Clueless, kate martin

ONE. big travels

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."