Chapter 12
Float: A serve hit hard and flat, with no spin. Deceptively difficult to pass when it starts drifting.
Vivienne peeled herself off of Jess in a sinuous wave, eyes tracking Skye’s retreat. The air against her torso where Vivienne’s body had been was sharp and cold. Vivienne’s hands lingered on Jess’s hips for an extra second, gaze flicking back to Jess. “Hope that was okay?”
The noise of the bar was muted around them.
Everything in Jess’s brain was still vanilla and soft curves. “Uh, yeah, n—no, that was very … helpful.”
Vivienne ran her hands over her own hips, straightening her dress. “In my experience, showing someone you’ve moved on is the best revenge.”
“Yeah, I … Thanks.” Jess licked her drying lips.
Vivienne waved her hand. “It was no problem. Kind of fun, actually.”
Jess nodded, grateful the dim bar lighting disguised her flaming cheeks. She searched for something else to say and came up painfully short.
Right before the pause got awkward, Lee appeared with a tray of shots. “What’s going on over here?” she asked, eyebrow raised.
Vivienne took a glass. “Just putting a Horny Beach in her place.”
Lee lifted a shot, too. “Cheers to that.”
“You having one?” Vivienne asked Jess.
Jess’s gaze bounced around—the glimmering butterscotch liquid, Vivienne’s expectant look, Lee’s amused eyebrow … Vivienne’s parted lips … “Nah.” Jess shook her head. “Big game tomorrow.”
“Fair enough. You’re gonna fucking crush her, by the way.” Vivienne toasted her.
Lee moved on with the tray and Chrissy appeared to exclaim over Vivienne’s singing. Jess sipped her beer and forgot all about Skye.
“This is the best ponytail I have ever done,” Jess muttered to her reflection, turning her head from side to side. Not a bump to be seen.
Tania’s reflection appeared in the mirror. “Look at you, all ready to go.”
Jess gave her hair one final pat. “I got here early.” Her eyes had snapped open well before her alarm that morning, and she just felt … ready. She turned to face her partner. “How are you?”
“Fine. You?”
“Great.”
Tania raised an eyebrow.
“I mean it,” Jess insisted. “I’m great.”
“You’re not … nervous about seeing Skye?”
“Nope.” Jess collected her bag from the bench and headed out the locker-room door whistling.
Tania scurried after her. “Nope?”
“Saw her last night, actually.”
“You did? At Maggie’s?”
“Yup.”
“Did you…? Jess!” Tania halted.
Jess paused and turned around. “What?”
“Would you stop for a second and tell me what happened! Did you talk to her?”
“Very briefly. Vivienne talked to her more, actually.”
“Vivienne?”
Jess patted Tania’s arm. “You don’t need to worry about it. I’m good.” She turned on her heel and continued her whistling all the way to their bench.
Tania followed her, sputtering.
Jess and Tania hit the court the instant their warm-up time began, but Skye’s side was still empty.
They were well into the hitting warm-up before Jess even noticed Skye had arrived.
A brief twinge fluttered in her stomach, then she heard Vivienne’s voice.
Can we help you? Jess’s lips twitched in a small smile.
Tania continued to flash her concerned glances, particularly as Jess and Skye shook hands before the match.
“Good luck,” Jess said, meeting Skye’s gaze straight on.
“Good luck,” Skye replied. She looked away first.
Jess turned and slapped Tania’s hands. “Let’s fucking go.”
Skye had first serve. She avoided eye contact as she readied herself at the back line.
Jess smiled.
Skye popped in an easy float that drifted right toward Jess. She gave Tania a great pass, then loaded up to crank a hit to the far deep corner. Skye dove for it but couldn’t get there.
Point. Jess’s smile grew. She scored two more points off her serve, then they sided out right away after Skye’s partner missed her serve. They were up 8–2 when Skye called a time-out.
“Good start,” Tania said before taking a drink.
“Mm-hmm,” Jess agreed, her gaze wandering over the crowd. Lots of Tania’s family were there, as usual, then Vivienne caught her eye. She held up heart hands and blew a kiss. Jess tried to control her grin before she took another gulp of water.
“What?”
“Nothing. Let’s fucking crush them.”
And they did. They won the first set 21–11, and the second 21–8.
Every cell in her body crackled with fire. She hadn’t played a match that easy since, well, ever.
She shook hands with Skye feeling like she was Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman.
“Good game, Jess,” Skye said with a small smile.
Big mistake. Jess smiled back. “Good game.”
Once they were back in the locker room, Tania blinked at her. “Jesus. I have to be honest, I thought you’d be really rattled playing against Skye, but that was fucking lights-out volleyball.”
Jess replied with two words she never thought she’d say together. “Vivienne helped.”
“Vivienne?… Are you guys friends now?”
“No,” Jess said quickly. “Not really.”
“Not really? Sounds like a thaw to me.”
Jess shrugged as she peeled off her uniform. “I guess she’s not so bad. When she wants to be. I still think she has a huge head.”
“Well, whatever Vivienne did … hopefully you can keep it rolling this weekend.”
Jess hoped so, too.
They won Saturday too, in three sets. They lost Sunday, but it was another close one, a long, tight match.
When she got home that night, Jess dropped a shell into her “loss” jar and sank into her tub, happy and tired.
In a broader sense, going 2–1 on the weekend wasn’t anything to write home about, but she felt better about volleyball than she had in a long time.
Who knew getting brutally brushed off was the key to kick-starting her game?
Well, that, and saving some major face, thanks to Vivienne.
Speaking of Vivienne, the bananas on the counter looked ready for baking.
“Open up. Take it!” Jess carefully placed an envelope in Fleming’s mouth. “Good boy. Stay.” She straightened Fleming’s bow tie, knocked on Nelson’s door, and scurried back to her apartment.
His door opened. There was a pause, then, “Oh, hello Mr. Fleming, sir. Fly bow tie, my man. What do you have there?” Another pause, then the sound of an envelope tearing.
Nelson cleared his throat. “Fleming Buttercup Brandybuck of House McLaughlin, First of His Name, King of Apartment 202, the Growler, Lover of Stuffies, Cutest of Wieners, requests the honor of your presence.…” Nelson started to laugh and called toward Jess’s door.
“Yes, I can come for dinner tomorrow. You’re too fucking adorable. ”
Jess popped her head out of her door. Nelson was holding Fleming and scratching under his chin.
“Does five work?” she asked.
“Dress code?”
“Fabulous.”
“Girl.” Nelson tossed an imaginary boa around his neck. “On it.”
The next day, there was a sharp rap on Jess’s door at five o’clock on the nose.
Nelson was decked out in shiny black thigh-high boots that disappeared under flowy black shorts and a loose white tank with a black double-breasted blazer. Purple eyeshadow and a top hat completed the look.
Jess kissed his cheek. “Even more fabulous than I could possibly have imagined.”
Nelson whistled at Jess. “And what are you wearing? Give me a turn.”
“Oh, this old thing?” Jess wore the one fancy dress she had, a short red sequined number. She bought it on clearance a while back, the last one in the store, and it happened to be in her size.
“Goddamn, your legs go on for about a mile and a half. You need to wear this more often.”
“I’ve actually never worn this anywhere.”
Nelson held up his hand. “You what?”
“The clerk talked me into buying it, but then every time I think about wearing it, I chicken out. It’s too fancy.”
Nelson shook his head. “Wear it to fucking McDonald’s, look at you.”
Jess flushed and accepted the bottle of sparkling wine and bouquet of daisies he carried. “I hope you’re hungry. I made way too much.”
Nelson scooped up Fleming, who was dancing around his feet demanding attention. “I am, in fact, famished. Let me at it.”
Jess had spent most of her day off prepping dinner—honey Dijon chicken, her own homemade sauce, and a giant cucumber-avocado salad with crispy rice—plus chocolate–peanut butter squares for dessert. Simple, but delicious.
Once they had tucked in, Jess asked how things were going with Nelson’s latest “gentleman caller.”
“Not such a gentleman in bed last night, let me tell you.”
Jess laughed. “Good for you.”
Nelson took a pointed sip of his wine. “But what about you, miss?”
Jess shrugged and cut a piece of chicken. “Nothing to report, as usual.”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing since Skye.… I played her on Friday, though, and beat her.” Jess told him the whole story about running into Skye at the bar the night before the game and Vivienne saving her from a public and humiliating panic attack.
Nelson leaned back in his chair and raised an eyebrow. “I have to say … Vivienne’s name sure comes up a lot.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
“Please, she’s all you talk about.”
“I … What! No, I don’t, I—”
Nelson snickered. “I might be just pushing your button a bit.” He pointed his fork at her. “And you do have a Vivienne button.”
Jess glowered. Thank God he didn’t know about the banana bread. “I take back the dinner invite.”
“Hmm.” Nelson stuffed another forkful of salad into his mouth. “I’ll say it again … You do you … but Vivienne … There might be a reason her name keeps coming up.”
Jess served him another scoop of salad, ignoring the heat in her face, and changed the subject.
Like the good friend he was, Nelson let her.
They had the late game on Wednesday. Jess worked an early shift, then went home to shower and eat before heading back to the pavilion to watch the match before hers.
Vivienne and Lee were playing Chrissy and Shay.
Jess sat low down in the stands, near the entrance, so she could slip out when it was time for her to get ready.