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Golden Bridges, Bold Beginnings
As much as Veronica knew it was the right thing, the breakup still stung. She knew that Emily had taken it badly. She’d temporarily blocked her on all socials before reversing that a few days later. After a week of silence she’d called Veronica, begging her to take her back and for them to try again. It wasn’t in Veronica’s nature to be cruel or to be unmoved by somebody’s pain. Especially someone she used to love. But she had stayed firm: their relationship was over. She had tried to suggest that they stay friends but she knew in her heart of hearts that wouldn’t happen. Emily was too hurt and angry.
‘It’s her, isn’t it?’ She inferred angrily when she called Veronica late one evening.
‘Who?’ Veronica asked, already knowing what the answer would be.
‘Kate.’ Emily responded. It sounded like she almost spat Kate’s name out.
‘No. It’s not.’ Veronica said, firmly. ‘This is about you and me, Em. We haven’t been good for a long time.’
‘Only since you met her.’
‘That’s not true. I can’t keep doing this. Kate has a girlfriend. There is nothing going on with us.’
‘Yeah, but you want there to be. I know it. And if I know it, her girlfriend probably does too.’
That stuck with Veronica. She knew that she had been leaning on Kate during the breakup. She’d tried not to, but Kate was her best friend on the team. Kate understood better than anyone else seemed to. She gave Veronica the best advice and told her to trust her instincts with the breakup. If she felt it was the right decision, then it was. But Veronica hadn’t thought about Claire much. She had barely seen her. But she was sure she couldn’t be that happy with Kate spending that much time with her.
So, she resolved to stop relying on Kate and called two of her best friends. They both dropped everything and agreed to fly out to cheer her up and keep her company. P, her best friend, insisted that she had never liked Emily- as was her best friend’s prerogative. They would be staying with Veronica in her apartment for the weekend and heading to the game that evening. The team always had tickets and a suite ready for the players’ friends and family.
The game went well, especially for Veronica, and afterwards they caught up with her near the locker room.
‘Hey! You were amazing!’ P yelled, hugging her tightly.
‘Ha! Thanks!’ Veronica responded, still try to catch her breath from the game.
‘Eww. You’re so sweaty!’ P shouted, pushing Veronica away.
‘Well yeah, I just played almost 40 minutes!’ Veronica yelled back, laughing.
‘Ok, well go get showered because we are going out and our friend Claire is coming with us.’ P said, indicating the pretty blonde next to her.
Veronica was taken aback to see Claire standing there smiling.
‘Oh, cool. You guys met. Great.’ Veronica said, trying not to sound shocked. ‘I’ll be out in a bit and I’ll let Kate know’.
‘Oh, I already texted her.’ Claire said, breezily.
Veronica nodded awkwardly then walked into the locker room, heart racing.
She showered and threw her clothes on as quickly as she could. As she was slipping her shoes on, Kate appeared at her side.
‘Hey, I guess we’re all going out tonight. Claire said she met your friends and they were really nice and invited us out with you. That’s so kind’, She said.
‘Yeah, they’re sweet like that.’ Veronica responded, picking up her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. ‘See you back at the apartments?’ She added, not waiting for an answer and dashing out of the locker room.
Kate was a little taken aback and tried not to read too much into Veronica abruptly leaving.
Back at Veronica’s apartment, she immediately relaxed. Her friends never failed to make her laugh. P had braided her hair beautifully and helped her select an outfit so she felt cute and confident. They were blasting music and handing Veronica shots, which she eagerly downed.
‘Take it easy, V!’ P giggled. ‘I am not carrying you home!’
Veronica ignored her. She needed this. Needed to shake off the stress and drama of the breakup; wanted to blow off some steam and release the tension of the last few games. She threw back another shot and ran over to the speaker on her kitchen counter, skipping to a different song. The music pulsed through the kitchen, the friends all starting to dance around with drinks in their hands. Veronica was doing her classic, silly dance move: rolling her arms above her head. It wasn’t fully a joke- that was her actual go-to move- but she didn’t mind that she wasn’t the best dancer. P pulled out her phone and filmed them, joking with Veronica.
Veronica stuck her nose up and pouted, trying not to laugh. She felt free, happy, for the first time in a week.
‘Time to go!’ P yelled, turning the music off.
Veronica slipped her shoes on and took one last look at herself in the mirror. She looked good. She felt good too.
They wandered out of the apartment and downstairs to the street to wait for their ubers. Not long after, Kate and Claire came out of the apartment building and walked over to join them.
‘Hi!’ Kate said, cheerily.
‘Kate!’ Veronica’s friends greeted her, pleased to see her.
Veronica smiled. She loved that her friends instantly liked Kate. But then again, everyone liked Kate as soon as they met her. It was her superpower. She was so friendly, so charming, and had this unique ability to make you feel like you were the only person in the room.
Kate and Claire were happily chatting with P and the others while Veronica stood quietly, taking in Kate. She looked good, as always. Slacks, loose t-shirt, hair pulled back into that bun so her neck and jawline were visible. Edible.
Wait, what? She didn’t mean that. Right?
Veronica shook her head slightly and was relieved as the ubers pulled up. Kate, ever the gentlewoman, let Claire get in first and then moved behind Veronica, her hand at her back.
‘You look beautiful.’ She whispered into Veronica’s ear as she moved behind her.
Veronica smiled but didn’t look back.
The bass was thumping at the bar. Thankfully, it wasn’t too busy and the bar itself wasn’t too crowded. They wandered over and P insisted on ordering for everyone.
‘V, Kate, you get whatever you want ‘cause you both balled out tonight!’
‘Yes!’ Everyone shouted in agreement.
They ordered drinks- as well as shots that P insisted they all have- then stood chatting, Veronica’s friends admitting they got distracted and didn’t realise how many points she had.
‘Oh wow, thanks’. She laughed, sipping her drink.
‘Well P almost got into a fight with someone after you missed a free throw’. Jay, one of Veronia’s friends, pointed out.
‘Yeah, they were doing too much on my girl.’ P retorted, proudly.
‘I get it.’ Kate added. ‘She’d usually carrying us and we all get so protective when she hits the floor.’
‘I do not hit the floor that much!’ Veronica responded, going to shove Kate with her forearm but then thinking better of it given that Claire was right next to her.
She quickly tried to distract from it. ‘Let’s go grab a table’. She suggested.
Thankfully, everyone was in agreement and they wandered over to an empty one, pulling up some extra chairs so they could all sit together. Veronica’s friends immediately began grilling Claire about her life and relationship with Kate. She answered all the questions politely, but Veronica couldn’t help picking up on how she seemed to answer for both her and Kate.
‘So, Claire, do you think you’ll get a job out here?’ P asked her.
‘Maybe.’ She mused. ‘But we were thinking of getting a dog. We both love dogs and it would be so fun to have one to come home to.’
‘Oh, wow! You’re at the dog stage already.’ P replied.
‘Yeah. I guess so.’ She continued. ‘But I mean, we’ve been together for over a year now and I think it could be a really cool thing for us to do.’
Veronica focused on Kate as Claire was talking, not sure how to read her face. She wasn’t sure if Kate was happy to let Claire talk for her or if she felt uncomfortable that this was being shared. Veronica drained the last of her drink in an effort to distract herself and stood up, offering to go to the bar to order another round of drinks for everyone.
‘No, that’s ok.’ Kate said, standing up. ‘It’s my turn. I’ll go.’
Veronica was about to offer to accompany her when P shot up. ‘I’ll come with you. I need something different and I wanna look at the menu.’ She said, following Kate.
Them leaving brought the conversation to a swift halt. Veronica sat awkwardly, swirling the last drops of her drink in the bottom of her glass, staring at the floor.
‘Man, Kate’s just the best, huh?’ She heard Jay say.
Immediately, Veronica perked her head up, smiling. ‘Right? She really is.’ She answered, eagerly.
As she looked up at Jay, she saw that she was turned to Claire, who had paused halfway through answering her and turned to look at Veronica with a surprised expression on her face.
‘Oh, sorry, V…I meant Claire.’ Jay said.
‘Oh…of course…. yeah…sorry.’ Veronica was flustered. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and clutched her empty glass in both hands. Her cheeks were flushed and she suddenly felt hot and very exposed. She tried to play it off with a smile and a laugh, but it came out hollow and forced.
Claire and Jay didn’t say anything but went back to their conversation. Veronica was feeling embarrassed and sat silently, replaying the moment over in her head. Thankfully, it wasn’t long before P and Kate returned with the drinks.
Veronica continued to knock hers back, desperate to shove down the discomfort that was slowly creeping over her. She was thankful for the release of the alcohol, eventually feeling the tension in her shoulders relax and her guard come down more. She loved watching her friends bond with Kate. It was clear they all liked her. Kate was funny, had great conversation and made everyone feel included. She wasn’t afraid to joke about herself either.
‘Hey, I’m just glad I didn’t fall over my own feet on that shot.’ Kate exclaimed, partway through a story of how the fourth quarter had gone earlier that evening.
‘You mean when you almost lost the ball on that drive?’ Veronica joked, giving Kate a light push with her arm.
‘I did not!’ Kate retorted.
‘Oh please, I could see the fear in your eyes! You were like’- Veronica snickered, throwing herself forward in an impression of Kate’s move. She leaned her body into Kate’s, placing her arm against Kate’s shoulder and almost laying her head on it. As she pulled back, laughing, Claire suddenly moved to Kate’s other side, grabbing her arm and pushing her body into Kate’s.
‘Don’t listen to them, baby’, she said, grabbing Kate’s face and pulling her down into a kiss. She then looped her arms up around Kate’s neck and deepened it. If Kate was surprised, she didn’t show it, kissing Claire back intently and bringing her hands to Claire’s waist.
Veronica was startled and moved back slightly. Her stomach and chest tightened and she felt a wave of jealousy and embarrassment. She looked away, not wanting to watch.
‘Ok you two, get a room!’ P yelled, laughing.
Kate and Claire broke apart, Kate’s cheeks flushing slightly. She wasn’t big on kissing in public. Claire was grinning cheekily. ‘Oh, we intend to’, she said with a wink at P, who gave a delighted yell in response.
Veronica could swear that as Claire said it, she looked right at Veronica, her eyes like daggers. Like she was making a point, claiming Kate and telling Veronica to back off. Veronica felt her heart racing and her throat suddenly get dry. The room was too loud all of a sudden and the buzz of the alcohol seemed to immediately disappear. She felt exposed, like Claire was picking up on her feelings and warning her. It jolted her right out of her revelry.
Veronica’s change in mood must have been detectable to her friends as they suggested they leave not long after. They headed back to the apartments and Kate announced that the rest of their teammates were gathered chatting and playing games in the entertainment room on the top floor and had invited them all to join. Veronica’s friends were keen to keep the party going and eager to take up the invitation so Veronica reluctantly agreed. To her relief, Claire decided not to accompany them and said she’d go back to her and Kate’s apartment.
‘Are you sure?’ Kate asked her, gently.
‘Yes, you guys will just talk basketball and I’ll be lost. I’ll be fine, don’t worry.’ Claire responded. ‘Don’t be late though.’ She added, pulling Kate in for another kiss. As they broke apart, she shot Veronica another glance but her face was impossible to read this time. Veronica smiled back at her, weakly.
She was delighted to see her teammates in the entertainment room, but elected to switch to water. Her alcohol buzz had worn off and she might as well sober up at that point. The group chatted, laughed and joked for what felt like hours. It was so easy between them all now; they’d bonded so well. Eventually, though, Kate stood up and yawned.
‘Ok, guys. I gotta go to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow.’ She said, making to leave.
‘Nooooo! Lame! It’s still early.’ Veronica whined in an exaggerated voice, trying to grab Kate’s wrist and pull her back.
Kate shook her head and said goodnight, heading out.
Veronica pouted and turned back to the group. It wasn’t the same without Kate. She missed her straightaway. Her presence was calming, comforting, but also something Veronica was starting to want more and more.
She looked down and realised that Kate had left her phone on the table. She grabbed it and spoke to no one in particular. ‘Oh, Kate left her phone. I’m gonna go give it to her.’
Nobody seemed to register as they were all too busy egging on Julie answering the latest Truth or Dare question. Veronica stood up, climbing over the sofa to get out, and dashed out of the room to the elevator. Kate’s apartment was on the same floor as hers, at the other end of the hallway. She skipped out of the elevator and along the hall to Kate’s door, bringing her hand up to knock. As she did, she paused, hearing sounds coming through the door. They were low, moaning voices. One voice was gasping, high, frantic; the other murmuring. The sounds of a couple having sex right on the other side.
Veronica froze, horrified, not sure what to do. Her stomach was in knots and her chest tight. She turned and fled down the hall, Kate’s phone still clutched in her hand.
Things were weird for the next few days. Veronica didn’t mean to act strangely, but she couldn’t help it. She had returned Kate’s phone to her the next morning and said nothing about the night before. Instead, she retreated back from their friendship, telling herself that the ache consuming her was from the breakup, not from jealousy or longing. Kate noticed because she always noticed when Veronica was acting differently. She saw the small changes: the excuses not to hang out, avoiding her at practice and not giving much in conversation on the flights on travel days.
One morning, Veronica awoke to a loud knocking on her apartment door. Veronica opened the door, rubbing her eyes, and was surprised to see Kate standing there.
‘Ok, come on. We’re going out!’ Kate said, pushing the door open and striding past Veronica.
Veronica closed the door, still confused. ‘Kate, it’s 7am. It’s an off-day.’
‘Exactly, it’s an off day and you are not sitting in and moping over your breakup anymore.’
‘I have not been moping.’ Veronica said, defensively.
Kate raised her eyebrow and looked at Veronica with a look that said ‘sure’.
‘Ok, fine. Maybe a little bit, but I’m allowed to. It’s been like two weeks.’ She realised that Kate thought her behavior was over Emily and she felt no need to correct her. It wasn’t like that wasn’t true. She was still hurting knowing she’d wounded Emily. But beyond that, she had no feelings of regret.
‘Exactly. Two weeks is more than enough time to mope. We are going out and doing something fun.’
‘Like what?’ Veronica threw her hands up exaggeratedly.
‘We’re going to walk the Golden Gate Bridge’.
Veronica stared at her, hoping she was kidding.
‘That’s your big plan? Get windswept on the Golden Gate?’
‘Yep. And you’re not getting out of it. Come on, let’s go. You need to get dressed.’ She indicated towards Veronica, who blushed when she realised she was wearing only a worn t-shirt and sleep shorts. She ran a hand through the messy hair piled on her head.
‘Ok, give me a few minutes. And you take me to get coffee first.’
The wind was whipping through the bridge. It was so much colder than Kate had anticipated.
‘Well, at least your sadness is getting blown away, right?’ She yelled to Veronica, who was struggling to keep her hood up.
‘Oh, was that the plan?’ Veronica laughed, accepting defeat with the hood and letting the wind whip through her hair. ‘I’ll send you the receipt for my new braids, shall I?’
‘If it means you’re distracted, that’s fine with me!’
Kate noticed that Veronica was visibly shivering and reflexively moved to rub her arm.
‘Ok, we’re actually going to turn to ice in a minute. Let’s just say we walked the whole thing and go get lunch?’ She said.
‘God, yes!’ Veronica gasped, with a relived sigh.
In the café things were much quieter- and calmer. Kate insisted on buying lunch, despite Veronica’s protests. They were both warming their hands around their coffee cups, laughing about Temi’s hilarious messages on the group chat from Eurobasket.
‘I miss everyone’, Veronica said, smiling.
‘I know. But I’m loving all the newbies. Kaitlyn seems really sweet. Maybe we should invite her and LA to Uno night with us?’ Kate replied.
‘Oh, you want to open up our Uno games?’
‘Well, it is a little boring just beating your ass every time’-
‘Excuse me!’ Veronica gasped, stifling a laugh and almost choking on her coffee. ‘I am amazing at Uno!’
‘Nobody agrees with that. Not one person’. Kate responded, dryly.
‘KT cheats!’ Kate laughed.
Veronica couldn’t help but laugh as well. It was what her and Kate did most when they were together. She was so grateful for it, especially with how heavy the last couple of weeks had been.
They sat silently for a few moments, watching each other sip coffee. Kate staring at Veronica with that intense eye contact again. It was so disarming. Veronica was smiling too wildly and she knew it. Her eyes darted down to her coffee. ‘What are your plans after this then? You and Claire doing something fun?’
Kate’s face fell and she was suddenly very interested in her coffee cup. Eventually, after a few aggressive sips, she sighed and responded. ‘Claire’s actually moving back to Chicago.’
Veronica was shocked. ‘Wait, what? Why? But you guys… Didn’t you guys just get a dog?’
‘Fostered a dog and he’s being adopted this week by a big Valkyrie fan apparently…. I don’t know, V. She’s really lonely out here. She misses her friends. There’s nothing for her to do all day. I thought maybe the dog would help but it hasn’t. She wants to get a job out there and do long distance again, which is fine. Honestly, I think we both need the space. We’ve been arguing a lot.’
‘Kate…I’m so sorry… are you guys gonna be ok?’
‘Yeah of course. We’ll just go back to how it was the first year we were together and I think that’s better for us anyway.’ Kate knew that she didn’t sound convincing when she said it, but she had to believe that was true. She took another sip of coffee and wrinkled up her nose.
‘Women.’ Veronica said, jokingly rolling her eyes.
Kate snorted, almost spitting out her coffee across the table. She grabbed a napkin, desperately trying not to laugh while Veronica lost it.
Kate was definitely bummed by Claire leaving. She didn’t show it at practice, of course, but Veronica could sense her hurt, could see how she was masking the pain. Whenever anyone asked how she was, Kate was always a little too eager to tell them how great she was, how normal this was, and how unaffected her and Claire were. It was like she was trying to convince herself as much as everyone else. Veronica wanted to take the pain away. She hated seeing Kate like this. She offered hugs as often as she could but then worried she was doing too much. So she pulled Kaitlyn and Laeticia into their circle more. The four of them got on so well. They all had the same sense of humor. It was easy and free.
Then Eurobasket finished and Julie got waived. She had been close to Veronica and Kate. They were both devastated she was gone and the way in which she was waived hurt even more. It just felt so careless, so heartless. As much as Veronica tried not to think about the decisions out of her control and above her head, she couldn’t help but be bothered by how Julie had been treated. None of the players could. Even Kaitlyn seemed to feel guilty for taking Julie’s roster spot. Veronica felt like she needed to be a leader and to pull the team out of their sadness, which wasn’t easy when she felt it so heavily too.
The team was in the middle of an intense road trip. Thankfully, that had taken everyone’s attention and they were all locked in and focused on the games coming up. Veronica herself would stay up late each night studying film and the scouting report. She wanted to keep getting better.
The knock on the hotel room door was so soft that Veronica thought she was hearing things. She put down her book and slid off the bed.
‘Hello?’ She called out, walking towards it.
‘V?’ The voice on the other side came.
‘Kate?’ Veronica rushed to unlock the door and opened it to see a red-eyed Kate standing in the hallway sniffing.
Veronica grabbed her arm and pulled her into the room; her voice filled with concern. ‘What’s wrong?’
Kate wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater and sniffed again. Veronica had never seen Kate cry before and it worried her deeply. She led Kate over to the bed and helped her sit on the bed before grabbing a box of tissues. She sat on the floor in front of Kate and waited for her to speak.
The hotel room was quiet except for Kate’s occasional sniff and the bang of doors closing further down the hall. Kate thumbed the edge of her sleeve and wound one of the frayed fibers around her finger.
Veronica took a breath and spoke in the softest voice she could. ‘Kate. What happened?’
‘We broke up.’ Kate replied, her voice thin and quiet.
‘Claire?’ Veronica asked, bringing her hand up to rest on Kate’s knee gently. She knew things with Kate and Claire hadn’t been great. Kate had admitted that they’d been arguing. Claire had been making excuses about why she didn’t want to go visit Kate in the Bay. It was too stressful after such a big move, she’d said. She was focused on the job hunt in Chicago.
‘She said she knows she's not my priority and she doesn’t feel like I’m a good girlfriend anymore.’
‘What? Kate that’s crazy. You are the best girlfriend anyone could ever have.’
Kate glanced up and they locked eyes for a few moments. This time Veronica didn’t look away. She gazed right back. Honest, true, unflinching. Kate’s face softened. She placed her hand on Veronica’s on her knee and her mouth turned up at the edges, almost a smile.
They talked for hours, Veronica listening, nodding, giving hugs when they were needed. Eventually, Kate realised what time it was. They had a game tomorrow: Coach would kill them if they both turned up looking like they’d been up all night. She slipped off back to her room, thanking Veronica and pulling her into a tight hug. As she left, Veronica stood staring at the door for a few moments as the realisation sank in that this wasn’t a crush anymore. The leap she’d felt in her stomach at hearing Kate was single confirmed it. She had real feelings for Kate and she had no idea what to do about them.
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