TWO WEEKS LATER
George
My heart hammers in my chest as I look up at the scoreboard.
CHAMPIONSHIP POINT flashes on the screen, but I do my best to push it to the back of my mind, grounding myself with some deep breaths as I bounce the ball up and down.
It’s just another point, just a normal point to play. Just a normal serve.
But if I win it, I win Wimbledon.
I shake my head. No, George. Focus on the point, not the result.
It’s just a serve. A serve you’ve done a million times before.
A serve that could win Wimbledon.
I push the thought away, burying it deep, turning my focus to the present. The feel of the ball in my hand, my grip on the racket. The silence of the arena.
I take one more deep breath, before tossing the ball into the air, slightly in front of me. I whip the racket, connecting at the highest point, the contact pure as it sails through the air.
I know it’s great, but I prepare for the return.
I don’t need to.
‘Game, set, match, Hampden.’
The crowd erupts, the cheers deafening as I fall to the floor, my body shaking.
I’ve done it. I’VE DONE IT!
I jump to my feet, rushing to the net to shake hands with Rainez. He gave it a good go, but it was my year. I’ve been on the best form of my life.
All because of her.
My eyes find hers immediately. She’s sobbing, arm in arm with Jack and Rosa as the three of them jump up and down, screaming. I run over, climbing up through the crowds towards my supporters, hands clapping my back the entire way up, the noise not abating for a second as I reach my box.
Olivia is my first hug, the woman who stuck by me for years, now the friend she should have always been.
My team next, the ones who stayed with me, who handled me day in and day out when I was an incorrigible arsehole, closed off and cold. Tom, Hope, they were there the whole time, keeping me going.
Then it’s Jack who grabs me, tears in his eyes as he screams in my ear, ‘YOU DID IT, MATE! WIMBLEDON!’ I grip him close, thanking him for everything he’s done, my brother in every meaningful way. I wouldn’t be here without him.
I pull away finally to see her waiting, the woman who saved me, who made me. The most beautiful woman in the world, tears blooming in those sparkling green eyes, her bright smile lighting up my entire life.
I scoop her up, kissing her again and again as I twirl her around, the crowd chanting my name so loud, I can barely hear her whisper.
‘I’m so proud of you, George. So proud of you! You did it!’ She squeezes me tighter. ‘I love you so much. Now go and get your prize!’
‘No need.’ I kiss her back. ‘I have it right here.’