Authors: Lucy Felthouse
I spun around so fast that some of my drink sloshed over the
side of the glass and went over my hand. “Fuck.” At least it hadn’t gone on my
dress, or Nadia’s for that matter—that wouldn’t have been a very good way to
chat her up.
Raising her eyebrows, Nadia said, “Was that a curse or an
offer?”
Clearly I hadn’t had enough to drink, as instead of coming
back with a wickedly sassy response I stuttered and gibbered utter nonsense at
her until she cut me off.
“I’m just kidding with you, sweetheart. Want another drink?
What is it?”
“Vodka and Coke.”
“Coming right up.”
With that, she turned on her heel and headed toward the bar,
leaving me gaping like a fish in her wake. Attractive. Bloody nerves. I hadn’t
even asked her how she was feeling about her defeat. Though of course if I did
I’d word it better than that. Hopefully. Actually I’d only said four words
since she’d arrived and none of them had been particularly meaningful, so
surely it couldn’t get any worse?
Taking a couple of healthy gulps of the drink in my hand, I
hoped the booze would kick in soon and give me just enough of a buzz to loosen
my tongue. But not so much that I thought karaoke and dancing on the tables was
a good idea. Not that this do had karaoke—it was much too classy. Or at least
it was classy at the moment—it was still early. I’d never been to a party full
of world-famous athletes before. Perhaps things got messy after a while. I
guessed I’d find out soon enough.
I glanced around the room, trying to look as though I
belonged, as though I didn’t feel as awkward as fuck waiting for my crush to
return. My gaze was drawn back to Nadia, so I let it be. She had her back to me
anyway and I drank in the sight of her, her long brunette hair free from its
constraints for once. And as for the knee-length black dress and strappy silver
heels…well, let’s just say they made her look so gorgeous it hurt.
By the time she came back I only had a tiny bit of my liquid
courage left, so I finished it, put the glass down on a nearby table and took
the one she offered with a smile.
“Thanks.”
She shrugged. “No problem. It’s not as if I paid for it. So,
what did you think of today?”
“Um, well, it was great that Travis won, obviously…” I
didn’t know what else to say. How could I discuss this subject without
mentioning her knock out?
“Hey, you don’t have to sugarcoat it, V. I had the women’s
title within my grasp and I blew it. But I’m not bitter. Sasha Cross deserved
to win. She played better than I did. It looks as if I’m not leaving the
academy any time soon. Not least ’til I’ve got a Grand Slam title under my
belt. Hopefully that’ll be the Australian Open.”
My heart leaped and a warm feeling permeated my body. I
hadn’t thought of it like that. Yes, being beaten in the final was shit for
Nadia but brilliant for me. It removed some of the urgency from my plan,
certainly. And if I got my head out of my arse and got on with it—and
everything went my way, of course—we could have a few months together before
she had to leave the country for any length of time.
“Yeah, hopefully,” I said, slurping some more of my V and C.
“I’m confident you can do it. You were fantastic today. The two of you were so
well-matched. I think you were just unlucky.”
Nadia grinned. “You’re just being nice now.”
“No.” I shook my head. “I speak only the truth.” I kept my
face straight so she didn’t think I was taking the piss out of her.
“Ah, you Brits and your stiff upper lip.” She touched my
arm. Only lightly but it felt as though someone had just run a thousand volts
through it. I didn’t speak. I couldn’t.
“Well,” Nadia continued, seemingly unaware of my reaction to
her touch, “you know what? I’ll take it. I stand by what I said about Sasha
deserving to win but that doesn’t mean my ego isn’t bruised. It could do with a
massage.”
God, I’d like to massage it. And the rest of you.
I smiled tightly. “Well, I’ve done my bit. There’s not much
more I can add to what I already said. That’s my massage. Perhaps we can go and
get someone else to come and help?”
“Don’t you dare,” she said, grabbing my arm as I pretended
to turn away and look for someone. “I’m not quite ready to talk to anyone else
yet. They might not be as complimentary as you’ve been. Stay with me until I’ve
had enough wine to make it so I don’t care?”
Well, how could a girl refuse an offer like that? “Wow,” I
said before I could stop myself, “I’m glad I can entertain you in the
meantime.”
She snatched her hand away as though she’d been burned.
“Hey, I didn’t mean it like that.” Her eyes were wide, her tone earnest. “I’m
not using you to hide behind. I’m just getting up enough courage to face
everyone else, and spending some time with someone I really like first. I see
you as a friend, you know, V—not just a colleague or someone I’ve taken under
my wing.”
By the time she’d finished speaking, my heart was
threatening to burst right out of my chest. First with anger then going through
a multitude of other emotions before settling on happiness with a healthy
dollop of confusion. Part of me wanted to float away on her lovely words but
the other part of me couldn’t help questioning them. Did she really mean that?
That she saw me as a friend? And when she’d made the comment earlier about my
“fuck” being an offer, had that been just a silly joke, or flirtation? Come to
think of it, she’d been touching me too, and mirroring my body language…
God, did she actually feel the same way I did?
Before I lunged toward her and made a total fool of myself I
knocked my drink back in one, then spoke. “Thank you. I’m glad you see me as
more than just a colleague or whatever. I see you as more than that too.”
Christ, and that was a double entendre. I hadn’t meant it to be but if Nadia
spotted it…
Well actually, would that be such a bad thing?
“Another drink?” My voice was bright, saccharine, and it
sounded fake even to my ears. At this rate I wouldn’t even have to confess my
feelings. She was a smart woman and would no doubt suss them out in no time
from my strange behavior.
“Um, sure. White wine, please.”
I was gone before she could say anything else.
Walking over to the bar, I berated myself.
Get a fucking
grip, Virginia. Do you want her to know you like her, or not? It doesn’t matter
whether she works it out for herself or whether you spell it out, does it?
However it comes to light at least you’ll know if you’re in with a chance.
One more, I told myself. One more drink and I’ll feel
braver.
I reached the bar and the man behind it came right over.
“Hey, what can I get you?” His smile was wide and I noticed his gaze drop
briefly to my chest before shifting back up to my face.
I grinned back, amused. Poor guy had no idea that he was
barking up the wrong tree. Though if I’d been straight I probably wouldn’t have
turned him down. Even I could see that he was cute, aesthetically pleasing. “A
vodka and Coke and a white wine, please.”
“Comin’ right up.” He turned away to make the drinks but not
before tipping me a wink. Since he was no longer looking I rolled my eyes. Then
I glanced back over to where I’d been standing with Nadia. She’d shifted a
little closer to one of the huge pillars holding up the ceiling, clearly trying
to hide herself away a little. I supposed I couldn’t blame her—if I’d been
within a hair’s breadth of a major title and then lost, I wouldn’t want people
banging on about it either.
But then, it was a party—if she’d really wanted to avoid
people, she probably shouldn’t have come. She must have had her reasons for
attending—pressure from Austin possibly. Not in a spiteful way, of course—he
just wasn’t that kind of guy. But he wouldn’t have wanted her to hide away in
her room being miserable, I was sure of it.
“Here you go.” The cute-if-you-like-that-sort-of-thing
barman returned with our drinks and I thanked him before grabbing them and
heading toward Nadia. I felt his gaze on me as I walked away.
“Hey,” I said when I reached her, holding out the glass. She
took it quickly and I noticed she’d finished the other drink. Wow—seemed as
though she was downing the booze as much as I was. But then, we both had our
grounds for needing it that night.
“Thanks. I don’t normally drink this much—hardly anything,
actually—but it’s been a bit of a shitty day.”
“Yeah, I hear ya.” That was the moment when I decided to
abandon my plan. I couldn’t do it, no way. And not because I’d chickened out
either, but because of Nadia’s “shitty day” as she’d so bluntly put it. How
could I lumber her with something like my feelings for her when she was having
such a tough time? Even if she returned them she wasn’t in the right frame of
mind to talk sex and relationships, I was sure. No, what she needed was a good
old-fashioned fun night, no complications.
My plan would go on the back burner for a more suitable
time. Given that she was going to be around at least until the Australian Open
I had bags of it.
By now the room had filled up and I could see that things
were really getting started. The whole team—players, coaches, support staff and
more from the academy were now here. Except for… Oh no, there they were—Travis
Connolly and Marie Sherratt, over in the corner by Austin’s table. They were
both grinning from ear to ear as someone I suspected was one of Travis’
sponsors talked to them. Probably discussing their good news. Not imparting
it—everyone in the world knew about it by now.
I shuddered.
Ugh.
As happy as I was for the two of
them I wouldn’t want my personal business out in the open like that. Sure,
proposing right there and then had been romantic but imagine if she’d said no!
Or if things fell apart between them. It was now common knowledge to any person
on the planet who owned a TV or a radio or had internet access. God, they were
probably trending on Twitter. His US Open win alone would have set those wheels
in motion but coupled with the impromptu proposal…the Fail Whale had probably
made an appearance.
“Right,” I said, more loudly and emphatically than I’d
intended, startling Nadia. Now it was her turn to slosh her drink over her
hand. She gave me a sheepish look.
“Oops, sorry. Didn’t mean to make you jump. But I’ve got an
excellent plan. One that will turn your shitty day into an excellent one.”
She raised an eyebrow. “I’m listening.”
“It’s simple but effective, I promise you. And very British.
It’s called ‘drowning your sorrows’.”
“I think I’m familiar with the concept. And I’m all for it.
Great plan, V.”
Holding up my glass, I mentally applauded myself for my
genius. The idea could have other benefits too—like maybe sending us into the
drunken stupors so often associated with spilling secrets. We’d know each
other’s deepest, darkest thoughts—maybe—and emerge from the other side of this
party better friends than ever. Or maybe even more than that. “Cheers.”
Taking my cue, Nadia clinked her glass against mine and we
beamed at each other before slurping down our respective drinks.
“Hey, V,” Nadia said a few seconds later. “Mine are obvious
but what are your sorrows?”
Just before I replied a slightly fuzzy thought wafted
through my mind.
I think that one was a double. Bloody hell.
I waved my hand in what I hoped was a dismissive manner. “Oh
n-nothing. Just commiserating with you, that’s all. You should be celebrating
that damn title along with Connolly.”
“Oh, did I just hear my name? Not taken in vain, I hope?”
I spun to see Travis and Marie standing beside us, looking
so loved-up it bordered on disgusting. At some point I’d have to find out how they
got away with having a relationship without Marie losing her job. It was all a
bit weird, if you asked me.
“No, no,” Nadia said, swaying a little. I giggled, glad that
the increasingly loud music drowned it out. I sounded insane and not a little
stupid. “We were just talking about my shitty day, my unceremonious defeat. And
V here was saying that I should be celebrating along with you. Which reminds
me. Sorry, I’ve been a little distracted. Congratulations on your win, Travis.
And also to both of you on your engagement. It seems your day has been as
fantastic as mine has been awful.”
Understandably the newly engaged couple looked
uncomfortable. What exactly were they supposed to say to that?
Then Connolly reminded me of how I planned to lift Nadia’s
spirits.
Inserting a great deal of lightness into his voice, he said,
“Drink?”
My first thought on waking was,
Ow, fuck, my head!
My second,
What’s that bloody noise?
Then my brain kicked in and I realized someone was thumping
on the door, the hotel room phone was ringing, and my mobile phone was bleeping
alarmingly. Slowly I gained more awareness and something made me turn and look
at the bed behind me. I heaved a sigh of relief. I was alone and the pillows on
that side were mercifully undented.
God, how horrendous would that have been? Waking up to find
that bloody barman in my bed? Or worse, Nadia. Though of course the first one
would have been terrible full stop—I’d never slept with a man and I didn’t
intend to start, either. The second only because of the circumstances. If I got
lucky enough to have Nadia in my bed, or to be in hers, I wanted to remember
every single second of it.
Sitting up slowly and hoping my stomach didn’t decide to
empty its contents onto the floor, I carefully edged my way out of bed and
waited until I felt the carpet beneath my feet. Shuffling toward the door, I
grabbed the robe that had been tossed onto the floor and shrugged into it,
tying it tightly around my waist. The banging and two sets of ringing continued
and I flung open the door, hoping that action would make it all stop.
Thankfully it did. Austin stood outside my room, red-faced
and angry-looking, one hand poised to knock, the other clamping his cell to his
ear. One punch of a button and mine stopped ringing. Then a few taps later and
the main line did too.
“Oh good,” he said coolly, stepping into the room without
even asking and slamming the door behind him. Which of course did wonders for
my pounding headache. “You’re not dead.”
His tone of voice made it sound as if he wished I were. Had
I been wearing any shoes my heart would have sunk into them. Instead it
remained bathing in the broiling vat of discomfort that was my stomach.
Bollocks,
what did I do last night?
“Um, no,” I said, sounding like a pathetic little girl—which
I supposed at that moment I was. “I’m not dead. Why? I’m not late for anything.
Our flights back to California aren’t until tomorrow, are they?”
“Luckily for you, no they’re not. Otherwise you’d have been
paying the transfer fee out of your own pocket. Unluckily for you, though, I’m
here and I’m
pissed
.”
He was stating the obvious but there was no way I was going
to say that. Strictly speaking, this man was my boss and he could kick my arse
out of the academy if he chose to. And from the way he was looking at me, I
suspected he was considering it. Christ, I’d done something really bad, hadn’t
I?
“Um, okay. Sorry?” I hadn’t meant it to sound like a
question but that was how it had come out and Austin’s face almost turned
purple as a result. The temptation to run and hide in the bathroom was almost
overwhelming.
“Sorry?
Sorry!
” He sighed heavily, stuffing his cell
into his pocket and running both hands through his hair. “You don’t even know
what you did, do you?”
Knowing that whatever I said would only make things worse, I
settled for shaking my head. I clenched my fists, hoping to gain some kind of
strength from the action, because whatever came next wasn’t going to be good.
“For Christ’s sake, Virginia. This is worse than I thought.
So not only am I here to make sure you’re still alive, I also have to explain
why you’re in such a state and why I’m furious with you?”
“I’m sorry, Austin. I really don’t remember. The last thing
I remember is Connolly coming over to Nadia and me and offering to get us a
drink.”
He huffed again, then walked over to one of the plush chairs
in the sitting area of my suite and dropped into it. “Sit down, Virginia.”
“C-can I get a coffee first? Would you like one?”
“Yeah, that would be great.”
I figured I was buying myself a couple more minutes of grace
by making a coffee. Perhaps in that time Austin would calm down a little. Well,
that and having some caffeine in my body would make me slightly more capable of
handling whatever he was about to say and the ramifications of that.
The noise of the kettle boiling almost made me want to cry,
as did the spoon clanking in the mugs as I stirred in the milk and sugar. It
was like standing on the edge of the platform as an underground train rushed in
to the station. Soon, though, it was over, and I did my best to carry the two
steaming drinks over to the sitting area without spilling any. Gingerly handing
Austin’s coffee to him, I put mine down on the table before taking a seat
myself.
“Okay,” he said, looking at me steadily. “Firstly, you look
like hell. Which is hardly a surprise. When you didn’t answer your door I
genuinely thought I was going to have to call an ambulance. Or a coroner. I was
one second away from getting the reception desk to bring me another key card.
Secondly, you are in deep shit.”
He paused, took a breath, then looked as if he was about to
resume his lecture. Instead he took a slurp of his drink—God, he must have had
a mouth made of asbestos—swallowed, then continued. “You honestly have no idea
what happened?”
I shook my head. “Nothing after Connolly and Marie arriving
and him offering to get us drinks.”
“Well perhaps it’s as well you don’t remember. There’s no
way to put this politely, Virginia, I’m afraid. But you made a complete and
utter ass of yourself and haven’t exactly raised the academy’s public image
either.”
“Shit, I’m sorry. Sorry, I didn’t mean to swear. C-can you
tell me exactly what I did? Did I hurt someone? Break something?”
“No, no. You didn’t hurt anyone or break anything. You, uh,
basically got utterly inebriated and started being rather loud and obnoxious.
You started going around the room and hugging people—whether you knew them or
not—and telling them that Nadia Gorlando should have won the women’s title.
That she was the better player and deserved to win. It was a few moments before
we realized what was going on. As soon as we did Mitchell Adair jumped in and
took you out of the room. Before he had a chance to find out what the hell was
going on and try to get some water into you, you vomited all over him and
pretty much everything else in the vicinity.”
I’d put my head in my hands after his second sentence. By
the time he was done I was groaning and wishing the ground would open up and
swallow me whole. Then preferably deposit me on a desert island, never to be
seen again.
“Damn. Damn, damn, damn. There’s not really much else I can
say, is there?” I lifted my head and looked Austin square in the eye, hoping
he’d see how much I meant what I was saying. “I am so, so sorry. I really am. I
intended to get a little drunk and have a good time, I admit. Hopefully take
Nadia’s mind off what happened. But I never meant to get so drunk that I made a
fool of myself, and certainly not throw up over Mitchell. Poor guy.” I was
going to have a serious dry-cleaning and probably hotel bill—I just knew it.
“Should I ask how I got back here? I haven’t left a trail of vomity destruction
behind, have I?”
“Other than the first lot, no. Mitchell took good care of
you. He and Nadia brought you back up here. I’m led to believe that Nadia held
your hair back as you hugged the toilet, then Mitchell deposited you on the bed
and excused himself while Nadia stripped you down. She waited a while to make
sure you weren’t going to be sick again, then left. She wanted to stay with you
but I pointed out that probably the last thing you needed when you woke up this
morning was a reminder of what happened. Though of course now I know that it
wouldn’t have reminded you anyway.”
“Mitchell… Nadia? Wow, I owe a whole lot of apologies and
thanks, don’t I? I didn’t even have that much to drink. Though that last one I
fetched from the bar was really strong. I think the barman gave me a double or
something. So, uh, what happens now? As well as totally humiliating myself I
know I’ve brought shame on the academy, for want of a better description. I
didn’t lose you any sponsors or anything, did I?” I pulled in a shaky breath
then said something I really didn’t want to but felt I ought to. “When do you
want me to leave? As soon as we get back?”
Austin frowned. “Leave? What do you mean?”
“Well it’s hardly behavior becoming a professional athlete,
is it? I’ve pissed off a whole bunch of my colleagues and ruined the academy’s
reputation. You should sue me, really. Except I’ve got no money.” I let out a
harsh laugh.
“You’re being a little dramatic, Virginia.”
“I…I am? But you’re so mad at me.”
“Yes, I am. I’m hopping mad, as they say. But I’m not
kicking you out. Yes, you got very drunk and made an idiot of yourself. Yes,
you’ve pissed off some people. And yes, the sponsors aren’t very happy.
However, it was a private party and with some help from the security team I
managed to ensure that no one had any photographic or video evidence of your
behavior. I also asked everyone to keep quiet about what happened. So far there
have been no leaks to the press and I’m confident there won’t be. So the only
people who know what happened were in that room. I assured the sponsors that it
was a one-off and won’t happen again. You’re a rising star, sweetheart, and
you’ve never even been an inch out of line before, so I’m giving you the
benefit of the doubt. All right?”
If it hadn’t been for the mug of hot liquid in his hand I’d
have thrown myself into his arms and kissed his cheeks until he blushed. As it
was, I settled for a much more appropriate response. “Oh Austin, I don’t know
what to say.” I really didn’t. I’d been absolutely convinced that I’d kissed
goodbye to my time at the academy, to my access to the world’s top tennis
coaches, to the mentoring of top-seeded players and everything else that went
with it.
“I really am truly sorry for what happened. I’ve never done
anything like that before—I don’t know what happened. But I’ll do everything
within my power to put it right. Apologize to every person who was there,
including the sponsors and hotel staff. I’ll even clean up where I made a mess.
Anything to put things right.”
Austin raised a hand. “Hey, sweetheart, easy. Easy now.
Don’t you worry about the sponsors. I’ll sort it. Though a few words with your
colleagues wouldn’t go amiss, I’m sure. And as for the hotel staff…well, I’m
sure it’s not the first time they’ve seen something like that. I’ve already
spoken to management to smooth things over and make sure the staff keep it
under wraps. Honestly, though, with the amount of money the academy has sunk
into them over the course of this tournament they’re not going to piss me off
any time soon. So don’t worry any more, okay? Just go get showered and then get
downstairs for some food. Or maybe room service would be a better option.” He’d
obviously realized that I wasn’t yet in a fit state to face the world and no
number of showers would fix that.
“As far as I’m concerned, as long as you sort things out
with anyone from the academy you may have upset, then we can get back to normal
when we arrive back in Cali. You’ll be under probation, of sorts, but as long
as you return to the sort of behavior I’ve come to expect from you over the
past few months then we’re good. We’ll say no more about it, okay?”
I nodded. Mainly because I couldn’t speak. I didn’t know if
it was the hangover, the fact Austin was being so nice to me when I didn’t
really deserve it, or that I hadn’t yet fucked up my chances with the academy.
Perhaps it was a combination of all three. But whatever it was had lodged a
lump in my throat and brought burning-hot tears to my eyes. I wasn’t feeling
strong enough to hold them back, so I dropped my head into my hands again and
let them fall.
Once I’d started, I couldn’t stop. The silent tears turned
into big, racking sobs. I was sure I was making myself look even more
unattractive and pathetic but at that point I didn’t care. Letting out the
humiliation and relief was cathartic.
By the time I’d pulled myself together Austin had gone. I’d
been so wrapped up in my pain that I hadn’t even heard him leave.
I decided it was high time I took his advice and hopped in
the shower. I got to it, plastering myself in far more of the expensive hotel
toiletries than I needed and letting the powerful spray from the showerhead
blast the last of my self-pity away. When I got out I was far from one hundred
percent better but I was physically much improved and mentally happier.
I resolved to take the second chance I’d been given and hold
on to it tightly with both hands. I had a few things to do, people to see,
before I could even think about forgiving myself and moving on, but first I
needed breakfast. That would give me the strength I needed.
Heading over to the bedside table, I picked up the phone and
dialed down to reception.