Chapter 76
Seventy-Six
Delilah was out there with Whitney again, and from the first rally, Cassie could see the difference.
Whitney had turned up another gear. Her footwork was sharper, her timing cleaner.
Cassie wasn’t that surprised. She’d suspected this was in Whitney.
Like Delilah, she just needed someone across the court to piss her off and click, talent unlocked.
Delilah was chasing shadows. Too slow to the wide balls, late on the return, pushed back behind the baseline again and again.
But she wasn’t folding.
She kept scrapping for every point, stretching, lunging. She didn’t care that she was outmatched. She kept playing every point to its bitter end. Cassie could tell she was even enjoying it at moments.
When Cassie thought back to Delilah’s starting point, it was night and day. This wasn’t the girl who used to fold after a few ugly errors. This was someone who had decided to stay in the fight, even if the fight was hopeless.
Whitney nailed winners past her, again and again, but Delilah didn’t sulk, didn’t slump. She had a funny little grin on her lips, like she was glad to be tested. Like the losing didn’t matter if she could drag one more ball back, make Whitney earn it one more time.
She was outmatched, yes, but Cassie could see the foundation, the automatic footwork patterns, the racket angles that came out under pressure without her even thinking. Delilah had real technique buried in her muscles, surfacing even when fatigue pulled at her.
It was gratifying to see. Cassie made an experienced amateur-level player out of her.
Cassie thought she might even have been at a point of being able to keep pace with a few pro players who she’d seen go out in the first round or two at tournaments back in the day.
She was a decent amateur. But she had the heart of a Wimbledon winner.
No one would know Delilah hadn’t grown up on the courts if Delilah didn’t want them to. Cassie felt proud of herself for pulling this out of her in just under six weeks, and proud of Delilah for getting there against all odds.
But watching Whitney made her feel a totally different way.
Because Delilah had been right. Watching Whitney’s fire, Cassie could see herself at that age.
Reckless and hungry. And yes, what Delilah had said to her in the car was playing on Cassie’s mind.
But the thought of being the one to teach that kind of player, of shaping that energy into something unstoppable, both thrilled and terrified her.
***
By the time it ended, Whitney had taken Delilah apart.
Point by point, game by game, she’d worn her down until the scoreline was brutal.
Cassie had seen plenty of players leave the court crushed after something like that.
But Delilah wasn’t. She walked off flushed, sweaty, and tired.
But her chin was up, her stride steady. She’d played her best, and she knew it.
‘That’s more like it,’ Whitney said, packing up. She walked off smugly.
‘Thanks!’ Delilah called after her.
‘Fuck off,’ Whitney said, walking away from the court.
Delilah tutted. ‘What an arsehole,’ she said. ‘I’ll miss her.’
Cassie cleared her throat. ‘Well, that’s it. Training complete,’ she said, trying to sound casual, feeling anything but.
Delilah stilled. ‘Oh. Yes. I suppose that’s it, isn’t it?’
‘Good luck tomorrow,’ Cassie said as Delilah slung her bag over her shoulder. She tried to keep it casual, but a knot formed in her chest. If this was it—if this was the last glimpse she got of Delilah—it would end here, on the edge of a practice court, the words good luck standing in for goodbye.
But Delilah gave her a look as though she’d lost her mind. ‘You’re not coming?’
Cassie blinked. ‘Coming? I’m not invited.’
‘Of course you are.’ Delilah frowned, as if Cassie had just said something ridiculous. ‘I emailed my agent yesterday, got you on the guest list. I thought… I’m sorry, I just assumed you’d come. I should have asked.’
Cassie stared, caught off guard. The idea of attending a proper tennis event was a lot.
But Delilah was still looking at her like it was the most natural thing in the world. Like she assumed Cassie would be there, that she wanted her there.
Cassie felt the nerves rising. But beneath it was something else, something warmer. Gratitude. Relief that Delilah didn’t seem to be walking away from her just yet.
‘All right,’ she said quietly, almost to herself. ‘I’ll be there.’