Page 4 of Pick Me

On Thursdays we wore Lululemon.

Or at least on this Thursday, I was decked out in borrowed athleisure once again, crossing my fingers that Kai was consistent and would show

up at the Chelsea Pickleball Academy at approximately the same time as the week prior.

Yeah, total stalker vibes, but I was on a mission.

No surprise, Meredith had jumped at the chance to be my wingwoman. Unlike me, her belief in romantic serendipity was unscathed,

and she was convinced that we were starting chapter one of a great love story.

I hoped that she was right for so many reasons.

When we walked into the place, the rhythmic pops of gameplay were an instant reminder of what I was attempting. I was not good at sports. Any of them, from softball to bowling, so what made me think that my nonexistent skills could woo someone who

obviously took the game seriously?

But that could be yet another in with my inspo. I was a newbie looking for an expert to show me the ropes, and that was a

total turn-on. Hell, I’d used the concept in my book The Rancher’s Romantic Rival , where true love bloomed between a shy nanny and her cowboy employer when he taught her how to ride a horse.

The lessons had allowed Molly to discover the tenderness hidden beneath Dirk’s gruff exterior, and Dirk had loved being the subject matter expert and showing off his skills.

Of course, I still had some complications to work through, like Kai actually showing up and then me angling to look just the

right amount of clueless. A little helpless but still competent.

It was going to require a lot of acting, because once I had a paddle in my hand all bets were off. Ball going straight over the net? Unlikely. Ball zipping

over to smack a bystander in the gut? Almost guaranteed.

Meredith and I stood at the counter while the front desk woman chatted with someone in an office behind it. Meredith cleared

her throat to signal that we were waiting and then rolled her eyes at me.

“This would never fly at Harmony Pilates,” she whispered out of the corner of her mouth. “Client check-in sets the tone for

the rest of the experience.”

I was too busy scanning the courts for a certain dark-haired expert to notice that we were being ignored. There were plenty

of beautiful people smacking balls around but no Kai.

I suddenly wanted to abort our mission, but it was too late. The gum-smacking front desk person finally made her way over

to us.

“Sorry, I was busy watching our mascot being adorable,” she explained, not sounding sorry at all.

“Hi, I’m a member but my friend has a day pass,” Meredith explained, nodding toward me.

I smiled and held my phone out to her with the QR code I’d discovered online enlarged, so all she had to do was scan it.

The woman’s expression went confused. “Day pass? I’ve been here six months, and I’ve never heard of that. Lemme see.”

She yanked my phone from my hand and zoomed out on the screen.

“There’s no expiration date,” I explained helpfully as she studied my phone. “I checked everywhere.”

“Hold on,” she said with a sigh, then walked back to the office with my phone. “Hey, Grip, do you know anything about a day

pass thingy?”

I couldn’t make out what the deep voice said in response, but the woman came back after a few minutes, looking resigned.

“It’s your lucky day; he said he remembers seeing you.” She flipped her hand to point up at the camera mounted in the corner.

“We normally wouldn’t allow it because this is from when we first opened, but you’re good this time.” She scanned the code,

then tapped on the computer keyboard like she was making reservations for an international flight. “Court thirteen.”

I followed Meredith to the swanky locker room, trying not to be too obvious about the fact that I was scanning every face

we passed. She pulled the paddles out of her bag and handed a gray-and-red one that she’d borrowed from Colton to me.

“Don’t be nervous,” she scolded me gently, accurately translating my expression. “This is supposed to be fun. It’s an adventure!”

“It’s a quest,” I corrected. “I need a hit of serotonin or else I’ll be lucky to write fifty words today.”

“Then let’s get out there,” she said with a wink. “I have a good feeling.”

Court thirteen had to be the worst offering in the place for the other players, but I loved the fact that it bordered a wall.

That meant only one court would be stuck fielding my crappy shots.

“I’m ready if you are,” I said, taking another glance around the space. No Kai yet, but maybe he’d show up as we were fin ishing up, so I’d be glowy from exertion and he wouldn’t have a chance to see my lack of skills.

“We’re just goofing around right now, getting a feel for it,” Meredith reminded me. “But first, stretching.”

“Seriously?” I gaped at her. “This is just a bigger version of Ping-Pong; why do I have to warm up?”

She slid her left leg out in front of her and bent over at the waist, bracing her hands on the opposite thigh. “Because I’m

going to make you run , girlie. Happy endorphins, coming right up.”

She led me through light Pilates for a few minutes, which I had to admit felt sort of good, then walked to her side of the

court. “No pressure to be perfect. We’re just going to have some fun.”

“Trust me, perfection won’t be a problem over here.” I laughed as I got into position and mimicked her stance.

I looked down at my hand and realized that I was doing the same choke-hold grip as the last time I’d attempted to play. I

let go and adjusted it the way Bucket Hat had shown me and hoped it would help.

“I’m a big fan of learning by doing,” Meredith explained. “I’m sure if you were taking a real lesson, you’d be going over

all sorts of foundation stuff. But today, no score, no rules. Just vibes to start. Ready?”

I looked around the space again and was disappointed he hadn’t arrived but relieved to see that no one was watching. “Yup.”

Meredith dropped the ball and smacked it out of the air and toward me.

With no Daniel jumping in front to claim the ball, all I could do was freeze and stare as the thing whizzed by.

“That’s fine,” Meredith called to me. “But next time maybe try a little?”

I nodded and hunkered down like I was serious about hitting the ball. She swatted it toward me again and “try a little” echoed

in my head as I got ready.

Amazingly, my paddle connected with the ball with a thwack, and it careened over the net and headed for the far corner of

the court. The luckiest shot ever! I grinned as I watched Meredith dash after it.

But then she let out a high-pitched yip and tumbled to the ground.

“You okay?” I laughed, but Meredith didn’t pop up like I expected. “Mere?”

She was still on the ground, clutching her ankle, when I reached her, her face pinched with pain.

“It really hurts.” She looked up at me as her eyes filled with tears. “ Bad .”

I dropped to my knees beside her. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry! Do you want me to get someone?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. Give me a sec.” She pursed her lips and blew out a shuddery breath.

I gently moved her hand away from her ankle. “Mere, it’s already swelling.”

“Fuck.”

I looked around the space for help and spotted Bucket Hat heading our way.

“Hey!” I waved my hand. “Excuse me?”

I glanced between him and Meredith as he walked closer. Despite the concern on his face, there was an ease to the way he moved,

like he was at home in the space. He sped up to a jog.

“Oh shit, what happened? Are you okay?”

“She tripped,” I offered. “It’s my fault.”

“Stop, I’m the dummy who ran for it. Great shot, by the way.”

Meredith tried to smile, but it crumpled into a grimace of pain almost immediately. I could tell she was trying to play it

cool as her ankle blew up.

He knelt down beside us, frowning. “Can I take a peek?”

Meredith nodded and sniffled again, trying to keep from crying.

Bucket Hat gently placed his hand on top of her sneaker as he surveyed the damage. “Wow. Shit. Okay, that’s not good. Do you

think you can stand up?”

“Yeah, I’ll try,” Meredith said, shifting her weight so that she was on her hip, then onto her knees.

“Go slow,” he coached. “We’re not in a rush.”

Meredith moved her leg out so she was on one knee, took a deep breath, and started to rise.

“Grab on,” Bucket Hat said.

She gripped his offered hand, got halfway up, then crumpled to the ground again, letting out a little cry of frustration and

pain. “I can’t. It hurts too much.”

“Okay, wait here,” Bucket Hat said. “Be right back.”

He gave me a nod like we were members of the same rescue squad, and I bobbed my head to confirm it before he jogged away.

“Am I delirious or is that guy super cute?” Meredith whispered to me, still trying to play off the pain like it wasn’t a big deal.

“Stop,” I chastised her. “The only thing I’m thinking about right now is you.”

A few minutes later, Bucket Hat was back, pushing a rolling office chair in front of him. “Your Uber, miss? And I brought you ice.”

He held up a small white pillow-shaped pack, then crushed it in his palm until it made a popping sound.

“Start icing it,” he said as he handed it to Meredith. “And take this.” He pulled a packet of aspirin from his pocket and

handed it to her along with a mini water bottle.

“Wow, you’re very prepared. Does this sort of thing happen a lot?” Meredith asked as she tried to hide a grimace.

Bucket Hat nodded. “Injuries happen way more often than people realize. Now, let’s get you in the chair.”

He managed to divide his attention between Meredith and me as we moved her, guiding me how to best grab onto her while checking

in with her to make sure we weren’t accidentally causing more discomfort.

“You good?” he asked once she was settled.

She bit her lip and nodded. “I’m okay, thank you.”

I could tell she was lying. Meredith didn’t like being a bother.

“I can take it from here,” I said. “Thanks for this.” I nodded toward the chair.

“Absolutely not,” he said with authority, stepping in front of me. “I’m driving.”

He set off, pushing the chair through the courts, and our little parade attracted quite a bit of attention. We reached the

reception area, bickering about our next steps. Meredith wanted to catch a cab home while I insisted that she needed to go

to a walk-in clinic.

Or in this case, a hobble-in clinic.

“Sorry, but I really think you need to have that looked at,” Bucket Hat interrupted us. “It’s more than a sprain.”

I pointed at him triumphantly while I glared at Meredith. “See? You’re outnumbered!”

Meredith opened her mouth to argue, but a loud voice echoed from behind us.

“Yo, Gripper. What’s going on?”

I turned around, but my gut already knew who it was.

There was Kai. Grinning right at me.