Page 17 of Balancing Act (Soulmate #1)

“Yes. Last year it was Less Depresso, More Espresso. I think the owner was going through a breakup...” Beth’s train of thought was punctuated by her own laughter.

She seemed tickled by her own wit, which Jamie was now realizing she found remarkably endearing.

“My personal favorite was Steamy Mornings. Sadly, it didn’t last very long. ”

“I’m surprised they never explored Rise and Grind as a name,” Jamie deadpanned without a second thought, before quickly glancing to see if Lily had heard her. She, thankfully, had not, currently preoccupied with searching through her bag.

Beth laughed again, this time deeper, and Jamie was struck by how genuine her laugh was. It was rich, resonant, and warm, and she felt the sound of it spread through her body. It was infectious in a way that made it hard for her not to smile, too.

“You two really like talking about coffee-shop names. It’s kind of weird.”

Lily slung her bag over her shoulder, looking expectant. “So, are we going rock climbing or what?”

“Here, you take these,” Jamie said, handing Lily a carabiner clip with her car keys. “Turn it to the first click. I’m trusting you with the aux cord. Don’t let me down.”

Lily beamed as she swiped the keys from Jamie’s hands.

“She’s been in a real glitter gel pen pop mood this week. I hope you’re prepared.”

“Heck yes, I can get behind that.” Jamie lingered, her hand still on the open passenger door of the car. “Thanks for the coffee.”

“Consider it a thank-you from me. I saw how you handled Lily in the gym yesterday and just...” Beth chewed at the inside of her cheek, thinking. “Thank you. She doesn’t let people in easily. Which, unfortunately, I think she gets from me.”

“Beth . . .”

“Whatever you said to her yesterday meant a lot to her. And, just, thanks.”

Jamie’s eyes lingered a moment too long on Beth, tracing the contours of her face.

She couldn’t bring herself to say anything close enough to the words needed to bridge the canyon of what had been said and what was felt between them.

Her plan of friend-zoning Beth was not working the way she’d hoped it would.

Putting Beth in the friend box was supposed to stop these feelings, but every time she saw her—every damn time—they came rushing back.

The more they talked and got to know each other, the harder it was to push the thoughts of Beth out of her mind.

But Jamie needed to ASAP. Jamie Lyons didn’t do the whole attached thing. It wasn’t her vibe.

Sensing the shift in her demeanor, Beth met her gaze with a questioning look. Those sapphire blue eyes, bright and intuitive, searched her own for an explanation, and for once, Jamie didn’t have one. She snapped herself out of her own thoughts and back to their conversation.

“Of course. Just doing my job,” she said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck with her hand.

“Well, consider that”—she nodded to the coffee cup in Jamie’s hand—“a token of my appreciation for a job well done. See you this afternoon, Jamie.”

Jamie had arranged for her and Lily to take an introductory rock-climbing course. The course was more for Lily’s sake than her own. She had been rock climbing for years and knew the ropes. Okay, bad pun, but still.

They made it through their lesson, which covered all the basics Lily would need to know to spend the rest of the day climbing in the gym.

They learned how to tie the proper knots needed, their climbing cues to communicate with each other, and got a crash course on general climbing safety.

Lily, unsurprisingly to Jamie, took to rock climbing easily, and soon they had worked their way up in difficulty from the beginner routes.

Lily bounced on the balls of her feet. “I wanna race!”

“You think you can beat me?” Jamie put her hands on her hips, challenging Lily with a stare.

“Uh, yeah. No offense, but you’re basically a dinosaur. You’re, like, my mom’s age.”

“Not quite the same age as your mom, kid, but close enough. Okay, if you want to race, I get to pick what we’re climbing.” The pair walked around the gym until Jamie stopped them in front of a suitable route.

They clipped into the auto-belay systems, each placing their hands on their starting holds.

“Loser buys lunch?”

“You know I’m fourteen, right?” Lily laughed. “I don’t have any money. But I’m still going to win,” she said confidently. “Oh, and let’s make it lunch plus a pack of Nerds Gummy Clusters—the berry flavor—if I win.”

“It’s on. Three, two, one, climb!”

The two took off, their arms propelling them up the wall as they raced toward the top, hands scrambling for holds.

Jamie glanced to her right. Lily was gaining on her.

If she didn’t push herself, she was going to get passed.

But it didn’t matter, because Lily flew by her, beating her to the top of the wall by a more considerable margin than Jamie would have liked to admit. A fourteen-year-old had humbled her.

Lily let out a victory cheer before descending the rope, Jamie right behind her.

“Ha! Take that!” With her feet back on solid ground, Lily punched the air.

“Alright, alright.” Jamie held up her hands in mock surrender. “Not my best showing. Lunch on me, I guess?”

At Lily’s request, they picked up burritos on the way to their next stop of the day.

Soon, Jamie was pulling her van into a park that she knew had one of the best views on the entire island.

They parked, and Jamie pulled out two camp chairs from the van and opened the awning, offering them protection from the light rain.

She pulled out a drawer that revealed a hidden table.

“So you, like, really live in this thing,” Lily observed, poking her head into the back of the van. “I can see how it could be cool, I guess.” She sat and opened her lunch.

Jamie rummaged around before hopping out of the van and joining Lily. She set two packs of sticky notes and two markers on the table in front of them with a small white box. Purposefully, she didn’t acknowledge them, diving into her own lunch.

“Okay, I can’t take it any longer.” Lily crumpled up the wrapper from her lunch and reached for one of the sticky-note pads. “What’s with the sticky notes?”

Jamie took her time taking her last bite, chewing and swallowing before answering Lily.

“We’re going to clear all the negativity.”

Lily watched skeptically as Jamie pulled a small portable fireplace from the back of the van and got to work setting it up. In minutes, a fire was burning.

“On the sticky notes, I want you to write down everything that makes you mad, sad, frustrated, or annoyed about gymnastics. You don’t need to tell me what they are,” she followed quickly, reading the look on Lily’s face.

“Write it down, crumple it up, then toss that thought into the fire and watch it burn.”

“Okay,” Lily said slowly, not sounding totally convinced. “I don’t get it; what does that do?”

“It’s symbolic,” Jamie explained. “We externalize the things that are weighing us down and literally let that shit go.” She cringed. Maybe she shouldn’t be saying cuss words around a fourteen-year-old.

A smile cracked Lily’s lips.

“My moms say I’m not allowed to say words like shit...” She’d whispered the last word.

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m not their kid. I’m allowed to say those words.” She smiled conspiratorially at Lily. “Are you open to trying this exercise with me? I sure know I’ve got some stuff I need to let go of, too.”

Lily nodded, and they each grabbed a stack of sticky notes. They got to work and wrote down the things they each wanted to let go of before tossing them in the fire.

A while later, Lily said, “I think I’m finally out of things to write. That was fun. You still haven’t told me what’s in the box, though.” She eyed the small square box on the table.

Jamie grabbed the box, pulling it toward herself as she ran the pad of her thumb over the lid.

She flipped the box open, using the lid to obscure its contents from Lily.

A flood of emotions washed over her as her fingers traced the engraved details, each line reminding her of the years of dedication, sacrifice, and discipline it took to win this very medal.

She pulled it out of its box, and Lily’s eyes widened.

“Is that...” she whispered, her hand over her mouth.

“Yeah. My first Olympic gold medal.” She reached the hand with the medal out to Lily, offering it to her. “I want you to hold on to it for me for a while.”

Handing over this medal to Lily wasn’t just a gesture of encouragement; it was so much more—a symbolic passing of dreams with the hope that they would inspire and propel Lily to chase her own glory.

“Holy shit.” Lily took the medal from Jamie and stared at it. “Sorry,” she said quickly.

“I didn’t hear anything,” Jamie said, playfully feigning aloofness.

“I want you to take good care of that for me. Keep it with you, and know that that is what you’re working toward, and I’m right here to help you.

” Lily nodded vigorously. “Good. Now, let’s get packed up and get you back to the gym. ”

By the time they pulled back into the gym parking lot, Beth’s car was there waiting for them. Jamie pulled the van to a stop and cut the engine, but Lily didn’t hop out immediately.

“Can we do more stuff like today? You know, as part of my training?”

“We can do anything you want. It’s your training time.”

Jamie wanted Lily to feel totally in control of her time, training, and journey, and she would do anything to help her get the things she needed. Suddenly, she was struck with an idea.

“How do you feel about inspiration boards?” Jamie asked.

“I don’t know what those are.”

“You’re going to find out.” She smiled. “I’ll talk to your mom and find a good time to work that in.”

Lily beamed and climbed out of the front seat.

“See you tomorrow, nice and early.”