Page 30 of In a Pickle

“Are you kidding? It’s more than okay. I’m floored, honestly. I’m thrilled.” But then he thought about how she must have given up her day to be here, and before he could stop himself, he blurted out, “But don’t you have better things to do?”

Kelsey snorted. “I certainly do. But this girl was relentless. She claimed that seeing you play pickleball would be more fun than my other plan, which was cramming for my civil procedure exam. I’m not sure which will actually be more fun. The jury’s still out. Figuratively, since civil procedures don’t have a jury. Get it? I can be just as punny as you, oh King of Puns.”

James’ mind was spinning. He didn’t even know that Liana and Kelsey had each other’s numbers. They must have exchanged numbers Sunday night, when Kelsey had joined them for dinner. James’ best friend and his… his Liana were… friends? Why did it suddenly seem so pivotal that he had Kelsey’s implicit approval?

“Ruh roh,” Kels said after James stood stupidly silent for a good 10 seconds. “Girl, I think you broke him. His brain simply cannot compute.”

“I hope it’s all right that we’re here,” Liana said.

“It’s fantastic, seriously,” said James. “I’m thrilled. I’m just surprised, that’s all. Can I kiss you?”

“That’s a hard pass,” said Kelsey without missing a beat.

“Shut up, you idiot. I meant Liana, obviously.”

The most beautiful girl in the world flushed. “Yes, please.” She leaned forward, and he kissed her unabashedly until Kelsey coughed loudly next to them.

Sheepishly, he stood up. And that’s when he noticed the large sign Liana held. “Vamos Alonso” was written in sparkly gold letters surrounded by little drawings of pickleball paddles. Ah, so that’s how The Beast had known who his girl was.

Is she your girl?He questioned himself. He had a sudden urge to claim her as his, to ask her to be his girlfriend, Gen Z dating rules be damned. But was it too soon?

“I like the sign,” he said.

“Thanks,” she replied. “I was hoping you speak Spanish. I couldn’t remember.”

“I do.”

Kelsey cut in, “I still maintain that it does not rhyme. I told her to write ‘gonzo for Alonzo.’”

Liana scoffed. “AndItold your roommate that it does in fact rhyme. Especially given the way most people say it, dropping the ‘s’ at the end. I’m glad you like it, though. The sign is not too much?”

“Just enough. Wait until the other players see my fans’ loyalty. They’ll be jealous. I’m totally a shoo-in as a nominee for Pickleball.com’s Fan Favorite.” He winked.

“You’re definitely my favorite pickleballer,” said Kelsey. “Granted, the only other one I know is The Beast, and half of thethings he says kind of make me want to stab him in the eye. But still, you’re my favorite.”

“Thanks, Kels,” James replied. “And now, with that lovely mental image of you stabbing my friend in the eye, I’m going to get ready for the match.”

But that wasn’t the mental image he had in his mind. Not at all. Every scene in his mind involved hiking up that insanely short tennis dress Liana was wearing and burying himself inside her.

Deep breaths. Think about something else.But nothing else came to mind. Giving up, he pulled up a random video Isaac had sent him of a squirrel waterskiing. Incongruously, the accompanying text from Isaac read: “Me rn.” Trying to solve that enigma gave James the mental push he needed to banish inappropriate images of Liana from his mind. He was overjoyed that she was here supporting him, but still, he’d have to keep his glances of her to a minimum if he had any chance of concentrating on pickleball.

Chapter 18: Liana

Liana and Kelsey were only a two-person cheering section, but they made up for their lack of numbers with their sheer enthusiasm. Plus, it was a regional pickleball tournament in the middle of a work day; a group of two was a relatively large group of supporters, especially given how loudly Kelsey could project her voice. Kelsey also wasn’t above heckling the other players and had even earned a whistle from the umpire after she colorfully protested a call.

Liana was mesmerized by James’ game play. He was clearly much more athletic than most of the other players, and he hit the ball with a power few could match. He also seemed an expert in unflappability; twice, he was within a point of losing, only to maintain calm focus until his opponents’ inevitable mistakes gave him the victory.

Other players hit some overhand volleys and dinks, but Liana noticed James always stuck to underhand. James had opened up to Liana a couple of days ago about his tennis career-ending shoulder injury, explaining that he was still, two years later, incapable of raising his right arm fully above his head. Still, this limitation didn’t seem to impact James’ ability to score points, nor his ability to get under his opponents’ skin when they tried and failed to rile him.

Liana couldn’t help feeling a touch of pride at each point James won. She couldn’t deny it; she felt a tinge of possession over him, as if he were hers. She wanted him to be hers, she realized. It should be too soon — too soon after Liana’s surgery, too soon after her move, too soon after her career disappointments, too soon given the small amount of time she’d spent with James — but Liana was falling for this man. The thought didn’t terrify her as much as the logical part of her brain told her it should.

James ended the day with a win in the bronze-medal match, which was extremely exciting to Liana, but which Kels informed her wouldn’t even cover half the cost of his registration fee for this event. Still, he got a little medal ceremony and a handshake from a middle-aged man with an exorbitant amount of hair gel, whom Liana assumed was the event organizer.

“More people should watch pickleball,” Liana said to Kelsey. “After watching everyone play today, I think it would be just as fun to watch on TV as tennis. I know a lot of people don’t watch tennis, but plenty of people are casual tennis fans. I and many other people watch the four tennis majors each year, at least.”

“You sound like James,” Kels replied, not altogether approvingly. “You should tell him what you just said to me. He might propose on the spot.”

“Ladies,” said a voice behind Liana. James looked as suave as ever, despite hours spent running in the Florida sun. She couldn’t help running up to him and throwing her arms around his neck as he bent down to her.

---