Until Then. // denis shapovalov - sascha zverev

5.2 - message recieved

Alex's POV

It's a few days later after having dinner at Willow's. I haven't seen her since, and I leave back to the US in a week. Training has me swapped, and she's working too. I've heard from Domi though, that she's doing alright.

I wonder if she's settled things out with Denis. I think about the moment we shared after my loss at the US Open. How she came to find me over celebrating her boyfriend's win. What did that mean to me? I touch my lips with my cold hands. Trying to remind me of the kiss I shared with her that night before we left the US for the first time. Has she told Denis? Does she remember?

I finish stretching and leave the gym with Willow on my mind... as usual. Her lips were soft, and it feel like I had kissed a rose petal and dandelion... at once. When we kissed, I held my breath and kept my eyes slightly opened. I had never been that close to her face before, and I remember seeing her fainted freckles and small mole by her eye. It's not like that was new, my eyes always grazed over them when I saw her, but when I was in that split second, it was like I was seeing her for the first time. I wonder what she's doing right now. I wonder if she has her groceries. Should I help her grab them? That's weird.

I frown, crossing the street and turning down my neighborhood. It was already evening, I forgot how quickly my day goes by when I train. I only have enough time to eat dinner at home and then I have to go back to the track to condition even more. I jog up the steps and walk into the house. We never kept the door locked since I hated carrying around keys.

"How was training?" My mom asks me as I walk into the kitchen and take off my headphones.

"Good, sore." I answer, walking around the counter to grab a grape from the bowl. "Trying to sustain my fitness for the Sofia Open and then ATP Finals. I have cardio at eight."

"Alright, honey, your dinner is in the oven, it'll be ready in five minutes. Go change out of your sweaty clothes, you're stinking up my kitchen," my mom says, shooing me out.

I chuckle and get up to jog upstairs but something in the corner catches my eye and I walk over to confirm. "What's this?" I ask, recognizing the scent.

"Oh, a lovely young lady brought it over while you were out," my mom says. "Willow. She was here with Dom. They left an hour ago, but we chatted for a bit. She complimented you quite a bit. Said you showed her around New York... and that she works for your brother."

I bend down to smell the bread. Its scent is slightly sour, but it's followed by warm and a hint of rosemary and honey. "It looks amazing, can you cut me a slice with dinner?"

"Of course," My mom replies. "Now, go, go."

-

I am onto lap 10 around the track and I have two more to go to finish up the rest of the night. It has to be at least 10pm by now... maybe even 11, and I was feeling tired and ready to go to bed. My feet felt tired and the bright lights that lined the track I were too bright. I'm running behind some random high school's track that I've always trained at when I'm home. The device around my waist beeps as I enter my last lap. It's October now, and the sky gets dark so quickly now.

"Everything you got, Sascha!" I hear my fitness coach yell. I take a deep breath and lunge into a full sprint. I feel like it takes me even longer to finally cross the finish line.

My coach claps his hands, and he comes over to remove the device around my waist. "Good," he nods, looking at the data. "Good pace when your breathing is low."

I nod, beginning to cool down with a stretch.

"How you feeling?" He asks me as he enters the data into his laptop.

I shrug, "As usual."

I watch the group of teenagers toss a football between each other to finish stretching and I walk out of the track and the fenced gate to my car.

"Alright, see you tomorrow," I wave goodbye to my coach.

He does the same and I slowly stretch into my car, starting the engine and pulling out of the lot. I'm the type of person to check my phone and get my music situated before I drive, but I'm way too exhausted, I feel like I'm going to pass out if I don't get out of here fast enough. The high school isn't far from my house and I drive through the familiar roads with a few cars around me. I glance at the clock in my car, it was almost 11pm. A loud yawn escapes my mouth as I put on my turn signal into my neighborhood. My phone buzzes and I ignore it while pulling into the driveway of my house and turning off my car.

I sit and sigh in the silence. There are no lights on from anyone's house in the neighborhood and I feel like I'm the only person awake. It's an eerie feeling, but I enjoy it. I stare at the house. We moved into it five years ago, after I was able to buy my parents a better house from my earnings from tennis. Despite that, everything just seemed familiar, even after being away for so long. The flowerpots were in the right place, and columns from the house were the right amount of rigidity. I then glace at my car interior. I've driven this car for two years now. Not regularly. I never have the chance to drive when I'm away, and I cherish it when I'm home. My hands run along the leather seat and then the black dashboard and then my steering wheel.

I pull myself out of the trance after another loud yawn and grab my phone to jump out of my car. I tap on the screen and see a few notifications, but a text from Willow is on top.

Willow – 2 minutes ago: what are you up to right now?

I respond to her.

Alex: Nothing much, u okay?

Willow: Wanna go for a walk?

I immediately sit back into my car and turn off the engine and speed down my road, away from my house and towards hers.

It takes me no more than eight minutes to get there as I quietly approach her house, dimming my car lights. Her living room light is on.

Alex: I'm outside