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Aspen Ashley: Generally, yes. I tend to stick to lean meats and green leaves, unfortunately, but I throw in fruit to help make the greens taste better.

Kendra Bowie: Spinach salad with homemade fruity dressing and some kind of chicken. I can cook it on the new grill I still need to buy and make a sauce. Something with balsamic, maybe? Is that healthy enough?

Aspen Ashley: That sounds amazing. You’re making me hungry, and I’ve actually eaten dinner.

Kendra laughed and typed.

Kendra Bowie: Maybe when I get that grill, you can come over, and I’ll make it for us.

While waiting for Aspen to reply, she opened her Amazon app, found that wish list for the house she’d started making months ago, located the gas grill she’d thought was way too expensive but wanted anyway, and added it to her cart. Kendra had a credit card it could go on, and she had the idea that it would be worth it. She picked the shipping date and clicked the order button. Then, she went back to her messages to see that Aspen had replied.

Aspen Ashley: I’d like that. Also, apparently, Mike, the delivery guy that I tipped really well, ran some red lights or something because he’s there. It says he’s nearby anyway, so prepare for the knock on the door.

Kendra Bowie: Thank you, Aspen. This was really very nice. Unnecessary, but nice.

Aspen Ashley: No problem. I’ll let you go so you can eat and get some sleep. I should get some rest, too. I have an early practice tomorrow.

Kendra hadn’t expected that and was disappointed because she’d hoped that they could text while she ate, but she wouldn’t keep Aspen up when she had to practice the following morning.

Kendra Bowie: Okay. I’ll see you when I get home? And thank you, again, for my dinner.

Aspen Ashley: Yeah, I’ll be here. And you’re welcome. Good night, Kendra. Sweet dreams.

Kendra rolled over onto her back and sighed like a movie character just as there was a knock on her door.

???

The following day, Kendra flew across the country, only to have to do it again the next day to get back to LA. In New York, she covered the game and watched the home team get a solid win by thirteen. She did her job, and she did it well, but she had other things on her mind. Namely, the fact that she missed Aspen. She’d wanted to text her again to tell her that the pizza had been good, but it just would’ve been an excuse to start another conversation, and Aspen needed to focus on practice and finding a new coach, so Kendra had resisted.

When she’d gotten back to her hotel room after another long day, she wondered if Aspen would text her about seeing the game and her on TV, or if she’d ask Kendra if she’d eaten real food or something because it seemed like something Aspen would do. By eleven, though, when she didn’t have any texts, Kendra decided to give up on that idea and just text Aspen herself. Aspen was three hours behind her, so it wasn’t too late there, and she wouldn’t be asleep yet, so Kendra decided to give it a try and see if the woman would respond.

Kendra Bowie: Hey. Any chance you’ve seen my sprinklers going off in the morning? I think I turned the automatic system on correctly, but I forgot to check that they’re going off, so I’m worried I’ve killed my grass already.

It was the lamest excuse for a text message she could think to send, and she had no idea where the idea for it had come from, but she hit send before she could stop herself.

Aspen Ashley: I haven’t seen the sprinklers go off, and I don’t think your grass is actually wet, but I did see two men dropping off a huge package at your front door about ten minutes ago. I could tell what it was from the box, so, in case you didn’t know yet, your new grill is here.

Kendra’s eyes went wide. She’d specifically picked the date so it wouldn’t arrive until she got home. She texted Aspen back to tell her that it wasn’t supposed to get there today.

Aspen Ashley: Well, you’ve obviously got that next-day shipping working for you because it’s sitting on the sidewalk leading up to your porch.

“Shit,” she said to herself and went to type, but then saw that Aspen was typing, so she stopped.

Aspen Ashley: Want me to drag it into my garage until you get home so that no one steals it? I have a dolly, so it’s not a problem.

Kendra Bowie: I would love that. And I’ll cook you a meal a day on that thing for a week if you do that for me.

Aspen Ashley: It’s not a problem. Now, tell me, and be honest here… Did you eat more than a granola bar for dinner?

CHAPTER 15

“Thanks, Margo. I appreciate the ball to the face,” DJ joked as she wiped at her nose to check for blood.

“Sorry. My bad,” Margo replied.

They had a few people they called sometimes to work out together when they wanted to practice against another team. Margo and Whitney were usually first up on their list because they’d just retired and weren’t on the tour, so Aspen and DJ didn’t have to worry about giving any secrets away anymore, and the two women also wanted to stay in the game and in shape, so they were usually available for early morning practices as long as they didn’t have to get to their coaching jobs early themselves. Margo had just taken over as an assistant coach of a college beach team, and Whitney was the new head coach for a high school indoor team. They were great to play off of, and when they’d been players on the tour, they’d given Aspen and DJ a few matches to worry about.

“You said you wanted us to play for real,” Whitney added.