Ivy: small world
Sammie: And the venn diagram of volleyball players and queers is slowly but surely turning into a circle
Ivy: hell yeah, love that for me
Ivy: does that mean she’ll be helping out at your place this weekend????????
Sammie: Sadly, no
Sammie: Kenna went back to Louisville a week ago
Sammie: You won’t get to see those muscles working up close yet
Ivy: TERRIBLE news
Sammie: You’re still coming though?
Ivy: of course!!! we all promised kieran we’d come help get that place whipped into shape for you!
Ivy: besides, i’ve got your back sammie
Ivy: forever and always :D
Sammie: Thanks girl
Sammie: I’d be lost without you
Ivy: you’d be fine
Ivy: probably
Ivy: maybe
Ivy: but i appreciate the sentiment :D
Ivy: see you saturday!
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
THE SUN WAS setting by the time Sammie finally took a break. A couple of the guys from the team were still working to get one last section of the new gutters—paid for in full by Kai—up. It still rankled, having her brother’s partner pay for all the materials they’d used that weekend, but he’d told Sammie that if she asked about setting up a payment plan for paying him back one more time that he would break up with Atticus. Something she wasn’t willing to risk, even if she was pretty sure he was bluffing.
“Up, up!” Speak of the devil. Her brother bounced on the balls of his feet in front of where Sammie was sprawled on the back steps. “We’re walking to the park.”
“Why?” Sammie drained the rest of her water, clicking the cap back on as she raised a brow.
“Volleyball, of course!” He looked at her as though she’d grown a second head.
Sammie groaned. It was hot as fuck, and they’d been working for two days straight. “Butwhy? You all just played a whole season’s worth of volleyball, why do you want to playmore?”
“Well.” Atticus put a hand on his hip, rolling his eyes as though the answer should be obvious to her. “Kai has agreed to be our second setter, since Aaron is going to fill in as a spiker, since Bowen ‘couldn’t be here’ but refused to elaborate beyond that cryptic message, and I’ve never played against Kai before, and I really want to but he always tells me no, and we need youto play so the teams are even, so if you fuck this up for me I’m going to tell Kieran about the time you threw up after eating all that instant ramen and the noodles came out your—”
“Fine! Fine, if it’ll get you to stop barking in my ear I’ll play.”
That was how Sammie found herself walking down the road, an entire hoard of volleyball players in tow.
“Dibs on Sammie!” Atticus crooned, walking backwards to face their group.
An arm landed on her shoulders. A presence she’d grown used to already, new as it was.
