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“Do you want the front seat?” Aspen asked Kendra.

“No, you can take it. I don’t mind being back there with the annoying love birds.”

“I heard that,” Monica said.

Kendra climbed in, so Aspen opened the front door and sat next to their driver. He didn’t say much, which she was grateful for, but sitting in front, with giggling women behind her and Kendra sitting silently next to them, was still awkward. They arrived at the restaurant ten minutes later, and Aspen walked up to the host stand to get them a table. They only had to wait a few minutes before they were sat and she had a menu in her hand.

“So, wine? I’m thinking we can just get a bottle,” Selena suggested. “Red okay?”

“None for me,” Aspen said. “Not a big drinker in season.”

“Okay. No problem,” Selena replied.

“Babe, what are you going to get?” Monica asked Selena.

“I think just a steak. Want to get something different, and we can split it?”

“Yeah,” Monica said. “Appetizer?” she asked the table.

“I’m not very hungry, so I think I’ll just stick to my entrée,” Aspen said.

“Whatever you want is fine with me,” Kendra told Monica. Then, she leaned over toward Aspen and whispered, “Are you okay?”

“What? Oh, yeah. I think I just got tired.”

“Okay,” Kendra replied and returned her attention to her menu.

“So, Aspen, how’s DJ?” Monica asked. “I hope she’s just injured enough to play terribly tomorrow but is able to recover right after,” she joked.

Aspen smiled and said, “Afraid not. She’s all good. She just decided to stay off it tonight to be safe, but she’s fine. So, you’ll get both of us at one-hundred-percent tomorrow.”

“Bummer.”

“She means that’s what we want,” Selena said and ran her hand over Monica’s back. “She wants to win the right way.”

“So, how did you two finally get together, exactly?”

“Finally?” Selena asked Aspen.

“Yeah. Everyone knew that Monica was into you. It was the worst kept secret on the tour.”

“No, it wasn’t.” Selena laughed a little as she turned to her girlfriend. “Babe, really?”

“You know I’ve wanted this,” Monica said, downplaying the whole thing.

“But everyone knew?” Selena asked Aspen.

“Oh, yeah,” Aspen replied with a laugh of her own.

“How didn’t I?”

“It’s hard to see when it’s you, I think,” Aspen said.

She looked over at a very quiet Kendra, who was still staring down at her menu.

“What are you getting?” Aspen asked, trying to draw her into the conversation.

“Oh. I’m thinking about the chicken. You said it was good, right?”