Raise Your Game

by Cassia Leo

  “Dodo,” he repeats as he reaches for my necklace. “Mommy dodo.”

  Jen laughs. “That kid is so good at knowing which words go together. You may have the next Hemingway right there.”

  I pry my necklace out of Caden’s chubby fingers and pull him into a tight hug. “I don’t know about the next Hemingway,” I say, my heart melting as he tucks his hands into the space between his belly and my chest, then rests his round head on my shoulder. “More like the next Banksy. You should see what he did to the walls in his playroom yesterday.”

  “I’m sorry, Mommy,” he mutters.

  I squeeze him tightly again. “It’s okay, baby. We all get the urge to stick it to the man every now and then. Mommy still loves you,” I say, planting a kiss on the top of his head.

  Logan emerges from the back door with one hand behind his back and a mischievous smile on his face as he walks toward me. “Close your eyes.”

  I loosen my hold on Caden and turn him around on my lap, so he’s facing his father. “This is my human shield, so you can’t surprise me with a pie in the face. Activate your force field, Cadet Caden.”

  He puts his hands together in front of his chest, like he’s praying, and shouts, “Force field!”

  Logan shakes his head. “You can only use that so many times before I figure out a way to bypass the force field.”

  “Never! You’ll never get through. Right, Cadet?” I declare, relishing the sound of his laughter as I tickle Caden.

  Logan kneels down next to me, smiling as he waits patiently for us to stop laughing. “Close your eyes, Mommy.”

  “Okay, okay,” I say, closing my eyes as I pull Caden toward me so he doesn’t slip off my lap. “Okay, I’m ready.”

  The sound of Jen and Gail gasping almost makes me open my eyes, but I squeeze them shut to stop myself.

  “What are you doing?” I plead. “The suspense is killing me.”

  He laughs, but through his laughter I hear the sound of footsteps. “Okay, open your eyes.”

  I open them and a large lump forms in my throat at the sight before me. Standing all around the patio table are Logan’s parents and all the couples from the Paradise Tantra retreat, where Logan and I began our crazy love story. Even Everett and Lindy, Kitty and Jason, and Dr. Mahoe and Bobby are there. Gail takes Caden from me as I cover my mouth in utter shock.

  “Surprise!” they all shout in unison.

  “Oh, my God,” I whisper as I look around at all the smiling faces.

  Logan grabs my hand and I gasp as I realize he’s still kneeling down in front of me. “I know when we got married two and a half years ago, you insisted we do a courthouse ceremony, because you couldn’t bear the idea of having a big wedding without your parents. And I obliged, because there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. But I figured for your thirtieth, we could do a proper vow renewal ceremony in the presence of all the people who should have been there the first time.” He opens the ring box in his hand and tears stream down my face as I recognize his mother’s ring, the same ring I wore while pretending to be his wife. “Sophie Pierce, love of my life and royal pain in my ass. Maleficent to my Voldemort. My favorite member of the Ka’pipi tribe. Will you marry me…again?”

  I throw myself at him as I pull him into a bone-crushing embrace. “Yes!” I blubber. “I’d marry you a thousand times.”

  He laughs as he pulls away so he can put the ring on my finger. “I love you, Soph.”

  I smile as I wipe tears from my face. “I love you.”

  With incredible ease, which indicates a lot of planning, Jen and Gail set up chairs in the backyard for the guests to sit down as Logan and I renew our vows in the backyard of my childhood home. I’m unable to hide my overwhelming emotions as I recite the vows I’m forced to make up on the spot, in front of all my friends, old and new, including the same justice of the peace who watched me rip Logan apart in Hawaii. And when it’s all over, I kiss Logan like my life depends on it.

  “Happy birthday, pumpkin pie,” he murmurs as he rests his forehead against mine.

  “I’ve never felt so complete,” I say, placing my hand over his chest to feel his heart beating against my fingertips. “Thank you for knowing how much I needed this.”

  He kisses the tip of my nose. “Team Ka’pipi forever?”

  I nod. “Forever and ever.”

  * * *

  The End.

  More love stories to lose yourself in at cassialeo.com/books/. Or turn the page for a free preview of Break, a stand-alone enemies-to-lovers romance!

  Preview of Break

  CHARLEY

  Then

  They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I would say a picture is worth a lifetime of words, since a single photograph can change your entire life.

  When I was fourteen, a chubby girl in my freshman Spanish class attempted suicide after her former boyfriend posted a naked photo of her on MySpace. It was the scandal of the school year. I publicly expressed my disappointment with the way my fellow classmates were body-shaming her. Privately, though, I judged that girl. I couldn’t help but wonder… Who would be foolish enough to trust a teenage boy with nudes?

  Just ten more minutes. Don’t pass out yet. Just hold on for ten more minutes.

  I repeat the words over and over in my mind, like a mantra. Just ten more minutes and I can go home, drink a gallon of NyQuil, and sleep away this dreadful flu.

  The art gallery just off the Sonoma State campus is small, but not quaint. Situated in the middle of 4th Street in Santa Rosa, among an eclectic mix of upscale and fair trade shops, the gallery has a wall of windows facing south. This wouldn’t be a problem if it wasn’t eighty-two degrees outside and the gallery’s air conditioning wasn’t working.

  I loosen my black scarf and swallow the saliva pooling in my mouth as the urge to vomit begins to overtake me again. Closing my eyes, I take a few deep breaths as I attempt to quell the sensation.

  “I’m sorry. I just need a minute,” I say to my professor as we move onto the next photograph in the exhibit.

  If I knew, when I chose to be an art major, that I’d have to do my final exam — a solo show using selected pieces from my photography portfolio to tell a story — in an overheated art gallery, while secretly popping Tylenol every time my professor turns his back on me, I might have seriously reconsidered my dream of being the next Annie Leibovitz. Or I might have chosen a major where I could take my final exam in an air-conditioned lecture hall. At the very least, I’d rethink my brilliant idea to wear a scarf today.

  My attempt to look like an artsy-fartsy ballerina — in my lucky black scarf, baby-pink bateau-neck top, black skinny jeans, and pink ballerina flats — and my refusal to request a postponement of the solo show the moment I came down with the flu, will be my downfall. No matter how hot it gets in this gallery, I can’t take off my lucky scarf. Therefore, I predict, if I don’t get high marks on this final, I’m going to drop dead on the high-gloss marble floor.

  I trail behind Professor Healy like a baby duckling, answering his questions about lenses, exposures, and filters while trying not to stare at the Florida-shaped birthmark in the center of his bald spot. The show is supposed to tell a story, and the only story that matters in my world is the story of Ben and me. The exhibit begins with images of the beach, where Ben and I first met, then moves through a collection of places we’ve visited together. With Ben’s fame becoming such an issue these past few years, most of the pictures depict secluded landscapes: sparkling lakes, rocky coves, and misty forests.

  As I discreetly wipe the sweat trickling down the back of my ear, my phone vibrates in my hand. I quickly slide it into my back pocket as we approach the picture I took of the Sky-house.

  The Sky-house is a hollowed out Redwood tree near the forested campsites of the Bodega sand dunes, just steps away from where my boyfriend Ben Hayes and I grew up next door to each other in Bodega Bay, California. The Sky-house was Ben’s hideout before it became ours, and we promised w
e would never reveal the location to anyone. He approves of my use of the photo for my final, but I’m supposed to destroy the evidence after my solo show. We named our tree the Sky-house because you can look straight up through the hollow trunk and see the sky.

  Also, because it was fun to play “house” in there.

  I wish Ben was here. He would kiss my forehead and tell me everything was going to be okay. Afterward, he’d take me home and make me some instant ramen — because he couldn’t make chicken soup if his life depended on it. Then, we’d cuddle on the couch to watch Futurama until falling asleep.

  Oddly enough, I didn’t get my usual good morning text from Ben today. He must have been up late and decided to sleep in. But he knows today is my show. It’s not like him to forget to wish me well before a big test.

  As Professor Healy examines the photograph of our hideout from various angles, my phone begins vibrating in my back pocket — nonstop. One pulse of vibration after another, like a phone call that keeps ringing or when one of my Instagram pics goes viral and my notifications are blowing up. But I haven’t posted any pics on social media in a few days. I’ve been too busy preparing for the show.

  Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz.

  Maybe my voicemail isn’t working. Or maybe the mailbox is full. I’m notoriously guilty of letting unchecked voicemails pile up.

  Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz.

  The vibrating continues for what feels like at least five minutes straight, but is probably only a couple minutes. I finally pull the phone out of my pocket and apologize to Healy for the interruption. Glancing at the screen as I reach for the power button, I see a long list of Instagram mention notifications on my lock screen, and my heart drops along with my jaw.

  * * *

  2 min ago: @charleywinters have you seen this, girl?

  2 min ago: lmao. @charleywinters just got dumped in front of 600K people. #sorrycharley

  2 min ago: @charleywinters More like millions of people! This is gonna be news.

  1 min ago: @charleywinters Don’t pay attention to these assholes. You didn’t deserve this. #sorrycharley

  1 min ago: so fucked up. can’t believe @officialbenhayes would do something like this to @charleywinters #sorrycharley

  1 min ago: @charleywinters don’t pretend you haven’t seen this post. @officialbenhayes is too good for you. #byefelicia #sorrycharley #actuallynotsorry

  1 min ago: haha! so true! Why doesn’t @charleywinters get that bump on her nose fixed? #sorrycharley

  * * *

  “Charlotte, are you listening?”

  I suddenly understood why Ben didn’t text me this morning. I can literally feel my blood pressure dropping. My entire body feels cold and light as a feather, like I barely exist.

  The room begins to spin as I look up from my phone screen. “What?” I murmur as Healy’s red, bulbous nose comes in and out of focus.

  I unlock the phone as my professor’s voice murmurs in the background of my consciousness. Tapping the Instagram app, then a recent notification, I’m taken to a picture of Ben riding a motorcycle on the beach at sunset. Sitting on the back seat, with her head thrown back in gleeful laughter, is a blonde I recognize right away. A blonde the entire world could probably recognize.

  The caption on the photo reads:

  @officialbenhayes to new beginnings. #instalove #newlove

  MAY 11

  I blink as Professor Healy steps around me so he’s facing me straight on.

  “I asked, ‘How long is the exposure on this picture?’” he glances at the label beneath the frame then turns back to me. “The one titled ‘Sky-house.’ You’ve achieved a stunning depth of field with this lens. How long is the exposure? Based on the softness, I’m guessing it’s at least a thirty-minute exposure, since it doesn’t appear to be motion-blurred or out of focus or over-exposed.”

  I open my mouth to speak, but only one word comes out. “Exposed.”

  “Charlotte, your face is blood-red. Are you all right?” he says, grabbing my elbows.

  I shake my head, still unable to speak as my phone continues to vibrate in my hand.

  “Oh, dear. Let’s sit you down. This is not the first time I’ve seen this happen,” he says, placing a hand on the middle of my back to guide me toward a gold velvet tufted bench about ten feet away.

  “Do you need some water?” the gallery curator, a middle-aged woman with dark hair as glossy as the marble floor, asks.

  I shake my head again as I sit on the bench. “No,” I whisper, reaching up to pull off my lucky scarf.

  “Are you sure? Do you mind if I feel your forehead?” the woman asks gently.

  I nod this time, closing my eyes and flinching slightly at the sensation of her cold hand on my face.

  “Oh, my God. You’re burning up. I’m calling an ambulance,” she says, setting off to find a phone.

  “Wait,” I call out, holding up my still-vibrating iPhone. “I have a phone… Here. Take it. I don’t want it.”

  As she walks toward me, I can’t help but think about that chubby girl in my Spanish class. We are kin now. Today will be known as the day a single photograph changed my life.

  The curator is a couple feet away from me when I lose my grip, dropping the phone on the floor as I pass out.

  CHAPTER 1

  * * *

  CHARLEY

  Now

  Social media is a blessing and a curse. It can be used to galvanize support for important issues, like shedding light on social injustice. It’s the best resource we have for sharing inspiring art and funny memes. On the other hand, social media has also become a means to pass judgment on people before they can defend themselves. The court of public opinion delivers its justice swiftly and without remorse.

  I killed all my social media accounts about two and a half years ago. I’d rather be a nobody than a cog in that kind of machine. My friends, however, have started to question my commitment to this philosophy.

  The yellow glow from the streetlight pours in through the glass storefront, illuminating Michelle’s cinnamon skin as she hits the switch on the wall to dim the lights inside The Dunk seafood restaurant. Her silky black hair is pulled up tightly in one of those high ponytails that always make me wonder if she’s secretly walking around all day with a massive headache.

  Michelle works as the general manager at The Dunk, because her dad doesn’t trust anyone else to run their family business. After locking the entry doors, she slides her jangling gaggle of keys into the front pocket of her black waist-apron and begins wiping down the tabletops.

  I stand up from the table nearest the register, to stretch my arms and legs. Almost every Tuesday through Sunday, from eight p.m. to eleven p.m., I sit at this table to keep my best friend company while she closes up the restaurant. Sometimes, I help her clean so we can get out of there faster. Mostly, I use the time to edit photos on my laptop while chatting with Michelle.

  “Is there any chili left?” I ask, closing the lid on my MacBook.

  Michelle makes a mean chicken and white bean chili. Her mom, Monica, started making it for me when we were kids, when she realized I couldn’t eat their original chili recipe because it contained pork sausage. It was one of the rare times my mother’s Jewish heritage resulted in the creation of a culinary masterpiece.

  Michelle grabs a clean towel off the shelf under the counter and heads toward the dining area. “Julio! Pack me a quart of chili, please!” she shouts toward the kitchen.

  “Okay, Mitch!” the cook shouts back.

  “Want to hit the beach tomorrow?” I ask as I slide my laptop into the snug foam compartment of my waterproof travel case.

  Michelle sprays lemon-scented cleaner on the table next to mine and nods. “Fuck yeah. I need a beach day,” she replies, then sinks down into the seat across from me. “Which one?”

  “Portuguese?” I reply, closing my laptop case and taking a seat again.

  Michelle slides her phone out of the pocket of her blue skinny jean
s, her top lip curling in disapproval. “Portuguese Beach is so crowded in the end of June.”

  “Not on Monday mornings. We can get there early to get a good spot, then book it when it starts getting too crowded in the afternoon.”

  She shrugs. “That’s probably better. It’s not like I need a tan.”

  Every time Michelle references her skin color, it makes me sad. It reminds me of the one time she let down her guard and admitted to me how she hated the way people treated her differently in the summer, when her cinnamon-brown skin became a rich coffee-brown. We all have things we hate about ourselves, physical features that feel more like betrayals than assets. For me, it’s the bump in my nose I inherited from my Jewish mother. For Michelle, it’s her skin color. For our other BFF, Allie Kim, it’s her slanted eyes. Maybe that common thread of self-hatred is why we’ve been best friends since elementary school.

  I pull my phone out of my pocket and text Michelle a single, lonely poop emoji.

  She looks up from her phone screen. “If you need to release the chili demon, just go. You know you don’t have to ask to use the restroom.”

  I smile as I let out a fart. “Not necessary when I can let it out right here. I just wanted you to look up from your phone.”

  She rolls her eyes as she understands this reference. “You have to dump him. Stat. That guy gives me the creeps.”

  The “him” Michelle is referring to is Tyler Bradford, the son of Mayor Tom Bradford, whom I started dating four months ago. Tyler has an annoying habit of texting me emojis to get me to look up from my phone when we’re hanging out. Michelle and Allie do not like Tyler. To be fair, I don’t know if I even like him. But in my opinion, being alone during the summer is worse than being alone during the holidays. If I do dump Tyler, it will be in September or October.