Chapter 16
Approach: As in “spike approach,” the set of steps you take and your arm swing as you jump and hit the ball. Harder than it looks, hitting a moving target while moving yourself.
“Oozing confidence,” Jess’s reflection said. “Oozing.”
She blinked at her image, looking for the positives. She turned to the side and flexed. “Nice pipes. Great boobs.” She skipped over her nose. “Pretty eyes.”
Fleming sat at her feet and huffed.
Jess bent to scratch his head. “Fake it till you make it, right, pup?”
She startled when her self–pep talk got interrupted by a hammering at her door.
“Jess! Hurry up!” came Nelson’s muffled voice.
Jess opened the door to reveal Nelson wearing nothing but sandals, a tight neon-green bathing suit, and clearly some sort of oil that set his skin to shining.
She leaned on the doorframe, lips quirking. “Yes, sir? Is there some sort of swimsuit emergency with which you require assistance?”
Nelson held out his hands and peered around her. “I need Fleming early today. There’s an absolute snack walking toward the beach with two corgis.”
Jess gasped in mock indignation. “You’d use my precious baby to get laid?”
“Without even blinking. Let’s go.” Nelson reached inside the door to grab Fleming’s leash off the hook.
Laughing, Jess scooped up Fleming, kissed him on the head, and handed him over to Nelson. “Good luck, darling.”
“Thanks!” he cried over his shoulder, already hustling toward the stairs. “See you after your game! And good luck to you too, baby girl!”
The July break had come to an end, and today was their first match since the Vancouver Incident.
Jess and Tania had trained hard this week, both eager to get back on the court.
Halfway through the season with twenty losses and only ten wins, they had some work to do if they were going to make the playoffs in September.
That work began today against Chrissy and Shay.
Jess arrived at the pavilion right as George and Tania were pulling into the parking lot.
“Button!” Tania cried, hanging out of the window.
“T!” Jess called back. She waited for Tania to climb from the truck and bounce over to the sidewalk.
Tania hugged her. “I’m so ready. Are you ready?”
“Never been more ready. Hey, George,” Jess said when he joined them. “How are things?”
“George got promoted to sous-chef!” Tania exclaimed, grabbing his chin and kissing his cheek. “I’m telling you because he hates to brag.”
George turned pink and hunched his shoulders. “It’s not a big deal.”
“It is a big deal! Pay raise, better hours.…” She held her hands over her head. “… and, like, a giant hat.”
Jess laughed at Tania’s miming. “Congratulations, George! That’s great.”
“I’m making dinner tonight to celebrate—my world-famous barbecue ribs and corn bread. You should come!”
“Oh, that sounds great! As long as you don’t mind cooking for another person?”
George grinned at her. “Nah, we’d love to have you, Jess. Now you guys better get going. Tania’s been vibrating all morning, and if she doesn’t get her hands on a volleyball in the next few minutes, I think she might actually explode.”
“Mine!” Jess cried when Shay’s serve floated over the net, right in between them.
She passed the ball to Tania, who set her up beautifully.
Jess approached hard as Chrissy lined up to block her down the line.
Jess decided to thread the needle and go for a line shot anyway.
Shay’s digging was too good today to throw a crosscourt shot anywhere near them.
Jess’s gamble paid off—her hit snuck past Chrissy’s hand and landed right on the line.
“Yes!” Tania cheered. She gave Jess a high five. “Fire.”
Jess grinned. “Thanks.”
Chrissy groaned through the net. “Jess! What a shot. I didn’t think I left you any room.”
“Barely. I got lucky.”
“Nah, that’s all skill.” Tania smacked Jess’s butt. “Now go crush your fucking serve, Button.”
Jess and Tania won the match 21–18 and 21–15.
Chrissy wagged her head when they shook hands after the match. “You guys played awesome. Good game.”
“Thanks.” Jess tried not to smile too huge, but she felt amazing. It was only one match, but it was a good start.
On their way to the locker room, they stopped to high-five George and the rest of Tania’s family, and signed a few autographs for the kids.
“My queen,” someone said from a few rows above in the stands.
Jess looked up.
Marco approached, brandishing a bouquet of at least two dozen red roses.
Jess laughed and blushed at the same time. She opened her mouth to reply, but Tania got there first.
“Marco, you stupid motherf—” Tania bit her lip and eyed the kids hanging around. “Shut your goofy ass up, Marco. She’s a lesbian. She doesn’t want your f … frigging flowers.”
Marco tilted his head and looked at Jess with pleading eyes. “Not even a little bi?”
“I’m gonna make you eat those flowers if you don’t.…” Tania glared at him, leaving the threat hanging in the air.
Jess shook her head. “Sorry, no.”
Tania scoffed. “Do not apologize to that moron.”
Marco dropped his head and placed a hand over his broken heart. “I understand. I hope you will accept these flowers anyway as an apology.” He held them out to Jess.
“Er, thanks.” She collected them awkwardly.
“You are most welcome. And I’d like you to know that whoever you are interested in is one lucky woman.”
“Thanks, Marco.” Eager to disappear with her giant bouquet of roses, Jess turned to head to the locker room and almost collided with Vivienne. “Oh, sorry!”
Vivienne steadied her with a hand on her arm. “No worries. Nice flowers.”
“Uh … yeah…” Jess rolled her eyes toward Marco in what she hoped was an explanatory manner. “Tania’s cousin.…”
Vivienne looked at Marco. He waved. “Right. Men. Anyway, just wanted to say nice game. You guys played great.”
“Thanks.” Why was she feeling so awkward? She gripped the bouquet. “Do you like roses?”
“Do I like roses? Sure, who doesn’t like roses?”
“Do you want some? Of these roses?”
Vivienne’s eyebrows climbed her forehead. “Do I— Sure?”
“Uh … You know what, here.” Jess thrust the bouquet at her. “Just take the whole thing. They’re wrapped pretty tight, so I can’t really…”
Vivienne laughed, sort of a surprised sound. “Thanks. They’re lovely.”
Jess caught Marco’s eye. He winked at her.
“You’re welcome. Uh, good luck on your match. I should go shower.” Cheeks burning, she all but bolted for the locker room.
Tania caught up and put an arm around Jess. “You played great, Button.”
“Thanks.”
“Don’t know what that mess was, though.”
“What? What mess?”
Tania chuckled. “Nothing.”
After they showered, Chrissy plopped down next to Jess on the bench. “Ooh, guys, guess what! We’re all getting tattoos!”
“Who’s ‘we’?” Jess asked, toweling her hair off.
“Me, Shay, Vivienne, Lee … plus you two!”
“Oh, really?” Jess swapped an amused look with Tania.
“Yes! You know how Shay’s partner owns a tattoo parlor? She said we could all come in one night and get some sort of volleyball tattoo!”
Shay nodded. “We can bring in food, play music.… It’ll be so fun!”
Jess had thought about getting a volleyball tattoo before, but had never quite gotten around to it. Why not now? “Sure, I’m in!”
Chrissy clapped her hands. “Yay! Tania? You have to join.”
“I’ll come hang out for sure, but … let me think about the tattoo. My mom would flip out. Not sure it’s worth it.”
Jess tilted her head. “Maybe it’ll make her forget about grandkids for a bit.”
“Hmm … Good point. Tattoo it is!”
When Jess arrived at Tania and George’s house for dinner—a nondescript bungalow they rented near the highway—she entered without knocking, as she’d been instructed to do many times.
She followed the Spanish pop music coming from the kitchen at the back and found Tania and George dancing around, waving spatulas and other cooking utensils in the air.
“Jess!” Tania cried. “Dance with us!”
Laughing, Jess joined in, admiring the way George was able to slather more sauce on the ribs while keeping time with the music.
“Dinner is ready,” he announced at the end of the song. “Please sit!”
Jess helped set the food out on the table—ribs, corn bread, plus roasted veggies and potato-bacon salad—and salivated at the sight of it all. “George, I can’t believe you made all this. It looks amazing.”
George stacked a few half-racks of ribs onto his plate. “Cooking makes me happy … especially when she likes it.” He gazed at Tania with heart eyes.
“Aw, mi bombón.…” She leaned over to kiss him.
Once her plate was loaded, Jess sampled the corn bread. “This is incredible,” she said through her first bite.
“Isn’t it the best?” Tania’s phone buzzed next to her plate. She picked it up and frowned at it.
“Is that the doctor?” George asked.
Jess froze in the middle of her second bite. The doctor?
Tania shot George a tight-lipped look. “Yup. Just confirming my appointment.”
“Everything okay?” Jess asked, watching the two of them exchange a glance.
“Yup.” Tania smiled brightly. “Just need to get some bloodwork done to get on George’s insurance. So … the corn bread’s great, huh? Have you tried the ribs yet?”
“Not yet,” Jess said, reassuring herself that Tania promised to tell her anything important. And she definitely would … right?
Ink Me Baby occupied the bottom floor of a converted house on the outskirts of downtown Sunside. Shay and Locke lived above the shop.
Tania had picked up Chrissy and Jess on her way. They climbed out of the truck, carefully balancing their potluck dishes. Tania made mini tacos, Chrissy carried a spinach dip, and Jess had made chocolate cupcakes for dessert. Vivienne pulled up in her Mercedes at the same time with Lee next to her.
Vivienne sighed after she climbed out, looking from her takeout sushi platter to the other dishes. “Goddamnit. Did everyone else make theirs?”
Chrissy gently bumped her hip. “It looks like it.”
Vivienne frowned, then shrugged and tossed her hair. “Oh well, good thing I’m amazing in bed.”