It Starts with Love

Chapter 18 - Rivals

   The early sunlight streamed through the window of Taliana's room. A hand stroking her hair gently had woken her up. She opened her eyes. The first sight that greeted her was Sascha's smiling face.

    "Hmm, Sasch."

    "Good morning, baby," he said.

    "Morning." Taliana snuggled closer to him and he slipped his hand under her head to pull her closer. Sascha wrapped his arms around her.

    "Did you sleep well?"

    "Yeah. You?"

    "Couldn't really sleep."

    Taliana looked up at him. "Why?"

    "I didn't want to miss one moment of this."

    "You have a way with words, Zverev."

    "And you have a way of stealing hearts, de Guia."

    A smile crept to her lips. "I wish everyday was like this. This is perfect."

    "We have to talk about some stuff, Talia."

    Taliana sighed. "Where do we even start?"

    "I want to apologize. I lost a tough match yesterday. It was hard and I couldn't deal with anything else. If I knew the effect it would have on you, I would have," Sascha trailed off.

    "Neither of us wanted that to happen, Sascha. What's done is done. But you can't keep pushing me away, you have to start being honest with me."

    "I just don't want to see you looking at me like everyone does when I lose."

    "Looking at you how?"

    "Like I'm a disappointment." Sascha withdrew his arm and sat up.

    Taliana sat up as well, tucking her feet beneath her. "You are not a disappointment, Sasch. Whatever you do, you will never be a disappointment. Not to me, not to your family, and, most importantly, not to yourself. You've already done so much and you're still so young."

    "But I'm not living up to anyone's expectations. They all expect me to be a Grand Slam champion by now. I was almost there in Paris. I can't believe I missed it. And now, I'm out again," he trailed off.

    "That doesn't make you a disappointment." Taliana shook her head like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You have your goals, Sasch, and you will fall short at one point or another but that doesn't mean you failed. All you have to do is try again."

    "I've heard it so many times before but coming from you, it actually makes sense." Sascha tucked Taliana's hair behind her ear.

    "You already know all this. You just needed one more push to believe it. I believe in you and so does the rest of your team."

    "Thank you, Talia, for everything. From Madrid to here, you've been by my side. You don't know how much of a difference having you with me has made."

    Taliana smiled. "You told me the other day that it's the best feeling in the world to come out of a match, win or lose, and have someone waiting for you. It's the same for me, Sasch. Being with you has been amazing."

    A small frown appeared on Sascha's face. "But you were so ready to break up with me last night. What changed?"

    "What changed?" she repeated. "Are you kidding me? You dropped a big bomb on me. It was bound to change my mind, Sascha."

    "I do love you, Talia. I didn't just say that so you wouldn't break up with me."

    "I know you meant it. I do, too."