Off-Court (COMPLETED)

Goodbye Barcelona!

5:00 in the morning when Demille woke up, Klein gently push her inside the bathroom "come on! brush your teeth and wash your face" he urge before closing the door. Today marked their last day in Barcelona, and their flight back to the U.S. was scheduled for later that evening. Over the past few days, her two coaches, Klein and Juan, had been particularly strict, ensuring she stayed on top of her training regimen. This morning, they insisted she take an early jog, a one-hour run to keep her in peak condition.

After brushing her teeth and washing her face, Demille dressed in jogging pants and a windbreaker. From her room, she could hear Juan calling her name. Once she was ready, she headed downstairs and found her two coaches already in their sports attire. She rolled her eyes at their eagerness but said nothing as she stepped outside, with Klein and Juan following close behind.

“You seem awfully happy and blooming this morning” Klein remarked as he jogged alongside her. “So, who’s the lucky guy?”

“Can you shut up?” Demille snapped, throwing a glare his way. “You whore” she added under her breath, but there was no malice in her tone—only annoyance.

After about 30 minutes of jogging, they decided to help Juan with a quick errand at the public market. His mother had asked him to pick up some condiments, and he knew she would be furious if he forgot. Juan’s family was already in the U.S., enjoying a month-long vacation, and they planned to watch Demille’s match next month after the Mixed Aces Tournament.

Yesterday had been their final training session with Astrid and Andrey, and Demille couldn’t help but feel relieved. She had managed to control her anger toward Astrid, who still hadn’t learned her lesson despite Carlos’s earlier confrontation. Once they returned to their guest house, Klein prepared breakfast while Demille took a quick shower. After resting for a brief 15 minutes, she began packing her belongings, meticulously folding her clean clothes and placing them in her suitcase.

As she organized her things, Demille opened her backpack and carefully placed two books she had bought from a local bookstore inside. One of them was a book Andrey had given her after yesterday’s training session. Sitting on the floor, she read the title again Eyes on Me Cohen. The book’s description on the back cover intrigued her—it was a story about two people of the same gender who meet in a hospital and fall in love.

Curious, she opened the book and noticed that it was signed by the author, with a heartfelt message written inside. The book appeared brand new, and Demille wondered why Andrey had chosen this particular title for her. She flipped through a few pages, getting lost in the story until she heard Klein calling her from downstairs.

Reluctantly, Demille closed the book and joined her coaches for breakfast. As they ate, she found herself thinking about the stressful training sessions ahead, but the thought of winning another title this year excited her. If she succeeded, her ranking would rise even higher.

“Are you still going to continue with mixed doubles, even though you lost?” Juan asked, breaking the silence.

“Yeah” Demille replied with a nod. “It’s kind of fun…and my goal is the Olympics in 2024, I want to compete with Carlos again”

After breakfast, Demille went back upstairs to finish packing. She even helped Klein and Juan, who were struggling to fit the new clothes they had bought into their suitcases. As she folded a shirt, her phone vibrated in her pocket. It was a message from Dominic Thiem, an old friend, inviting her to his birthday party in the U.S. She quickly replied, promising to attend right after her match.

“Who was that?” Juan asked curiously.

“Just Dominic. He’s inviting us to his birthday party” Demille replied.

She frowned when she saw how his two coach look at each other “what the f*ck is that?” they both shook their head making Demille shrug and stared to Juan and Klein “are you talking behind my back? You two have been really weird this past few days and it’s not funny!” they look at each other again making Demille rolled her eyes

“W-we are not!” Juan said and stood up to leave the room—or more on running away from Demille but Demille immediately corner him

“What are you two talking about? Tell me come on!”

“It’s nothing bad” Klein interjected, trying to diffuse the tension. “We were just wondering if you’re dating Andrey.”

Juan’s eyes widened at how Klein had just spilled the secret. Demille’s glare could have cut through steel. “Really?” she asked, incredulous.

Taking a deep breath, Demille recounted what had happened last week between her and Andrey. Meanwhile, Juan and Klein explained that they had seen the two of them walking down the street and had decided to follow them. They even witnessed Andrey hugging her.

“That wasn’t a friendly hug, Dems” Juan said seriously “That guy likes you. Even though he’s my idol, when it comes to this, it’s a big no!”

“Yeah, I can smell it—he likes you” Klein added, fueling Demille’s frustration.

“Can you two shut up?! Andrey is just a friendly guy” she snapped before storming out of the room. If she stayed any longer, her coaches would continue to spout nonsense about Andrey.

Frustrated, Demille threw herself onto the sofa downstairs. “So that’s why Klein has been bugging me early in the morning!” she thought, pulling out her phone. She opened Instagram and started scrolling through Andrey’s feed, trying to see what her coaches were talking about.

But as she browsed his posts, her forehead creased in confusion. “Nothing interesting” she thought. Andrey’s feed was mostly about his tennis career—trophies, matches, training sessions. There was nothing about his private life. “What was I expecting from that bweh guy? Thirst traps?” She shook her head and turned her phone off when she saw how boring Andrey feed is, she closed her eyes, hoping a nap would calm her down.

Demille was jolted awake when Klein started poking her cheeks. “Stopppp!” she groaned, swatting his hand away.

“Wake up, Dems! Our flight is at 8:00!” Klein reminded her before leaving her in the living area. “We’ve already cleaned the guest house and packed all our things”

Rubbing her eyes, Demille checked her phone. It was exactly 6:30 in the evening. She was disappointed in herself for sleeping so long. She had planned to visit the bookstore again to buy another book as a gift for Dominic, but now there was no time.

She quickly showered and got dressed, making sure she hadn’t forgotten anything before leaving her room. Juan helped her carry her luggage downstairs.

“I’m going to miss this house” Klein said wistfully, looking around. “I’m planning to buy it soon—I’ve already spoken to the landlord”

“Looks like someone found the right girl here in Barcelona” Demille teased, causing Juan to choke on his saliva.

“Maybe it’s a boy, man, or even an old man,” Juan joked, only to receive a sharp smack from Klein. “Ouch! Come on, I was just joking!”

“It’s not a good joke, okay?” Klein grumbled, rolling his eyes as he walked out of the guest house first. Demille and Juan exchanged amused glances before bursting into laughter at Klein’s reaction.

“That man really can’t take a joke,” Demille said, closing the door behind her. “But yeah, I’m going to miss this house.”

“Don’t worry—Klein’s definitely going to buy it,” Juan assured her.

“I hope so” Demille replied with a smile, taking one last look at the place that had been their home for the past few weeks.