"How does a scholarship fit in?"
"If they paid for my tuition, books and fees I could live on what I saved last year. It wouldn't let me have much left after the school year, but I could get by."
"I have a simple solution to your problem, Honey," Jamie said softly as she bridged the distance between them and grasped Ryan’s hand loosely.
Ryan rolled her eyes and muttered, "I was hoping to delay this conversation for another year."
Jamie sat up and rolled over onto her side, facing her lover fully. "You want to play, Ryan. Either soccer or one of your other sports-to-be-named-later. You don’t want to contribute to ruining someone else’s plans, and I admire that about you. But I don’t want you to deprive yourself of the pleasure of competition just because of money. And I don’t want you to be horrendously busy every moment of every day. Let me support you this year, Ryan. There is nothing I'd like better than for you to be able to just relax and enjoy your last year of college. It breaks my heart to think of how hard you've had to work to get this far, Honey. I would truly be grateful if you would let me help you."
Ryan gave her a bemused grin, "Grateful, huh?"
"Yes. I would be grateful that you were willing to put aside your reservations about this issue and allow me to help you. It would give me more pleasure than you can imagine to let you have another chance to fulfill some of the dreams of your youth. It would make me feel like I was helping you heal some of your wounds. I swear it means a lot to me, Baby."
Years of indoctrination flashed through her mind, and Ryan had to struggle to not immediately refuse. She didn’t want to be hardheaded, and she knew this was important to Jamie, so she gave her partner another shy grin and offered a compromise, "How about we make it a loan?"
Jamie breathed a heavy sigh, grateful that Ryan was willing to budge, but not terribly happy to be loaning her spouse money. Seeing the determined look in Ryan’s eyes, however, made her realize that this was probably the best deal she was going to get out of the negotiations. "Okay, that would work. I'll loan you the money for tuition, fees and books. I'll even have a loan agreement drawn up. I will not though, under any circumstances, put a repayment date on it. You can pay me back as slowly as you need to after you're finished with school."
"That’s fair," Ryan agreed, grateful that Jamie was allowing her to maintain her principles. "Now, I won't be able to contribute much to our household expenses if I don’t work. I want you to keep track of what we spend this year and add half of that to the loan, too."
Jamie pursed her lips and shook her head firmly. "Uh-uh. No deal," she insisted. "School is sort of optional, and I can understand that you feel like it's a big expense. But you need to eat, and you need to have some entertainment, and you need some spending money. I am your partner, Ryan. I pledged to take care of you just like you take care of me. I will not have you feel indebted to me for providing you with the essentials of life."
"You sound like me father," she said softly, lapsing into her brogue.
"Well, that makes sense, since he and I both love you dearly. But why do I sound like him specifically?"
"Because he won’t allow any of us to contribute one dime towards household expenses. He says it's a parent’s duty and honor to support the household."
"He's absolutely right. I'm in a position to provide for our financial security. Because I can do that, it's my duty to do so. So play nice, and I won't have to hurt you."
Ryan laughed at her mock threat. "You almost broke my neck last night, and that was while you were loving me. What would you do if you really wanted to hurt me?"
"You'll find out," Jamie muttered as she narrowed her eyes, the scowl looking sillier than normal because of the mud masque.
"Well, this will be an interesting experiment, Ms. Evans. It’s going to take a lot of adjustment for me to be comfortable, but I will do my best to allow you to deplete your fortune in order to keep my belly full."
"That was less than poetic, Sweet Pea, but I truly appreciate your willingness to work with me on this. Compromising like this is what being life partners is all about, Babe."
"You’re right, Hon, but I gotta tell you, most couples would trade their problems for ours in a hot minute. Most people don’t argue about having too much money."
"Good point, Ryan. I certainly hope that this is the most contentious issue we ever face."
Ryan smiled at her partner, knowing that her wish was entirely fanciful, but hoping that the inevitable problems that they would experience were a long way off.
A few minutes before seven, they drove the short distance to the Recreation and Sports Facility, where the tryout was to be held. "I think I know what sport this is," Jamie said, a confident smile on her sunny face.
"Oh, is that deductive reasoning kicking in?"
"Yep. I reason that women only play two sports at Haas, so I’ve got a pretty darned good idea what today’s sport is." Jamie had carefully attended to Ryan’s choice of attire, and the odd shoes that she wore indicated that they weren’t going for a basketball tryout. "Those funny shoes with the built-up soles don’t look like any I have, so I think I have a pretty good idea."
"You’re much too quick for me to ever pull a fast one," Ryan agreed. "I’m a little nervous about today, to tell you the truth. You heard the coach mention that I haven’t done this in a long while." She looked contemplative for a long moment, and Jamie was just about to step in to reassure her when Ryan mused, "I sure hope I don't have any trouble with the pommel horse. That's my worst event."
"Isn't that in gymnastics?" Jamie asked in a stunned voice.
"Yeah. You don't think my feet are too big for the balance beam do you?" Her blissfully innocent face didn’t prevent her from getting a hard slap to the belly, and she rubbed the spot with a dramatic flair.
"Very funny, Ryan," Jamie growled playfully. "You never tire of setting me up, do ya?"
"No, I can’t imagine getting tired of that," she happily agreed. "You are such a perfect victim—that sincere little face that just wants to believe every word I say is too easy a target to waste."
"I always thought I was missing something, growing up as an only child. Little did I know that I would marry into a whole family of teasers and comedians that would extend my childhood indefinitely."
"Yep. You’ve jumped into the O’Flaherty fountain of youth." Ryan’s smile showed just how happy she was with the chain of events that had led to Jamie’s joining the family.
"You’re only young once, Baby. But you’ve proven that you can be immature forever!" They shared a smile at that, both women silently reflecting on how much fun it was to be immature together.
Coach Placer was waiting as promised. As soon as they caught sight of him, Jamie’s guess was confirmed: Ryan was there to try out for the volleyball team. The coach had set up the net and coerced three other women to attend the early morning workout, none of them looking very happy about the early hour. His two assistant coaches were there as well, but since they were dressed in khaki shorts and Cal golf shirts, they obviously were not planning on playing. He introduced Ryan to his assistants, Ken and Erin, and to the other players, Stacy, Ashley and Anna, and they spent a few minutes warming up by just tossing the ball back and forth, all of them on the same side of the net.
When the coach decided they were sufficiently warmed up, he signaled one of the players to stay on Ryan's side and sent the other two to the opposite side. It was clear that they were going to try to play the two-person game on the big court, even though the large area was an awful lot of ground for two people to cover.
Ryan was wearing an outfit that Jamie was very fond of, and the other players were somewhat similarly dressed. She had on a pair of bright blue Lycra shorts, but they were amazingly short—Jamie guessed that the inseam was no more than two inches. Acres of long, lithe, lean leg were exposed to Jamie’s appreciative gaze, and she decided that she liked volleyball better than soccer without even seeing the ball go over the net. The
other players wore similar shorts, but all three sported Tshirts. Ryan had gone for a different look and Jamie was very pleased that she had done so. She wore a print tank top with the blue of her shorts, a bright yellow and white pattern. Even this was not her usual tank—it looked more like a compression top, or even a very long sports bra. It obviously gave her a little extra support since it was so tight, and Jamie reasoned that she would be able to be very active without fear of her bra riding up.
All of the other players were tall, lanky women, and they each looked very athletic. Jamie wasn’t sure if her partner had chosen her outfit to display her impressive musculature, but whether planned or inadvertent, it did just that. The other women looked a little gawky next to her—they looked as tall as they were, while Ryan looked shorter until she stood right next to one of them. Her body was so perfectly proportioned that it continually surprised Jamie how tall she was, until she had to stand on her tiptoes just to get her arms around her neck.
As the ball was tossed into play Jamie had to remind herself that she had seen her lover play this game on the beach in Santa Monica. Playing on a large hard court changed the game so much that it seemed like an altogether different sport. The players moved so quickly, and covered so much ground, that they were literally throwing their bodies all over the court. Fortunately, Ryan wore both kneepads and elbow pads, and Jamie was thankful that she had, or her body would be acquiring a mass of bruises. Ryan’s tight braid flew around her back and shoulders as she dove for ball after ball, making a play on most that she tried for, and giving an all-out effort on the ones she missed.
Within a very few minutes, Ryan was clearly dominating the game. She had a vertical leap that was hard to believe and her power was truly intimidating. The first time that she rose into the air to spike the ball into the other court, she let out such a powerful yell that the players on the other side froze for a second. Jamie couldn’t help but think of the Celtic warriors she had read about that beat their opponents with their blood-curdling war cries and physically intimidating style as much as their skills in battle.
Ryan’s powerful back muscles flexed as she brought her arm back to slam the ball onto the opposite court, sending it into a dizzying spin as it curved towards an open space on the floor. Jamie could see the women on the other side occasionally flinch as her arm came back and, even to her unschooled eye, that did not seem like a good tactic for returning the ball. After about ten minutes, they were dodging out of the way to avoid being hit by her powerful slams, another approach that seemed counterproductive, but understandable. The coach was getting frustrated with the two women and he finally asked Ryan's partner to switch with one of them; after getting hit a few times, she was looking for a safe haven as well.
The coach had finally seen all that he could stomach. He called a halt to the slaughter and called Ryan over. He spoke with her quietly for a few minutes and patted her on the back before he gathered the other three into a little group and spoke with them. She came back over to Jamie and flopped down onto the bench next to her. "That was kind of embarrassing," she admitted, rubbing her wet face with a towel.
"Were those varsity players?" Jamie asked.
"No, they were walk-ons like me. I think the roster is pretty well set at this point. My guess is that he’s only got one or two spots to fill this late in the year."
Jamie pulled the towel from Ryan and carefully dried her back, lifting her braid to get to her very wet neck. "It was really woman against girls, Honey. You looked All-World."
"I feel bad for them, though," Ryan admitted a little sheepishly. "They're trying for a spot, too."
"I know, Baby. But you still had to do your best, even if it made the others look bad."
"Did they really look that bad?" she asked, turning to look directly into Jamie’s eyes.
She fluffed the wet bangs out of the bright blue eyes that gazed down at her and wished that she could kiss her partner for being so concerned about the other women’s performances. She just nodded slightly, acknowledging that they did, in fact, look horrible, even in her uneducated view.
"I guess I can’t let that bother me," Ryan agreed. "But to tell you the truth, I liked the days of youth league where everyone got to play the same amount of time no matter how bad you were."
Unable to resist her need, Jamie leaned over and kissed her partner’s steaming hot head. "I love that you care about those women and how they feel about this, Love. You have such a good heart."
Ryan gave her a shy, almost embarrassed grin and went back to drying the rest of her body. When she was finished she stayed right where she was until Jamie finally asked, "Are we waiting for something?"
"Yeah, Coach Placer asked me to hang around for a few minutes. I think he wants to talk to the other coaches."
After a few more minutes Coach Placer came back onto the court and motioned Ryan to follow him. "Come on," she said to Jamie.
"Are you sure?" she asked as she trotted alongside. "Maybe he wants to see you alone."
"I don't want to go alone, so that's settled," she said with a smile. "We're a package deal, Honey."
They followed him down the hall to his office where the other coaches were already perched on whatever furniture they could fit on. They took the two chairs as the coach went to sit at his desk. He gave Ryan a broad smile and said, "I think it's clear after that little exhibition that we'd like to offer you a spot on the team."
Ryan smiled back and nodded, waiting for him to continue. "I know you only played volleyball for one year, but what else did you play at USF?"
"I played soccer for one year, volleyball for one and basketball for two. The other things I did were just club sports."
"You were a busy girl, weren't you?" he teased. "What years did you participate?"
"96 and 97."
"That should leave you with two more years of eligibility since you sat out last year. We'll check the records at USF and make sure everything is square with the NCAA If it all checks out, we'd like to have you with us. Are you interested?"
"Yes. I'm definitely interested. But Coach Greene wants me to play soccer this year and I'm considering one other sport."
"Are you just doing this for fun, Ryan, or is a scholarship important to you?"
She smiled at Jamie and said, "It’s important, but I’m not going to let it be a deal-breaker. I’ve decided that I need to play the sport that appeals to me most."
"Well, I don’t mean to put pressure on you, but I’d like to be able to let the other girls know as soon as possible. If you don’t join us, we need to offer one of them a spot."
Jamie piped up. "Are you offering Ryan a scholarship?"
"Why, yes, of course. We have one left to give. We've been working those three women out for weeks trying to determine which one we'd give it to. Luckily Ryan came along and made the decision easy for us."
"Were any of them scholarship players last year?" Jamie asked.
"No. They were all walk-ons from this year. Why?"
"I just wondered if any of them would lose a scholarship because of Ryan."
"Oh no. I don't yank a scholarship unless there's a compelling reason. If I convince a girl to come here to play, I feel like I have to keep my end of the bargain. If she comes to practice and tries hard, she keeps her ride."
Ryan smiled and said, "That's good to hear, Coach. I do have a few questions. Do you think it will be a problem that I'm openly gay?"
"Not for any of us," he said easily. "The only problem I've ever had is when two players are dating each other and they break up or have a fight. I trust that won't be a problem for you, will it?" he asked with a grin as he looked from Jamie to Ryan.
"Nope," she said happily. "I am permanently partnered. Would you have a problem if Jamie went on road trips with me?"
"We couldn't pay for her airfare, and she'd have to get her own room, but we don't do bed checks, so..." He smiled at the pair and shrugged his shoulders, indicating that his policy was to not get too in
volved in his player’s personal lives.
"I'm thinking of playing a winter sport too," Ryan said, surprising Jamie completely. "Would you mind if I had to practice with another team during the end of the volleyball season?"
He shook his dark head and said, "We had two players who played two sports last season. We didn't have any trouble working out the schedule. But I would ask that you focus more on volleyball since that is the most important part of our season. You might have to miss an exhibition game or two, but I'm sure we could work it out."
"When do you start practice?"
"Next week," he said quickly, his excitement building. "Can we count on you?"
Ryan pursed her lips, obviously not quite ready to commit. "I’ve got an appointment with Sandra Johnston at nine. After we speak with her, I really need to think about it for a while before I’m ready to commit, Coach. Jamie and I need to spend a little time making sure that I make a decision we can both live with. Can I call you late this afternoon?"
"Sure. Here's my home phone number," he said as he wrote his number on his business card and handed it to Ryan. "Is there anything else I can do to help you make the decision? Would you like to talk to some of the players from last year?"
"Yes. That would be helpful. Could you have one or two of them call me?"
"Absolutely. What number should I use?"
"Just have them page me." She recited her number. "I’m going to be in and out today, and that’s the surest way to reach me."
"Will do, Ryan. I’ll make sure it happens. Anything else?"
"Yeah," she said slowly. "Would you be comfortable talking about the paperwork that you have on me from when I was recruited in high school?"
He shifted a little in his seat, but answered her honestly. "I can’t share anything that’s confidential, but I’ll answer anything I can."
She fixed him with a level gaze and asked, "Did the teachers from my high school go to bat for me?"
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