“That was insanely fun,” Blythe said. She, too, had a bounce in her step. “I’m telling you. I could do that shit.”
For most of the bout, Blythe muttered it would be a perfect career move for her.
“If the influencer gig doesn’t work out, maybe they’d give you a shot,” Ricki said.
“Yeah,” Madeline said. “You were popular with some of the ladies on the team.”
Afterward, when the team took pictures with fans, a few players had recognized Blythe. They’d shot several videos and even let Blythe skate around the track.
“Crazy, huh? We got some epic video.”
“Especially when you fell on your ass,” Ricki said.
“That one goes on the cutting room floor,” Blythe said.
“Oh, no, it’s the first we’re posting.”
Blythe turned up her nose at Ricki and then put her arm over Abby’s shoulders. “You never cease to surprise me. If someone had given me a thousand guesses, roller derby wouldn’t have been on the list.”
Abby’s insides warmed. She didn’t want Blythe and Ricki to see her as a boring librarian living on the prairie. Maybe she wasn’t as adventurous as Blythe, but she had her quirks.
“You two bring out the best in her,” Madeline said. “For years, I’ve encouraged her to let down her hair, but now I have allies.”
“Don’t you mean accomplices?” Abby said.
“One person’s allies are another’s accomplices,” Ricki said.
“Is that a quote from one of those books you guys are always reading?” Blythe asked.
“No, I just made it up.”
Blythe looked at Abby. “Did she?”
Abby grinned. “Kinda. It’s a spin-off of the saying one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
“So she plagiarized.” Blythe pointed at Ricki. “How low.”
Madeline chuckled. “Honey, you can’t call it plagiarism.”
Blythe snorted. “I can call it anything I want.”
“I love it. A woman with confidence,” Madeline said.
“Yep, she’ll confidently give the wrong answer every time,” Ricki responded.
On the rest of the walk to the car, they continued teasing. For Abby, the evening was perfect, exceeding all her expectations. She hoped it meant Blythe and Ricki would visit Harvestonagain, so she wouldn’t always have to travel to Berwyn. While she’d loved the time she’d spent in the city, sometimes the drive was tiring after a full day of work on Friday. Then making the trek back Sunday evening left her scrambling Sunday night, preparing for the upcoming workweek.
Her other fear hadn’t materialized, either. With Ricki being in contact with her dysfunctional ex, Abby had been worried. But so far, Ricki was cheerful and funny. Her normal self. Maybe escaping the city was doing her good.
Abby shook off her concern. She wouldn’t dwell on it, or it might interfere with their fun. She tuned into the conversation, which had shifted to Madeline’s terrible choices in men.
“There’s a cure for that,” Blythe teased. “The three of us have no man problems, right, ladies?”
“Not one,” Ricki said.
“Nope.” Abby chuckled. “My last man problem was in the third grade. He tried to hold my hand, so I hit him over the head with my book bag.”
“Brutal!” Blythe said with a laugh.
