Safe Place; Andrey Rublev

Chapter 3 WIMBLEDON

"I'm glad you came, there was a lot of people that for sure will hear your name again", we had come back from the party, Alex, Alina and I made our way back to the hotel, walking Alina to her room first, then turning around in direction to my room as we were re-leaving the night.

"Thanks for inviting me and letting me bring Alina with me, she... we had a lot of fun, so many incredible players, I still can believe I met all of them. Oh my god! Roger giving me a hug was the best", I said with my eyes lost re-playing that exact moment in my head. I continued finally looking at him, "It was also really nice to met some of your friends, they were all so nice to me too. Too bad Andrey had to leave first", I finish hoping I could've said goodbye to him, even asking for his number.

He was holding a wide smile on his face, "Yeah, I'm glad you two came, the guys were also excited, they don't usually talk to many girls, if you could tell", he said laughing and slightly rolling his eyes.

I laughed, maybe too hard for the hour, "Yeah, no, Dominic was just fine. He's really fun, I'm sure Alina had no issue with it", we kept laughing recalling how Domi was hitting on and flirting without her noticing or maybe ignoring him, finally making it to my room's door.

We turned face to face, waiting for the other to said something, he did this time, "So, I hope maybe we can go out other time, I mean, I know the tournament is just starting but if you need some distraction from the pressure, someone to talk, a hitting partner... Just call me, ok? I'll be there if you need anything", his face was soft but confident and so his voice. He stepped closer.

I looked at him in the eye, this time they seemed darker than usual, "Thanks Sasha, you too, let me know if there's anything you need help with. I might not know a lot about Slams, but I might know a little too much about expectations", I said sincerely.

He focused his eyes into my lips as his face was closer to mine, I stood there, frozen, I wasn't sure of what the next move should be, I wasn't even sure if that's what I wanted, he's nice and handsome, of course, but I... I wasn't sure of it, didn't feel right, yet?

Quickly, I brough my arms up to his neck level, pulling him close to my body but further to my face, then I felt his arms around my waist, squeezing it carefully. An audible sigh left his mouth. The hug lasted a few seconds, before I felt my legs slightly tire for the high difference.

We pull away from each other arms giving a short smile back and been left with an awkward almost uncomfortable vibe surrounding us. I started to look into my purse searching for my key, pulling it out and unlocking the hotel room.

"So... yeah. See you around then. Good luck on Monday", he said looking at me with his hand on the pockets ready to walk away.

"Yeah, of course, see you Alex. Good luck too. And again thanks, it was fun", I smiled at him from under the door frame waving goodbye as he made his way back to the elevator not looking back. I couldn't help but to feel bad, I was left with a strange and new feeling between confusion and despair.

After a while I changed my clothes into my pj's, finish my night routine and tuck myself to bed. I'd have practice tomorrow, which meant I needed to rest better than ever. Before falling asleep, I checked my phone one last time, noticing a text from Julia.

text message:

Jules<3:

> Hey, I hope you had fun. Rest well, see you down stares at 7, we'll have practice till 10.

> Got you one of the best courts, or that's what they told me.

> By the way, Fran arrives tomorrow, I tried my best, sorry. Anyway, see you tomorrow, let's get to work.