Chapter 4
“Would you like some more salad?” Kay asked, as we sat out on the terrace for dinner.
The sun was just going down and bathing the horizon a golden orange. A light breeze was blowing in from the ocean, mixing with the warmth of the dying day.
“Thanks, but I’m really full.” As if to underline my statement, I put my hands on my stomach.
Kay had watched me put away two platefuls of spaghetti with shrimp and tomatoes.
Coming back from tennis school I was famished, and that was without even having held a racket in my hand all day.
Maybe the whole jogging fiasco was still affecting me.
I hadn’t told Kay about what had happened on the beach this morning.
Pride aside, I didn’t want her going easy on me tomorrow morning.
On the contrary. I wanted to go all out.
I wanted to exploit all the possibilities the Diamond School of Tennis had to offer.
Over the afternoon, Kay had shown me around the immense premises, which were within walking distance from her house.
The twelve hard and clay courts, the fitness and therapy rooms, and the wellness area.
I had shaken trainers’ hands, given employees autographs, signed tennis balls, and agreed to a few selfies with other tennis-school attendees.
What Kay had managed to build over the last few years here was impressive, and it didn’t surprise me one bit that she wanted to expand and even had a kind of sports-based boarding school in mind.
“So?” She tilted her head. “What do you think?”
“About the shrimp?” I held back a yawn. “Super good!”
She’d told me that the area around the North Shore was famous for its shrimp. So as to stick to my nutrition plan, Kay had simply grilled them in olive oil with a bit of sea salt.
“I’m tired too,” she said, running her index finger across her eyelids. “It was a short night.” Then she quickly added, “It’s not what you think.” She grinned briefly before her expression grew serious again. “Something…unexpected came up, and I had to call the police.”
My eyes grew wide. “The police?”
She raised her hand softly. “No, no, a noise complaint. Don’t worry, this is a really safe area. And a quiet one, too, most of the time.” She clicked her tongue. “That’s why I couldn’t come pick you up today. I went to go file a complaint.”
“You filed a complaint?” I asked in surprise, as it struck me as somewhat dramatic.
“This was the third time. At some point, enough’s enough.”
She stood up and began to clear the dishes. When I moved to help her, she shook her head. “Sit down. It’s your first evening.” She winked. “Enjoy it.”
Although she was just being nice, her words triggered that touch of unease in me again.
Because the fact that it was my first evening also meant that one day on the way to my comeback had already passed.
A day that I hadn’t used to train. My guilty conscience dug into my gut.
Well, at least I’d been jogging. For a moment, I saw myself running along the ocean.
Toward the sun. Toward Vince. He was wearing his bright-red trunks and had come straight out of the water, his surfboard under his arm.
Drops of water ran down his face, his naked torso, following the fine line of his hair as…
“Lou?”
I started. Kay was standing behind the chair she’d been sitting in all evening, her hands on the backrest.
“When do you want to start tomorrow?”
Her eyes and tone told me that this was the second time she’d asked already.
“Umm.” I needed a moment to collect myself. “Around eight thirty? That’ll allow me time to go jogging beforehand.”
It took a lot of effort to keep myself from drifting back to my fantasy. My god! I’d simply had too much sun, that’s what was going on. Too little water to drink. Hit my head. And jet lag. Yeah, that definitely was in the mix too.
“Fine, then eight thirty it is. I’ll be over there already. I’ve got to send a few emails. You can find your way, right?”
I nodded. Aside from the fact that I’d inherited my mom’s good sense of direction, it wasn’t any more than a quarter of a mile.
Shortly thereafter, we wished each other good night.
I went upstairs, brushed my teeth, and slipped into my pj’s.
Stretched out like a starfish, I fell into bed.
The mattress was pleasantly hard, and the linens smelled fresh and flowery.
It didn’t feel like more than two minutes before my eyelids grew heavy and I dozed off.