Chapter 21
WOW,” JASMINE SAID AS SHE WATCHED PENNY AND ALEX finish their red carpet walk and head into the party.
Next to her, Jack, Indy, and Dom were all gaping at the reporters going nuts for the couple ahead of them, but Jasmine started making her way down the line.
That jump-started the rest of the group.
The reporters weren’t quite as enthusiastic as before, but she and her new doubles partner got plenty of attention from the cameras.
“Stand together for some,” Dom muttered to them as he passed behind them about halfway down the carpet. “Present a united front.”
Their united front would probably last as long as their doubles run did.
Indy didn’t look any more thrilled than Jasmine felt, but they smiled for the photographers’ pool together.
As if their personalities didn’t clash enough, the tangerine sheath dress and funky purple belt Jasmine was wearing up against the green metallic fabric of Indy’s dress didn’t really make a pretty picture.
They finally made it to the end of the row and immediately stepped away from each other and followed Dom into the party.
The music was loud, but the buzz from the crowd was louder as people mingled in the dimly lit room.
Jasmine looked around for a familiar face and couldn’t find one.
Things had changed a lot since her dad retired.
Back then she would’ve known half the party before stepping through the door.
Now she was in a crush of strangers, people who were supposed to be her peers, but none of them knew who she was and never would unless someone pointed her out as John Randazzo and Lisa Vega’s daughter.
“Screw this,” she mumbled, and turned back to the entrance.
She’d have one of the staff call her a car, go back to the hotel, and order some room service.
She didn’t need this party or these people.
The only thing she needed was to get some rest and train well tomorrow.
If she wanted to prove everyone wrong, she had to be at her best.
“Wait, where are you going?” Indy asked, grabbing her arm.
“Let go of me,” she said, pulling free. “I’m going back to the hotel. This is such a waste of time.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. We’re at the French Open. This is… You shouldn’t miss this,” Indy said, sweeping a hand at the party.
“Do you know how many of these I’ve been to?”
“Yeah, but how many of them because you were playing?”
Jasmine’s shoulders dropped and she looked back out into the sea of partygoers. “But I don’t know anyone.”
Indy bit her lip. “We know each other.”
“Yeah, me and you,” Jasmine said, crossing her fingers and holding them up for Indy to see. “We’re like that. Why don’t you go find Penny, she’s your new best friend. Or is she too busy for you tonight?”
“She is my friend,” Indy said, “and she’s obviously a little busy, but you’re my doubles partner.”
“Save it,” Jasmine said, trying to push past the taller girl, but Indy stood her ground.
“No. Every time we take a step forward, we take like ten back. We have a couple of days of training to get past it before we have to go out in front of the whole world and compete together. We’re both professionals.
We should be able to put the personal stuff aside and be… ” She waved a hand through the air.
“Professional?” Jasmine finished for her.
“Exactly. Look, I know you don’t like me, but I mean, look around, we’re at the French Open. How many people can say they’ve been here? We should soak this in. Who knows if it’ll happen again? We should have fun and enjoy the whole thing.”
She made a good point. Jasmine didn’t know when she would be back at a tournament like this, especially if doubles didn’t work out.
If Hodges was right, she was probably headed to the Challenger circuit, the minor leagues of tennis, or maybe even to a college team.
Maybe she could go to Duke with Teddy. They could rule the ACC together.
That was what everyone expected of her now.
They didn’t think she should win just because her parents won all the time.
Indy was right. There was no pressure… at all.
The constant weight of expectation she’d been carrying for years suddenly fell away. It didn’t matter. None of it did. She had to live in the moment. She could worry about the future and other people’s expectations later… or maybe never again.
“Jasmine?”
She looked back at Indy, and for the first time, she didn’t see the girl Teddy thought was hot or the girl who beat her at the OBX Classic. She saw her doubles partner. “Maybe we can find a table or something.”
“Great,” Indy said, standing on her tiptoes in the five-inch heels that made her tower over most of the crowd even more than she already would have. “I see an empty one, come on.”
Jasmine struggled to keep up with Indy’s long strides, but they got to the table and slid into the small booth with a perfect view of the entire room.
As soon as they were seated, Jasmine lifted her hand to call over one of the passing waiters.
She was going to enjoy this party and that meant she wanted some champagne.
“Won’t Dom mind?” Indy said as Jasmine took her own glass from the waiter’s tray and then one for Indy as well.
“It’s one glass of champagne and we’re of age here,” Jasmine said, and took a long sip.
“Yep,” Indy agreed, but she still pushed her glass away as her eyes focused on the crowd, darting from group to group.
Then her gaze locked and Jasmine followed her line of sight straight to where Jack Harrison was standing, talking and laughing with a few party guests, including several really gorgeous women.
Despite that, he seemed to be constantly searching the room but unable to find whatever he was looking for.
“So, it’s Jack, not Teddy, huh?”
“What?” Indy said, snapping her eyes away from the group and staring at Jasmine wide-eyed. “No.”
“And yeah, that confirmed it.” Jasmine leaned forward in her seat. “He doesn’t know?”
“Oh, he knows, at least I think he does, but he’s too… he’s too Jack to do anything about it.”
Jasmine giggled. “Too Jack?”
“It’s what I’ve decided to call it, because he seems super into me one second and then just completely shuts down the next.” Indy took another sip of her champagne, longer this time, nearly draining the glass.
“Maybe he sees it as a conflict. You’re a player, he’s an agent. You’re friends with his sister. It could make things complicated.”
Plus, his little brother made it clear he liked you when you first showed up, Jasmine added silently because, despite everything, that wasn’t her secret to tell.
“Maybe, or maybe he’s just a tease,” Indy said, rolling her eyes.
“I’m just saying, it’s not as simple as ‘I like you, you like me, let’s make out.’”
“Right,” Indy said, “but it still sucks.”
“I know,” Jasmine said. “Believe me, I know.”
They sat in silence, a much more comfortable one now, and watched the party swirl around them, people dancing and flirting and lots of fake smiles followed by eye rolls behind backs. They drank their champagne slowly but never let a waiter pass without grabbing another glass.
“So, what do you think?” Indy said, nodding at a short, extremely buff man in his forties with an orange tan and way too much hair gel. His arm was wrapped around the waist of a girl nearly a foot taller than him, but probably half his age. “Still lives with his mom, right?”
Jasmine nearly spit out her champagne, but then smiled wickedly. “No way, he has a huge penthouse apartment to compensate for his other deficiencies.”
A man stopped in front of their table and Jasmine looked up, her smile fading. “Hi, Dom,” she said, cringing at their table of champagne glasses, some still full, but most of them drained.
“Ladies, I see we’re having a good time,” their coach said, a massive crease between his brows as he frowned down at them.
“We were,” Indy muttered, “but I’m guessing that’s over now.”
“Damn right,” he said, shaking his head. “Let’s go.”
They followed him through the party and to a side door, where Dom had one of the tour officials call them a car.
“Straight back to the hotel,” he told them before leaning in the window and telling the driver where to go.
“Feels like I just got sent to the principal’s office,” Indy muttered.
“We kind of did,” Jasmine giggled, feeling the buzz starting to wear off just slightly, and then her laughter faded. Disappointing Dom was not on her list of ways to make him take her seriously.
Driving through the streets of Paris was an experience all its own. The streetlights reflected against the windows of their car and each street looked like it was the set of an epic love story. Indy sighed from the seat next to her.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Jasmine asked.
“Almost too beautiful to be real. Have you been here before?”
“Yeah, with my parents.”
“Right. Me too. My mom and I did the London and Paris thing when I was thirteen. I definitely didn’t appreciate it at the time.”
They pulled up to the front of the hotel and the driver got out to open the door for them. As they stepped out onto the sidewalk, the Eiffel Tower—lit up for the night—twinkled in the distance, the rest of the city’s lights a mere stage for the famed landmark to stand upon.
“Why didn’t your parents come?” Indy asked as they moved through the lobby toward the elevators.
Jasmine frowned. No one else had thought to ask that. Not even Dom, although it was possible he already knew why. “I asked them not to.”
“Why?”
“I…” She hesitated as they got into the elevator car. “I wasn’t sure how well we were going to do and I didn’t want to, I don’t know, disappoint them, I guess.” Then, feeling a lot more exposed than she had in a long time, she shot back, “Why isn’t your dad here?”
“I doubt he even knows I’m playing.”
Jasmine raised an eyebrow in disbelief and the elevator dinged, signaling their arrival on the sixth floor.