Love Game - Season 2011 (35 page)

              Dressed in her pyjamas and her morning slippers Sasha walked down the hallway to the elevators. She knew where she had to go. But at the very moment she pressed the button she heard a door open and voices talking. Damn, she thought. It was 2 A.M. in the morning. Why couldn’t people sleep?

              The voices came nearer and looking around Sasha saw the fire exit stairs and decided not to wait for the elevator. She sprinted up the stairs and thinking about the sweet reward she would soon hold in her hands she had to smile to herself. It was harmless, after all, she told herself, and nobody had to know. It was just one time. Arriving at the next floor she stopped to check her pulse.

              Yes, she thought. Nothing to worry about. She was as fit as a fiddle. She could handle the little peccadillo on the side.

              She pushed open the door to the hallway. In front of her opposite the elevator doors she could see her destination. The vending machine was radiating a cool, wondrous light as if to promote the sweet temptations hidden inside. Thinking about the candy bars melting in her mouth Sasha couldn’t help grinning. She hadn’t had chocolate since Eastbourne.

              She took the coins from her pyjama pocket and tried to choose which candy bar to take home. In the end she opted for the small bag of very sweet peanut butter cups and a coconut bar. Ripping the wrapper open she stuffed the whole coconut sweet into her mouth. With a sigh she closed her eyes and leaned against the vending machine, dissolving in the instant explosion of endorphins.

              The ping of the elevator made her open her eyes. Watching the door slide open Sasha was wondering if she was dreaming. The disclosed view of the person inside the elevator didn’t help her to come to a solution. Inside the grey box, dressed in single-colored dark red silk pyjamas and lit by the pale light, looking like she had been beamed there from a spaceship, was a Galloway twin, staring back at Sasha.

              For a moment it seemed that time stood still. Sasha didn’t even feel shocked. Neither did she feel the urge to run away from the Galloway threat. The coconut-chocolate pulp in her mouth seemed to numb her emotions. With curiosity she realized that the twin inside the elevator didn’t move either. The doors were already closing again. But then suddenly the Galloway girl reached out and pushed the button to open the door again. With another ping time moved again and the twin stepped out of the elevator.

              “Hey,” Sasha mumbled with her mouth full, noticing that Lulu or Gaga had coins in her hand. They both had gotten up in the middle of the night to get some chocolate bars. Trying not to laugh so as to prevent the chewed candy spilling out of her mouth, Sasha curiously watched the Galloway twin who couldn’t help grinning herself. Was that Gaga or Lulu, Sasha wondered.

              “You want a peanut butter cupcake?” She held out her hand with the opened plastic bag.

              “Yes,” the twin smiled. “Thank you.”

              Friendly and kind? Must be Gaga, Sasha thought in relief. Not the crazy Lulu, who was very possibly besotted with Sasha and anything that moved. Gaga reached out her hand and taking out one of the sweets she touched Sasha’s hand slightly. It felt like a tiny bolt hitting Sasha’s skin.

              “I couldn’t sleep,” Sasha said, suddenly feeling sheepish standing there with the twin in their nightwear. Also her hands were beginning to sweat. Was it the chocolate infused high or was there a tension between them? The dark-haired girl standing in front of her didn’t say a word but watched her instead.

              Sasha was suddenly aware of all the moments when she had followed the twins, listened in on their conversations and the thrill whenever she had gotten closer to unveiling their secret. Or did the thrill have a different meaning? She swallowed down the remains of the coconut candy, thinking about the day when she had crouched in the locker to hide, but was discovered by Gabriella. The twin hadn’t said a word but had smiled at Sasha. And then there was the frightening moment when Lulu had shamelessly hit on her.

              Still lost in confusing thoughts the forward movement of the Galloway twin seemed like a shadow coming towards her. But the touch of the girl’s lips on her own felt very real. The following mingling of peanut butter taste with coconut stirred all the feelings Sasha had held under the surface. Without hesitation she grabbed the girl and pushed her against the vending machine, accidentally pressing the little beeping buttons. Embracing each other they kissed for what seemed like aeons but must have been only seconds.

              When she suddenly realized what she was doing Sasha broke free and stared at the Galloway girl in shock.

              “Gabriella?” She needed to know who this was! The Galloway twin hesitated.

              “No,” she mumbled. “I mean, yes.” She took a deep breath, then looked Sasha in the eyes. “I mean, no. I’m Lulu.”

              Yes? No? Sasha was thoroughly discombobulated. But before she could say another word, the twin had vanished to the fire exit stairs.

***

“Almost inexcusable. I have no other words to describe it. Inexcusable.”

              Hugh sipped on his coffee and shook his head watching Elise’s second round match against Polly Duke, the Canadian player more than forty spots below her in the rankings and not at Elise’s level. However, today she dominated the match.

              “It looks as if Elise is on a different planet altogether. Her mind seems to be somewhere else. No forehand, no backhand and most of all, no serve,” Sam Smith added.

              “Yes, sensing that Renard is having a difficult time getting her first serves in, the Canadian has really stepped up her game and gone for the second serves, returning them with much control and force.”

              Sitting next to Hugh, Sam could do nothing but nod at his words. The Canadian had every reason to walk with her head held high. She had won the first set 6-2.

              Elise had had a great American summer season so far. She was fit and had looked solid during her previous tournaments. But today her game was stricken with errors and her most potent weapon, her serve, had deserted her almost completely. Her first-serve percentage was at twenty-seven percent. Even though Sam wouldn’t have called Elise’s performance inexcusable, what she had seen so far from the young German was at least incomprehensible. After losing the first set, Elise sat on her chair and stared blankly at her towel. Something was obviously occupying her mind and prevented her from concentrating on the match. For the first time since Sam had started covering her matches, she had seen Elise truly out of sorts during a match.

              Down at the court Elise hit a double fault.

              “That’s her seventh, I believe,” Hugh said and Sam agreed.

              The next serve was well-placed in the box and Polly Duke had difficulty returning it. It fell short into the court and Elise rushed forward but hit the ball too hard and it landed in the net. She buried her face in her hand. She had just been broken on another service game.

              “Wrong day to play like this,” Sam stated. “And wrong opponent. Duke shows great body language right now.”

              From Elise Renard’s point of view losing the first set was indeed regrettable but now she was trailing 0-4 in the second, which seemed unworthy of the new hot shot who was rising up the rankings.

              “This is so loose from Renard. She looks like she has embarked on ‘Mission: Impossible’ here,” Hugh restrained a bitter laugh then shook his head in disbelief.

              “Duke is certainly not an easy opponent and right now she is not going anywhere. She’s here to stay. She isn’t allowing Renard to get back into the match.”

              “Yes,” Hugh said pensively. “Now, let’s see if she can hold her serve, now that she can smell the upset. She has a habit of getting tight when she comes close.”

              Elise was known for her determination on court, her fighting spirit. And it was clear she had her back against the wall. Hugh was right. 0-4 didn’t look good on paper, but just one nervy game from Polly Duke and the momentum could swing again in Elise’s favor. Sam knew it all too well. When a player had nothing to lose she would let go of her fear and play freely suddenly. Indeed, the German player began to move around, to hit the ball with more confidence.

              “Impressive,” Hugh commented.

              “Well, it’s a start,” Sam laughed when Elise broke Polly Duke. “You could feel she got angry with herself. Hit her shots with more vigor.” Yes, it seemed Elise was back on track. Stunning the meager crowd, but most of all Sam and Hugh in the commentary box the German held her own service game for 3-4 in the second set.

              “Renard has the momentum,” Hugh said with admiration. “Is this the start of a comeback?”

              But as soon as he had said it, it seemed the race to catch up had exhausted Elise mentally. Again the German lost her concentration and in the end it was Polly Duke who finally converted her match point, breaking Elise’s serve again. While Hugh cleared his voice, Sam sighed loudly.

              “Renard missed a big opportunity,” she said.

              ”But a great win for the Canadian here.”

              “Yes, absolutely,” Sam agreed. “A wonderful finish for Polly Duke.”

              Watching Elise pack her bag, Sam could see how disappointed Elise looked. She left the court looking down at her feet.

***

Lying on her bed Elise stared at the ceiling of her hotel room. She was waiting for Amanda, who was still on the tournament site scheduled for an evening match today. It could take another three or four hours until Amanda was back, and even though Elise felt the need to talk to Amanda about her loss today she also knew that the inevitable would come up. Like it would again and again until she had the guts to finally do it.

              After her loss, Elise had had a long conversation with her father. There were some crucial flaws in her game he had tried to address in previous matches but today they had again surfaced and had cost her the win in the end. At least, that was what he believed. She had agreed, of course, knowing however, that today the loss wasn’t due to tactical errors or wrong shot selection on the big points. The lack of concentration wasn’t due to endgaming or fear of facing match points.

              Elise rolled onto her stomach and buried her head in the pillow. She might have boldly told her friends in the restaurant about her determination to tell her parents but she hadn’t bothered to really do it. The surprise visit by her mother last night had pushed the situation she had been in for the last couple of weeks to the brink. She felt like she hadn’t slept at all that night.

              “Your mother didn’t look too shocked,” Amanda had said in the morning when they were getting ready to go down to breakfast.

              “Because she doesn’t understand what’s going on,” Elise answered. It didn’t make the prospect of telling the truth to her apparently clueless and innocent parents any better.

              “Yes,” Amanda shrugged. “Maybe.”

              Elise looked up. “You mean she got it?”

              “There was no way she did not see my shorts on the TV set, Elise. I think it’s time you tell them about us.”

              Elise moaned in embarrassment and shook her head. No, it was definitely better to pretend her mother didn’t understand what was going on.

              “I have to wait for the right moment,” she said hanging her head.

              “There is no right moment, Elise.” Amanda stood up. “There is only the moment you choose to do it,” Amanda said tiredly. “Or not.”

              Amanda slipped into her clothes and went into the bathroom closing the door. Sitting on the edge of the bed she heard Amanda brushing her teeth behind the closed door. Why would she close the door if she was only brushing her teeth? It could only mean that she was fed up with Elise and her antics. The last two words and the frustration in them were ringing in Elise’s ears. Neither of them had had much sleep during the night, but Elise felt that Amanda was tired of her – of her and the whole situation.

New York City, United States

Leaving the media area Sasha exhaled slowly. It had been hard work explaining where her serve had gone during the second set, which she had lost eventually to Gemma Heffington, the young and upcoming British player. But she had managed to come through her third round match in the end, winning the third set convincingly by six games to three against the more inexperienced player.

              But the absence of her serve was frightening. Of course, it had never been the same since her injury two years ago, but today the double faults had a different reason. As much as she had tried since Cincinnati to avoid the Galloway twins, this morning she had bumped into one of them at Flushing Meadows. For a while now, the twin sisters had not been seen together that much, which made the initial moment of contact even more awkward as Sasha couldn’t tell whether it was Gaga or Lulu. Together they were much easier to distinguish. This morning on her way to the gym Sasha had looked down on the ground, carrying her sports bag and listening to music with her earphones when suddenly someone came around the corner and collided with her head-on. They both had cussed in surprise, but when Sasha realized who she had bumped into she had breathed in sharply.