Page 44 of Breakpoint

Dani plastered on a smile that was one of her fake ones she employed instead of cussing the person out.

She took a slow, deliberate breath before speaking.

“I feel pressure every time I step on the court to win. I don’t think that has anything to do with my family legacy, that’s just sport. But overall, I’m just trying to be me.”

“And who is Dani Kappas? What do you want the world to know about you?” Jess leaned in.

This time Dani gave a genuine smile and replied warmly as a flicker of something unreadable crossed her face. “That I’m normal. I love crosswords and cooking. I’m a Libra. Queer. And passionate about the game of tennis.” Her voice, though slightly trembling at first, gained strength with each word.

Jess held up her hand, and her left eyebrow perked over those green eyes. “Hold on, I didn’t want to skip over something important you just said.” Leaning forward even more, her voice was low but obviously amplified by the studio microphones.

“Oh, the crosswords part?” Dani replied sarcastically with a laugh.

Jess laughed along with her. “Well, that is fascinating too.”

“Oh queer. Yes, I am,” Dani stated confidently.

Jaz could NOT believe what she was hearing.

Dani just publicly came out on one of the biggest sports networks in the world, with a renowned sports reporter.

She didn’t shy away. She didn’t deflect.

She answered, honestly and openly, confirming what only a few knew, but others likely had only suspected.

“Thank you for sharing that with us, Dani. Can I ask if you are in a relationship now? We’ve seen you all over social media with Sascha Rudd?” Jess asked, obviously trying to get another scoop from this interview.

Jaz knew she and Sascha had been only friends or whatever, but even the thought of Dani being with someone else sent a rage through her she didn’t know was possible.

Dani just shook her head and smiled. “No, Sascha and I are just friends. I have a lot of friends on the tour.”

Was Dani also going to out her and their relationship? No, Dani would never do that. She wasn’t that type of person.

And it seemed like Jess was going to let Dani gloss over the non-response to whether she was in a relationship, bringing Jazz out of her inner panic.

“Thank you for sharing that with me and the world. Why announce that now? During the middle of one of the most important tournaments so far in your career?”

Dani just shrugged. “Well, I hope this is the first semi-finals of many. But I felt like it was important to introduce myself to the world and away from my last name. I recognize everybody may not feel the need to come out. Or it may not be their time, but for me this felt right.”

Jaz’s ears were still buzzing red when interview concluded.

She felt a strange mix of pride and a gut-wrenching vulnerability.

It was as if Dani was speaking directly to her, across the miles and through the screen.

She was in awe of the woman in front of her.

She was so proud of Dani and the confidence she had to just tell the world about herself.

She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. Tears welled in her eyes, not tears of sadness, but of a complex cocktail of emotions—relief, awe, and a fierce, protective love for the woman on the screen.

Brandon blew out a puff of air, shaking his head. “I’ll say it again, that girl has some balls.”

Jaz laughed through her tears. “I can confirm for you. She does not”

“Ew, I don’t even know about my sister’s sex life.

” Brandon shuddered and scrunched up his face at the notion of even thinking about Jaz and sex.

“But real talk. What happened there? I mean, I got the gossip from Kira because I swear that woman is like Fort Knox on some things and can’t keep a secret on others. ”

Jaz wiped the tears from her eyes and the snot that had dribbled down her nose. She still didn’t quite understand what happened, but she gave a lonesome shrug. “I guess tennis wins again.”

Brandon leaned back on the couch and stared ahead. He simply sat with her, a quiet, steady presence in the face of her swirling storm of doubt. The Mason siblings sat there in the silence, with only the noise of the city streaming into their surroundings.

“You know, Mom and Dad wondered if they’d made the right choice listening to me about you going pro at sixteen? They worried it was going to be too much for you. Too much for both of us to handle.”

Jaz turned to him, shocked. “Really? This is the first time I’m hearing about this.”

“How many other teenagers did we know coming from where we did with this lifestyle, living out of a suitcase and in hotels ninety percent of the year? And they weren’t doing it because they were poor and couldn’t afford a permanent place to live.”

“None,” she replied quickly .

Brandon nodded. “Exactly but more than that, we threw a sixteen-year-old girl into the wolves of professional tennis.”

“But it was better than the gunshots we were used to.”

“Physically, yes. But now that I’m older, I wonder if mentally and emotionally it was better?

You were always so calm, like nothing fazed you.

And you excelled at every fucking thing you did.

You were good at math, reading, soccer, even table tennis.

Any of the games at the youth center you would pick up quickly and dominate. ”

Jaz laughed because he was right. She was just naturally gifted at most things as a kid, even playing kickball. “I was just trying to keep up with you. I wanted you to let me hang with you and your friends.”

“And now I follow you around the world, trying to keep up with you.” Brandon turned and looked out the window with a faraway stare. “What is my life without you, Jaz? I don’t know.”

“What are you talking about?” She was scared of where Brandon was going with this.

“We were both forced to grow up so fast, but we missed out on so many other things. For me I saw it as a way out, but I made the choice for both of us.” He turned back to look her in the eyes. “But what if we followed our own paths, Jazzy?”

“If this is you telling me you’re quitting and don’t want to be my manager anymore, then you have really shitty timing. My girlfriend and my brother dumping me during the same tournament. What the fuck.”

“No, that’s not what I’m saying. It’s just you’ve been so focused on your career for so long, and that’s okay.

But I’ve only been focused on your career for just as long.

But if we wanted to focus on other things, like having a relationship, that should be okay, too.

We can make something else a priority Jaz over tennis.

Or we can have both. Besides, don’t you ever want more? ”

Until recently, she never sat back and thought about how much she missed out on because of tennis.

Or chasing this dream that wasn’t really hers, but Brandon’s.

Truthfully, at thirty-five, she wanted there to be room for more.

For new beginnings, for love, and for the quiet promise of a future after tennis.

And she knew clearly that she wanted that future to be with Dani. She wanted that much more than she’d ever thought or planned on. Dani wasn’t this distraction to her life that Jaz thought relationships were. She brought more to her life. She gave Jaz a life.

As much as Jaz thrived on routine life when she was with Dani, it was anything but predictable. Dani had taken everything she thought she knew and tossed it right up in the air. And she loved that about her. And she’d never been with anyone who made her burn the way Dani did.

For the first time in her life, tennis and winning weren’t the dominant feelings.

Instead, those feelings were replaced by wanting to be with Dani.

To take care of her. Make out with her. Go to sleep at the end of a long day with Dani in her arms. Those were all the things she wanted. But could she really have it?

She looked deep within herself and said the words she could only say to her brother.

“I’m scared, Brandon. Scared of what all of this and my feelings for her mean for me and our life.

I’m scared of everyone in the world talking and knowing about us.

And honestly, I’m scared about what they would say about her. ”

“Jaz, you should know there’s going to be opinions regardless, so why don’t you just live your life? You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Besides, letting her walk away isn’t protecting her. It’s hurting her because she is just as heartbroken as you.”

Brandon was right. She didn’t have to hide, and more importantly, she no longer wanted to. Let people talk. How could she be anything other than proud to be with someone like Dani?

“I think Dani’s my person,” she admitted, swallowing a lump in her throat.

Dani could infuriate her like no one else, but it was she that Jaz confided her deepest insecurities in.

Who had given her space but also built the trust to talk about and work through her messy feelings.

She could be authentically herself with Dani.

She could be just Jazmine Mason, flaws and all, but at the same time be inspired to step out of her comfort zone.

“Amazingly, bizarrely, she’s the one. It’s like all the things that used to drive me crazy about her are things I can’t get enough of now. ”

“They say there’s a thin line between love and hate. And if you feel that way, then do something about it. You have someone who wants to give you her heart. Don’t throw it away again. Besides, the Jaz I know doesn't make the same mistake twice.”