I wish I had his confidence. Right now I was shaking in my stilettos and wishing I'd worn more comfortable shoes.
Henry served the tiny white ball, bouncing it over the net to Ink, who raised his paddle just in time to hit it back. Back and forth they went, pinging and ponging, both concentrating everything they had on that tiny ball and out-manoeuvring their opponent.
Henry won the first point and Ink the second before they fell into a rhythm and a long rally, which almost ended several times with a let, the ball touching the net before dropping over onto the other side.
As the rally went on and on, both opponents became more desperate, both puffing loudly. Ink won the third point when Henry went to volley, hitting the ball before it bounced on his side of the table.
"Ink is winning," Bruno pointed out.
"By two points to one." Logan gave him a smirk. "It's far from over. Might as well settle in and get comfortable."
I looked over my shoulder to Sanun, who was slumped on his seat, arms crossed, elbows in his lap. His face was turned towards the match, but his eyes were glazed like he wasn't seeing it. He was lost in his head. He gave me a quick glance, the onlyindication he was aware of anything going on in The Arena. He looked away just as quickly.
Why is he here?I wondered.
Like me, an air about him suggested he had more to prove than men the size of Logan. When a hint of sympathy crept into my mind, I realised he was also playing dirty. The minute I let my guard down, he'd take full advantage of it.
What then was Logan's angle? He was big enough that he should be able to pound us all into dirt, with or without a paddle in his hand. I could speculate, but I'd only be guessing. The only thing I knew for sure was that he had an angle. We all did.
As the match wore on, the smell of desperation grew stronger. Eclipsing the hint of donuts until I started to think I imagined it.
The desperation came from Henry, from Ink and from everyone gathered here.
Everyone except for Hunter and Parker. They were the only ones guaranteed to walk away from this unscathed. They'd come back next year and do it all again. How many times had they hosted this event? How many people had they sent to their death?
I doubted either had any trouble sleeping at night. They were cold-blooded, or they'd been doing this for so long, it didn't register anymore.
I wished that was the most fucked up thought I had today.
Ink won two points in a row, making the game four to one.
Henry took out the next five games.
Ink fought desperately, but Henry took out the next game and Hunter called for them to have a water break.
"This is why the tournament takes hours." Logan rubbed a hand over his head. The games were quick, but it was going to take time to play all of them.
"I heard one year it took three days," Bruno said. "So they put beds in a room off to the side, so everyone could get some rest, or have some fun." He waggled his eyebrows at me.
I knew I'd be here for a while, but I hadn't considered it might be as long asthreedays.
Honestly, I hadn't put much thought past walking through the front doors. Would anyone mind if I slipped off my boots and went barefoot for the rest of The Tournament?
"Sometimes it only lasts a day or so," Sanun said, his voice soft, as if he didn't want to contribute to the conversation.
"With any luck, we'll be done by midnight," Logan said.
"That's cute," Bruno told him. "You're relying on luck. The rest of us have skill. Right, Tash?"
I wasn't sure about that, but I nodded in agreement.
"I'm out of practice, but I'm sure I'll remember my skills when I get going," I said, playing up the part of 'clueless mostly-non-ping-pong player.'
"Word of advice," Logan said. "No one's going to go easy on you because you have tits."
"Not even you?" I asked sweetly.
I followed that with a dramatic sigh and added, "I'm sure I'll figure things out somehow. I mean, I'm only hitting a little ball over a net, right? How hard can it be?"
