“Have you been sleeping in my bedroom?” Sydney had slept alone for the last five nights, and she wondered how she’d managed to for so many years.
Especially when she thought about waking up in the mornings, Reese’s hair fanned everywhere. Her first conscious breath in the morning always involved a tickle against her lips or her cheeks or her forehead, silky locks billowing out gently before landing again wherever they wanted.
And their bodies. Always in a different configuration but connected in some way. Sometimes, Sydney was the big spoon, and she’d wake up, arms wrapped tightly around Reese. When the roles were reversed, she’d wake up with Reese’s head tucked against her back, one arm languidly tossed across Sydney’s taller frame. Other days, she’d wake up on her back, Reese’s body half on top of her, especially if they’d fallen asleep right after having sex.
Sydney loved it all. She’d never known how soothing it felt to have consistent, physical comfort, provided by someone who could send her heart fluttering and calm her racing nerves, in equal measures.
The idea that Reese missed her enough to sleep in what had become their bed over the last two weeks sent a whole new flutter of butterflies through her stomach.
“I am. Is that okay?” Reese sat up a little straighter, like she was moving to get off the bed.
Sydney cut in immediately, pitching forward, toward the phone in her hand. “Please stay.”
“If you insist.” Reese settled back onto her side of the bed, and Sydney let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding.
“I thought it’d feel different,” Sydney said as the silence stretched between them while Reese was getting comfortable again.
Reese was busy, punching behind her back at a god-awful pillow that she’d brought down from her own room, something that had made the trek from California with her. But her head straightened toward her phone again, and she looked at Sydney seriously. “What would?”
“I didn’t miss playing as much as I expected,” Sydney said. Saying it out loud hit her hard as she finally articulated the feeling that had been escaping her.
“That’s good, right?” Reese asked, concern in her voice. Probably because of the shell-shocked look on Sydney’s face.
Sydney sat with the feeling for a second before her lips broke into a wide smile. “It’s great. I mean, two months ago, I thought that my life was over.”
“And now?”
“And now, I feel like it’s just beginning.” Sydney stood up, a sudden surge of energy infusing her body. She walked over to the nightstand and put the phone down, adjusting it so that it faced outward into the room. “I’m going to get ready to get into bed, if that’s okay?”
There was silence on the other end of the phone, and she looked back to find Reese blinking before she said, “Yep. Totally fine by me.”
“Are you in for the night?” Sydney asked as she walked over to the dresser where she’d unpacked her clothes. She found a T-shirt and decided that was enough in the balmy summer heat, even with her air conditioner cranked up.
She’d cover herself in the comforter and extra blankets, knowing it would only be a poor facsimile to how Reese’s body felt draped over her own.
“I am,” Reese said, her voice sounding a little breathless. It made the nerves in Sydney’s body start to vibrate.
Thiswas what she wanted. What got her excited, these days.
All roads led back to Reese and what was happening between them. The push and pull. The ebb and flow.
For the first time today, having nothing to do with tennis, she felt her pulse accelerate. She loved it.
Sydney had brought her own wardrobe, pre-approved by the network, so she was still wearing her on-set outfit from earlier in the day. She started to undress, adrenaline coursing through her veins as she did.
Sydney removed her pants first, the air cold against her already flush skin. She got to work quickly on her shirt.
“I caught some of your commentary, by the way.”
Reese’s words stopped Sydney in her tracks, and she turned around fully, her fitted button-down about half unbuttoned.
She played with the button that was next in line, her fingers running along the smooth hardness. “And what did you think?”
“You were amazing,” Reese said quickly, her breathing a little labored in a way that made Sydney pluck at the button harder but not keep going.
She rolled the button between her fingers, watching as Reese’s eyes followed the motion. “No specific feedback?”
Reese gulped at the same time she edged farther down the bed. “What do you want to know?”
