There was a break in her scrutiny, a flash of surprise that was quickly suppressed. Her eyes searched my face, examining. I felt as if I’d been dissected and the pieces laid out on a table.
“Why did you have to bring that night up?” she said, her voice low.Inés moved,finally, to the other side of the kitchen island. Somehow, I found comfort in the block of solid marble that now stood between us. “I don’t care, Chloe. I hardly remember it. And you’ve made it clear that it meant nothing to you.”
The kiss.
My cheeks burned at the mention of last night.That stupid game. That stupid question.I’d been sitting in the corner all night. I didn’t think anyone would notice, didn’t think theentiregroup would pick up on the fact I drank.
I cleared my throat, finding my words choked. “I just want to... you know, set things right.”
She looked at me.Daggers. “You want forgiveness?” Inés snapped. “Think about how you could act more professionally on court instead of screaming and shouting at my friends.”
I inhaled deeply. This was the conflict I’d been walking on eggshells to avoid, and now I was knee deep. “I’m sorry for that too.”
“Sorry means shit when you don’t change your actions.” She rolled her eyes, hands pressing into the marble. “You know, time and time again, you’ve shown that you’ve only thought of yourself.”
“That’s not fair.” My defenses went straight up. “What was I supposed to do? Send you a DM? Come up to you in the locker room? Let you win?”
“No me lo puedo creer.”Her Spanish rolled off her tongue as she pulled back, a look of disgust across her features. “I don’t need your pity.” Inés let out a single laugh, shaking her head as she repeated my words. “Let me win.Have some respect.”
“So far, you’ve struggled.” I shrugged carelessly. “Maybe that’s what you want from me.”
She looked like she wanted to leap across the island and skin me alive. How had things gone so off course? I had come in here to make things better with her, bury the hatchet. She’d all but dug it up and thrown it at my head.
“What I want from you is to stop being so damn cocky.”
“Prove me wrong.” I kept my features neutral as I issued my challenge, drawing closer to her, almost leaning across the breakfast bar at her. Close enough to see the freckle below her left eyebrow, to make out her full eyelashes, the golden ring around her brown eyes. “Lets find a court, right now, and see if you can actually win. Go on and beat me.”
Her eyes flashed, a fire igniting behind them that made my heart race furiously. Even on the court, during a match, I don’t think I’d ever seen her look so determined. So... hot.
“Is that all this is to you?” she bit out. “A game?”
I felt a flicker of guilt, but it was buried deep beneath layers of bravado. It was too late to walk this back, any chance at peace completely demolished.
And to think, I had the long weekend here.
“It’s not a game, and you know that. But if you think you can settle this on the court, then let’s do it.”
Her laugh was bitter. “I’m not falling for that. When I beat you, I want it to matter. I want the fucking points.”
I broke her gaze, instead finding Wilson nudging at my palm. I clipped the short lead back onto her collar.
“Then I guess I’ll see you in Washington.”
“I guess so.” She swallowed, the anger dissipating, making room for all the hurt.
And just like that, the space between us was a battlefield, laden with fallen soldiers, mines and craters. No man’s land. No more memories, no history—instead a challenge, raw and unrelenting.
One that was sure to draw blood, at the very least.
10
Inés
She Likes a Boy—Nxdia
“And then there is the charity silent auction, with prizes such as a private chef, a moonlight sail on a luxury yacht and of course tennis lessons with one of our tennis pros.” A soft, polite clap followed the announcement from the man standing at the podium. The microphone whined as he moved away, pointing and squinting at something written on a sheet of paper he was trying to read from, his glasses on the end of his nose.
It was the opening gala of the charity event, a weekend-long tournament with three rounds, with the proceeds going towards resurfacing the local tennis courts.
