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“Thanks,” Aspen said.

Kendra looked over at her and saw Aspen staring at her.

“Yeah, no problem.” She swallowed hard.

“Kendra?”

“Yes?”

“I leave for Rio tomorrow.”

“I know.”

“But maybe we can talk when I get back?”

Kendra nodded and said, “Not about breadsticks, you mean?”

“No, not about breadsticks.” Aspen leaned forward, and just when Kendra thought she’d kiss her on the lips, she kissed her gently on the cheek instead. “What do you want to watch?”

“Anything, honestly,” she said, a little breathless.

CHAPTER 27

“Aspen, come on,” DJ said. “I’m wiped. Can’t we call it a day? We’ve hardly slept since we got here.”

“We play Brazil’s number one tomorrow morning, in Brazil,” she replied of the team who were a lock to make it to the Olympics for their country. “They’re our first match in a single-elimination tournament. We have to show up, DJ.”

“I’m well aware of that, Aspen. But with the match yesterday, the travel right after, the lack of sleep on the plane, and us going straight to a workout on top of the time difference, I’m exhausted. I need to sleep.”

Aspen looked at her partner, who was sitting in the sand after missing yet another pass in their first practice in Rio. She was tired, too, but they’d drawn the toughest team in the tournament first, so she needed to get DJ recovered from playing like crap in their final. They’d won, but barely, and Aspen had had to pick up a lot of slack. If it had just been a bad game for DJ, that wouldn’t have been a problem. Everyone had a bad match or two every now and then. But DJ had played poorly because she’d stayed up late the night before, had had too much to drink, and had rolled into their hotel room well after two in the morning. She’d arrived loudly, too, waking Aspen up and trying to tell her, not at all softly, about the fun she’d had while out with Mark.

“He’s my new crush,” she’d declared proudly as Aspen got out of bed to find her the biggest bottle of water she could.

“I know I played like shit, and I’m sorry, but punishing me by making me practice all day after no sleep and a bad match won’t help.”

“I’m not trying to punish you, DJ. I’m trying to get us to adjust to the time zone and make sure we’re still good. You never stay out late like that. What happened?” Aspen asked and sat down in the sand across from her, tossing her a bottle of water, which she’d added a packet of electrolytes to.

“I thought you’d be in there with Kendra.”

“I told you that we’re not doing that.”

“You can tell me whatever, but you two are totally together without actually being together, so there was a good chance that I’d walk in, and you’d at least be snuggling or maybe more. I didn’t want to ruin your chances.”

“It was the night before a final. Did you honestly think I was going to sleep with Kendra, knowing that you could walk in at any moment? And for our first time together, which I’d already told you I didn’t want to have until after she and I went on a real date. Just be real, DJ: you wanted to stay out because you have a new thing for Mark, and he was there.”

“That wasn’t the only reason.” DJ took a drink from the bottle Aspen had passed her. “But, yeah, that was part of it.”

“DJ, come on. We almost lost that final. I also had to carry you, which means I’m more exhausted than I should be, and we play an important match tomorrow. We can’t auto-qualify here, but this one counts. If we win this, we’d be nearly impossible to beat by the other US teams. One more tourney win, and even if we don’t take Berlin, that’s still it; we’re definitely in.”

“I know how it works, Aspen.” DJ capped the water bottle. “I’m sorry. I know I fucked up. I really don’t need a lecture from you.”

“Well, we don’t have a coach here, so it’s got to be me.”

“Aspen, I’m sorry, okay? I’ve never really talked to Mark before. I used to be into Chase, and he was off flirting with someone, as usual, while Mark was there, so he and I started talking. I swear, I didn’t even drink that much. I had one that I bought myself, and he offered to buy me another one, so I didn’t exactly want to turn it down. They just made the drinks extra strong, I think. He’s really nice, and smart, and funny, and he talked to me all night. He didn’t get up, even when Chase told him that he met a girl Mark might like and they were all going to dance. He probably could have gotten laid last night, like, I’m sure, Chase did, but he didn’t. We kept talking, and I lost track of time, ending up tipsy and late. So, I’m sorry.”

“I get that you like the guy. But can it wait until after the season or, at least, after we’ve qualified for the Games? Hell, after the Games, even?”

“You want me to put my love life on hold for another year? And then, what happens? It’s not like either of us is planning on retiring. I assume you’ll want to remain partners and go for another medal, providing we do well this time. So, should I just not date for the next, like, five years or something? Aspen, come on. That’s not me, and you know it. I haven’t exactly dated a lot since you and I became partners, but I also never agreed to stop dating for ten years of my life. I want to meet someone and fall in love, Aspen. And I have no idea if it’s Mark, but I’d like to see if it could be. He asked me out. We’re going to go on a date when you and I get back. I love this sport as much as you do, and I want to win, but I can’t just postpone my entire life to make that happen.” DJ stood up. “ Now, I’m going back to the hotel, and I think I’ll get a room of my own, if they have one available. I could use a little space, I think. I’m also taking a long nap, but I’ll make sure to get on a normal sleep schedule tonight so I can be ready for tomorrow morning, okay?”