“There was a billboard with your picture on it outside the window of my apartment in Spain. I was missing home, missing my family, trying to decide whether I should hang up my jersey for good or keep pushing for another year. During all that, your smile calmed me.”
I clear my throat, the red of embarrassment creeping up my neck.Here goes nothing.
“I got so used to seeing you, I even…waved sometimes on my way out in the morning. Or told you about my day when I got home.”
I can’t look at her, so I stare at my half-eaten plate.
“I know it was silly, but I felt less alone with you watching over me. And then I saw you in person—”
I finally glance up to see realization dawn on Kendra’s face.
“And you froze.”
I nod.
“I froze. Because how could you be real? How could my dream girl suddenly be standing right in front of me? And then you were so cool, too?” I shake my head. “I didn’t feel worthy of you. Not yet. Not until I had myself a little more together.”
As soon as the words are out, I immediately regret them. There’s vulnerable, and then there’s pathetic, and I passed pathetic somewhere around—
“I think that’s really sweet,” Kendra murmurs, taking my large hand in her small one. I keep my eyes averted.
“You don’t think that’s…creepy?”
She giggles, squeezing my hand to make me look up at her. She palms my cheek with a sweet smile.
“Of course it was creepy.” I choke on my wine, but she’s still smiling.
“So many people in my life who were supposed to be there forever, to support me, just weren’t. My mom. My dad. My ex.” Kendra sighs. “Maybe what you did was a little extreme, but it’s also kinda nice to have someone so into me for a change.”
She leans in and kisses me, but I’m too stunned to react.
“I’m into you too, by the way.”
When the paparazzi aim their cameras outside the restaurant, I don’t shy away. I pull Kendra into my arms, drop my head, and kiss the woman I love for all to see. She’s not a fantasy anymore; she’s my here and now, and I’m grabbing hold of her for as long as she’ll have me.
Chapter twenty-seven
Kendra
“Alright, ladies! Is anyone in the house celebrating her last night of freedom?!”
The DJ draws out the last word, adding air horn sound effects and releasing a fresh burst of confetti from somewhere in the ceiling, while the girls and I try to out-scream the three other groups vying for rowdiest bachelorette here at Hunk-O-Mania.
Surprisingly, Camila’s the loudest of all. On the party bus from New York to Atlantic City, I couldn’t get a read on her. She seemed quiet. Not shy, but maybe a little…reserved. But after a few shots of 1800, she started showing off her pole dancing skills to our drunken cheers and even attempted to pleasure her penis-shaped lollipop while we all giggled profusely. It’s hard to believe this wild woman is marrying Henry Park, the most notoriously cutthroat divorce attorney in the city. He’s probably a freak between the sheets to bag a baddie like this.
Despite not wanting to come initially, I’m glad I did. It’s always awesome to hang with Denise, Maya, and Tiffany—the Three Amigas, as they call themselves—but Camila and her sister Rory have been an unexpected blast, too. Tiffany kicked off the bachelorette scavenger hunt, hence why we’re here trying to snap a pic of Camila putting a twenty in a stripper’s G-string, and Rory has been leading a raunchy game of Never Have I Ever in between quests.
“Never have I ever…” Rory starts, looking around the group mischievously, “Frenched a girl!”
Everyone breaks out in hoots and whistles, those who’ve dabbled in a little sapphic love putting a finger down. I put one down, Denise puts one down—no surprise there—and Tiff puts one down. She’s eyeing Rory the same way she looked at the nachos she housed two bars ago; like she’s ready to eat her up. Or, more accurately,out.
I look back and forth between the two women.
“Do you want to?” Tiffany asks coquettishly, and I don’t miss the heat that flickers in Rory’s eyes. I elbow Denise.
“Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” I whisper under my breath. Denise wipes imaginary smudges off her glow-in-the-dark penis glasses.
“Everything is checking out!”
