Page 80 of Pickled
We turned to face the crowd, and everyone in the stands stood, clapping. I took Piper and Janie’s hands, and Janie grabbed Preston’s. The four of us bowed like a theatre troupe, and mymorning pickleball crew shouted and clapped with their hands over their heads.
It wasn’t the Stanley Cup, but it felt almost as damn good. So what, I didn’t get the date with Piper? This was better. We were going to play in the tournament, and we were going to win.
Lisa and Olive rushed onto the court, and Olive wrapped her arms around her mom.
“That was incredible!” Lisa grinned. “Olive was giving a running commentary to anyone who would listen.”
“You were amazing, Mom!” Olive grinned up at me and squeezed me harder. “And Mr. Bailey, I didn’t know you were so good.”
“Thanks, kiddo.” I patted her shoulder, and something flickered in my heart when that kid smiled at me.
Lisa pulled us aside. “If you want a chance at winning this tournament, you’ll need to practice every morning this week. Judy offered to get Olive to school so you can train properly. I’ll be there to help you.”
“Lisa, you don’t have to—”
“Nonsense.” She winked at me. “Someone needs to make sure you two don’t kill each other before Saturday.”
As the crowd dispersed, my teammates approached.
“Okay, I take it back,” Jameson said. “That was actually impressive.”
“The hand-eye coordination. That shit is fast.” Morgan shook his head. “And the strategy. I had no idea.”
“It’s like hockey,” Riley added. “Positioning, teamwork, reading your opponent.”
Chelsea and her friends leaned against the fence, and she shot me a look. “Hey, guys, there are a few members who want to meet you.” I pointed to the group of women. They smiled and waved.
“You’re welcome,” I whispered. All of them, except Jameson and Riley, went over to meet the horrible women.
As we packed up our gear, I caught Piper looking at me.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing. Just…thank you. For pushing me to play like I meant it.”
“Thank you for trusting me enough to try.” I slung my backpack over my shoulder. “So, 7:00 a.m. tomorrow?”
“7:00 a.m.,” she confirmed. “Don’t be late.”
“Gideon Bailey is never late.”
She grinned and shook her head. “Don’t make me regret this.”
My phone rangas I was getting into my Escalade. It was my brother, and I picked it up right away.
“How’s the recovery going?” he asked.
“Better. Much better.” I started the engine. “I just won my first pickleball match.”
“No shit? Against who?”
“Club champion and his partner. It was incredible, Ace. We played like we’d been together for years.”
“We?”
“Piper and I.”
“So you two worked things out?”
