Chapter 21
Jade
By the time evening arrived and Jade clocked off, it felt like she’d run all over the city.
Her day started with a few minor injuries before lunch.
She’d even managed to get a proper break and eat something substantial.
Then her afternoon quickly got busier due to a light drizzle of rain.
It wasn’t heavy enough to call an end to play straight away, but by the time the decision was made, the grass surface had started to get a little dangerous.
One of the male players had sprinted from one side of the court to the other to reach a returned ball from his opponent but had skidded and landed awkwardly on his right hip.
The game had been called after that point due to rain, which allowed him to receive medical treatment without forfeiting the match.
Jade had been called from the hotel as the onsite physical therapists were busy with other players.
She then received a call to make her way to another hotel to treat a player who had hurt their neck, avoiding a body shot in their match earlier that day. The player had gone on to win and wanted it checked before their next match later that week.
It was late by the time Jade made it to her room.
She’d already worked two hours later than the day before.
She had been messaging April for the past 15 minutes, so she knew she was in her own room resting for her first match of the tournament the next day.
Jade desperately wanted to see her after the day she had. Could she? Should she?
What if her dad or her coach is in the room with her?
She decided to keep her work top on under her hoody to use April’s injury as an excuse to being there in case she wasn’t alone in her room when she arrived unannounced at her door.
She grabbed her ID and headed for the stairs.
She needed the time rather than the extra cardio given how busy she had been with work.
Only a few minutes later, she stood outside April’s door. Time for some fun.
JADE
Knock, knock x
IVY
Cute, Ok, who’s there? X
JADE
You tell me - check your door X
Barely a few seconds later, and April’s hotel room door flew open. And there she stood. Jade felt the breath leave her lungs as those icy blues took her in.
“Oh my god, get in here!” April whispered; her voice a mixture of panic laced with excitement. “What are you doing here?”
Jade laughed as she entered the room and quickly closed the door behind her. “I’m just back from work now and didn’t want it to be late when we called with your first match tomorrow, so I thought I’d drop by super quick instead. I hope that’s ok?”
April moved in and threw her arms around Jade’s shoulders as Jade wrapped her arms around April’s waist, pulling each other close as their lips crashed together. When they finally broke their kiss but held their embrace, resting their foreheads together, they each let out a sigh.
“Of course it’s ok babe,” April said softly.
“I have to admit, you’re the only person I like calling me that,” Jade said.
“Good, I like being the only person who gets to call you that,” April pulled Jade in for another kiss before relaxing their embrace enough to see each other. Worry flashed across April’s eyes as she continued. “What would you have done if my dad had been here with me? Or Jon? Or both?”
“I have my work ID with me and my work top under my hoody. I would have just said I was doing a follow-up ahead of your match tomorrow. You know, try to earn some brownie points in advance of him knowing about us.” Jade smirked and received an eyeroll and a laugh in return.
“You really had it all thought out, huh?”
“Can you blame me? The man is terrifying!”
“I’m glad he’s not here though, I don’t think I could have coped seeing you here but not being able to kiss you.” April admitted with a blush creeping up her neck.
“You and me both,” Jade pulled April closer and nuzzled into her neck before pulling back to continue.
“But I’m going to head back to my room and grab a shower before calling Ivy.
She wants to hear all about what’s happening with us while Cleo’s out with her best friend.
I know we spoke last night about me talking to her about us, but I just wanted to check that you’re still ok with that? ”
April took a breath and struggled to keep eye contact with Jade, “I want to be ok with it, and I know you have to talk to someone about us. Can you just, maybe, not tell her I’m one of the players here? Not yet?”
Jade’s heart broke at the hint of panic in April’s voice.
“I won’t do anything that you’re not comfortable with.
You should come out on your own terms. When you’re ready.
There’s no rush. I’m not going anywhere, and I’m not one to pressure anyone into anything they’re not ready for.
I just need to be able to share what I can with my family about why I’m suddenly so happy.
Don't worry though, I’m not going to push you to tell people about our.
..” Jade stopped herself. It was too soon to label this as a relationship.
Wasn’t it? Did the length of time matter when their connection was so strong?
She didn’t want to risk scaring April away.
She couldn’t do that after they’d only just found each other again.
“About our...?” April’s eyes suddenly weren’t panicking anymore. They were warm and happy, and full of hope. She knew.
Jade’s mouth quirked to the side as she blushed and tried to hide her grin. “You’re going to make me say it, aren’t you? I mean, I don’t want to freak you out or follow the ridiculous stereotype. I know that we’ve only known each other for a few days altogether. Isn’t it too soon?”
“I think that you’re crazy if you say it’s only been a few days.
Our first date was talking for almost six solid hours learning all about each other except our jobs, families, and surnames.
We fixed that last night with a video call that lasted almost two hours.
Most people take weeks of dating to learn half of what we know about each other already.
I’m not freaking out, Jade. Like I told you yesterday, we’re doing this.
Which means that yes,” April took a breath and chuckled, “this is the start of a relationship, babe. We’ll figure the rest out as we go. ”
Jade grinned, relieved, then pulled April in for another kiss.
Each day over the rest of the tournament fell into somewhat of a routine: Jade usually woke up first and messaged April.
She would keep tabs on her match if she was playing or messaged through the day if April wasn't scheduled to play. Jade would drop by April’s room every few days, but they mostly stuck to bedtime video calls as they were both exhausted by bedtime.
April lost in the quarterfinals to a young Chinese player.
She had told Jade that it wasn’t due to April making many mistakes; the other player was just having an excellent match that day.
It wouldn’t have mattered who the other player had been up against; she just had the ideal match and won.
Jade was just happy that April wasn’t too down about the loss.
She didn’t know how April typically handled losing matches, but she knew it would be something she’d learn over time.
She looked forward to learning all about her.
The tournament ended early for April, so she headed home for a few days before making her way to the next one. Jade didn’t finish until the Sunday and was straight to the next venue the following day. Such was the life of a travelling physical therapist, so it seemed.
The following tournament was much the same.
Jade had to learn the layout of the new venue and hotel locations quicker this time.
They fell into a similar routine, this time, with April going on to win the tournament.
Jade barely managed to contain her excitement as she watched the end of the match beside Will in the hotel’s bar.
She was so proud of her...girlfriend? Partner?
We’ve still to decide that. Maybe we’ll discuss it on our week off before the Grand Slam in London.