Sports Fan

Andrew was surprised to receive Nick’s text. He hadn’t heard from him in months. They used to hang out every Friday night until Andrew outgrew the bar scene. Now he spent most of his time at work or playing with his dog, Boots. Nick hadn’t done the same.

The text promised big news, and what better place to share big news than at the pickleball club? Nick waited on their reserved court, twirling his paddle with one hand and texting with the other.

“You look good, man,” Andrew said as he approached. If anything, Nick was overdressed. Surely pickleball on a spring day in Florida didn’t require a vintage sweater vest. He felt self-conscious in his athleisure, which seemed like a waste of $120.

“I gotta say, I’m a changed man. Love will do that to you, bro,” Nick said.

That explained the outfit.

“Who’s the lucky lady this time?” If this was the big news, Andrew was skeptical. Nick fell in love at least twice a year.

“Her name’s Sadie.” Nick pulled a neon green pickleball from his fanny pack. “Ready to pickle?”

Andrew nodded and they took their places on opposite sides of the net.

Nick signaled his intent to serve and whiffed the ball. Andrew let him try again. The guy was in love. He could cut him some slack.

“How’d you meet?” Andrew asked after they’d fallen into a comfortable rally.

“Drinking down at Ferg’s. I was there with Chelsea, if you could believe it.”

“Did Chelsea introduce you?” Andrew met Chelsea once. Or was that Courtney?

“Nah, she was pissed off at me. I promised to take her to a Rays game but couldn’t get tickets. Her loss— Ferg’s is just as fun and it’s right next door to Tropicana Field.” The ball double bounced at Nick’s feet, but he played on it.

“Are you sure that was all Chelsea was pissed about? Seeing you chatting up another girl couldn’t have felt good.”

“Tell you the truth, I didn't care what was going on with her. I only had eyes for Sadie.”

The ball double bounced again, and this time Andrew insisted on his point. Nick threw the ball back over the net for Andrew’s serve.

“You had to be there,” Nick continued, returning the serve. “Even with the Rays on, I was totally transfixed by this beautiful woman singing karaoke across the bar.”

“Oh cool, she’s a singer. What song was she singing?”

“You know that Black Eyed Peas song, what is it— My Humps?” Nick said.

Andrew winced. He wouldn’t categorize that as singing, but to each their own.

“She was okay, but she really caught my attention when she stopped singing.”

“What?” Andrew nearly missed the ball, recovering with a hasty volley. “Her silence caught your attention?”

“Well, she was only quiet because the Rays made a double play. That told me she had her priorities in order,” Nick explained. He returned the volley in the kitchen, racking another point for Andrew.

“Okay Romeo, tell me about her. What does she like? What do you do together?”

“She’s just incredible. She’s funny, beautiful, and so smart. She loves to eat food and doesn’t mind me hanging around. The textbook definition of my dream girl.”

Andrew slammed the ball across the court. Nick failed to pursue it.

“I could say all the same things to describe Boots. You’re not scoring any points here,” Andrew said.

Nick frowned, looking at Andrew’s sneakers. “You’re not wearing boots, dude.”

Andrew sighed, taking possession of the ball again. “Never mind. I’m still not convinced you’re in love.”

Nick returned the serve with unexpected force. It clipped the net and fell on his side of the court.

“I am in love, though. Let me tell you about the other night.” He sat down on the bench and swigged from his water bottle. “We went for a walk on the beach at sunset. It was gorgeous: a light breeze playing with her hair and swaying the palm trees, the sky all pink and purple, the sun diving into the ocean. It looked like the label on a bottle of Malibu.”

Andrew nodded. That sounded pretty romantic up until the mention of bottom-shelf rum.

“She held my hand and we were just talking about everything and anything. Our favorite songs, baseball, and other stuff like that. It could have been five minutes or five hours; I have no concept of time when I’m with her. By now, the sun’s going down and the sky’s getting all twinkly with stars. I put a beach blanket down and we just sat there, kissing, letting the water lick our toes. I stood up and pulled my shirt off.”

Andrew stifled a groan. He hadn’t met Sadie, certainly she was a lovely woman, but he knew where this was going.

“I don’t need a blow by blow, okay?” Andrew said.

“Oh naw, a gentleman does not kiss and tell,” Nick said. “Just listen to the story. Anyway, I’m standing there shirtless, and she’s staring up at me with those big, bedroom eyes. She stood, walked over real slow, and pressed her pretty pink fingernails against my chest. Then she walked away.”

“She left you?” Andrew frowned.

“Yep, just turned her back and started walking up the beach,” Nick nodded.

“Did you go after her? You love this woman, you don’t just let her go.”

“I wanted to, but my heart just fell out of my chest. I’d met my dream girl, we had a romantic evening together, and now she was gone. I stared at the ocean for a bit, watching the waves churn. Sometimes that’s life, you know? Here one minute, gone the next.”

Andrew thought for a minute. “So, you know you love her because you couldn’t imagine your life without her?”

Nick laughed. “No, man. A few minutes later, I heard screaming: this wild, rebel yell. I turn to look, and there’s Sadie. That crazy woman ran past me, butt naked, and dove right into the ocean.”

“Ah, so you love her for her wild, carefree spirit,” Andrew said.

“Wrong again,” Nick said. “I knew she was the one when I saw she had the Philly Phanatic tattooed on her backside.”