Chapter 20
First round: The top sixteen teams make the first round of playoffs. The winning eight play in the quarterfinals, top four is the semifinals, then it all comes down to the final two teams in the league championship match. No big deal.
The league paused for a few days until playoffs started Friday. Jess and Tania’s first-round matchup was in North Bay against the team that had finished second behind Vivienne and Lee.
“Be a good boy.” Jess gave Fleming one more kiss when she dropped him off at Nelson’s on Thursday afternoon.
“He’ll be good enough, anyway,” Nelson said, bending over to pat Fleming’s head when Jess set him down. “Can’t get in that much trouble when your legs are an inch long.”
Jess handed Nelson a bag of dog treats. “Sunside Cable is airing all the playoff matches, so you guys can watch if you want.”
“Of course. We’re making ‘Go Jess’ signs later.”
“You and Fleming are making signs?”
“Well, me, Fleming … and Ramón.”
“Ramón? Ramón? Tell me more!”
Nelson studied his nails. “A lady doesn’t kiss and tell.”
“Maybe, but they f—”
“Ramón,” Nelson interrupted, “is the lovely man I met with Fleming’s assistance. Remember the snack with the corgis? Turns out he was more than a snack—he’s a whole damn meal. And things have been … progressing.”
“Progressing?” Jess squeezed his forearm. Nelson hadn’t mentioned the actual name of a romantic interest in at least a year and a half. “Nelson, I’m so happy for you!”
Fleming barked. They both looked down at the pup wagging his tail.
“Does Fleming like Ramón?” Jess asked.
“He doesn’t growl at him … too much.”
“Sounds promising. When can I meet him?”
“He should be here when you pick up Fleming on Saturday.” Nelson gave Jess a hug. “Good luck, love. You crush those North Bay fuckers, yeah?”
Jess laughed and hugged him back. “That’s the plan.”
“Maybe we didn’t think this through.…” Jess paused her sunscreen application to frown at Tania. “We had to play the game of our lives to beat Vivienne and Lee … and now we’re going to have to do it again for every single playoff match.”
Tania shrugged and continued rubbing ointment into her shoulder. “Vivienne and Lee are the best team we’ll have to face, by a mile. And if we can beat them, we can beat anyone.”
Their first-round opponents had a similar vibe to Vivienne and Lee—scrappy, strong, and cool under pressure. Which was why it was such a surprise when Jess and Tania won the first set 21–13. Matches were best of five in the playoffs, though, so they still had two to go.
“That was a little too easy,” Jess said as they returned to their bench between sets.
Tania’s face was grim. “The next one won’t be. They didn’t take us seriously enough, but they won’t make that mistake again.”
Their opponents came out much stronger in the second, but Jess and Tania held on to eke them out 22–20.
“One more,” Tania breathed during their next break. “Jess, we’re doing it.”
They won the next one, too. Jess could hardly believe it. No one would have bet on them beating the second-place team in straight sets.
Well, Tania might have.
“I love you!” Tania growled, grabbing Jess’s face and kissing her cheek after the final point.
Jess laughed. “I love you, too.”
Tania nodded firmly. “We’re doing it. Let’s fucking go.”
Jess ignored the way Tania rubbed her shoulder.
They could have hit the road right after the match and made it back to Sunside by midnight, but the league paid for their room, so instead they chose to have a nice meal and a good sleep, heading home well rested the next morning.
They picked a Japanese place near their hotel and ordered enough food for ten people. Jess planned to eat all of it.
Once she had tucked away a yam roll and some tempura, Jess scrolled through the other playoff results. “Billi and Raya won in four! But, shit, Chrissy and Shay lost in five.”
“Damn. That sucks,” Tania groaned, adding more soy sauce to her dish.
Jess set her phone down and attacked her sashimi. There were more first-round games to be played Saturday and Sunday still, so they’d have to wait to find out who their quarter-final opponents would be. “So … three more matches to win SoCal.”
Tania nodded. “We can do it.”
“Yes, we can.… I really believe that.”
“I know you do, Button. I’m so proud of you … and us, and how far we’ve come this season. It’s been … it’s been really special.”
Jess picked up a piece of fish with her chopsticks as a thought surfaced. “You know … It might be time to retire that nickname.”
Tania chuckled and raised her eyebrow. “Yeah?”
“I don’t think it suits me anymore.”
Tania pondered. “You know what … you’re right. You’ve really outgrown it.”
They ate silently for a few bites.
“I’ll need a new nickname now, though,” Jess said.
“We’ll have to see what bubbles up. You can’t force these things. Unless … What do you think about Bubbles?”
Jess glared at her as she chewed, then her phone buzzed. A text from Vivienne. Fuck yeah! I watched your game, you guys crushed them.
“Who’s that?” Tania asked.
“Oh, sorry. Just Vivienne congratulating us.” Jess fired a quick reply. Thanks! Good luck tomorrow. We’ll be there cheering for you.
Tania looked like she was fighting to hold something back.
“What?” Jess asked.
“Nothing, it’s just…” Tania set her chopsticks down. “You should have seen your face light up at that text.”
Jess’s cheeks flushed. “What are you talking about?”
“I wasn’t sure I should say anything, but … Jess, do you … do you like Vivienne?”
An automatic denial jumped to position on her tongue, but the truth was … Tania had just asked her a question she hadn’t been able to ask herself yet. A scary question. A question that might provide the answer to a lot of the heart-pounding, sweat-inducing feelings she’d been having lately.
When she didn’t get a reply, Tania shrugged. “If you don’t want to talk about it, I get it.…”
“It’s not that, it’s just…” Jess ran her hand through her hair. “I don’t know. I haven’t really let myself think about it. Because it’s Vivienne. I thought I hated her for so long.”
Tania nodded and sipped her water, giving Jess space to say more.
“I…” Jess tapped her chopsticks on her plate, trying to put the uncertainty she’d been avoiding into actual words. “Fuck. I’m definitely attracted to her. She’s … well, she’s fucking hot.”
Tania nodded. “Gorgeous.”
“But I … I don’t think we’d go together.” Or it was too scary to try, anyway. And that smile after their game … what had that even meant?
Tania tilted her head. “What do you mean?”
“She’s like … stunningly beautiful, and perfect, and so confident, and a star.… Why would she want me?”
Tania’s face flitted through several emotions before she settled on exasperation. “Jessica McLaughlin. Why would she…? God, I want to smack you sometimes. I thought we were working on this confidence thing?”
“I have been more confident!” Jess protested.
“On the court I guess, sure, but … we need to expand the confidence off the court. Because you’re actually fucking amazing, and totally beautiful and wonderful yourself.”
“No.” Jess shook her head. This automatic denial came out just fine. “Nothing like Vivienne.”
“Vivienne is not perfect. No one is. Everyone has shit they’re insecure about.” Tania sighed and studied her. “You know … I’ve sort of been thinking that maybe Vivienne likes you, too.”
“What?” Jess’s heart leapt, then crashed back down again. “There’s no way. What makes you say that?”
“Well…” Tania gestured toward Jess’s phone. “She didn’t text me.”
“We’re friends.”
“I saw her pull you onto the dance floor at Maggie’s.”
“Everyone was dancing.”
“Mm-hmm. I know you could argue until the cows come home, but it doesn’t change the fact that I’ve definitely been getting a … vibe from her lately.”
Jess allowed herself a second … imagined Vivienne liking her back, smiling up at her, taking her hand, tilting her lips up—“There’s no way. She’s way out of my league.”
Tania sighed again. “You are literally and metaphorically in the same league.”
They stared at each other for a moment, both recognizing the wall they had arrived at. Jess just couldn’t believe there was any way someone as amazing as Vivienne would settle for someone as plain as her.
Jess smiled and picked up her water. “So … What are you and George going to get up to this winter?”
Tania inclined her head, accepting the back-burnering of their argument. “Not sure … George has some vacation saved up for the offseason. We thought about heading up to Nova Scotia to stay with his aunt, see some of the Maritimes maybe.”
“Oh, nice. I’ve never been.”
“You’ll have to come visit.”
“Visit? How long are you going for?”
“Awhile, probably? At least a month.” Tania stole a piece of tempura off of Jess’s plate.
“That would be fun.”
“Will you head back up to Vancouver at some point?”
Jess shrugged. “Yeah, for Christmas, I guess. Marion likes to do things the way we’ve always done them. She’d be pissed if I missed it.”
“Traditions are nice. Family is important.”
Jess narrowed her eyes at Tania. “You’re very philosophical tonight.”
Tania smiled and dipped a piece of sushi into her soy sauce. “Maybe I am.”
They chitchatted about Nova Scotia for a bit, but Jess’s thoughts returned to Vivienne, and the question she had ignored for so long.
Do I like Vivienne?
Even Jess could appreciate that Ramón was smoking hot. Tall, with high cheekbones, radiant terra-cotta skin, and an easy, relaxed smile that immediately put her at ease.
“It’s so nice to meet you, Jess,” Ramón said, kissing both cheeks. His Spanish accent was slow and warm, every syllable carefully rolled across his tongue on its way out.
“You too. Nelson never lets me meet his boyfriends.”
“Oh, are we boyfriends?” Ramón said, turning his smile onto Nelson.
Nelson, uncharacteristically, froze. “Um.”
“Ooh, my bad,” Jess said, though she wasn’t actually sorry.
Ramón chuckled. “Only if you are comfortable with the label, mi amor.”