“Is that okay?” She turned to me, catching me off guard. I hadn’t expected her to give me a choice. I had to stop myself from reaching out, grabbing her hand and interlacing her fingers with mine.
Memories flooded my mind. A handful of the softest moments between us. Holding hands as we walked towards our hotel room,making sure nobody else was around. Her soft grin as she asked me if I was free tomorrow night for drinks.A date.
“Yeah, sure,” I answered.
She smiled, her face lighting up. “Come on then.”
She greeted the crowd as if she was the people’s princess. The buzz amongst the fans was unreal. In the last year, it was clear how much her popularity had grown, especially over here in the US. I had my own support, more so in Europe, but over the last couple of years, with my injuries, it had faded.
But this was on a different scale.
Chloe smiled and hugged a few people, apologizing for her post-match sweat. But they seemed to love her anyway. Calvin, meanwhile, was reduced to photographer. The fans did their best to block the paparazzi, somehow aware of their unwanted attention.
I couldn’t help but feel a little jealous as I watched her interact with them. How confident she was with them. Her eyes caught mine, a familiar sparkle there as yet another teenager told her how she’d “started playing because of her.” When her attention returned to the girl, it felt as if the sun had disappeared behind clouds, that ray of warmth leaving me.
Even when we were both spotted in the hotel back in Toronto, I felt like I didn’t deserve this attention. I simply ran around, hitting a ball and calling it a career.
“Hey,” another fan said, her hand reaching out and holding on to my arm. I tried to tug it away on instinct, but she held on tightly. She wasn’t hurting me, but she hadn’t asked. “You two are such a cute couple!”
“A couple?” I repeated, my posture stiffening immediately.
Another fan turned towards me. “Of course, you’re always together now! We can’t believe you used to be enemies!”
“No, we are hitting partners,” I lied, trying once again to pull my arm from her grasp. I knew enough to know that neither Chloe nor I wanted the new nature of our relationship to get out yet.
“Of course.” Another winked at me. My mouth went dry, caught out by their accusations. I didn’t want them to know yet. This wasn’t for them to take and read into. It was ours.
If it even worked out.
“OH MY GOD, CHLOE!” The screaming turned supersonic, and I almost cringed as I found Chloe standing beside me.
“Hi,” Chloe answered. Her sunshine personality was still in place, but her words were snipped as she addressed the young girl still holding my arm. “Can you let go of my friend now, please?”
“Can we get a photo with you both?”
“Sure, but only one.”
The crowd clamored closer, almost trapping us together. There was an ocean of phones in front of us, all taking selfies, an almost feral need to get a photo, take a piece of us.
My stomach twisted as the paparazzi took advantage of the scene, snapping some photos of us pressed together by the crowd. Instead of forcing a smile, I tried to make sure it was clear I wasn’t happy.
It took Calvin to help break us out of it, practically pulling Chloe from the group, who in turn pulled me too. We didn’t look back as we headed inside, not stopping until we were safely inside the private area that was open to players and officials.
“That was crazy,” I said, still feeling as if people were chasing us, my heart pounding in my chest. Turning around, the path was clear, but I still felt strange, unsettled.
Chloe looked at Calvin, her voice panicked. “Why were they asking about a relationship?”
“It’s only gossip, it’s nothing.” He shook his head, turning away, but somehow, I got a bad feeling. What the fans had said, that didn’t feel like nothing.It felt far too close to the truth.
I looked over at Chloe, reading the confused look on her face, the crinkle of her brows. Something in my gut twisted.
I followed after him, demanding, “What gossip, Calvin?”
We’d been careful these past few days, as the coverage had grown harder to read. The twisted stories, the comments that followed. Chloe and I had agreed it was best to step away, to let our teams take over our accounts and to focus on the tournament. Anytime we’d been together we’d made sure it was somewhere private. Soft kisses, hand-holding, falling asleep in her arms, the TV playing in the background. Nothing more.
Apparently, she’d been serious about this dating thing.
“Just...” He sighed, both Chloe and I hot on his heels. “Some fans are speculating online about you two, and the tabloids caught wind of it.” He turned to face us. “It’s nothing. Obviously there’s nothing going on.”
