Chapter 53
Chapter Fifty-Three
SAM
The day of our first mixed doubles match, I also had to play a singles one.
I was taping my fingers and watching Naomi eat her second breakfast, feeling slightly envious because I really wanted an omelette.
“Are you staring at me like that because you want to eat me or my food?” Naomi asked around her mouthful.
I bit at the tape and secured it around my left ring finger.
“Both, but mostly the food. I don’t think I fuelled myself enough before we got here.”
She paused. “Leesh doesn’t underfeed. Eat your snacks at the changeovers, and you’ll be fine.”
She held out a fork full of everything on her plate to me. I leant forward and took it, letting out a small moan as I chewed. Her eyes narrowed at me.
“Sorry,” I muttered when I swallowed.
“You’re fine. I’m assuming I’m not pulling us out of this doubles match regardless of what happens in yours.”
I nodded as I bit another piece of tape off. “You’d be correct.”
Naomi rolled her eyes fondly and went back to eating.
My singles match ended up being a surprisingly easy affair, done in just over an hour.
Which meant I could comfortably eat that omelette I wanted so much and not have to worry about it messing up my energy for the doubles match, as it was the last one due on court.
Naomi and I went through the motions of pre-match prep, and as we stepped onto the court behind the Team France players, I watched her lock in to match mode. She rolled her neck as she unzipped her dark blue Team GB jacket before rolling her shoulders.
There was an ease to the way she pulled her racquet out, securing the grip before she banged it against the heel of her hand.
She smiled at me as she started walking backwards to the net.
I was helpless to follow her, thankful that the umpire’s spiel was always the same because I couldn’t keep my eyes off Naomi as she shifted and shuffled on the spot.
It still blew my mind that I got to be this close to one of the greatest athletes this sport had ever seen.
As we walked back to the baseline, it blew my mind even further that I could stand next to her, tell her I love her, and be rewarded by her blinding smile before she shifted back into match mode.
Before we stepped out for this match, Wyatt reminded us both that all we had to do was play the tennis we knew how to play and focus on each point at a time.
It was his way of trying to stop us from dwelling too much on the fact that this was the only chance Naomi had to win gold. It didn’t quite release the pressure valve completely, but it did enough.
By the end of the first game, it was obvious that his advice was perfect because Naomi wasn’t messing around.
Team France never stood a chance.