.
“Don’t worry, I’ll figure it out.”
“Okay. Thanks. Thanks so much.”
Jess hurried down the boardwalk, but her feet almost lurched to a halt when a thought occurred to her. Fuck. Did I leave underwear on the floor?
At just after seven a text arrived from Vivienne.
A selfie of her and Fleming with the sunset behind them.
Fleming’s tongue was out in a doggy grin and Vivienne’s hair was blowing over her sunglasses.
She was smiling, too. It was a cute fucking picture.
Jess sent a smiley face back. Thank you so much! I owe you huge.
No problem. I adore Fleming. Just let me know if you ever need me again.
I will.
How can I get your key back to you? Want me to swing by your work?
Oh God, no. No, no, no. The last thing she needed was Vivienne seeing her in her orange-and-neon-green travesty of a uniform up close. No, you don’t need to go out of your way. I can come by your place after, although it’ll be pretty late.
Tell you what … I’ll be at Maggie’s. Why don’t you stop by when you get off?
After a match and an eight-hour shift, her bed would be calling her hard, but Maggie’s seemed like the easiest of the non-uniformed options. Sure. I’ll be there just after eleven.
When Jess arrived at Maggie’s, Vivienne was at their usual table, eyes lit up as she told some tale to a rapt crowd. They burst out laughing as Jess approached. She hesitated, feeling awkward as she intruded.
But Vivienne saw her. “Oh, hey!” She fished the key out of her purse and handed it over. “Fleming is such a darling. And your place is nice.”
“Oh, thanks.” And hopefully underwear-free. “It’s small but I like it.”
“Are you going to stay for a drink?” Vivienne asked.
“Nah. Long day. But thanks again.”
“Like I said, just let me know if you ever need me. And don’t forget—lunch with Veronica next Sunday.”
Jess nodded and left Vivienne to her audience.
When she got home, the banana bread was gone, and she could swear there was a whiff of vanilla in her apartment.
And, yup. A thong lying right in the middle of the floor.
Jess stared into the depths of her locker, dismayed and dripping wet. Like an idiot, she had forgotten to pack clothes to change into after her match.
“You almost ready to go?” Vivienne appeared next to her, looking like a flower fresh from the meadow in a short white sundress covered in daisies, hair floating over her bare shoulders. “Veronica hates waiting.”
“I forgot to bring something nicer to wear.” Jess had spent the morning in a tizzy of excitement over finally meeting Veronica Doyle and baking banana bread—she was five weeks into paying off their bet, had lost track of how many loaves she had given Vivienne, and was starting to wonder if she could buy bananas wholesale.
And in the kerfuffle, had forgotten to bring anything to change into aside from the ratty tank and shorts she wore to the pavilion.
“All I have is this.” She held up the offending pieces of clothing.
“Oh.” Vivienne chewed her bottom lip, teeth white against the rosy pink.
“Hmm.” She put her hands on her hips and studied Jess, then a lightbulb went off.
“Actually, you know what? Hang on…” Vivienne opened her locker and started digging.
“Yes! I have an extra dress.” She held up a bit of gray fabric. “It’s not super fancy, but it’ll do.”
Jess raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Dress? Where’s the bottom half?” That scrap of fabric wouldn’t even cover her belly button.
Vivienne’s mouth curled. “It’s long on me. It’ll be fine.” She tossed it at Jess. “At least try it on. Come on, you don’t want to keep Veronica Doyle waiting, do you?”
Aunt Veronica—around fifty, with the same thick, shining black hair, pert nose, and dense lashes as Vivienne—was the most effortlessly glamorous person Jess had ever met.
In a tailored red suit-dress, with a designer handbag and sunglasses perched atop her head, she rested her hip against a giant, shiny black SUV in the parking lot, cell phone pressed to her ear.
“Immediately no,” she was saying as they approached.
“Immediately no.” She saw them and fluttered her fingers.
“I have to go, Lina. But please express my extreme and emphatic resistance to his suggestion. I could never … Mm-hmm … Correct. Okay, talk later.” She hung up and stuffed her phone in her purse.
“Vivienne, love! Aren’t you just as gorgeous as ever?
And this must be Jess, the banana bread girl. ”
Jess swallowed hard with a dry mouth and tugged at the hem of Vivienne’s dress that was scandalously short on her, even though Vivienne insisted it was fine, and ignored the fact that her favorite author had just called her “the banana bread girl.” “It’s so nice to meet you, Mrs. Doyle.
I’m a huge fan. I loved Queen in Shining Armor.
All your books, really. Especially Constellation Prize. You’re brilliant.”
Veronica glanced at Vivienne with a quick look. Cheeks pink, Vivienne looked away. Jess hoped she wasn’t embarrassing her too much by fangirling.
“Oh, you are too kind. And please, call me Veronica.” Veronica’s phone rang from the depths of her purse. She ignored it. “Shall we go?” She opened the back door and waved them in. “It’s on me.”
“I can’t believe I met Veronica Doyle.” Jess and Vivienne waved to Veronica’s SUV as it pulled out of the pavilion parking lot. “She is so fucking cool.” Jess had even made her laugh—laugh!—at the story behind Jess and Vivienne’s bet.
Vivienne nodded. “Yeah, she is.” She hadn’t said much at lunch, letting Jess fangirl out to Veronica’s effervescent storytelling.
“Thank you so much for arranging that. Best bet I ever made.”
Vivienne shrugged a perfectly tanned shoulder. “It was my pleasure.”
Jess struggled to explain how much that lunch had meant to her without spewing her particular brand of awkward all over Vivienne. “I feel like I owe you so much more than banana bread.”
“I’ve actually been meaning to talk to you about that.…” Vivienne chewed her lip for a moment. “I don’t think you owe me any more banana bread.”
A stab of worry that she had done something wrong hit Jess’s gut. “What do you mean?”
“It’s … I think you’ve more than upheld your end of the bet.
You got to meet Veronica, and my freezer is full.
Don’t get me wrong,” Vivienne added hurriedly when Jess’s dismay must have shown on her face.
“I love it. But you’ve made me so many loaves.
I’m sort of all stocked up for now and … you can stop.”
So stupid, Jess scolded herself. Of course it was too much. “Oh. Okay. Yeah, I guess you won … a lot.”
Vivienne stepped closer and put her hand on Jess’s forearm for a second. “I really love it, though.”
“Okay, well…” Jess’s gaze rested on the spot Vivienne had touched. “If you ever decide you want some more…”
Vivienne gave her a small smile. “I know where to find you.”
It grew quiet while they stared at each other until Jess bobbed her head. “I guess I’ll see you later. Thanks again for lunch.”
“Yup, see you later.”
Jess gave Vivienne a half wave, and turned to begin her walk home.
Her instinct was to be embarrassed about how she had misread the banana bread situation, but Vivienne had been nice enough to smooth it over by assuring her she loved it.
And, thanks to Vivienne, she’d just spent two hours living the glamorous lunching life with a famous author. Maybe Vivienne wasn’t so bad after all.
Then the realization hit her that she was still wearing Vivienne’s dress. “Oh—” She whirled around on the sidewalk. Vivienne was standing exactly where she had been, staring after Jess. Vivienne startled, eyes wide.
“Er…” Jess pointed at herself. “Your dress … I can go change.…”
Vivienne shook her head, cheeks pink and gaze bouncing down to Jess’s legs and back. “You know what? Keep it. It looks much better on you.”
“Okay, um, thanks. If you’re sure…”
Vivienne nodded. “Very sure.”
Jess waved again and turned to keep walking, wondering if Vivienne’s eyes were on her still … and wondering why she liked that idea so much.