She's back ~ L. Hamilton

65. | Old friends

ℝ𝕚𝕔𝕔𝕚𝕒𝕣𝕕𝕠 𝕍𝕤 𝕋𝕙𝕪𝕞𝕖
𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟛 𝔽𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕙 𝕆𝕡𝕖𝕟
ℚ𝕦𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕒𝕝𝕤

Charlie Thyme is five eleven and thin.

Her visor, shirt, and tennis skirt are all bright white.

She elects to serve first without a hint of emotion, her face like desert where no smile can grow.

Like I should talk.

I look up at the stands. My uncle is sitting in my players box staring down towards me. But next to him is Liam. He smiles at me.

I look to the left where Charlie's players box was

It was fairly full, with six or seven others in the box that all bared some sort of resemblance to her. Except one.

Darren looked back at me, a smirk playing on his lips as he waved down at me.

I chose to ignore him. Looking back at the court.

I breathe deep and crouch down, waiting for her to serve

Thyme tosses the ball up into the air.

Her first serve is flat and angry, but I watch as it hits just outside the line and I relax, smiling slightly at her mess up.

Then the linesman calls it in.

I walk up to the line of the service box, ready to fight it. But the dent in the clay shows that it has indeed hit the line, by just a hair.

She's got an ace.

Fuck.

I realign.

I shake my head, shaking it off.

I bring my racket down to knock the clay off my shoes.

She serves another just like it, but right on the T this time, instead of cross-court.

I am stunned as I watch the ball get past me again.

The crowd begins cheering. The hairs on the back of my neck start to rise. I roll my shoulders, trying to calm myself down.

Get it together Delaney.

I get my head straight.

She runs me all over the court, but I meet her there, and then I run her all over too.

There are some games when I'm outpacing her.

But still, she takes the first set, 6-4.

During the changeover, I wipe my face and my racket. I tap the clay off my shoes. I look up at the players' box to see Liam and my uncle talking.

Liam nods as my uncle gestures with his hands, speaking no doubt in a whisper.

I do not know what they are saying, but I know what I need to do.

I accidentally let myself glance over at Darren again, he's smiling smugly down at me.

I need to get more on Thymes level. I need to run as fast as her, take the ball out of the air even quicker.

I close my eyes and breathe in deeply.

Charlie stands in front of me, waiting for my serve.

I toss the ball in the air and spin it toward her as fast as I can. I can feel the force of it reverberating up my arm, from the elbow to my shoulder. It sneaks past her.