Chapter 14 #2
Chrissy bought the first round of the tournament’s signature cocktail, a cosmo-ball-iton, and, since they were already there, to save time, Lee bought the next and carried the tray with them to a high-top table.
The drinks went down smoothly as Jess watched her crew banter and talk shit about the day’s matches.
Jess was into her second drink when a tall woman with short hair and a muscular frame—undoubtedly a volleyball player—ambled up and leaned on the table next to her. “Hey. I saw you playing today.” She had a Quebecois accent.
Jess’s eyebrows climbed as she resisted the urge to look around and see who else she might be talking to. “Me?”
“Yes, you. You played great.” The woman’s intense gray-blue eyes studied her over the rim of her beer bottle as she took a sip.
“Oh.” Jess admired the woman’s biceps. “Thanks.”
“I’m Justine.”
“Jess.”
“Where are you from, Jess?”
“Sunside, California. Between San Francisco and LA. You?”
“Ah, the SoCal VL, eh? Nice. I’m from Trois-Rivières, Quebec league.”
Jess nodded and sipped her cosmo-ball-iton. She nearly choked on it when Justine leaned closer and murmured in her ear, “You want to get out of here? My hotel is not far and I have my own room.”
The offer made her heart jump and cheeks flush …
and think about Skye. Jess blinked as she cleared her throat.
“Wow. Um.” She looked over at her crew. Lee was doing an impression of their ref from today, drooling over Vivienne, much to Vivienne’s amusement.
Chrissy, who might have done some pre-drinking in her hotel room, had her arms around Shay and Billi and was loudly declaring her love for them.
“I think I’m going to stay with my friends. But thanks.”
Justine shrugged and smiled, giving Jess a toast with her beer. “Your loss.”
Jess took another drink, pulse still thrumming, as Justine moved on through the crowd.
Chrissy tripped over. “And you!” she cried, throwing her arm around Jess’s shoulders. “I love you, Jess!”
“I love you too, Chrissy.”
Vivienne suddenly made eye contact with Jess and gave an affectionate eye roll at Chrissy’s drunken confessions.
Jess smiled back, pretty sure Justine was wrong. No, she didn’t think it was a loss to stay here.
Saturday morning came with a few regrets about the night before.
Tania had already gone down for breakfast when Jess cracked her eyes open.
She jumped in the shower, then hit the breakfast bar by the lobby to grab some oatmeal and coffee on the way out, which helped.
The shuttle ride to the beach was a quiet affair, since most of the athletes had had a late night at the social and were hiding behind their sunglasses, sipping coffee and downing ibuprofen.
Admittedly, the first match started slow for Jess.
It took her a few points to clear her head, giving the other team the advantage they needed.
Jess and Tania lost the first set, but they recovered and won the match in three.
Unfortunately, their next game followed right after.
It was hotter than the day before, the sand burning Jess’s feet as they slogged to the next court.
“You okay?” Tania asked when Jess sat down next to the court to crack open a Gatorade.
“Yeah, just tired.”
“I’ll bet.”
Their next opponent was easily the strongest team in their pool, besides them … maybe. On a good day.
Today was not a good day. They lost the match in three long, intense sets.
Fortunately, their record was good enough to finish second in the pool and make the top flight for playoffs the next day.
They went to watch Chrissy’s next match, and then Vivienne and Lee’s, who had, of course, won all of their games.
Once the pool play was wrapped up for the day, they all trooped back onto the shuttle.
“Do you guys want to grab some dinner?” Vivienne asked the group as she examined her nails, frowning at a chip. They were a pearl color now.
Jess agreed, along with Tania, Lee, and Chrissy.
“Where’s good?” Vivienne asked.
Jess realized the question was directed at her. “Um, the Orca Club isn’t far. They’ll probably have the PVL game on.”
“Sounds great.”
The Orca Club was packed and the PVL game was indeed on—Bianca Collazo dove for a ball across twenty huge television screens. And, somehow, even in July, the Canadians had found a hockey game to air on the other screens.
The host made a show of swiping a tablet as they waited by the entrance. “It’ll be about a thirty-minute wait, unless you can grab a seat at the bar.…” They craned their neck to look. “Actually, five spots just opened up if you want to wait for your table there.”
It was a tight fit for the five of them. Somehow Jess ended up on the end of the row next to Vivienne, their knees bumping together and a hint of vanilla in the air.
They ordered drinks—a Corona for Jess—and cheered for Bianca tearing around the court. Tania had actually played against her—Tania’s first year in the league was Bianca’s last before the pro league—and she never missed watching any of Bianca’s games.
Jess’s phone buzzed. A text from MARION’S ASSISTANT.
No, she didn’t.… She read the message. Your mother asked me to let you know that unfortunately they will not be able to attend—
Jess swiped the window closed and set her phone on the bar. She bit her lip, somehow both shocked and not at all that Marion had her assistant send that message.
As if she had read her mind, Vivienne suddenly leaned forward and studied Jess over their drinks. “So. Tell me more about your family. No brothers or sisters?”
Jess blinked and gripped her beer bottle. “Nope. It’s just me. And there’s not much to tell. My parents were … are … busy. I’m used to them not being around.” She took a long pull of her Corona.
“I’m sorry.” Vivienne said it quietly, words almost lost amidst the bar noise, but her expression spoke loud enough.
“It’s fine. I mean … it’s hard to complain when I know a lot of kids were worse off than me.”
“No.” Vivienne lifted her hand like she was going to put it on Jess’s arm, but she rested it on the bar again. “You don’t need to compare your experiences to anyone else’s. It must have been hard having absent parents.”
Jess’s throat tightened too much to speak, so she just nodded and drained the rest of her beer.
She hardly ever talked about her parents—they just weren’t a part of her day-to-day life—and it felt a little strange to be sharing more with Vivienne, of all people.
But she had handled Marion McLaughlin with ease, and was now continuing to show interest in Jess’s family.
“Could I get another Corona, please?” Jess asked the bartender.
“Make it two,” Vivienne added. She studied Jess again. “That sort of explains it.”
“Explains what?”
“Why you are how you are.”
Vivienne said it playfully, but her gaze pierced Jess’s soul. She tried not to shiver and wished her new drink would arrive. “And how am I?” Jess dared to ask.
Vivienne shrugged and finished her cocktail. “A hard shell over a marshmallow center.”
Jess was horrified to feel the temperature of her face climbing. “What about you?” she asked, desperate to change the subject. “Is your family close?”
Vivienne blew out a breath. “Growing up, I would say too close, if anything. Always someone in your business, offering their opinions. We don’t talk as much now. Everyone’s pretty busy.”
“You said you had a sister … Scarlett?”
“Yup. And a brother, both older.” Her face pinched for a moment. “I’m the baby. And they never let me forget it.”
Jess wanted to ask what she meant, but the host approached to interrupt them. “There’s a table ready for you if you’d like to move, or you’re welcome to stay here.”
“Do you guys just want to stay?” Lee asked, without tearing her eyes off the screen. The game was tied at seventeen in the first set.
Vivienne nodded. “I’m good here.”
“Me, too,” Chrissy added.
Tania, sitting at the other end, sniffed at the sticky bar. “I’d rather get a table … Jess?”
“Er…” Vivienne’s knee brushed hers and didn’t move away. “I’m fine here,” Jess said.
A look of annoyance flashed over Tania’s face. “Fine.”
“We’re good, thanks. We’ll stay,” Vivienne said to the host.
The bartender dropped off their beers. Vivienne tapped her bottle to Jess’s before she tipped her head back and took a drink, throat long and golden.
Jess copied her with a deep drink of her own and put her parents firmly out of her mind. Good? Maybe not. But getting better.