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Kendra handed her the bottle and said, “Me too.” She laughed a little. “That’s why they’re not in the fridge.”

“Everyone loves ice-cold water, and I guess I do during a match or something when it’s blazing outside, but any other time, just room-temp is good.”

“Same.” Kendra nodded and pointed to the hallway. “We can go in there and check it out. I need to tape and put the tarps I bought on the carpet.”

“I can help with that,” Aspen offered.

They headed down the hall and into the empty guest room with one window looking out over the street.

“I’ve got tape over there. Want to start with that?” she asked, pointing at the blue painter’s tape she’d tossed into the room earlier.

“Sure. Molding and window?”

“Yeah, thanks,” Kendra said. “I’ll get the tarp down and then get the paint out.”

They prepared the room in silence, and it struck Kendra that it wasn’t an awkward one. They seemed to move well together, with Aspen stepping aside at just the right time for Kendra to put the tarp down by her feet. She wondered if that was partly due to Aspen being a beach volleyball player who was used to having a partner around her in a small space while they both had to be able to get around without bumping into each other, or if it was for another reason entirely.

Once everything was set up, Kendra handed Aspen a roller and grabbed a brush for herself to start painting around the window. Aspen went right to work without hesitation, which was also interesting to Kendra because she usually took a moment to make a decision, even if it seemed like the simplest thing in the world, like painting her chosen color on the wall by the window. It had taken her ten minutes to figure out which TV dinner to cook for herself that night, after all. She stared at the window and tried to think about starting from the top but then wondered if starting from the side or the bottom was smarter.

“Are you okay?” Aspen asked, still rolling away on the side wall.

“Yeah. Just trying to figure out where to start.”

“I think just putting the paint anywhere on the wall is probably the way to go.”

“Right.” Kendra laughed a little before she put the brush to the side of the window and ran it up and down, coating the wall with the paint. “So… Do you like living in the neighborhood?”

“It’s fine, yeah. It’s my first house. I don’t expect it to be my last, but it works. It’s big enough, and I’ve kind of made it my own, obviously. The neighborhood is okay, too; close to stuff and pretty quiet, with the exception of the annoying person who bounces a volleyball on a box in her yard.”

Kendra smiled at that and asked, “It’s not your last house?”

“Nah, it’s a starter home. I’m lucky I was able to afford a place in my twenties. Most people can’t. Especially here, you know?”

“I do know. I’m thirty-five here and just now buying a house, but I also know people in their forties who have given up on being able to afford a home because of the prices.”

“I used some endorsement money when it came in. It seemed like a good investment for me. I can maybe sell it one day and find another place.”

“Still in LA?” Kendra asked.

“Yeah, I don’t plan on moving. I mean, if the person I’m, hopefully, buying that house with wants to move, we’d talk about it. I’m not going to be a beach player forever, so I don’t have to be tied to one forever, either, but I’m a sand baby. I grew up in it, you know? I love it here. So, I’m hoping I can find a place near one and still get out in it whenever.”

“You want to buy a place with someone?”

“That’s the goal, anyway. Meet someone. Fall in love. Move in together. Do that other stuff you do. Maybe buy a place together. I haven’t asked, but is this just your place or…”

“Yes,” she answered quickly. “Just mine.”

“Cool,” Aspen replied.

Kendra turned her head and saw Aspen looking at her instead of the roller that was still against the wall.

“I got out of a relationship a few months ago, so it’s just me here.”

“Yeah? Sorry.”

“It’s okay. It wasn’t working. So, better to end it, right?”

“True,” Aspen agreed.