YOU KNOW STARING AT YOUR PHONE ISN’T GOING TO MAKEa text magically appear, right?” Indy gazed into her dorm closet, positive nothing inside of it was appropriate for Paris. “And you’re supposed to be helping me pack.”
It was another surreal thing about her life in the last few weeks: Penny Harrison was, somehow, becoming… not just a friend, but a close friend. The kind of friend who waited for her after training and had no problem helping her find something to wear to the Roland-Garros Players Gala.
The dress had to be elegant and sexy and strike Jack Harrison speechless. Not that it would be much of an accomplishment. He hadn’t uttered so much as a word to her since the day she won the Classic. Even when he’d jumped in to stop Jasmine from tackling her on their practice court, he’d barely spared her a glance.
Indy couldn’t figure out what his deal was. He was attracted to her for sure and he definitely felt the connection that she did. He seemed determined to stay away, though, and she wasn’t going to chase him. She didn’t play games like that.
Penny sat on Indy’s bed, laying her phone down beside her.
“I’m sorry. Things were so weird before Alex left for London. We barely had a night together and then he was so mad when I spilled about that medication. It’s… it’s making it almost impossible to focus on training. And Jack’s an okay hitting partner, but he’s not even close to the same level of play.”
Another completely unhinged thing, her new friend hooking up with… in a relationship with… was definitelysomethingwith Alex Russell.
Indy sighed, sitting next to her. At least Penny had someone who wanted her or would admit that he wanted her. “He’s busy. He’s probably got a lot on his plate, and besides that, he’s got to train.”
“I know,” Penny said, flopping back on the bed. “I know you’re right, but everything happened so fast.”
“Please, like you two haven’t been circling this thing for months,” she said, leaning over Penny with a wicked smile.
Penny grabbed a small pillow and smacked her in the head with it. “I know, but I barely had time to catch my breath after we hooked up this time, and now it feels like none of it happened, like it was some dream.”
“You could always check out what the gossip accounts are saying about you if you need proof.” Penny chucked the pillow at her this time, but Indy caught it before it couldhit her. “You’re leaving for Paris tomorrow. You’ll see him there, and after you kick Zina Lutrova’s ass in the final, you two can figure things out.”
“Third round,” Penny corrected. “If we play, it’ll be in the third round.”
“Third round, then,” Indy said, and as she did, Penny’s phone vibrated against the bed. Indy grabbed it and held it out of Penny’s reach. “You don’t get to talk to him until you remember that you’re Penny Fucking Harrison and he’s lucky you’ve allowed him to breathe the same air as you, let alone everything else you let him do. As much as I appreciate the knowledge that you are in fact human and not a tennis bot put on this earth to destroy the rest of us, you gotta get it together.”
“Fine, you’re right,” Penny admitted, but a little too quickly.
“Say it.”
“You’re kidding,” Penny said, gazing longingly at the phone.
Indy just raised an expectant eyebrow.
“Fine, I’m Penny Fucking Harrison and he’s lucky I allow him to breathe the same air as me, let alone everything else I let him do.”
Nodding in satisfaction, Indy said, “And I still don’t understand how he was able to do that thing with his hips. How—”
“Indy!” Penny cut in.
With a sigh, she handed the phone back to her desperate friend. “Fine. Here.”
Penny’s thumb raced over the screen and her shouldersslumped as she read the text. “He says he’ll see me in Paris. That’s it, nothing else.”
“You will see him in Paristomorrow. Now, come on, you promised to help me find something to wear.”
“You’re right, and we’ve got to get back to training. Forget the dress. Jack’s going to have some sent over to the hotel for me—you can wear one of those.”
“Ah, you’re the best!” Indy said, dumping her clothes back into her closet before following Penny outside.
“How’s it going, by the way?” Penny asked as they walked. “It can’t be easy training with Jasmine.”
“It’s awkward and uncomfortable and really hard, but when I’m locked in, I can kind of see why Dom thought it was a good idea.”
“Your styles are incredibly different. It’ll make it hard for your opponents to adjust mid-point.”
“Exactly,” Indy said.
