august 4-16th, 2023:
europe— italy & croatia
"Come on," Kate urged, her hand offered out to her.
She was trying to get Tatum into the back of the jet ski, resting on top of the blue waters of the Adriatic Sea. The way the craft bobbed in the water made Tatum queasy, cautious at the fact that she couldn't see its bottom, not knowing what lurked in its depths. She didn't like that one bit and Kate was trying her best to put her mind at ease. But she couldn't help finding Tatum's hesitancy adorably amusing.
"You're okay. I gotchu, you won't fall in" Tatum tilted her head skeptically. "It's super easy, just do what I did, okay? I'll help you in."
"Of course you did! Have you seen how athletic you are?" Tatum gestured to all of Kate. She may be a college athlete, but Tatum could be as clumsy as a toddler. She knew Kate knew that, but Tatum narrowed her eyes at her nonetheless, wishing she could read her eyes behind her sunglasses.
Kate laughed, "Worst comes to worst, I'll catch you. You won't fall in on my watch, I promise."
She let out a puff of air, psyching herself up before she could change her mind, and climbed onto the jet ski. Tatum grabbed onto Kate's palm to steady herself as she got situated on the seat behind her.
"I'll ease us into it," Kate told her over her shoulder, "But you might want to hold on." At that, Tatum's arms snuck around Kate's waist, consequently pinning their bodies against one another.
Kate felt Tatum's arms squeeze her as she picked up the pace. Salt water sped beneath them and mist splashed their faces. As they sped across the sea on the jet ski, Tatum wished she could have said her fear had subsided, and although Kate's presence alone helped reassure her, it still remained on the forefront of her mind.
She wished she could say she had prepared for this better, but she wasn't able to.
The team had been returned back to Iowa City in mid July, their off-season having officially begun as they worked hard in both the gym and in the weight room.
They had roughly ten practices — Tatum had honestly lost count once the days had begun to blur together — before they started what they were calling their 'foreign tour'. The Hawkeyes were given the opportunity to play games in Naples, Italy, along with in the cities of Split and Dubrovnik, Croatia.
It was a trip Tatum had been looking forward to the moment she heard about it. But she couldn't have prepared herself for the adventures it gave her and the sudden fears that also plagued her— such as riding in the middle of the ocean on a jet ski.
Eventually, they slowed back down until they came to a stop. She noticed Kate fiddle with the throttle for a moment before the blonde scratched her face. Curious, Tatum leaned forward and rested her chin on Kate's shoulder.
"Kate?" The blonde peeked at her from the corner of her eye, giving her a brief glimpse of the blue eyes that made the ocean pale in comparison, always so bright and vibrant with life. They always sparked joy inside Tatum with how easily they screamed what Kate was feeling.
But for some reason, Tatum grew uneasy instead of calm.
"Um," she felt Kate take a deep breath. "Don't freak out, but we might be out of gas."
Tatum's head jerked away from Kate's shoulder. "What? Be so for real fight now." At Kate's lack of answer, her head swiveled around. "We're miles away from shore! What are we supposed to do? Fucking swim back?"
"Maybe?" Kate shrugged. "I don't know."
"Holy shit," Tatum's hands rose to her head as she shook it in disbelief. "Oh my God, this isn't happening. There's no way! No fucking way." Suddenly Kate began to laugh and Tatum watched her lean forward to hunch over the steering vane in front of her. Her voice started low and rather dangerous as she started to realize what was going on. "Kate.. I swear."
"I'm so sorry," she said between laughs. "I couldn't help it. I was just joking, we're fine."
"My God, you are evil, Martin."
"I'm so sorry," Kate said, her hand reaching behind her to rub the outside of Tatum's thigh comfortingly. She couldn't see Tatum super well unless she twisted herself uncomfortably, but Tatum could tell from the width of her smile that Kate bore a shit-eating grin on her face. Kate was awfully lucky she had a pretty smile that Tatum adored seeing because she would have had a harder time resisting the urge to punch that smile clean off her face if it was anyone else. "The real reason I stopped was so we could get a picture."
Tatum heaved a sigh and rested her forehead against Kate's shoulder, ridiculously thankful that they weren't stranded. "I hope you know you gave me a heart attack."
"It's just too pretty to miss up and I wanna remember this with you when I graduate."
Her heart twinged. It was safe to say that Tatum was still in denial that this was Kate's last season with the team. She had been lucky to even have this extra year with her in the first place. "Shut your mouth, literally don't you dare remind me. I don't wanna think about that yet."
"Okay, okay." The blonde chuckled with a raise of her arms as if in defense. "Sorry I scared you, Tae."
At that, Tatum raised her hand and nudged her. "Let's just get that damn picture before sharks get us or something."
【 XOX 】
"Jada, are you even helping?" Tatum groaned. She pumped her arms as they paddled through the water. Her muscles ached from how hard she had been working. Their kayaking skills were subpar but she swore that her partner was contributing nothing.
"I am! This is hard," Jada complained.
"What are you even doing back there?"
"Paddling!"
"Doesn't feel like it."
"Give me a break, it's confusing."
Their kayak started to veer away from the rest of the team and Tatum had to instruct Jada over her shoulder, fussing, "Jada, I swear to God! We're going the wrong way."
"I don't know what I'm doing wrong."
Tatum had to quickly peek behind her. She grumbled under her breath, seeing that Jada was using her paddle on the same side of the kayak as her.
"Oh my word, okay." Tatum directed, "Go left girl."
"My left or your left?"
"We have the same left, Jades."
"Oh."
Eventually they were able to work together and maneuvered their way back to be in stride with their team. The pair heard laughter bouncing across the soft waves from one of the other kayaks. Caitlin and Kate were poking fun at Jada and Tatum, having witnessed their struggles.
"Having trouble over there?" Caitlin smirked.
"Hardy-har har." Jada mocked.
"What the hell was that?" Caitlin cackled.
At that point, Tatum pulled her oar from the water as they bobbed slightly in the water. She knew Jada wasn't going to lift a finger while she bickered with Caitlin.
"If this is how you guys are as kayaking partners, I can't wait to see how being roommates goes."
"Hey now," Jada protested. "This is not related to that whatsoever. I do not have to share a boat with her back in Iowa City, okay? So we'll do just fine."
"It's a kayak, but yeah, you tell her." Tatum nodded in support. She turned her head away and squinted through her sunglasses as she stared at the distant waves.
"You don't look nearly as scared as you were when we went jet skiing," she heard Kate say.
She saw the smile that graced Kate's lips and reflected it with one of her own. "Yeah cause I'm not sitting behind someone who wanted to drive like it was a Nascar race."
"That's so not true. I did not go that fast." Kate protested, pointing a finger at Tatum, "and you know it."
A smirk tested Tatum's features and she waved her off. She scrunched her nose at Kate teasingly. "Yeah, I know, I just wanted to see you get frustrated."
Kate scoffed and smiled coyly. "Mhm, right, right. You know, I could've gone faster if I hadn't had a scaredy-cat clinging onto me."
"Hey," Tatum lifted her oar as she let a happy giggle leave her. "Don't make me use this."
The blonde gasped, feigning offense. "You wouldn't dare."
"Oh I would. I very much would."
Kate then took her oar and smacked it with Tatum's across from her. She laughed at the girl's mouth dropping open. She raised her own, ready to sword fight like her life depended on it.
"It's on!"
【 XOX 】
Tatum took a deep breath. "Okay, I was totally fine earlier but now that we're here.. Why did nobody tell me we'd by this high?"
"What'd you think? That we'd only be ten feet off the ground or something?" AJ said.
"Well no. But now I'm nervous. This is like 'you fall, you die' height."
"All right, none of that here. I do not need that spoken into the universe." Kennise remarked.
"You'll be fine," Kate said, placing a hand on her shoulder as she came up from behind her. "If you want, you and I can do it together if that'll be easier."
Tatum sighed. Why did this Europe trip have her scared of everything? She could've sworn she was fine stepping into the harness at the bottom of the hill, when Kate buckled her helmet for her, when the team was making the trek up there. Then a wave of fear had crashed over her and she felt like she couldn't trust the zip line wouldn't randomly snap.
"Tate, if we go together the first time down, then you'll know it'll be fine the rest of the time. Yeah?"
Tatum wagered the idea in her head. "Makes sense I guess."
"Then let's do it. Come on, I gotchu." Kate slipped her hand with Tatum's own as she walked her up to the front. She helped her onto the platform and gave her hand a quick squeeze.
When the worker connected Tatum's hook to the line, it started to sink in. "Oh.. God." She said through gritted teeth.
Then Kate came behind her and was strapped in. Kate rested a hand on Tatum's hip. "Relax. You're fine."
"I can't. I'm shakin' in my boots," Tatum quoted. "That's Meghan Trainor, in case you didn't know."
"I know, you've shown me the clip. That and you say it all the time."
Tatum glanced at her over her shoulder before she shrugged. "Cause it's funny."
"Lean back," the worker instructed.
Tatum hesitated while Kate did what was said, sitting slowly into her harness. Her knees were bent as she held their weight to the platform, waiting for Tatum to do as instructed.
"Trust each other," the man told her. "It will work better that way."
"Come on, Tate." Kate urged. "Don't you trust me?"
What a stupid question. Of course she did. So Tatum sat back, pressing herself and her harness into Kate's, who raised her arm above her so the younger girl could have as much room as she needed to get comfortable.
Then the instructor advised that they keep their hands on the trolley before Kate lifted her legs and they moved off of the platform, letting gravity do its thing.
They careened over the mountainside, trees zipping by as they sped over the valley, gorged deep between two mountains. It felt like they were flying and suddenly every fear had vanished from Tatum's mind as she took everything in. The scenery was like no other.
She laughed at the sound of Kate whooping in her ear. Her joy practically echoed over the view below. Exhilarated, the wind blowing on their faces.
Tatum knew that she had made the right decision in committing to Iowa three years ago.
And this only confirmed it.
She felt elated, her heart soaring above the clouds.
Tatum didn't know where she'd be without this team and the best friends she had made— especially, the blonde and soon to be graduating girl behind her.
【 XOX 】
Kate positioned herself under the tap and lowered her mouth to catch the water flowing from the fountain. She came back up after taking a drink, wiping away the dribbles around her cheek.
"You looked like Finnick Odair doing that." said Tatum with crossed arms.
"Like from Hunger Games?"
"Exactly like Catching Fire, yeah."
"Nah, Finnick looked hot doing that. Jada shook her head as she chimed in. "Kate? Nu-uh."
Debatable, Tatum thought. The blonde hair made it nearly uncanny. But she'd get flamed if she said that aloud.
【 XOX 】
"Okay let's all take a team picture right here guys." Coach Bluder suggested to the girls as she gestured for them to gather together.
"Oh God, she found a basketball," Tatum laughed, staring at Kate as her and Caitlin spun basketballs on their fingers. The blonde smiled at her when she said that, an eyebrow arched above her sunglasses. Strangely enough, Tatum thought that was one of the best ways Kate had ever looked.
"Caitlin, Kate, put it down. We don't got much time before our pizza making class." Coach J ordered.
——
Kate grabbed a handful of one of the bowls and brought it to her nose so she could smell it. She then extended her hand to Tatum beside her, telling her, "It smells so good."
"What is it? Basil?" Tatum asked. She leaned closer to Kate and watched her nod, looking up at her through the hood of her eyelids. She took a whiff. "Omg, it really does."
"Hey. Pay attention you two," Gabbie smirked. She motioned for them to listen to the chefs and rolled her eyes when the pair giggled to one another like two schoolgirls.
Although as the chefs moved along in their instructions, Tatum was beginning to wish she had listened to Gabbie and given the Italian men more of her focus.
"Do I need more flour or something? It's not getting to be the right size that I want it." She grumbled under breath as she pushed at the dough.
"No, you're just not doing it right." Kate told her. She chuckled at the way Tatum's brows were scrunched together.
The blonde leaned her body into Tatum's as she made efforts to help her. Kate placed her hands on top of Tatum's in order to demonstrate how to knead the dough into a wider circle.
"Now I just feel stupid." Tatum said once Kate's hands stopped guiding her own.
"You're not, so don't say that."
"Yeah, you were just distracted." Gabbie commented. She sent Kate a reprimanding, and almost knowing look.
Once the team was done with their pizzas and carried them back to their stations, fresh out of the oven, nobody hesitated to try it. Each one looking delicious in their own eyes.
"Okay guys, how do you rate it?" Tatum said in between a bite.
"An 11 out of 10 for sure."
"Mines a 12 out of 10," the three point shooter boasted in efforts to one-up the blonde. "Cause I did better than Kate."
"Nah, you literally just said 'I put too much mozzarella on my pizza'." Kate said in a voice that mocked Caitlin's.
"No I didn't, you said that about yours."
Tatum laughed at the interaction. "You're making stuff up at this point."
"You're just saying that to side with Kate," Caitlin whined.
"Hate to break it to you but Tae will always take my side over yours." Kate looked across the table to Tatum, sending her a playful wink.
Cheeks slightly warming, Tatum chuckled. She gave a slight shake of her head. "I'm not taking sides, CC, I'm just saying the facts." She pointed her fork at Kate accusingly, "Don't be fooled by her words."
"Dude!" Kate feigned offense. "The betrayal!"
Tatum blowed her a kiss to make up for it. Kate simply rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she returned her to her pizza.
【 XOX 】
"What is up you guys," Tatum said as she held the GoPro up above her head. She felt like a Youtuber. "We are here in Pompeii. Not to be confused with the song."
"It's the first thing I thought of, okay?" Jada shrieked from out of frame.
Tatum laughed before focusing back on the camera. "What do we got on the agenda for today? Wish I could tell ya. I'm just going with the flow if I'm being honest." A laugh sparked from Kate beside her. Tatum beamed, glimpsing over at her. "What are you looking forward to most here in Pompeii?"
"Ooh, let's see. Honestly? Um.."
"Lemme try and read your mind," Tatum tapped her eagerly. "Is it.. is it Mount— wait what is it called? Mount something."
"Mount something," Kate repeated with a teasing laugh. "You mean Mount Vesuvius?"
"Yeah! That!"
"Pretty sure we aren't going there."
"Oh. That's boring." Tatum put down her GoPro. "Are we really not going to the volcano?"
"No we are not. Did you think we were?"
"...No."
"Why would you think that?" Shaking her head at her, Kate laughed. "Tatum.. you crack me up."
——
"Here we are on the main road of Pompeii. Just like imagine instead of all the rubble probably like, I don't know, I guess markets and stuff. Places to eat, shop—"
"Ugh, shopping," Jada groaned at the word. "I would've eaten that up."
"If you lived in Pompeii?" Tatum clarified. For herself and for the GoPro camera.
"Yeah."
"Then you would've died, Jades."
"Okay but like, I would've been able to shop so I would've died happy."
———
"Now we're entering this.. house. I guess?" Tatum shrugged from behind the camera, showing what was happening. "Kate's at the front," she whispered before loudly saying, "Yesss, Captain Kate. Lead us. As you should!"
Kate smiled over her shoulder at Tatum. "It's what I do." She said, leaning into the bit.
"Keep in mind guys, there's actually a guide in front of her. She's not actually leading." Caitlin remarked.
"Let her have her moment." Tatum brought down her camera as she whacked Caitlin.
She laughed at the senior's mock offense as she dramatically slapped a hand over her heart. "Like I said," Caitlin then wagged a finger at Tatum, "you'll always pick her side."
Tatum rolled her eyes at her but shrugged nevertheless. "I'm loyal, what can I say?"
Caitlin rolled her eyes. "Wish you had my back like you have her's."
"I do have yours!"
"Lies. All I hear are lies."
"Okay here we go," Tatum said as they stepped over the threshold into the remnants of what once was a Pompeii house. She raised her GoPro back up.
Caitlin pointed to a little square off to the side of them, "That would've been my bedroom right over there."
"Oh yeah. Fo sho, fo sho." Tatum agreed. "Where would mine be?"
"Outside. In the dump."
"Wow," Tatum dragged the word. "Absolutely zero hesitation."
"It's what you get for choosing Kate over me."
"Oh, come on!"
The look on Caitlin's face told Tatum that she would carry on this bit for as long as it would take.
——
Tatum made sure the GoPro's frame caught a glimpse of Gabbie, Caitlin and Kate posing. She jutted her bottom lip from behind the lens. "Aww, how adorable. My seniors all grown up."
"Shut up," quipped Caitlin before she resumed smiling.
"Whatever, you love me." She flipped the camera around, momentarily saying into it, "Crying in the club. Don't text."
——
"Here's the wonderful view.." Tatum panned the GoPro until she tilted it beside her, "Then there's Kate."
"Oh. Am I blocking it?" She moved to step back.
"You're good, you're good." Tatum waved her off. She was practically ushering her back into frame. A teasing, yet loving smile graced her lips, "Trust me, you're part of it."
Kate blushed at that, shaking her head sheepishly. "Oh gosh."
——
Sydney ushered for Tatum to follow her with the GoPro, taking her in between two remaining buildings. Sliding past other tourists, she pointed through the gated door, showing Tatum.
"What is this?"
"A palaestra."
"This gate makes it look like a jail cell."
The brunette made sure the GoPro got a peek of the place, right as Sydney told her, "If it was, that's where you'd be staying."
"Hey!" Tatum protested while Sydney snickered, beaming with pride at her joke.
———
At dinner, Tatum was listening to AJ complain that if they didn't get their food soon, then she would eat her own hand. Tatum laughed when Molly offered her 5 bucks to go through with it, claiming she didn't have the guts.
Jada grabbed her attention when she tilted her phone screen to Tatum, saying, "Omg. Your takeover is blowing up right now." She watched Tatum quirk a brow and share a look with Kate next to her. "Okay not 'blowing up', sue me, but there's like a ton of comments. Probably the most out of all them so far."
Her eyes scanned the screen:
laney_fitzpatrick22: best tour guide ever?
hawkeyesfan1: go hawks!!
user41_: anybody else notice the chemistry between kate and tatum?
user22: future national champs
tatumhartswife: tatum is so fine
user20.21: kate and tatum duo >>>
user4: @tatum.hart i love u
caitlinclark1fan: caitlin is so funny in this
user21: suddenly i need more kate and tatum content
_user: safe travels ladies
natalie.e.harris: fav team
tatumhartsimp: tatum just one chance pls
Tatum looked back up at Jada. "That's actually hilarious."
"There are so many of them just drooling over you." The sophomore cackled.
Tatum palmed her face to hide the heat of her embarrassment. She didn't notice a certain blonde's eyes on her at the sound of Jada's words, her curiosity ticked.
"I bet a lot of them are talking about how excited they are to see Caitlin this season though. I mean, that was only a few of them."
She didn't acknowledge the strange amount of comments that had hyper fixated on her and Kate's friendship. They were claiming that their connection was different from the rest.
If she didn't know any better, some of those people were starting to ship the two of them together. How ridiculous would that be, right?
"Who's got the GoPro next?" asked Kate.
"I think Sydney does," Kylie said, looking beside her.
Sydney looked up from her phone. "What?"
"Are you next with the GoPro tomorrow?" Kylie asked.
"Oh! Yeah, I'm doing Italy."
"We are in Italy, Syd." Tatum laughed at Sydney's realization of her slip up.
"No that's not what I meant! I meant to say Capri— Capri, Italy."
Sydney was a blushing, embarrassed mess. It was never easy to slip up a word because the girls on the Hawkeye team were ready to bully you at a moments notice, for the simplest of things. It was how they showed their love.
"Yep," Kylie giggled at her best friend. "An A for effort, girl."
"It's okay, Syd. Earlier Tatum thought we were going to the volcano so nothing can be too much worse than that." Kate told her.
Tatum whacked the blonde's arm, who was instantly in a fit of laughter. "Dude!"
"Oh-ho-ho! Exposed!" Caitlin made fun from further down the table.
"I can't believe you would do me dirty like that," Tatum grumbled at Kate. "I hate you, Martin."
The blonde's eyes peeked down at her, smiling. "No you don't. Don't lie." Tatum simply sighed.
She was right. She could never hate her beloved senior.
━◦○◦━◦○◦━
author speaks,
a little variety of snippets ;)
biggg fan of their friendship sm i cant
i have so much fun writing this alr
u don't even know
anyways sorry it took me so long
i had planned to buy big10+ 😔
but decided to suck it up so here u go
╰┈➤
april 22, 2024