Page 35 of Spin Serve

“No, but there are other problems.”

“Is it the old partner thing?”

“What?”

“Her old partner; is it something with that? Are you worried there?”

“What about her old partner?”

“You don’t know?”

“Obviously not, Wyatt.”

“Her old partner switched back to indoor after their partnership on the beach ended.”

“I know that. She’s on Team USA now.”

“But she had a thing for Aspen,” Wyatt told her.

“Oh. She did?”

“And Aspen didn’t feel the same way. Beach volleyball is a pain in the ass. I’m glad I stuck with indoor because it’s you and one other person, no subs, so if you can’t make it work with them, you can lose a whole qualification cycle for the Olympics.”

“And that’s what happened with them?”

“The way I heard it. This didn’t come from either of them, though, so I don’t know the extent of what’s true or not, but she told Aspen how she felt. And it wasn’t just that she liked her; she loved her. Aspen told her that she didn’t feel the same way. Things got awkward for a while. Then, one morning, when she was leaving her hotel room, she saw Aspen exiting her own room with another woman who had obviously slept over. I don’t know what happened, nor do I judge, but that ended their partnership. It was too hard for her to see Aspen with someone else, so she left, went back to indoor, and worked her way back up to the national team.”

“I didn’t know any of that,” Kendra said.

“You’d have to ask her what’s really true because that could all be a rumor, but that’s what I heard through the pro volleyball grapevine. And I know it affected Aspen because she should’ve been in the Olympics, bringing home a medal, and she lost her chance.”

“She and DJ should be good this time, though.”

“I’m sure. But it wouldn’t change how it felt for her to not make it last time. I would imagine, it’s similar for you, missing what you lost out on.” Wyatt paused for a moment and shifted her bag on her shoulder. “And if you ever need or want to talk to me about what stopped you from playing, you can. I’ll be here, you know?”

“Thank you, Wyatt,” she replied with a smile.

“What are you going to do? You said it was complicated, but you like her.”

“I don’t know yet.”

“Does she like you?”

“There are moments when I think she does, as well as moments where I’m not so sure. I don’t know whether that’s just my insecurity talking or if it’s true, but I’m left wondering. Besides, I still have to work with her, interview her on the sidelines, and see her in her backyard practicing, so it’s a lot. I’m trying to deal with everything I’m feeling all at once right now, which hasn’t been something I’ve had to do before.”

“Do you want to come back to the room with me? Ev and Julia are there. And I’ve found that spending time with a toddler really does wonders for your mood, assuming she’s not mid temper tantrum, that is. I can text my wife and check on that before you commit, if you want.”

“No, I’m good. But, thank you,” Kendra replied with a little laugh. “Tell them both hi for me.”

“I will.”

CHAPTER 13

Aspen felt like one of those nosy neighbors her mother had always talked about. In her parents’ now-old neighborhood, there had been Ruthie and Betsy, the two old biddies, as her mother had referred to them, who had sat on one of their front porches, sipping iced tea or lemonade, depending on the day, and gossiping to one another for hours. They’d talk to the dog walkers and the people with baby strollers who moved by the porch to get their gossip, but at times, they could also be seen peering out through their blinds and watching the events of the neighborhood unfold. They’d nearly outed Aspen to her parents accidentally years ago when they’d seen Aspen and another girl in her car after a date. Aspen hadn’t come out yet. She’d still been dealing with understanding the feelings she’d had for girls and not for the boys at school, and the biddies had struck up a conversation with Aspen’s mom one day when she’d been taking groceries inside. Luckily, Aspen had been walking back out to grab more bags and had heard the start of their conversation. She’d managed to get them to change the subject, and the women had nodded their silent understanding.

Aspen worried she was now becoming one of those biddies because she’d been watching her front window all day on and off, waiting for Kendra to pull up in a car, getting back from her work trip. She wasn’t sure why it was so important for her to know that Kendra was home, but it was, so after she’d practiced and done her workout for the day, she’d rolled up her blinds, glued herself to her couch, and pretended like she was just there to watch some TV while in reality, she was there to watch the cars go by, looking for one that would stop next door.

Eventually, one did, and Aspen jumped up from the couch, spilling the water from the glass she was holding all over the carpet. She had no idea why she’d jumped. She also had no idea why she then set her glass down in the kitchen and went to her bedroom to change into a suit and throw on her tank top and a pair of shorts over it. She was even less aware of why she wanted to go to the backyard and get some more practice in right this instant, but that was what she did.

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