𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐄 ━ jackson avery

053. ━ the cardio goddess returns

season nine // episode six
[ the cardio goddess returns ]

❝Your girlfriend already said
that.❞

ELLIE STARED AT Jackson as the soft morning light slowly filled the area. She had been sleeping peacefully—or, as peacefully as she slept nowadays—when she was unkindly awoken by her boyfriend leaping on top of her.

After a lot of swearing—and the promise that he would get her a coffee before work—she reluctantly got out of bed and allowed him to take her somewhere. She was thinking perhaps a coffee shop or a restaurant for breakfast. Instead, Jackson brought her to—

"A tennis court?" she asked, staring at her boyfriend in confusion. "You brought me to a tennis court at the crack of dawn when we could have been sleeping?"

He nodded. "Yes," he replied, oblivious to the annoyance in her tone. "And you're gonna thank me later."

"I doubt it," she quipped.

She narrowed her eyes as Jackson pulled out a tennis racket and a basket of tennis balls. "Here," he said, handing her the racket. She raised her eyebrows and looked back at him making him sigh. "I know you have a meeting with your lawyers today, and I know how much you don't like them, so..." He held out a tennis ball to her. "You can take out your frustrations by hitting these."

"You want me to hit tennis balls to get out my frustrations?" Ellie repeated, her brows still furrowed. "You do know that I made varsity tennis when I was in eighth grade, right? This could turn out badly for you."

"Yes," he replied, letting out a breath. "You mention that whenever I make the dumb mistake of saying you're not competitive—which, yes, you are. Just trust me, okay?"

"I do trust you," she said with a nod. "I just don't understand why we had to do this at the crack of dawn. I have interns who are extremely annoying most of the time and I need sleep to deal with them." He tilted his head and gave her his best puppy dog eyes which made her instantly melt. "Okay."

He smiled happily and handed her a tennis ball. With an eye roll, she tossed it in front of her before hitting the racket against it. She held out her hand—watching the tennis ball travel a far distance—waiting for it to be filled by Jackson.

"See?" he said with a victorious smile. "I told you this would help."

"Yeah, yeah." She hit yet another tennis ball, though with much more force. "Just keep giving me tennis balls."

"Yes, ma'am." After half an hour of smashing every single tennis ball she was given, Jackson let out a breath once she had stopped. "Okay. Remind me not to get on your bad side."

"Give me another one," she told him.

With much more caution than when he had begun, Jackson obliged and gave her a tennis ball.