21. Jordan
Chapter Twenty-One
Jordan
The relief I felt when I heard her knock on the door…Christ, it nearly floored me.
One second, I was pacing my living room, every thought grinding like gears, the next, that knock, and it was like the air rushed back into my lungs all at once. I opened it, and there she was.
Everything stopped.
I drank in the sight of her fresh-faced, waves a little fallen from the day, wearing a plain, grey T-shirt and leggings, still managing to knock me off my feet like she always did. Like she always would. Her eyes flicked over me where I stood shirtless, maybe a little bit on purpose.
I’d seen her earlier today. I thought I was fine. I had the final tomorrow. I needed to rest, reset, stay focused. But when I came home and the place was quiet, no sign of her, something in me splintered. The flat felt hollow without her in it.
I’d been so buried in match prep I hadn’t even told her to come. Hadn’t messaged. Hadn’t called. I just…expected her. Assumed she’d know. But she wasn’t the type to insert herself. She was too proud for that, even when I secretly wished she’d be a little more selfish.
I didn’t say a thing. I just moved, pulled her close, and kissed her with everything I had, hoping she’d feel how much I’d missed her, how much I needed her, how empty things had been without her. The moment her arms went around my waist, I could breathe again.
“I told you,” she murmured against my cheek, smiling, “you get needy when you’re about to win a Wimbledon final.”
“Just get your arse in here,” I said, taking her bag and pulling her inside.
I led her to the bedroom, not for sex, not tonight. Just…to show her that I wanted her here. That I needed nothing from her but this. Her presence, her breath against my neck, her hands around me.
She slipped into her soft sleep shorts and bralette, brushed her teeth, and then snuggled against me as if she’d always belonged.
One hand rested on my chest, as if she could feel my heart thudding.
I absentmindedly played with her hair, trying to calm the nerves we both felt.
I didn’t need anything more than this tonight.
Just her. In my bed. Keeping the world and my mind still.
But I could feel something building in her. A tension. The way her breathing changed. Then suddenly, in the dark, her voice came, almost like she was afraid. I could tell she’d been wrestling with something in her mind.
“Jordan…what happens on Monday?”
My chest ached. I knew this was coming. It had probably been crawling up the back of her throat all day. And I couldn’t blame her. We’d been living in a bubble, just us, and it had been magic. But bubbles didn’t last forever, did they?
I let out a long breath as I flicked on the bedside lamp. “I don’t know,” I said honestly, shifting around so I could see her properly. “But I know I’m not ready for this to end.”
She didn’t speak right away. Just looked at me like she was running through every version of us in her head.
“If I had my way,” I said quietly, “you’d be coming with me.”
Her eyes widened. Her breath caught.
“I don’t mean just for a few days,” I added, slower now. “I mean…I’d find a way to make this work. All of it. The travel, the schedule, the press. You and me together.”
She was holding her breath now.
“I want you with me, Kate. In the constantly changing hotel rooms, with your shoes dumped by the door and my hoodies gone missing because you’ve nicked them.
I want to complain about you stealing all the pillows and still not get a decent night’s sleep because I can’t stop touching you.
And I want you there when I win. I want you there when I lose. All of it.”
Her throat worked around a swallow. “You’d really want that?”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “I already do.”
She nodded once. Then again. Her eyes were glazing over. She caught her bottom lip between her teeth. And then she exhaled like she’d just stepped off a cliff and decided to enjoy the fall.
“Wh…What if I actually came?” she blurted.
I looked at her, unsure of what she was saying.
“God, this sounds insane, but fuck it…I’ve got enough leave.
I could come out for a month. It’s quiet at this time of year.
I mean, I’d just need this next week or so to sort things, speak to my team, but after that…
I could meet you wherever you are. Then we figure it out.
” The words came tumbling over themselves.
For a second, I forgot how to move. Then my whole body lit up like someone had just flipped the breaker back on.
“Are you serious?”
She nodded, slower now. “I know it’s crazy. I know it could fall apart. But if I don’t try…I’ll always wonder. And I don’t want to live with that regret. If that’s what you want too?”
I didn’t hesitate. I wrapped her up and buried my face in her neck. Fuck, was this happening right now? She was choosing me. Not the headlines. Not the moment. Me.
Something shifted in me right then. Like gravity had finally locked into place. This wasn’t a fling. This wasn’t just good timing or a soft place to land. This was her. And I was all in.
I pulled back just enough to press my forehead to hers. “Yeah, it’s fast. Maybe too fast. But fuck, Kate…I’ve never felt like this before. You’re the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time.”
She smiled, tired, teary, devastating, and kissed me slowly. And that kiss…it was everything. Tomorrow, I’d walk out onto the court with her in the stands.
And whatever happened, win or lose, she was coming with me.