LOVESTRUCK - Taylor Swift

TWENTY-TWO

THROUGH THE BLUE EYES OF
SOPHIE BENNETT

"SOPHIE, let's talk," the call came only three hours after the tweets went up. The rest of my life had been eerily quiet, but I was drinking wine on the couch with Taylor at my side. Jay was sitting in one of the chairs my aunt had reupholstered at some point, and Anna herself was in the kitchen baking cookies for us all.

Taylor had driven out before I'd hit post, and I'd only posted it because they said they wouldn't dismiss him. I'd called and talked very calmly and rationally to some of the higher ups of the Women's Tennis Association, easily getting my call through just by telling the assistants my name. They weren't highly receptive, but we decided as a group that I was really doing this, and we sent it out into the world and started afternoon drinking.

It wasn't the healthiest option but Taylor's fingers tangled in my hair, gently playing with it and massaging my scalp could only do so much. Jay wasn't saying much, occasionally talking about this and that as we sat there.

But that call and that voice were familiar, it was Steve Simon, he was basically the boss. If I wanted something done, he was the one to talk to. I wasn't sure what things looked like online, but the fact that they were calling me so soon must have meant something.

"I'm listening," I said, mustering up a confident tone despite the pounding heart in my ears. Taylor's hand went away from my hair and hip, and Anna walked in curiously after hearing the phone ring.

"We can't promise you the wild card, obviously that's up to the grand slams, but we're working it through the legal team right now about having Jon Campbell banned so you and the other players can feel comfortable on the court, that's going to work for you?"

Holy fucking shit... "Yes, sir, that's going to work for me. Thank you."

"We'll keep you updated. You got a new coach?" He asked simply.

"No, but I'm sure I can find one. I can always put out another tweet, that seems to work quite well for me."

A small, bitter laugh sounded from his lips, "We could barely get the phone to stop ringing long enough to make this call, the entire system's overloaded with the amount of complaints we've been getting."

I did tell him I would take it online if I had to, and he hadn't listened, so I did, "Well, I'm a big fan of karma. It's not just a Taylor Swift song."

Taylor cackled in the background and slapped her hand over her mouth as I nudged her. The man on the phone hung up and I flopped back into the comfort and safety of the couch until I felt a pair of lips press against the corner of my lips, closer to my cheek, "Oh my god, honey, you're a professional tennis player."

Our eyes met and she was smiling at me so proudly that it made my heart lurch, a thing that happened all too often when she was around, "Thanks for being here."

Jay was grinning in the corner and sipping at his wine glass to keep himself quiet. Anna didn't say anything until after Taylor and I had our moment, in which she pulled me into a very tight hug, "You need to start practicing!"

"That starts the day after tomorrow," I chuckled, "I need to enjoy my last glass of wine and probably feed Taylor that weed brownie she's been asking me about for a couple months, then I can get back into it."

"I love that your first thought is getting Taylor high. That's obviously a priority before anything else," Jay chuckled at me and I shrugged. I never drank during competition season and I hadn't tried weed until after I'd retired, so going cold turkey was probably for the best because my body wasn't used to running at peak performance for days on end anymore and I needed it to.