Page 19 of The Replay

Mariana laughs. "I did not expect any of this."

"You don't get divorced every day!" Pen says.

Nat and Damián arrive. They take two glasses, but confusion wrinkles their forehead.

"Why on earth are we talking about divorce?" Nat asks.

Evie lifts her glass. "Mariana is definitely, once and for all unmarried! She said she wanted to celebrate, so Pen and I invited her and offered a chance to do so."

"Oh, if she's happy about getting divorced, then I'm happy too!" Nat raises her glass.

Mariana does the same and grins wide. Such a pretty smile. It's a real one, too, the way it reaches her twinkling eyes.

"To prenups that hurry things along," she says, "and help wrap things up tidy and with a bow on top. And to being officially single!"

My friends cheer and laugh. They lift their glasses and I do too— minimally. We all take a sip. Mine qualifies more like a swig, if I'm honest. I'm hoping the bubbles will give me strength somehow.

Everyone finds their place on the velvet bench, sofa, and armchairs we've claimed as ours. Of course, Mariana ends up at my side, because the universe is cruel like that.

I can be detached. Bored even. As much as it sucks to ruin my night like that.

"What's your plan now?" Nat asks her.

"I'm going to enjoy my singledom," Mariana says. "I'll do what every single person dreams of, and date a lot and keep things casual."

I sip more champagne. A tiny bit extra to keep my mouth occupied, so I don't say a thing.

"Is that what every single person does?" Ames asks. "I know Saint did, but I didn't reallydate-date much."

"I only did that because you were out of reach, Divina," he says.

"I didn't date often," Bear said. "Too busy waiting."

He gives a complicit look to Pen, who smirks his way.

"And I didn't date at all," she says.

"I didn't date," Evie says. "Nor did Logan."

"The only person in this group who dates a lot is Dom." Logan stares at me with his playful frown. "Current break notwithstanding."

I glare at him and hope he recognizes it as a threatening look. It's a good way to ignore the way Mariana studies me with suspicion in her eyes.

"I'm focused on the game this season," I say. "You know I'm trying to step up more."

"Since when does dating get in the way of you playing well?" Damián asks.

Good thing I was prepared for this kind of question. I offer an explanation they will understand. Hopefully.

"It didn't," I reply. "It doesn't. But this is our chance at a second championship in two years. Getting there isn't as easy as pressing rewind and doing everything the same way again. So I'm going to focus on that for a short while, that's all."

"There's no such thing as a replay in real life," Mariana says. "No rewind, only moving forward."

She's right, but I don't respond to her.

"I want the season to start on a strong foot." I add. "I'll make sure I'm settled into my playing goals before I add more to my plate. There's nothing wrong with being single for a while."

We all look at Rafa. He's a widower whose late wife passed several years ago. As far as we know, he doesn't date.