Page 6 of Payoff Pitch

I give the flight attendant an apologetic smile. “Sorry, my sister is a nervous flyer. She likes to pace before takeoff. I’ll make sure she’s seated and fastened in right away.”

I pull Kam’s arm, and she plops down next to me sighing. “Cheez, who lit the fuse on her tampon string?”

The flight attendant pretends not to hear her even though Kam purposefully said it loud enough for anyone within ten rows to hear.

I buckle her seatbelt for her and then tighten it as though she’s a small child. “They can’t push away from the gate until everyone has their seatbelt on. We’ve been through this a thousand times before.”

She leans her head back and blows out a breath. “I guess. Fuck, I hate flying.”

I take her hand, as I have on every single flight we’ve been on in our twenty-eight years. “I’ve got you. Don’t worry.”

She narrows her eyes at me. “If we go barreling down toward the earth from forty thousand feet, will you have me then?”

I smirk. “You jump, I jump.”

She intertwines her fingers through mine and nods, silently acknowledging our often-usedTitanicreference. “Always. Love you, big sis.”

I lean over and kiss her head. “Love you too, little sis.”

We both smile at our big and little sis comments. I’m only nine minutes older than my twin, but it might as well be nine years. I’m the mature, sensible sister, while she’s the playful, fun sister. People gravitate toward her. She’s larger than life, while I happily remain in the background.

I know her well enough to realize I need to distract her through takeoff. After that, she’ll be fine.

I ask, “Do you swear you didn’t put pressure on the Anacondas to sign me too?”

My sister refuses to go anywhere or do anything without me. I was a star basketball player, considering playing in college, while she shined at softball. I was fine with that dynamic until she begged and pleaded with me to start playing softball in high school so we could be on the same team. She was one of the best players in the country and almost every top college wanted her. She wouldn’t consider offers unless they offered me a softball scholarship too. That’s how we ended up at UCLA. She was the shortstop, and I was the second baseman. Always side by side, even in softball.

After college, she was the third overall pick in the professional softball draft. She made it clear to the team that she wouldn’t sign a contract with them unless they picked me as well. In fairness, I’ve turned into a damn good softball player in my own right and deserved to be drafted, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to continue playing ball. I enjoy working with kids. I always saw myself as a teacher or something along those lines. But my sister needed me,so I’ve been playing professional softball with her for the past six years for a team out of Chicago.

Our contracts expired last month. The team was happily ready to re-sign us both when a new team formed in Philadelphia, the Philly Anacondas. Their first order of business was to sign our close college friend, teammate, and catcher, Arizona Abbott, who was playing for a team in Southern California. Their second order of business was to sign our close college friend, teammate, and pitcher, Ripley St. James, who was playing for a team in Houston, Texas. Then they called my sister, Kamryn. She claims they wanted both of us, not just her, but I’m not convinced. Regardless, they’re paying us both double the salaries we were earning in Chicago, and it’s a chance to be reunited with our friends. The Olympics are four years away, and they want to train together. The three of them have been talking about the Olympics since the first day we met them at freshman-year orientation. It’s not my dream, it’s theirs. I’ve just been going along for the ride.

Kam rolls her eyes at me. “No, they want both of us. Stop being insecure. It’s a lot of money and we get to be reunited with Arizona and Ripley. It will be like college all over again.”

I mumble, “I hope you sleep with fewer people than you did in college.”

Sharing a dorm room with her has forever scarred me.

She gives me her special Kam smile. “You’re only young once, Bails. I don’t want to have any regrets. Would you rather I be like our mother?”

I scrunch my nose. “Ugh. No.”

Our parents started dating in high school. Our father was a star basketball player who was recruited to play in college. She followed him there like a groupie and then became pregnant with us during their senior year. He had to give up playing to get married and get a job. They don’t have a marriage that either of us envy. Just the opposite. The fact that we’re twenty-eight and unmarried is a sore spot for our mother, who we do our best neverto see. We only talk to him, not her, on the phone. Our only contact with her over the past ten years has been when she walks in on a FaceTime call with him and grumbles about our life choices.

She modeled before she had us and then channeled all her missed aspirations onto us by forcing us to model and act for years. She spiraled after we quit. We don’t know why our father stays with her. She’s a complete disaster. I don’t share the same disdain for her that Kam has, but unfortunately, we have no relationship with her.

Kam nods and gives me a knowing look. “Exactly. A fresh start will be good for you too.”

I can’t deny that. I was dating a man a few years older than me who I recently discovered had a fiancée. I broke things off as soon as I found out, but he kept showing up at our apartment, begging me to take him back. To the point where Kam called the police to get him to back off. Kam also paid his fiancée a visit. She said it was our obligation under the parameters of girl code to let that woman know who she was going to marry. Kam really did it to mess with him on my behalf. That’s my sister. Always protecting me.

“You’re right. This will be fun. You signed the lease on the apartment, right?”

She answers, “I did. And…” She bites her lip. She’s about to say something crazy. “I ordered myself a waterbed.”

I can’t help but smile. My sister has wanted a waterbed since we were little kids. She asked for that and a puppy for her birthday every single year. Our parents never gave her the bed. It’s silly, but I’m happy for her.

“Oh god, with all the sex you have, the sucker is definitely going to burst.”

She giggles. “I hope I burst before it does.”

---