Page 38 of In a Pickle

“I really like you, too,” he said, and kissed her. He looked deep in thought for a long moment, and then, seeming to decide something, turned to Liana. “You know, my friend, one of the other pickleball players, called you my girl earlier.”

Liana’s heart pounded wildly. “Did he now?”

“Mm hmm,” James said, and kissed her. Liana kissed him back, trying to answer the unspoken question he was letting hang in the air.

James finally said, slowly, “It’s totally cool if it’s too soon. In fact, I’m sure it’s too soon, but I just had to ask anyway. I’m not seeing anyone else. I don’t want to see anyone else.”

Liana’s heart seemed to explode, and was that roaring in her ears normal? “I know it should be too soon for this conversation, but I was kind of hoping you’d ask. I don’t want to see other people, either,” Liana admitted, and James couldn’t hide his wide grin. Liana matched his ebullient smile.

“That’s — that’s fucking incredible news,” James beamed. He ran a hand through his hair and then looked at her again. “Do you want to be exclusive? Do you want to be my girlfriend?”

She planted a quick kiss on his lips. “Yes.”

James fist-pumped the air and then tugged her closer. Liana couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her. “My girlfriend,” James murmured as he kissed her. Liana knew they’d barely been together, but she was already falling for him.

After a moment, James pulled his head back and chewed his lip nervously. “Actually,” he said, “I have something else to ask you.”

“Yes?” she said. For a quick second, she had thought that maybe he would say he loved her, but he’d said “ask,” implying that what he had to say was a question and not a declaration. She tamped down her mild disappointment.Stop it. You just became his girlfriend. It’s too soon to think about love.

James chuckled nervously. “For some reason, I’m just as scared to ask you this as I was to ask you to be my girlfriend. I don’t know why. But… you know I’m hosting the pickleball event next weekend?”

“Yes?” she questioned. Of course she knew he was hosting the event.

“Well,” he squirmed a little nervously. “As I told you the other week, I don’t have a doubles partner. I was just going to pair up with someone the day of, but I realized I would really like you there. Will you play with me?”

Liana somehow found herself taken aback, despite having thought he’d ask her all those weeks ago when they were making sandwiches. “Of course I will,” she said. “If you’ll have me. As you know, I’m not very good at pickleball. I wouldn’t be offended if you actually wanted to try to win the tournament. I know you’re competitive, and I wouldn’t blame you in the least. In fact, I kind of want you to win the tournament, just to stick it to your dad.”

He laughed. “I absolutely love that. But I feel more like I’m winning when I’m with you than any time I win at pickleball. You’re the win for me.”

“Cute, but kind of cheesy, Alonso.”

“Yeah, I heard it as I said it. Not my best work.”

“Okay, there is one other problem.” Liana squirmed uncomfortably. “I’m kind of… unemployed? I want to support your event — I really do — but I’m sorry to say I’m not in much of a position right now to pay the entry fee.”

“Oh, please,” he said, waving her off with a hand. “I’m the event organizer. If I say you can be there, you can be there.”

“The paying guests won’t mind?”

“If they do, they can go fuck themselves.”

She smiled. “That was kind of an aggressive thing to say about a bunch of elderly people, but I appreciate the sentiment.”

“When it comes to my girl, I won’t hesitate to punch a fucker in the nose, elderly or not.”

“I’m kind of scared that I can’t tell if you’re joking.”

“Does this look like the face of a joker?” James scrunched his eyebrows in mock seriousness, and they both burst out laughing.

After a moment, a thought occurred to Liana. “Why were you so nervous to ask me? If you were going to waive the entry fee, it doesn’t seem like such a big deal.”

He ran a hand through his hair, sobering. “Well, the truth is, my ex is going to be there. Mary Grace. Obviously you know her. When I originally told her about the event when we were together, months ago, she said she wanted to play with me, but clearly she won’t be anymore. A few weeks ago, long after we broke up, she actually signed up to play with someone else.”

Liana’s heart dove into her stomach. Of course, Mary Grace could afford to pay the entry fee. Of course, Mary Grace had wanted to play with James.

James looked Liana in the eye. “I promise you, I have no lingering feelings for her. None. I swear to you.”

“I believe you.”

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