Page 43 of Game Point (Game, Set, and Match #2)

Oliver

New Year’s Day – Taylor Swift

‘I’m just saying, you are a lot less strict on Scottie than you were on me,’ Nico grumbled, leaning back on the marble kitchen counter, the loud thumping of the music filling the rest of the suite around us.

‘So?’ Jon shrugged beside me. I took a long sip of my glass of champagne, trying to hide my smirk at the discussion unfolding.

It was the first day of the Brisbane International, and all the players who didn’t have a match the next day had crowded into Scottie and Nico’s large presidential suite to bring in the New Year.

Nico’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. ‘Well, why? Are you going easier on her?’

‘I don’t need to go hard on Scottie,’ Jon explained calmly. He took his time, taking a sip of his own drink before simply saying, ‘She works harder.’

‘Excuse me?’ Nico’s eyes flicked between the two of us.

‘She’s more focused,’ Jon laughed. ‘And … I like her more than you.’

Nico’s attention turned to me as his hands gripped the counter behind him. ‘Do you see what I have to put up with?’

I chuckled deeply, ‘Just lie back and enjoy your retirement.’

‘Speaking of retirements …’ Jon trailed off, looking towards me. ‘Thought about making any announcements.’

I hummed, downing the remainder of my glass. ‘I’m coaching.’

‘We know. It looks good on you,’ Nico said, nodding his head towards me. ‘And so does Dylan.’

‘There’s nothing going on,’ I pressed.

‘Liar,’ Nico smirked, repeating the words singing around my head.

‘I’m coaching her,’ I said plainly. ‘She’s a friend.’

‘I remember those very words coming from Nico,’ Jon hummed.

‘Yeah … we were not just friends,’ he admitted, looking a little … bashful? What had Scottie done with him?

I sighed, wishing I hadn’t downed most of my drink. Looking away, I couldn’t help but think of that moment in the hospital room, when the doctor said there was still hope for Melbourne. The way my heart had squeezed so tightly, I thought I was going to have to ask for assistance.

I couldn’t help but still wonder if it was my fault.

If I was too inexperienced for this level of professional coaching.

If I should’ve started with a literal beginner rather than jumping straight in at the deep end of ‘ hey let’s win a Grand Slam together ’.

If me being distracted by my feelings caused me to not focus enough on her training.

If I had put her entire career at risk.

‘Hey, you alright?’ Nico asked.

I met Jon’s eyes as he added, ‘You look a little pale there.’

I swallowed, the counter I had been leaning against not enough to hold me up. ‘I need some air.’

Nico motioned me out of the kitchen, leading us into one of the bedrooms.

‘Come out onto the balcony,’ he said, opening up a floor-to-ceiling window, holding it open for me.

I followed, stepping out into the warm Brisbane air, looking at the city around us.

The lights of the high-rises surrounded us, a buzz in the atmosphere as we waited down the clock to midnight.

The wind was warm, summer in full swing, but comforting nonetheless, the breeze still cooling my body, easing the tightness from my chest.

‘Feeling better?’ Nico asked, sitting near the window frame, while Jon ventured further out with me, leaning against the railing of the balcony.

When I nodded, Jon asked, ‘What’s wrong?’

I struggled to find the right words, trying to put the racing thoughts into a context they could understand. ‘I feel like I’m going to fuck this all up, the coaching. Dylan’s put all her faith in me and what if I wasn’t ready? What if I’ve made a mistake and –’

‘I’m going to stop you right there,’ Jon said firmly, his tone pressing but calm.

‘Take a deep breath.’ I did as he said, inhaling the warm city air.

The band around my chest relaxed only an inch but it was something.

‘Let me tell you an industry secret: we all share your anxiety. We keep it under control for our player, but God, when they are playing, I’m losing it.

Going over all the things I could’ve done better, the ways I failed them. ’

‘Which quite frankly are numerous,’ Nico interrupted from behind us.

‘Ignore him,’ Jon instructed. ‘We will always weigh up the effect we have upon somebody, and deem the negative, the missed opportunities more important. And sometimes we will fail. That’s life.

We do what we can and it’s not always enough.

But remember when we first had the conversation about you coaching?

’ he asked. I nodded in answer, concentrating on his every word.

‘I meant what I said, you’re good at this. She’s injured but that happens.’

I swallowed down his words, understanding what he was trying to tell me, grateful he wasn’t sugarcoating his advice.

‘And dude, you can deny it all you want,’ Nico started up again, ‘but we see how you look at her. I mean, that shit you pulled jumping on the plane to travel with her.’

Jon looked at him. ‘Here? Australia?’ he said, pointing a finger to confirm.

‘Yup,’ Nico said. ‘Just randomly caught the flight. Got a quick visa. Screamed “idiotic shit you do when you like a girl”.’

Jon’s eyes went wide. ‘Okay, well, wow.’

‘I –’ I started.

Nico cut me off, mocking me again. ‘I was a complete dumbass for thinking I could hide when I was in love.’

‘I’m not in love,’ I rejected, wincing as even the denial felt wrong rolling off my tongue, the tone off-pitch.

Nico laughed, ‘Might want to rehearse that one a few more times to make it sound real.’

I shot him a look, all the while knowing I had dug myself into this hole.

If it was clear to them, was it to her? Or were we two blind idiots dancing around the truth, spending twenty-four hours a day pining for that one night we had pretended could only be until sunrise.

Wishing for something more between us but throwing in any and every excuse to keep us apart, from actually being happy?

And for what? I was still her coach, still distracted by everything about her. Wasn’t it worse like this?

‘It’s okay to be afraid, Oliver,’ Jon said. ‘But it’s not okay to let that fear hold you back. Especially when it’s love. Don’t waste a moment of that.’

This time I didn’t deny it. I sat with it, rolling the word around, trying to work out how it felt, like a child with a puzzle box, seeing if the square fits in the circle hole. Before I could find the answer, Inés appeared from the darkened bedroom behind Nico.

‘What are you guys doing here?’ she asked, her dark hair pushed back behind her ears.

‘Talking sense into Oliver,’ Nico smirked from beside her.

‘Oh, is this about Dylan?’ she asked, my heart fully stopping in my chest as Inés said her name.

My expression turned into panic, face draining of colour as Nico’s smirk exploded into a grin. ‘See!’

‘She’s been so … weird today. The Dylan I know would be a nightmare to be around when she’s injured and has to pull out of a competition,’ Inés began. ‘But I swear to God, I saw her smiling earlier. She never fucking smiles.’

A strange warm feeling filled me up, like a blanket of comfort, as a supercut in my head played every single time she grinned brightly at me. It was the most beautiful thing about her.

I was in far too deep.

‘Anyway, it’s a ten-minute warning until the bells,’ Inés warned.

We followed her back into the luxury suite.

It was already very late for athletes during a competition.

I could feel the disdain of the other coaches, their intermittent peering at the clock only so they could sweep their players back to their rooms as soon as it hit midnight.

It was strangely bittersweet, the feeling that I should be among them still a little fresh after Dylan’s injury.

I grabbed two glasses of real champagne from the kitchen, most of the bottles being non-alcoholic fizz for the players competing, and headed through the vast presidential suite.

I smiled at groups of familiar faces, locating Dylan sitting on a plush sofa, a pair of crutches to the side of her, her injured leg outstretched on the coffee table.

Standing across from her, I tsked.

‘What?’ she asked, confused. I put the champagne glasses down, picking up one of the spare cushions stacked next to her.

‘This,’ I said, stepping towards where her leg rested on the coffee table, gently lifting her injured limb, ‘is supposed to be elevated.’

‘What would I do without you?’ she said, the tightness in my chest increasing ten-fold.

‘Struggle.’ I sat down next to her. The skin of her bare arm brushed against mine, causing me to be aware of how close I was sitting to her. I didn’t dare move away.

‘You were gone for a while,’ she noted, as I leaned even closer to hear her over the music in the room. I could smell her perfume, the scent rich and intense.

‘Jon and Nico were bullying me.’

‘Aw, want me to go beat them up with you,’ she said, nodding towards her crutches. ‘I’m armed now.’

I shook my head. Dylan had been brutal with those crutches, using them to grab my attention, to pull items too far away. I wasn’t sure she was going to give them up when she was healed.

‘No, it’s fine.’ I leaned my head back on the head rest, rolling it round to find her staring right back at me. I froze momentarily, trapped in her gaze, swallowing down the fact I was so done for her it should be embarrassing. ‘How is your night going?’

‘Inés was hanging out with me,’ she replied. ‘But she kept being weird.’

I fought the embarrassment at the mention of her friend, the scene out on the balcony all too fresh in my mind. ‘Oh, that’s annoying.’

She shrugged, her voice sounding lighter as she replied, ‘I guess.’

Around us, the music dimmed, the bustling crowd breaking out in a cheer before the countdown began. Moving forward, I grabbed the glasses I’d taken for us, passing one over to her.