Page 53 of Balancing Act (Soulmate #1)

“Oh my God! You’re here! You came!” Lily rushed at her, throwing her arms around Jamie in a tight hug. Jamie laughed, wrapping her arms around Lily and squeezing her back, holding her close.

“Of course I did. I wasn’t going to miss this! You crushed it out there. You should be so proud of yourself.”

Lily’s smile was full of that post-routine glow. She turned to Beth, beaming. “Mama, did you know she was coming?”

Beth shook her head, still looking a little stunned. “Nope. Total surprise to us, too.”

Just then, Amanda joined them, her gaze flicking between Jamie and Lily. She gave Jamie a smug grin before turning to Lily. “Alright, the celebration’s over. I want you to rest for the evening, got it? Big day tomorrow.”

Lily rolled her eyes but grinned. “Yes, coach.”

“Don’t worry, Amanda,” Sarah jumped in. “Lily and I have the perfect evening plans. Room service, movies, and resting.”

Lily laughed, still buzzing with energy. With a final squeeze, she stepped back from Jamie, her eyes sparkling excitedly. “Thanks for being here, Jamie. Seriously.”

Jamie’s chest tightened, and she managed a soft smile, reaching out to squeeze Lily’s shoulder. “Any time, kid. Now, go rest up. I’ll be here tomorrow to cheer you on.”

With one last grin, Lily followed Sarah, who threw Jamie a brief, approving nod before guiding her daughter toward the exit.

“Can I steal Jamie for a minute, Beth?” Amanda asked sweetly, but Jamie knew her best friend better than that.

“Of course. I’m going to go see if they are still selling those T-shirts for the Classic. Meet you back here?”

“You got it,” Jamie said, but once Beth was out of earshot, she rounded on Amanda. “What?”

“Don’t what me, babe.” Amanda punched her in the arm softly. “What are you doing here? You didn’t even tell me you were coming.”

“I came to support Lily.” She smirked. “And Beth.”

“Never pictured you as the romantic type,” Amanda deadpanned.

Jamie smiled. “Why is that so hard for you to believe?”

“Well, you’d better keep an eye out. Kendall is here.”

Jamie had known when she bought her ticket that she’d likely see Kendall here today, and that was a factor she had weighed in her decision.

It was time for her to stop hiding from her past and face it, even if that meant seeing people from her old life.

She couldn’t keep running from her past decisions. She was tired of running.

As soon as she had arrived at the arena, she’d spotted Kendall. Her signature platinum-blonde ponytail had always been easy to pick out of a crowd, and that hadn’t changed with time and distance.

“I know,” Jamie said slowly, choosing her words. “But, so what? All that’s in the past, right? I’m trying this new thing where I face stuff head-on. So, I figured if I ran into Kendall today, how bad could it be?”

“I’d say pretty bad, Lyons.” A cool voice rang out from behind her.

Of course.

She knew that voice before she even turned around, and when she did, she found herself face-to-face with Kendall Varner.

“Hey, Kenni.” The greeting rolled off her tongue automatically because she had said it so many times before. Jamie was surprised at how easily it came rushing back.

Kendall didn’t say anything; she stared at Jamie like she couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing, and Jamie couldn’t blame her. It had been over seven years since they had seen or talked to each other.

“Kendall, hey,” Amanda said, her eyes darting from Kendall to Jamie. “It’s good to see you. Your girls did really well today. Excited to see how everyone does tomorrow.”

It was only then that Kendall shifted her attention to Amanda, and her whole demeanor changed, the icy facade she’d greeted Jamie with melting away.

“I was coming to tell you how polished Lily was today. I knew you’d be able to get through to her.” Jamie said nothing as Kendall shot her a glare between hurt and disgust. “I’m glad I recommended her to work with you.”

“Thanks. Lily’s been so determined, and Jamie has been working really closely with her,” Amanda said, as she glanced between the two of them before clearing her throat awkwardly. “I’ll just—uh, give you two a minute.”

“No,” Jamie said quickly. She didn’t want Amanda to leave, but it was too late.

Amanda gave her a pointed good luck look before walking away, leaving Jamie and Kendall standing in the middle of the crowded arena hallway.

People pushed past them, making their way out of the venue, oblivious to the emotional minefield unfolding.

Jamie finally met Kendall’s eyes, steady and guarded, and said, “You don’t have to do that.”

“Do what?” Kendall crossed her arms, her tone sharp, brow furrowed in a way that accentuated a small scar on her forehead just above her left eyebrow.

“Look at me like I’m some kind of—” Jamie paused, searching for the right words. “Like I’m someone you never knew.”

Kendall’s lips tightened into a thin line. “Did I ever really even know you, Jamie? You disappeared—vanished. Wouldn’t answer any of my calls or emails or texts. What am I supposed to do? Pretend that didn’t happen?”

Jamie inhaled slowly, forcing herself to stay calm. She’d known this was coming. She’d thought about this exact moment a thousand times—what Kendall would say, what Jamie would say if they ever had this chance—but now, standing here, none of it seemed to fit.

“I didn’t vanish,” Jamie said quietly. “I—” She faltered, struggling to find the words to explain.

“What? You what?” Kendall pressed, her voice dropping lower but losing none of its edge. “You didn’t even say goodbye. You told me you were in love with me, and then poof —gone. Like I didn’t matter to you at all. You were my best friend, Jamie.”

“You did matter,” Jamie shot back, the words coming faster than she intended. “You mattered too much. That’s why I couldn’t tell you.”

Kendall stared at her for a moment, caught off guard. “Too much?”

Jamie sighed, running a hand through her hair.

“Yeah. Too much. You were everything to me back then. And when I told you how I felt, and you said you didn’t feel the same.

..” She stopped, shaking her head as embarrassment welled inside her.

She took a deep breath. “I couldn’t be around you and pretend I was fine.

I didn’t know how to be your friend and not be in love with you.

” Jamie’s voice cracked. She knew she should tell Kendall about the cancer—about everything—but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. “And things got complicated.”

Kendall shifted on her feet, her arms uncrossing as she absorbed Jamie’s words. “Complicated how?”

Jamie hesitated again, debating how much to tell Kendall about what happened in the weeks and months after their falling out—about the cancer, the long months of recovery, the endless cycle of feeling like she was barely surviving.

“Just life stuff,” Jamie finally said, her voice soft. “Stuff I wasn’t ready to deal with back then.”

Kendall frowned, studying her. For a moment, neither of them spoke. The sounds of the arena hummed around them—laughter, footsteps, the distant echo of someone calling a name—but it all felt muted, like they were caught in their own isolated bubble.

“Life stuff,” Kendall repeated. She shook her head, but there was no malice this time, only confusion. “You always did keep everything to yourself.”

Jamie gave a half smile. “Yeah. Old habits.”

Kendall sighed, rubbing the back of her neck.

“I’m not going to lie—I was so angry at you for a long time.

You were my best friend, Jamie. I didn’t know what to do after you left.

I thought things would be weird for a little while after you told me you were in love with me and I didn’t feel the same, but I figured we’d talk and work it out like we always did.

But then you just left out of nowhere. Not only did I lose you as a friend, but I lost Amanda, too. We were never the same after.”

“I know,” Jamie said softly. “And I’m sorry. For leaving like that. You didn’t deserve it.”

“You’re right. I didn’t.”

The two stood there for a moment in silence, the dust of the past finally settling without suffocating.

“I’m not the same person I was back then,” Jamie said, after a moment.

“Good. Back then, you were kind of a jerk,” Kendall replied, but a hint of a smile cracked at the corner of her mouth.

“I kind of was, wasn’t I?” Jamie sighed, and relief washed over her.

Maybe this wasn’t about fixing the past. Maybe it was about acknowledging it and moving forward.

Kendall glanced around the arena, then back to Jamie. “Are you sticking around for the rest of the meet tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Jamie said. “I’ll be here.”

“Okay.” Kendall hesitated. “Good. It’s good to see you, Jamie.”

“You too,” Jamie said, and she meant it.

Kendall gave her one last look before turning and walking away, disappearing into the crowd.

Jamie let out a long breath as her shoulders dropped, finally easing. Amanda reappeared a moment later, eyebrow raised. “Well? How’d it go?”

“Oh, now you conveniently reappear. Thanks for hanging me out to dry.”

Amanda grinned. “Years of practice in conflict mediation between you and Kendall prepared me for this moment. But, seriously, are you okay?”

“I’m okay. Honestly, that went better than expected,” Jamie admitted.

“See? Facing things head-on isn’t so bad.”

Jamie rolled her eyes, grinning as she spotted Beth moving through the crowd, blonde waves catching in the overhead lights. Jamie felt herself settle into the warmth of the gravitational force that Beth seemed to have on her.

“Find your T-shirt?” Jamie asked, as Beth approached, slipping back into her spot beside her like she belonged there.

Beth held up a plastic bag, grinning. “Got one for me and Lily, though I think she might roll her eyes at the idea of us matching.”

Jamie smiled. “I bet she’ll secretly love it.”

Amanda, unusually quiet for the last few moments, smirked and leaned in toward the two of them. “Well, I’ve never been a fan of third-wheeling, so I’m going to see myself out now. See you two tomorrow.”

As Amanda left, Jamie turned to Beth, who watched her with an expression she couldn’t quite read. There was gratitude in Beth’s eyes, accompanied by depth she hadn’t experienced before.

Beth finally broke the silence. “Thank you. For coming all this way. For everything.”

Jamie looked at her, and for a moment, the whole world seemed to narrow to the two of them standing there amid the fading crowd. She wanted to tell Beth how much this—being here, being part of it all—meant to her. But all she managed was a quiet, heartfelt, “I wouldn’t have missed it for anything.”

Beth’s lips curved into a gentle smile, eyes bright. “Well,” she said. “Since we’re in Austin, it’d be a crime not to have barbecue. Want to go find a quiet place for dinner?”

“I believe I promised you a date where I’d take you to dinner and tell you all my secrets. Is that still something you’re up for?”

“I think it depends on the secrets.”

Jamie laughed at that. “I promise we’ve already covered the big stuff.”

“Well, in that case, absolutely.”

Warmth flooded through Jamie as she nodded and fell into step beside Beth, the two of them walking out of the arena together, side by side, like they’d done this a hundred times before.