It Starts with Love

Chapter 8 - Smiles

A/N: So I just realized how little of Sascha we've seen in the past few chapters. Don't worry, he's back! And we have now hurdled over the biggest drama in this story. Please let me know what you think of this chapter in the comments. I really appreciate your feedbacks :) 

They say the morning after a big win is the best feeling in the world, but what about a big loss? As it is, Taliana could personally vouch that it was one of the worst feelings ever. She had pretty much locked herself in her room after yesterday's events. To add insult to injury, Stefanos' "birthday gift" to her was her old wristband. Upon returning to her room, the small box containing the wristband was sitting on the floor. She had given it to him after wearing it to her first tour level win. He always said it was his good luck charm. He must not need it anymore.

"Talia?" There was knock on the door as Naomi's voice floated into the room. "Can you please open the door? I've got some stuff here for you."

If she didn't reply, maybe Naomi would go away.

"I will break down your door if you don't open it."

Or not. Grumbling under her breath, Taliana got up from the bed and opened the door. "You should come with a warning sign, Naomi. Beware, bulldozer."

"Just help me carry all this stuff inside, will you?"

"Why can't you put them in your room?"

"Because they're your birthday gifts, dumbass," Naomi said, shoving a couple wrapped boxes into her arms then barging into the room.

"Come in, Naomi. Make yourself comfortable, Naomi. It's my room but sure, go ahead and come in." Taliana closed the door and found Naomi already dumping the other boxes on her bed.

"You always get more sarcastic when you're in a bad mood."

"Gee. I wonder why."

"Talia, I'm sorry about your loss," Naomi was hesitant as she continued, "and on your birthday, too. But it's not the end of the world, you'll get more chances."

"I know. It's just hard to accept. I really thought I could go far this year."

"Good thing there's two more Grand Slams left in the season."

"I guess." Taliana plopped down on the bed beside her friend.

"So, do you want to open your gifts now? Get your mind off things for a while?"

"Sure. I don't even know where all of this came from. I mean, aside from you and my family, no one really remembered."

"I got it from the concierge. Apparently, some fans sent you some stuff." Naomi handed her a few packages and they started going through the pile together. Some fans had sent her some letters and also some personalized towels. There were also some chocolates thrown in the mix. They were a good surprise, knowing she had a following.

"Hey, this one is from Sascha. Did you know he sent me a gift?" she wondered, holding up a small box.

"He was looking for you last night to give it to you. I thought he found you."

"He did find me," Taliana sighed. "We just didn't get to talk."

"What do you mean?"

"I was with Stef last night. And Sascha saw us." Taliana set aside his gift. Just the fact that she was talking to Stefanos again was hard to believe. Add to that the fact that Sascha saw them? Mind blowing.

"Okay, I did not expect that." Naomi began. "Let's start with Stefanos first. Did you guys finally talk?"

"Yeah. I took your advice. You were right, by the way. You said he wasn't mad and he wasn't. He actually understood."