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“Why not? I’m not doing anything.”

“You’re practicing.”

“No, I’m trying to calm my mind.”

“You should keep doing that, then, Aspen.”

“Painting could help.”

“It could?”

“I don’t know. But we could see.”

“You haven’t painted a room before?”

“No, I’ve painted several. Every room in my house has paint on it that I put there, but that was because the previous owner painted every wall beige, and I can’t stand beige. Had you said you were painting that room beige, I wouldn’t have offered to help.”

Kendra chuckled and said, “These walls are all white.”

“Then, I’m good. You can say no. I don’t have to help. But I’ll just go inside in a few minutes and watch TV or something, so I’m available.”

Kendra wasn’t sure how to respond to this. Aspen appeared to be genuine in her offer, and Kendra could use the help, but this was Aspen Ashley, and she was standing in Kendra’s backyard, looking a little hot and sweaty and holding a volleyball at her hip like a photographer was about to walk out of Kendra’s house and take pictures of her for some magazine.

“Um… Sure,” she said finally.

“Cool. I’ll just lock up my house and come back over. Is that okay?”

“Yes. But, Aspen?”

“Yeah?”

“You can use the front door,” she suggested.

“Right.” Aspen laughed and went to hop over the fence before she looked back at Kendra and walked over to the gate instead.

Kendra closed the back door and shook her head because she had no idea how she’d gotten herself into this mess. She’d been fine with her little crush on Aspen because Aspen had been far away, and Kendra had had a girlfriend for a long time and wouldn’t have actually done anything with anyone else. Still, she could acknowledge when a woman was attractive, and Aspen was gorgeous. Now that Kendra was single, though, and, well, hadn’t had sex in a while, of course, her crush had to live next to her. Aspen also had to turn out to be a really nice person who had offered Kendra coffee, apologized for making noise in the backyard, and was now coming over to help Kendra paint a room in her house, which Aspen didn’t have to do at all.

“You can’t actually like her. She’s a pretty face and a talented volleyball player. That’s all.”

While there was nothing in her contract that forbade her from dating an athlete she engaged with on the job, it wasn’t exactly in good form, and she didn’t want to cause any problems for herself at work. Kendra also didn’t think someone like Aspen would be remotely interested in her, so she needed to get herself together and stop staring at the woman all the time so that maybe they could be friends and neighbors.

“Hey,” Aspen said when Kendra opened the front door.

“Hey. Come on in,” she replied. “Do you want something to drink? I have coffee now. Well, you know that. I have water and other stuff, too. Soda, I think.”

“I don’t drink soda. So, water, maybe?”

“Okay. I’ll get it. Want to come with me or just go into the room? It’s down the hall. I haven’t set things up yet.”

“I’ll just go with you then.”

“Okay. Cool.”

Kendra was being weird again. This was not what she’d just talked to herself about a second ago. She walked toward her kitchen, with Aspen following, and grabbed a bottle of water that she had out on the counter.

“Do you want it cold? I haven’t put them in the fridge.”

“No, I prefer room-temperature water. I’m strange like that.”