It was a social media post. Actually, several. All of them featuring Alex and me from our lunch in Ohio.
“Those are what’s distracting you,” Dani said, sliding the phone back into her pocket. “If you’re happy, fine. But if this is noise, cut it out. The US Open isn’t the place to be carrying extra baggage.”
I swallowed hard, shaking my head. “Alex and I… It’s not like that. We just had lunch.”
“Then make sure it stays just lunch,” she replied crisply. “Because the way those pictures look? Everyone else is going to write their own story. And you don’t need to be caught in someone else’s plot right now.”
I nodded mutely, watching her stride back to the baseline, my grip tightening on the racquet.
She wasn’t wrong. Somethinghadbeen tugging at me, pulling little threads of my focus until they unraveled at the edges. I hated that she could see it.
We rolled through drills for another thirty minutes before I finally slumped into the chair courtside. Maddie walked over and handed me my water bottle.
“You’re distracted because of her, aren’t you?” she said.
I sat up straighter, scoffing as if the idea were absurd. “No. Absolutely not.”
Maddie raised an eyebrow. “Oh, come on, Liv. I’ve been watching you carefully.”
I felt my cheeks heat up instantly, and I hastily looked away, trying to hide my fluster. Okay, too obvious, I thought, kicking myself internally.
Maddie leaned closer, voice dropping conspiratorially. “I know exactly how you look at Alex. Remember that day you and she walked out of that cafe after lunch in Ohio? I’ve been studying your body language ever since, when we talk about her, when you’re watching her matches... It’s like reading an open book.”
I groaned, burying my face in my hands. “How do you even notice all that?”
She just chuckled, shaking her head. “Because it’s obvious. And you can’t hide it from me. Not ever.”
I took a deep breath, feeling my cheeks still warm from Maddie’s teasing. “Okay, fine, yes, I’ve been feelingsomething.” I hesitated, then blurted out the rest before I could overthink it. “It’s just… It’s not like with anyone else I’ve ever liked.” My voice dropped, quieter, truer. “With her, it’s different. I think about her without meaning to. I notice everything she does. The way she smiles when she’s trying not to. Even how she talks, there’s this softness under all that ice…”
I exhaled, shoulders loosening in defeat.
“With my ex-boyfriends, I never felt this.” I swallowed. “They were good, some of them really good, and I cared. But it was never… consuming. Never this thing that follows me around, even when I’m pretending it doesn’t. I didn’t replay conversations or wonder what they were doing or feel my pulse jump because they stood a bit too close. But with her… everything just hits me differently. And I don’t know what to do with that.”
Maddie’s eyes widened, and she leaned back, grinning like she’d won some kind of secret prize. “Finally! I’ve been watching you squirm long enough. I could tell it wasn’t just a tiny crush.”
“But Maddie, I’m serious,” I said, forcing a steady tone. “I can’t... I just can’t. It’s messy, it’s risky, and it could distract me. That’s why I stopped dating, remember? I just realized I was pouring energy into relationships that never matched what I felt for the sport. Tennis is what I want. I want to win Grand Slams. That’s the dream. Everything else...” I trailed off, searching for the right words.
“Everything else can wait?” she guessed softly. “I don’t know if you’ve watched the press conference during her finals, but there’s a rumor going around that she might be going back to triathlon anytime soon.”
I blinked at her. “Oh?”
“Yes, and if that’s true, who knows where she’ll be next year? or after the US Open?” Maddie replied, shrugging.
“Mads, I’ve worked too hard for my career. I can’t let feelings or whatever these are get in the way.”
Maddie sighed, studying me for a moment. “Fair enough. But just so you know, Liv... if she does go back to triathlon, you might regret not saying anything. Feelings are tricky; you can’t ignore it forever.”
I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry. She’s probably right. But if I open that door now, there’s no closing it, and I can’t risk that.
“It’s not like she’s got that wholeArcher Cadiz, human golden retrieverthing going on,” I muttered. “Alex doesn’t charm people, she… freezes them into silence. Can you imagine her in triathlon mode? She’d be downright terrifying.”
Maddie snorted. “Babe, please. You’ve clearly never watched her triathlon clips. I’ve been doing a deep dive, purely for research, obviously, and trust me, she could charm a whole finish line without saying a word.”
I gave her a mock scandalized look. “Wow. So you really are a stalker.”
She rolled her eyes. “Girl, the whole race had a full livestream on YouTube. It’s not like I was hiding in the bushes.” She grinned. “Anyway, she’s different there. Almost like she belongs there as much as she does here.”
I tried to picture Alex that way, smiling mid-race.
