Page 58 of In a Pickle

“It’s more than okay. Liana, I don’t know what sort of magic you worked on them, but I never thought I’d see the day my parents watched me at a pickleball tournament. And they drove two hours to be here!” He shook his head in amazement and then tipped her chin up so he could stare into her eyes. “You’re perfect. Liana, I love you.”

Liana felt her heart fly out of her chest. Her whole face lit up in a smile. She knew she loved James for a while now, but neither of them had said the words out loud. This moment felt right. “I love you too, James.”

James picked her up without warning and twirled her around. Setting her back down, he kissed her soundly. “God, I love hearing you say that.”

“Get used to it, Alonso.”

He beamed, and then they both broke out in nonsensical giggles. Liana wasn’t sure why she was laughing, other than the fact that she had never been so happy.

James pulled back, and she suddenly realized that the “Gonzo for Alonso” sign had been stuck between their chests while they kissed. When they pulled apart, some of the purple glitter stuck to James’ white polo shirt. He tried to brush it off, but the sparkles remained.

James shrugged. “Well, I’m definitely winning best dressed pickleballer now.”

Epilogue: Liana

Two years later

“Liana!” Tori screamed from across the parking lot, running across a line of cars to wrap Liana in a hug as if the two of them hadn’t seen each other hours before. Tori narrowed her eyes as she gave Liana a once-over. “Is that a new dress? I’ve never seen that one before.”

Liana rolled her eyes in what she hoped was a loving way. “You can borrow it, Tor. It’s not super new. You just don’t know everything in my closet anymore.”

Tori harrumphed. “Not my fault you don’t live around the corner anymore.”

Liana laughed. “We both moved, Tor! Or did you somehow forget your fancy penthouse apartment in Coconut Grove?”

“Oh, that. The ‘making up for years of lost family time’ guilt condo that my dad reserved for me in his building? It’s nice, I guess. But you’re so far away!”

Liana scoffed. “Fifteen whole minutes.”

“Girls!” James called out from a few feet ahead of them. “You ready? Let’s go in!”

“Look at you, in a rush to go back to high school,” Liana called back jokingly. “I seem to recall you saying you’d never set foot in this place again, not even to go to our ten-year reunion.”

James sauntered back to Liana and wrapped her in his arms. “That’s because I didn’t know I’d have you with me.” She let out a sigh as he kissed her, and she melted into him.

Behind them, Tori made a barfing noise. “You two are so cute you’re disgusting.”

“Just a sec, Tori,” Liana giggled between James’ kisses.

“I never kissed in our high school parking lot before,” James murmured in Liana’s ear. “This whole high school experience is already a whole lot better than it was ten years ago.”

“Did you ever have sex on this campus?” Liana asked in his ear. James pulled back slightly, a half-surprised, half-bemused look on his face.

“Oh, Abrams,” he whispered in her ear. “I love when your mind is in the gutter. No, never have I ever had sex on my high school campus. I’d ask you if you did, but I know the answer to that one.”

“Rude!” Liana mimed slapping his arm.

“Hey!” He chuckled playfully. “I was about to say, I would very much like to rectify that fact for both of us tonight. I have never had library sex before. I hear it’s a thing. Think we can sneak away for a minute?”

Liana felt her core tighten. But before she could reply, Tori gagged loudly. Liana cleared her mind. She’d almost forgotten they were in public.

“Okay,” Tori said. “That’s it. I’m going in without you. Have a good night, ya filthy animals.”

James took a deep breath before releasing Liana, grabbing her hand as he led Liana into the school auditorium. “We’re coming, Tor.” At Tor’s puking noise, James hastily clarified, “Not like that.”

James held the door open for Liana and Tori, and Liana took in the sights of their high school gym, its ceiling criss-crossed with twinkling lights, colorful balloon arches creating a bridge across the basketball half-court line.

“James! My man!” said a guy Liana didn’t recognize. The guy launched into a conversation about a former tennis teammate Liana didn’t know. James kept trying to interrupt to introduce Liana, but the other guy didn’t stop talking for a second.

---