Page 32

After checking for the umpteenth time that she hasn't forgotten anything, Emily zips up her suitcase and lifts it off the bed to carry it to the door. She knows it's too much for a weekend, but she's one of those people who prefers to have too much rather than too little.

She checks the time and realizes there are still ten minutes before Leah is supposed to pick her up, so she starts pacing back and forth, not knowing what to do with herself. She's experiencing a mixture of emotions that are hard to control—nervous, excited, and above all, intrigued because she has no idea where Leah plans to take her. All the lawyer knows is that yesterday, after training, Leah told her not to make any plans for the weekend and to prepare a bag with a change of clothes.

Emily fired a barrage of questions at her like she was a client she needed to defend, trying to get as much information as possible, but Leah was relentless and didn't give her a single clue.

"You'll find out when we get there," she said and planted a kiss on her lips before leaving Emily standing there like a statue and heading to her next class.

Emily smiles at the memory and checks the time again. Five minutes. She lets out an exasperated sigh as she waits. The truth is she doesn't care where they go; she needs to disconnect because the last two weeks have been intense at work, and she's barely had time to enjoy her newly formed romance with Leah.

Her case against Vanessa Cooper continues to progress, and after preparing Mia, Leah, and their mothers for the interview with the judge, it was time for them to meet with her, for Aaron to undergo psychological evaluation, to speak with the social worker, and to submit a mountain of paperwork that Emily wanted to review with Emma. Now they're waiting for the judge's decision, and Emily has felt so much stress during these two weeks that she feels this weekend with Leah is exactly what she needs to disconnect from everything.

Anxious, she decides to go outside and wait on the sidewalk, and just as she's closing the door, Leah's car appears down the street.

"We're sleeping away for one night, Emily, not a week," Leah says when she gets out of the car and sees her loaded down as if she's moving houses.

Emily laughs and throws her arms around Leah's neck, greeting her with a deep, tongue-filled kiss.

"If you do that again, I might change my mind and we'll spend the weekend at your place," Leah says with darkened eyes.

"No way," Emily pushes her away with a smile and closes the trunk. "I'm dying to know where you're taking me."

Leah smiles as she watches Emily climb into the passenger seat and buckle up, happy as a child.

"Where are we going?" Emily asks when Leah sits beside her.

"I already told you," she says, putting on her sunglasses. "You'll know when we get there, so don't insist."

Emily's suspense lasts for the two hours it takes them to reach Myrtle Beach, and even then, she's wrong. When they walk through the doors of a five-star hotel to check in, Emily thinks they're going to spend the day relaxing on the beach and frowns, thinking Leah could have told her to pack swimwear in her suitcase, though fortunately, she's always prepared and did so anyway.

"I love it," Emily says when they enter their room, dropping her suitcase to dive onto the bed.

Leah watches her while approaching the terrace and drawing back the curtain from the window.

"I've never been to this area. We'll have to buy sunscreen, I didn't bring any. Did you bring swim—"

"Shut up, Emily," Leah cuts her off, making her eyes widen in surprise, "and come here," she orders, opening the terrace door.

Emily blinks with curiosity and gets up from the bed. Leah takes her hand as they step outside together and shows her the view. In front of them, the sea; to their right, an immense amusement park.

"That's where we're going," Leah says, pointing to the park.

Emily turns abruptly, excited.

"Really?" she asks, but before Leah can answer, she jumps on her, wrapping her legs around Leah's waist and kissing her so many times that the tennis player can't stop laughing.

Once inside the park, Leah feels like she can't keep up with Emily. Every attraction catches her attention, and she pulls Leah to wait in line and ride them. Leah isn't a fan of these types of parks, not even for strolling around and spending the day, but she has to admit that just seeing Emily's excited face and hearing her scream with pure joy at each place makes the effort worthwhile.

They exit a water ride—the only ones Leah actually enjoys—soaking wet and refreshed from the stifling heat, and continue walking until Emily stops in front of a roller coaster. Leah's stomach twists when she looks at the attraction; she doesn't like heights or the speed at which these contraptions move, but when she sees the expectation with which Emily waits for their turn, she's unable to tell her she'd prefer not to ride.

"We'll definitely dry off here," Emily comments, hugging her and kissing her neck as they advance in line.

Leah shivers in her arms and tells herself she can do it, that she'll close her eyes and wait for it to pass. But Leah can't.

Her stomach contracts when she looks down and sees how people turn into tiny figures as the cart climbs up the ramp. Cold sweat runs down her back and her legs tremble uncontrollably under the harness.

"Are you okay?" Emily asks without erasing her smile.

Leah is unable to answer and closes her eyes, but this only intensifies the feeling of instability. She opens them again, fixing them on a distant point on the horizon, trying to ignore the dizzying height while cursing herself for being so stupid to think she could handle it.

When the cart reaches the top, Leah holds her breath. The world stops. And then, the fall. Her body lifts from the seat, held only by the safety bars. The scream gets trapped in her throat while the wind hits her face, preventing her from breathing. Tears spring involuntarily from her eyes. Each turn and loop intensifies the horrible sensation that she's about to plummet into the void, and dizziness takes over, turning the landscape into a blurry smear of unrecognizable colors and shapes.

When it finally stops, Leah trembles so much she can barely stand up. She doesn't even understand Emily when she speaks to her, nor is she aware of how they exit the ride and stop in a slightly shaded area where Leah doubles over and ends up vomiting.

"Are you better?" Emily asks, accompanying her to some nearby benches to sit down.

Leah nods, and the lawyer pulls out a packet of tissues from her fanny pack and hands her one.

"I'm going to buy you a bottle of water, I'll be right back," Emily says, pointing to one of the stands.

Leah raises her head and looks at the sign showing what they offer.

"I'd prefer a lemon slushie if you don't mind."

"Of course, the sugar will be good for you. I'll buy water too."

Five minutes later, Emily returns with both drinks, and Leah already looks better.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gone on the ride," she says, managing a smile. "I have vertigo."

"WHAT?!" Emily exclaims, horrified. "Why didn't you tell me before? We could have gone on a different ride."

"I wanted to be with you, you looked so..." Leah smiles, embarrassed, and Emily hugs her tightly.

"I appreciate the gesture, but don't ever do something like that for me again. I can ride alone, Leah."

"I'm definitely never getting on one of those again, or any other type for that matter. I'll wait for you on the ground."

Emily bursts out laughing and tenderly brushes a strand of hair from Leah's face.

"We can leave and go to the beach, I like that too."

"No. If you don't mind riding the attractions alone, we'll stay here. I love hearing you scream," she smiles and takes the last sip of the slushie, which seems to bring her back to life.

When they return to the hotel, they're so exhausted that they decide to take a shower and lie on the bed to watch TV before dinner time. Leah reclines against two pillows, and Emily rests her head on Leah's shoulder while the tennis player wraps an arm around her. They watch a movie that Emily stopped paying attention to a while ago because she feels so happy with Leah that she can't stop thinking about how she's exactly what she needs. She's been with many women after Vanessa, but with none has she felt anything beyond attraction, except with Leah, for whom she's beginning to harbor feelings that are growing at a dizzying pace.

Suddenly, she grabs the remote, pauses the movie, and turns to Leah.

"What's wrong?" the tennis player asks.

"I want to be with you," she says, her voice trembling.

Leah blinks, not understanding, and sits up when she sees the seriousness in Emily's expression.

"I mean something serious," the lawyer clarifies. "We said we wanted to see where this would lead us, but I don't need to see anything more. I want to be with you. I'm falling in love with you, Leah."

Leah takes her hand and remains silent, letting Emily say what she needs to.

"You don't laugh at me, you laugh with me, and you have infinite patience helping me during training. I know it's your job, but you're the only one who makes me feel comfortable being myself both on and off the court. You organize matches so I can play despite how bad I am, you bring me to an amusement park and get on a roller coaster despite having vertigo just to be with me, to see me happy. No one has ever had those kinds of gestures with me, Leah, and I hope I can live up to what you deserve and make you as happy as you make me."

"What moves me is your smile, Emily, from the first day I saw you. You have the most beautiful and sincere smile I've ever seen in my life. I think it gives me energy; seeing you smile is enough for me," Leah says, looking into her eyes.

Emily's heart beats so fast that she breathes in short gasps as she crashes her mouth against Leah's, eager to feel the warmth of her body.