How You Get the Girl (Nashville Love, #3)

by Anita Kelly

for every queer and trans person in Tennessee your joy will outlive the cruelty of your government

She was attracted to people. Or, well, some people. Sometimes. She was attracted to Elle Cochrane, had been attracted to Elle Cochrane since she was fourteen, and also, Manny Jacinto.

“The pizza’s already been ordered,” Elle said, voice strained as she picked at the inside of her bag. “It should be here within a half hour. There’s—” “Where’d you order from?” Julie asked. “Five Points.”

“I mean, you could just ask Coach if she wants to make out. But sure.”

She wanted to say… that being uncertain about relationships was one thing. But that when it came to identity, when it came to queerness, the whole point was that there were no tryouts. If you were even thinking about it, you were already on the team. That labels weren’t meant to confine, only to bring comfort to those for whom they were useful. That Julie didn’t need to ascribe to any of them if she didn’t want to. Elle wanted to say that, label or no label, hearing Julie just describe relationships and sexuality in sports metaphors was the gayest thing that had ever happened to her. And she had spent half her life dedicated to women’s basketball.

While she knew labels weren’t a requirement for existing, people who knew which groups they belonged to seemed to have so much fun with their labels. She wanted to make self-deprecating jokes about her identity, too!

“Listen,” Vanessa went on. “You have to fix this. If you and Coach don’t get married by the end of the season, the entire team is going to be disappointed.” A wobbly laugh escaped Elle’s throat. “The team?” Vanessa straightened. “Yeah. Everyone’s invested.” Elle wasn’t sure how she felt about a squad of teenagers gossiping about her. “That feels… kind of invasive.” “Elle, it truly is. You don’t even know. Makes me feel pretty weird, to be honest. But seriously, if you’ve messed up with Coach, you better make it up to her.”

“You can’t be a lesbian and be allergic to cats,” she eventually said, voice strained. “There should be a rule about that.”