CHAPTER 30
“You’re here this time?” Kendra said when she saw Everly walk up to them after the match.
“I had a meeting with the team,” Everly shared and wrapped her arm around Wyatt’s waist, settling against her wife’s side. “We’ve launched an internship program for people who are in grad school for psychology to get them interested in sports psychology specifically. Since Wyatt and I have an obvious in with this league, we started it here this year. I’m running it, among other things, but I had no idea we’d get pregnant again this quickly when we first started planning out the program, so I was meeting with someone who would run it for me when I go on maternity leave. She’s here and works for the team.”
“What? That’s amazing. I didn’t know that.”
“Yeah, it’s been a lot of work just to get it up and running. We had to get some interest first and then funding since it’s a paid internship program. I’m not a fan of unpaid internships, personally. I mean, it pays barely anything, but it pays something, at least, so we had to go through a lot just to get it moving. We started with four interns, but I hope to get it up to ten next year and then one for each team in this league to work with an experienced sports psychologist, but that’ll be in a few years, at least.”
“My wife is at the top of her field,” Wyatt stated proudly. “Did you know that?”
“I do now,” Kendra replied. “How does it work?”
“How does what work? The internship?” Wyatt asked.
“Yeah. I’d like to report on it if I can. Maybe tomorrow night, we can talk about it on air during a play-by-play or a timeout, get some more interest in interns for next year.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Wyatt said. “Babe?”
“We picked our interns based on who we knew this time, but we have a site now to accept applications for next year. You could mention that. And it’s for all psychology graduate students in any discipline, so that’s important.”
“If you send me the link, I can look at it tonight and find a few points to mention. Maybe that’ll help you get more people interested.”
“Okay. Thanks, Kendra.”
“Sure. Where’s little Julia?”
“She stayed at home. I’m actually leaving tomorrow morning now that my meeting is over. Wyatt’s staying for the other game and will be home the day after, so we didn’t want to bring her since it’s only one night for me, and she’s been having trouble sticking to her sleeping schedule lately. It was easier to leave her with my mom, who gets to have Grandma time.” Everly smiled.
“What are you up to for the rest of the night?” Wyatt asked.
“Nothing. I was going to go back to my room, eat a late dinner, and get ready for tomorrow night’s match,” Kendra replied. “Why?”
“Want to grab dinner with us?” Everly offered. “We won’t stay out late. I can’t keep my eyes open past ten most nights these days.” She patted her stomach. “Wyatt’s buying.”
“I am?” Wyatt asked.
Kendra smiled at the couple and said, “I would, but I’m supposed to call–” She stopped herself.
“Call who?” Wyatt asked.
“My mom. Just to check in.”
Wyatt squinted at her suspiciously and said, “No, not your mom. Someone else. Want to try again?”
“What? Of course, it’s my mom. Why would I–”
“Still lying,” Wyatt interrupted.
“It won’t work, Kendra. She always knows. Just spill,” Everly recommended.
She nodded in defeat and said, “Aspen. I need to call Aspen.”
“Aspen Ashley?” Wyatt asked. “Why are you–” Her eyes went wide. “No! Really?”
“We’re sort of dating.”
“Sort of?” Everly asked. “How do you sort of date someone?”
“We sort of dated in the beginning,” Wyatt said to Everly.
“We did? I don’t remember it that way.”
“You don’t remember us going back and forth because you were the team shrink, and I was a player, and we were obviously into each other? Really, Ev?”
“Oh, I remember that. I guess I didn’t think of it as sort of dating. We weren’t dating. Then, we were.”
“Oh, please… We were dating from the moment we met in the parking lot.” Wyatt kissed the top of Everly’s head. “Anyway… You’re dating Aspen?”
“We technically haven’t gone out yet, which is why I said sort of before. We’ve been dancing around it a little bit, but we’re on that path, yeah. She’s been in Brazil for a tourney, and I’ve been on the road, too, but she got home last night, and we try to talk every night if we can.”
“That’s nice, Kendra,” Everly said.
“I’m going to ask her out officially. Or, maybe, she’ll ask me out; I don’t know. I just know that I want to try with her, and really try this time.”
“You didn’t try before?” Wyatt asked.
“You’re going to do that thing where you can tell that I’m lying somehow, right?”
“I can’t turn it off, so, yes.”
“It’s best just to lean into it,” Everly said.
“Well, I’ve been doing some thinking recently, and Aspen’s the main reason for that, but no, I don’t think I tried all that hard with anyone I’ve dated. In my previous relationships, as soon as the topic of me being gone most of the time came up, it was like, this was going to be a problem. And I can’t change it – or, at least, I wasn’t willing to do it for them – so it was just over.”
“And with Aspen, if it were a problem with her, you would?” Wyatt asked.
“Not exactly. I don’t think it would be a problem for her. She’s got another decade of travel herself, if she stays healthy and keeps playing, so she doesn’t exactly have room to talk, and I’m also there a lot because of the USPBV tour, so I only miss some of her events, which means we’d have more time together than I’ve had in previous situations. I also never planned on doing this job forever, you know? It was something that kept me close to the sport I loved, and I got paid to do it, so it was a win-win. Now, I’ve got a house that I own, and I want to be there more to finish painting it or work on the backsplash in the kitchen. Plus, Aspen is there, and I miss her when we’re not in the same place. I’ve been going to her practices, too, and helping them with my advice and strategy, and it’s been working. They had a bad match with Norway, I guess, but other than that, it’s been helping them, and I love that.”
“You’ve been coaching them?” Wyatt asked.
“No, just tips and stuff that I’ve noticed from my time on tour, mostly, and what I see that they can improve.”
“Um… Kendra? That’s coaching,” Everly said with a smile.
“Not really. She and DJ were actually talking to a coach today, so I’m sure I’ll have to stop doing that because I don’t want to interfere with whatever that person is telling them.”
“If you had to stop, would you be upset?” Wyatt asked.
“Not upset, but maybe disappointed, I think. I love helping her. And I love being a part of the game in a different way than I have been before.”
“Have you thought about a career change?” Wyatt asked. “Maybe you’d make a good coach.”
“Oh, no.” Kendra shook her head. “I have a reliable paycheck, and if I wanted to make a change, I could probably move into a different role, like an analyst or something more full-time, to be home more.”
“Well, it’s an idea. You’re already basically coaching the number one team in the world, and if they’re successful, you could probably keep coaching them or coach another team.”
Kendra looked down at her purse when she heard her phone ding and pulled it out of her bag.
“Let me guess… Your mom?” Wyatt teased.
“No, it’s her.” Kendra smiled wide.
“You really like her,” Everly said sweetly. “It’s written all over your face, and I don’t have to be Wyatt to figure that out.”
“She’s amazing. And, yeah, I really like her.”
Aspen Ashley: Hey. When will you get back to your room?
“She just wants to know when I’m in for the night. Probably knows the match is over. She usually watches if she can.”
“That’s adorable,” Everly said.
“We’ll let you go eat that late dinner and probably FaceTime with your new girlfriend,” Wyatt added.
“She’s not my girlfriend. We have to go out on a date first.”
“No, you don’t. How many long-distance relationships are there in the world where they haven’t even met yet, but they’re doing whatever you and Aspen are probably doing, and they call each other girlfriend?”
“She meant to say, ‘Have a good night,’ and that she’ll see you tomorrow. I won’t because I’ll be flying home, but I’ll send you that link,” Everly said with a smile aimed at her wife.
As Kendra took them in this time, she realized she was no longer jealous of what they had. Wyatt and Everly had been married for years now and had made their little family, and while Kendra wanted all of that one day, too, she wasn’t jealous anymore. Previously, whenever they’d gone out for drinks and she’d seen them looking completely in love and happy, she’d been envious, being so far away from having the life she wanted for herself. Now, though, the life she wanted suddenly felt a lot closer, and it made her a little nervous.
She still had to talk to Aspen, and since she’d been the one to tell her that she wanted to talk in person, in their calls and video chats, instead of just getting it out there, they’d been dancing around the conversation that Kendra wanted to have. It put a lot of pressure on the day after tomorrow when she’d get home. Her flight was at ten in the morning, and she’d be home not long after that, so it wasn’t as if she could put it off for another day and live in this blissful place where everything was still possible. She didn’t know what outcome she was expecting, but she’d tried to be optimistic whenever it entered her mind.
Once on the highway on the short ride back to her room, she texted Aspen that she’d be there in about ten minutes and would call her after she ordered something for dinner because she was starving. When she got back to the hotel, she pulled up the website Everly had sent her on her phone and reviewed it a little as the elevator took her up to the fourth floor. It pinged, telling her that she’d arrived, and the doors opened. Kendra looked up to get off, and there was Aspen Ashley standing in the middle of the hallway, holding a bouquet of red roses, looking dressed up for a date, and smiling at her.
“A guy came up the elevator a second ago and got off on this floor. He was pretty surprised to see me standing here, holding out flowers, but he said he’d be open to the idea if his wife wasn’t waiting for him in the room. Not sure how I should take that,” Aspen said.
Kendra put her phone in her purse and asked, almost in disbelief, “You’re here?”
“I’m here,” Aspen replied. “And these are for you, not him, to be clear.” She held out the flowers.
The elevator doors started to close.
“Oh, shit,” Kendra said, and Aspen put her arm in the way to get them to open back up.
Kendra walked out and let the door close behind her before she took the flowers that Aspen held out for her.
“I can’t believe you’re here. I’m home the day after tomorrow, Aspen.”
“I couldn’t wait,” Aspen told her.
“What about the coach thing you had to do today?”
“Did it. She wasn’t great. Well, I thought she was okay, actually, but DJ wasn’t a fan. I hopped on a plane after that and got here about twenty minutes ago. Hence the text asking when you’d be back. I knew your floor because you said you were on the fourth, but not your room number, and they wouldn’t give it to me when I got here, for obvious reasons. It turns out that, even if you tell them you’re dating the woman who’s in the room, they won’t just give you the room number, so I guess that’s a win for your safety.” Aspen chuckled.
“Are you nervous right now?” Kendra asked.
“That obvious? I was hoping you’d be okay with the surprise, but I did get a room here just in case. I’m on the seventh floor, so if you want me to leave, I’ll go. Or, if you want me to stay there after we talk, I will.”
“You got a room?”
“I wasn’t sure if you’d want me staying with you tonight.”
“I do,” she stated quickly. “I do, Aspen. God, I’m so glad you’re here.” Kendra wrapped her free arm around Aspen’s neck and pulled her in for the best hug she could get with a bouquet in her other hand. “Where’s your stuff?”
“Here.” Aspen pulled out of the hug and pointed to a roller bag by the wall behind her, with a backpack sitting atop it, attached to the handle.
“I’m in four-seventeen. Come on.”
Kendra then watched Aspen take her stuff with one hand, and it left their hands in the middle free to join, so Aspen took that as an opportunity and entwined their fingers for the very short walk down the hall to Kendra’s room before she had to let go in order to allow Kendra to unlock the door.
“Just… Uh… You can put your stuff anywhere. I’ll fill the ice bucket with water for the flowers.”
“Okay,” Aspen said.
Kendra’s heart raced as she filled the bucket, placed the plastic-wrapped roses into it, and leaned them against the bathroom mirror, which was the best she could do for the night. When she turned around, she saw Aspen standing there, staring at her.
“We’re going to talk now, right?” Aspen asked, looking worried.