Page 17 of The Pickleball Girl Finds Her Match

“Yeah, well look where that got me. Maybe I should have been on the runway,” Sebastian said with a laugh.

“Hmmm, maybe.” Paul chewed on his lip. “Those thighs though … definitely promo.”

Sebastian chuckled. He moved to a stationary bike, settled onto the seat, and started pedaling. “So, I saw you just talking with the assistant director of racquet sports …” he said over his shoulder.

“Oh, Endy?” replied Paul. “She’s fantastic and has become a dear friend. I’ve never met anyone who is more giving and compassionate.”

“Not to mention hot,” said Sebastian.

“Not to mention it,” Paul raised his eyebrows up. “She’s single. I could set you two up if you’d like.”

“I think I got it,” replied Sebastian. He told Paul about their date the previous evening.

“Aha, so that’s why she’s in la-la land today … a blossoming romance.”

“I mean, we’ve only spent a few hours together, but—”

“Sebastian, let me tell you this right here, right now. Endy is a beloved treasure at Whisper Hills. If you hurt her, I will break your other knee. And everyone else here feels the same. If you hurt her, we will make you so miserable that you’ll want—”

“Okay! Okay! I get it, Paul, and I don’t doubt that you all could and would,” said Sebastian, holding up his hands. “But I’m not planning on hurting her, so you have nothing to worry about.”

Sebastian felt eyes on him and slowly looked across the gym. Everyone had stopped their running, stretching, and lifting and were staring at Paul and Sebastian.

Beside the bike he was pedaling, Candi stood near the wall of mirrors. She lifted two fingers in a V, then gestured at her eyes before turning them to point at Sebastian. She mouthed,I’m watching you.

Still seated in a lotus position, Earlene nodded and cracked her knuckles.

Sebastian felt his face flush. And then, peeking out from behind a massive inflated balance ball, Nora said in her high, reedy voice, “If you hurt Endy, I will mess you up.”

11

Still smiling from her exchange with Paul, Endy set her water bottle on the counter and walked behind the pro shop desk. A star-shaped sticky note with Maria’s loopy handwriting in fuchsia glitter ink fluttered in a current of cold air wafting from the air-conditioning overhead.

ENDY’S FAVOR PAYMENT OPTIONS

a) dinner at Indian restaurant on Date Palm Dr

b) Thai foot massages on Sunday

c) all-inclusive women’s surf and yoga retreat in Morocco

Smiley faces and dotted illustrations of wiffle balls surrounded the message, reminding Endy of the favor Maria had done by covering for her at Picklers. The funny thing about the list of options was that debt or no debt, Endy would happily do any or all of these activities with her oldest, like-a-sister, best friend.

They’d met in college one early December afternoon when a surprise snowstorm had blown in and the temperatures had dropped way below freezing. Endy had just shut the front gate to her rental, a house in the university district that had been converted to a duplex. She pointed her car’s key fob toward her ancient Subaru parked on the street just beyond the front lawn, expecting to hear the chirp of the alarm turning off.

Except it didn’t.

She aimed the fob at her car and pressed it over and over, finally throwing it down in frustration into the bare dirt where she’d previously planted petunias and marigolds during the warm months. “Dammit!” she huffed.

“Better pick those keys up before they get buried in snow,” came a voice behind her. “Or else you might not find them until spring thaw.”

Endy turned around and saw a curvy girl sitting on the stoop of the other half of the duplex. With no roof or overhang for protection from the elements, her arms were wrapped tightly around her voluptuous chest, and she shivered as the snowflakes settled on her mane of thick, curly black hair.

“Sometimes I really hate it here,” the girl continued. “And when I say ‘sometimes,’ I really mean all the time between November and April.” She pulled the sleeves of her lightweight sweater over her hands. “Ugh, it’s my own damn fault I’m here. I’m still kicking myself.”

Endy raised her eyebrows. “For …?”

“For applying to the wrong college,” the girl said with a sigh. She gave a feeble wave. “I’m Maria.”

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