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She slid her laptop into her bag and grabbed her purse. It had been a while since she’d picked up a volleyball and she really did love the sport. There wouldn’t be enough time to go by her house before practice so she’d brought her workout clothes with her.

She smiled when Your Way Fitness Center came into view. Vi had been working out there for a couple of years, but this was the first time she’d played volleyball in their league. Once she moved to the Dallas area she found a volleyball league rather quickly. A couple of years ago she had moved from an apartment to a townhome and the drive to her old gym was no longer convenient. She’d seen an ad for Your Way, went to visit, and immediately joined the gym.

From her very first visit, the three owners had felt like friends. Frankie, Desi, and Stella were all married and Vi had met their wives at different classes and they’d become friends as well. The whole atmosphere was like one big happy family.

Vi was excited to meet new people in the volleyball league. She already knew most of the people on her team from the various weight, yoga, and cardio classes she’d attended over the last year.

When she walked into the fitness center she felt the stress of the day vanish along with thoughts of Cory Sloan. She hurried into the dressing room and changed clothes. Vi could hear the echoes of balls bouncing just before she opened the door to the gym.

“Hey, Vi,” Frankie said, holding the door open for her.

“Hi, Frankie.” Vi could see her teammates on one side of the court. “Are you leaving?”

“No, Olivia is changing in the office and I’m watching our son while she’s at practice with you.”

“Have fun with Henry then. See you later.” Vi really liked Frankie’s wife Olivia and was glad to know they were on the same team. Their son, Henry, was the cutest little kid and Vi had played with him a couple of times while waiting for a class to start.

She set her bag down in the bleachers and hit the court. Vi warmed up with a partner as they passed the ball back and forth. In no time the rust wore off and she was passing the ball as she once did. It felt so good to be playing again.

They practiced serving and serve receive as well as working on defense. Another team would be taking the court shortly, so towards the end of practice they lined up and worked on hitting. The first couple of swings were not quite right as Vi worked on her timing. She tossed the ball to her setter and this time she jumped and spiked the ball down hard.

“Hell, yeah!” several of her teammates said.

This gave Vi all the confidence she needed. The next hit was even better. She felt like her old self and decided to try a shot down the line. It hit, just inside the line as she’d planned, and her teammates once again praised her effort.

A few people from the team that had the court reserved after them started to trickle in. Vi heard the door open and close several times and saw a few people in the stands getting ready for their turn to practice.

As Vi stood in line for her next hit, her attention was drawn to the open door. In walked Cory Sloan with a very pretty redhead. She looked familiar, but Vi wasn’t sure where she’d seen her before. How many girlfriends does Cory have?

Vi watched Cory and the woman walk towards the bleachers. They were laughing and smiling at each other and Vi suddenly had a queasy feeling in her stomach.

She looked away and tossed the ball to her setter once again. This time when she approached the ball her jump was off and she hit the ball into the net. “Fuck,” she swore under her breath.

Vi grabbed the ball and got back in line. She glanced at Cory and when their eyes briefly met, Vi just as quickly looked away. Maybe she didn’t see me looking.

This time when she tossed the ball to her setter she waited and spiked it down to the other side with a loud slap from her hand. A thud echoed when the ball hit the floor with force. Vi could hear the people in the bleachers gasp. That’s right! You’d better be ready when you play against me!

6

“Who’s that?” CeCe asked her sister, who was staring across the gym.

“I can’t fucking believe it.” Cory scoffed. “That’s Violet Valdez.”

“Isn’t she the woman from Spec’s?”

“That’s her.”

“She’s trying very hard not to let us catch her looking over here,” CeCe said.

“I know. I wonder why. When I left her Saturday night she seemed friendly.”

"You saw her Saturday night?”

“Yeah, Talia asked me to come by for a birthday drink and she was there. She was also at Betty’s when we were all there the other night,” Cory explained.

“Is she following you around?”

“No.” Cory grimaced. “I’m sure she was following up and trying to get them to place an order.”