Strike to the Heart(6)

My pep talk helped for a while, but the heat was already getting to me. The minutes dragged. I toweled off. We changed sides. I fell into my rhythm and returned her serves consistently, but every point was a long, hard battle. The rallies went on forever. Fatigue slowed my steps, dragging me down.

If my first match drained everything out of me, what would that mean for the rest of the tournament? My focus cracked and Mei scored a point.

I scanned the crowd. Spectators waved and a few gave me a thumbs-up sign. My stomach knotted. Then I saw him.

Zane.

He was in one of the luxury suites. There was no mistaking him for someone else. He wore sunglasses and a hat, but it was him. I couldn’t turn away. My feet were rooted to the ground.

To my surprise, he nodded at me and jabbed the air with a clenched fist. He wanted me to fight. He was right. I needed to fight. I needed to end this. Yeah, Mei had caught me off guard, but I couldn’t let this match keep dragging on. I was playing two matches tomorrow, one singles and one doubles, assuming I won today. No. After I won today.

Mei was good. Whatever she’d done, she’d improved. A lot. But I was better and I knew it. I just needed to do it. I needed to close this up before it sapped all my energy and put me in a rough spot to play well tomorrow.

A heated tingle lay low in my belly. I tried to shove Zane out of my mind, but he wouldn’t go. Fine, if he wouldn’t go away, then he was going to fuel me.

I jogged to the baseline. I bounced the tennis ball and tossed it into the air as my arm swung back and my knees bent. I sprung off the hard court and a fierce grunt of effort rumbled up my throat. My body uncoiled, and my racket connected with the ball. It spun toward Mei, and she had no chance to get her racket on it.

A satisfied smile spread across my face and I glanced toward Zane. He jabbed the air again.

The magic that Mei started with dissolved. My game began to press her and she made unforced errors—a double fault, a backhand that went wide. The connection between my arm and my racket was electric. It felt like an extension of my hand. The ball was huge and slow, but it wasn’t. It was me, reacting fast and getting into the zone.

Point after point whizzed by and the match was over. Mei only managed to win one game in the second set.

I approached the net and shook Mei’s hand. “Good match.”

Disappointment clouded her face. “I hope you win,” Mei said.

“I hope so, too.” There was a spring in my step as I waved to the clapping crowd and headed off the court. Would Zane seek me out? He helped me. But that didn’t mean he wanted to see me again. Or maybe it did.

I didn’t even know if I wanted to see him. We had a moment—a night. It was best to leave it at that. He wasn’t my type and I sure as hell wasn’t his.

What was my type, anyway? I wasn’t sure I knew anymore. I didn’t want my heart crushed again, and Zane was definitely the heart-crushing type. That wasn’t fair, but it was what it was.

In the locker room, I stripped off my clothes and headed for a much-needed shower. I stood under the spray, replaying the match in my mind. I was lucky I’d gotten my head together before I found myself out of the tournament in the first round.

I toweled off and dressed. I stowed everything in my duffel, zipped my racket into place, and hoisted my bag onto my shoulder.

I needed to get out of here. I needed to get back to my hotel, order room service, and put my feet up for a couple of hours. My plan after that was to hit the gym in the hotel for stretching and a light workout. Then it would be lights out. Tomorrow was going to be rough. I had a singles match in the morning. Darcy and I had our first doubles match in the afternoon. I was meeting my coach at the practice courts early. The tournament would be a whirlwind from here on in.





Chapter 4

Jo

There was a strong knock on the door. Room service. Finally. It took them long enough. I was starving. My mouth watered.

I swung the door open without looking out the peephole. It wasn’t my food.

It was Zane.

My heart jumped and a zing of arousal nipped me as I opened the door. “What are you doing here?” He hadn’t been at the Open to see me specifically. Sitting in a suite, he was probably some corporation’s guest and I happened to be playing on the main court. It was a coincidence. Nothing more.

“I wanted to see you again.” He stepped into the doorframe, crowding close to my body.

I stepped back and he entered the room. “I didn’t expect to see you again.” I truly hadn’t. A guy picks up a woman at a party. They have awesome sex. They each go their own way. It happened all the time.

“Why?” Zane closed the door behind him.

I turned on my heel and paced toward the window. “Why? It was just a … thing. A night.”