Maddie laughed, nudging me with her elbow. “Trust me, I’m very much a manager. But if knowing a little scoop makes me better at my job… well, I’ll take it.”
I shook my head, chuckling. “Alright, enough with the gossip. You know we’re here to strategize.”
Maddie just winked, clearly enjoying herself, and turned her attention back to the tablet. I took a deep breath, forcing my mind back to the present, the stats, theplays, the strategy. But even as we reviewed the plan, a tiny flicker of unease lingered in the back of my mind, a quiet reminder of the little whirlwind Elena’s gossip about Alex and Cassandra had stirred inside me.
So that’s basically why I’m so distracted right now. I’m angry at myself for letting it get to me. But just like Coach Dani said, I need to push all distractions aside.
My mind snapped back to the game plan, to the stats, to every little adjustment I could make. This is my focus now, nothing else matters.
ALEXANDRA
After my loss at the US Open, I gathered my team together in my hotel room. I let them shuffle around me, checking gear, slinging bags over shoulders, muttering about logistics and next year’s prep. I gave them a nod. “Go rest for a year,” I said, keeping my tone even but firm. “Spend time with your families, you guys deserve it. This is just a pause, a breather, not the end. I’ll be back.”
I’d made my own decision. Tennis was done for a while, at least as the center of my life. I was chasing something else now, something that had been whispering at the back of my mind for years: the Olympics. All-in, headfirst, no excuses.
It felt strange to say it even in my head, let alone let them see it in my eyes. I’d never been the dramatic type, no tearful speeches, no grand gestures but this felt bigger than that. This was a pivot, a choice I owned, one I couldn’t let anyone else define.
So I watched them leave, quiet nods exchanged, small smiles, a shared understanding that words weren’t needed. For now, tennis could wait, the tour could wait and I could finally chase something that felt entirely, unapologetically mine. But my mind wouldn’t stop wandering. Olivia. I wouldn’t be seeing her for a while, not with this Olympic detour taking over my life.
The door clicked shut behind them, leaving the room suddenly too quiet, the air dense with everything unsaid.
Except I wasn’t completely alone. I was still with Coach Kit.
Coach Kit lingered by the window, arms folded, his reflection caught in the glass as the New York skyline glittered faintly in the distance. He hadn’t moved when the others left.
He studied me, jaw flexing, as if weighing the truth of my words against the years we’d spent grinding together, week in, week out. Finally, he crossed the room and sank into the chair opposite mine, leaning forward, elbows on his knees.
“You’ve been my player since you’ve turned pro. I’ve seen you fight through injuries, finals, matches where anyone else would’ve folded. And now you’re telling me you’re taking a break. Not forever, but long enough that everything we’ve built… it could shift. You get that, don’t you?”
I dropped my gaze. “I do. I know this might change things. And if it does, if you decide you want to coach someone else in the meantime, I won’t be angry. I couldn’t be. You’ve given me more than I ever deserved, Kit. I wouldn’t want you waiting around just because of me.”
For a long moment, he said nothing. Then, slowly, he shook his head.
“You think this is just a job for me?” he asked, a faint scoff escaping. “Alex, I don’t coach players the way I coach you and then just… swap them out when it gets inconvenient. This isn’t about waiting. This is about loyalty. You’ve earned mine a hundred times over.”
I was caught off guard by the certainty in his tone.
He leaned back, arms folding across his chest. “You go chase your Olympic dream. Break your body in the pool and on the bike if you have to. When you’re ready to come back, you won’t need to call me first. I’ll already be here.”
And then, almost on instinct, I stood and walked around the table. I gave him a firm, quick hug—not the gushy kind, but the one that saidI see you, I respect you.
“Thanks,” I said, voice steady. “For everything. For not giving up on me. For… being here.”
He nodded, patting my shoulder in that precise, grounding way he always did, like he had a blueprint for how to keep me steady even when I wasn’t. “You’ll be fine, Alex,” he said. “Go chase that gold medal. I’ll be cheering.”
I let go without a word, not because I didn’t feel it, but because I trusted him to know. Kit gave me one last look, equal parts coach, friend, and the closest thing I had to a father on these courts, before gathering his jacket and heading to the door.
I didn’t need sentiment to know he had my back, he always did.
“Don’t forget,” he said, hand on the knob, “Whether it’s the track, the pool, or back here on court, you’re never alone in it.”
The door closed behind him with a soft click, and suddenly the room was still again.
And for the first time that night, the weight of what I’d just done, what I’d chosen, truly settled on me.
CHAPTER 17
OLIVIA
