Chapter 7 #3
That meant a lot, coming from Brian. He’d watched her go from a gangly kid to a formidable contender as she’d gone off to college, and he’d continued to coach her during summers when she was home.
No amount of career wins, endorsement deals, or social media followers could take the place of the approval of someone she deeply respected.
“Do you ever miss it, playing professionally? ”
“Every day,” he said seriously. “But I love coaching, too. It’s something I always felt you would be great at.”
“Are you trying to recruit me for a job?” she joked.
“If I thought I could get you, absolutely.” That same serious tone was back in his voice.
“You have your whole life ahead of you, Syd. I’m excited to see what you do with it, just as much as I loved watching your matches on TV over the last few years and seeing you learn new skills when you were just a kid. ”
His words affected her, deeply, and she started to feel her eyes prickle with tears.
“To be honest, I’m not sure what comes next,” she admitted, working to talk around the lump in her throat.
“How long are you in town?”
It was a great question. “I’m not sure, honestly.
I came back to relax and get my bearings for a little bit.
Definitely through the summer.” She’d committed to attending Grant’s wedding in early September with Reese, which was still months away.
Sure, she could fly back and forth from Florida, but there was this feeling she had, like Stoneport was where she needed to be.
Brian tapped at his temple. “I’ve always found that life, just like tennis, is a mental game.”
Sydney groaned, remembering the countless hours of drills she’d been put through, the exhaustive self-regulation to stay calm under pressure, the visualization of the possibilities she could find herself in during a big match. “Don’t I know it, sensei.”
“How’s the knee, all things considered?”
“It’s decent. Fine for casual play. I’d need a full surgery and recovery if I wanted to get back to the professional level, if the doctors are right.” She paused before adding, “And there’s the lack of trust in myself to contend with, if the sports therapists are right.”
Brian considered her words, then his focus shifted to Jenna, who’d appeared back at the edge of the court.
“Well then,” he said, as Jenna picked up her racket and began taking practice swings, “you want to make this kid’s year and force her to play doubles against us?”
Sydney locked her car and headed into The Stone’s Throw.
She and Brian had won, unsurprisingly, but Jenna had put up a good fight.
After Jenna’s private instruction had ended, she and Brian had gone to a restaurant and grabbed a late lunch, along with a drink, something they’d never done before.
And the whole day had felt… good.
Comforting and normal in some ways. She’d gotten back on the court. Brian’s laughter boomed loudly whenever he missed a shot.
But it was also strange and foreign. Brian wasn’t coaching her; his tips were directed at Jenna on the other side of the net. And Sydney had still been tentative with some of her movements, not wanting to put too much pressure on her knee once they’d gotten into the match.
When she ambled into the lobby, limbs loose from a day of exercise, she noticed Reese sitting at the check-in desk.
Her hair was up, with tendrils framing her face as she looked down at a printed stack of papers.
Sydney stopped at the front desk just as Reese looked up, surprise written across her face.
“Don’t worry, I’m not a check-in,” Sydney said, putting her hands up. “But I was starting to wonder if you’d absconded back to the West Coast.”
Reese blushed, and it made Sydney wonder if she’d actually been avoiding her. “Sorry, it’s been a busy week.”
“Hallie said you were deep in financials,” Sydney supplied, suddenly feeling awkward when Reese didn’t seem to want to meet her eyes .
Reese gestured vaguely at the papers still in front of her. “Yeah, I’m trying to wrap my head around everything.”
“So you aren’t ignoring me?” Sydney let the surge of adrenaline from her day of activity pull the words from her before she could second-guess them. “A girl sort of expects a call after a date where she meets the parents.”
And suddenly, Reese looked absolutely apologetic.
She pinched the bridge of her nose and shut her eyes.
After a moment, she opened them to look at Sydney.
“I’m sorry about that. It had nothing to do with you, honestly.
I’m a little bit stressed about this whole bridesmaid thing with Brynn, and I throw myself into projects when I’m stressed,” Reese said, gesturing at the multiple colored highlighters and sticky tabs that were affixed to different pages in the pile.
Sydney held her hands up to her chest, trying her best to embody the spirit of a Disney princess. “So the date went well then? Do you think there’s a second in our future?”
She resisted the urge to twirl to really sell it.
“You were perfect,” Reese said, with an almost wistful quality that Sydney knew she must be misinterpreting.
“Any feedback from the parents? Grant?” Sydney was only half joking, wondering how the day had gone from Reese’s perspective.
She thought she saw Reese’s eye twitch when she said, “Grant and I haven’t spoken, though I’m sure he’s about as happy about it as I am.”
“Given what you know, I’m sure he’s not thrilled that you and Brynn will be spending more one-on-one time together.”
“Honestly, I can’t even figure out who knows what at this point, if it even matters.
” Reese ran her hand over her hair, like she was collecting herself before she made a sound caught somewhere between a scoff and disgust. “And my dad was such a bootlicker at the party. I haven’t even given myself time to get wrapped up in that. ”
Sydney laughed, mostly to hide her shock at the words coming out of Reese’s mouth. “Wow, yeah. I mean, I don’t disagree. Stan and Margie were really the MVPs of the day, if I get a vote.”
“And you,” Reese said earnestly. Sydney’s cheeks warmed at the compliment.
“Hey,” she chastised, waiting for Reese to look at her, needing her to really understand her. “You held your own. Absolutely.”
She could tell that Reese wanted to dismiss her words, but she didn’t want to let her. After the day Sydney had had, she wanted Reese to feel that same sense of possibility.
Reese had moved away from the clout of her family to create her own future. She’d successfully built and sold an app that helped thousands of small businesses. Now she was back in her hometown, taking ownership of the inn and working tirelessly to make sure she was doing a good job at it.
“It’s nice of you to say,” Reese finally relented.
Sydney leveled a charming smile in her direction. “I only speak the truth.”
Reese finally clocked the way Sydney was dressed, leaning over the desk to get a full look at her outfit. “Did you play tennis today?”
“What gave it away?” Sydney asked as she felt Reese’s gaze continue to scan her body.
And just like that, it was back, the spark that she’d felt with Reese last weekend. It was impossible to ignore, with them so close. Reese was leaning over the check-in desk, and Sydney’s long arm rested on the counter so that Reese’s chest almost brushed against it.
Want, surprising in its intensity, curled low in her stomach, and she enjoyed the heat it spread through her body.
In a different world, if Grant wasn’t her ex-boyfriend, and Reese had actually been a beautiful woman she’d met somewhere outside of all of this, things would be very different.
But they weren’t, and a large part of today had been about Sydney accepting reality .
So that’s what she tried to do when she willed her body to calm down, orienting herself back to the task at hand. “I was wondering if this weekend was still happening. With the Fitzpatricks, I mean,” she clarified.
Knowing they had a public event together in just a few days would help dump a little more cold water on any of her confusion about what this was. And wasn’t.
Reese sighed, looking at her intently. “I know it’s a lot to ask, but I think my dad is hell-bent on making it happen. Are you willing to come?”
Their situation—their act —was complicated, but Sydney couldn’t deny the little thrill that ran through her body at the idea of them spending the weekend together. All she needed to do was maintain perspective, to keep any of her own confusion simmering enough to not be noticeable.
She beamed a megawatt smile in Reese’s direction, hopefully allaying any of the fear Reese had about them pulling this ruse off for longer than an afternoon. “Can’t wait.”