For the Love of Tennis | ✅

Chapter 20

I wake up to Gabe’s livid face. He towers over me, brows furrowed, lips pursed.

“Up,” he snaps. “Amias, what did I tell you?”

With a jolt, I realise what he means. I turn my head on the pillow to find Amias lazily stretched out next to me. The warmth is coming from his side pressed to mine, and now it only seems to burn with the realisation.

He blinks his eyes open. “Eh?”

“Up. Now. Before I rip her from the bed myself.”

He jerks a little at that, then jumps a little more when he finds me lying next to him.

“Minute,” he says, yawning. “Sorry, we fell asleep.”

Gabe just bares his teeth before pushing himself off the bed.

Sorry, we fell asleep. Indeed we did, and I rather liked it.

I rise from the bed, pushing myself onto my feet and adjusting the straps of my dress. When I turn, Amias has his eyes closed again.

“Wake up, sleepy-head,” I say with a smile. He only groans in reply.

I turn to the window overlooking the cold, dull streets outside. Despite the morning sunshine, everything seems too grey.

I need some colour in my life, I realise.

There’s a sound a behind me and Amias is flinging the covers back, a bound in his step. “Yeah, we better get you out of here otherwise Gabe is going to kill me.”

I join him by the door. “I need to leave anyway.”

We go down the stairs together. My eyes seem to stay glued to the defined shape of his shoulders.

I find Kylie sitting in the kitchen. There is mascara smudged under her eyes and they seem blurred from sleep. Her hair is its usual mess and parts of her fringe stick out at random angles. It’s a relief to find her here and makes Gabe brooding by the sink less intimidating. She smiles and takes something from the table and hands it to me. I look down to find my phone.

“It’s been buzzing non-stop,” she tells me. “I think your Mum is really worried.”

Five missed calls. A dozen texts. My stomach does a flip at the sight of them.

“Call her,” Amias says from behind me. “I’ll get your coat.”

He leaves, and eventually so does Gabe, leaving Kylie and me alone.

“I saw you two upstairs just now,” she says, smug. “Must say, you do fit into his arms nicely.”

I laugh and place myself in a chair beside her.

“Well, he was adorable.”

She nods and pauses as though there’s something else to be said.

“About last night,” she begins cautiously.

Something inside me constricts at her words.

“Amias confirmed,” I admit quietly. “He’s a dealer. He works for Gabe.”

My friends eyes widen. I can only nod in reply.

“I don’t know,” I mumble.

“Me neither,” she says.

And that’s it because Amias comes in holding my coat triumphantly.

“Tada!” he shouts. Then he helps me into it and Kylie watches us, raising her eyebrow slightly.

“Bye, lovebirds,” she calls, and then we’re out of the door.

The air is cold and nips at my exposed ankles. Amias sets off a brisk pace that I happily match.

“I’m glad you stayed,” he says simply.

“So am I.”

He pauses, staring ahead. “You know, you must have drunk a lot last night in order to have collapsed like that.”

I sigh. “I know. I don’t even think I took that much.”

I’ve always been relatively careful about those things. That’s partly one of the reasons why Mum trusts me and allows me to go out. So, obviously, when I didn’t come home, she panicked and the messages on my phone prove that.

“Did Gabe give you any drinks?” he asks at last.

I consider it. Even though my memory of last night is a little hazy, I still have a flicker of an image of Kylie flinging her arms around her boyfriend in mock-enthusiasm shouting ‘My Prince.’

“He did,” I agree. Then, “Are you saying he meddled with our drinks?”

He nods gravely. “Wouldn’t be surprised. It just didn’t add up. And plus, your friend said she felt off this morning too.”

“Why would he do that, though?” I muse. “That’s just edgy.”

“It was probably a warning,” Amias replies. “I know what he’s like. Once someone he doesn’t know meddles with his secret business, he can’t risk them telling. So he goes about making them feel... threatened.”

He glances at me as though wondering what I’m making of this situation. I don’t say anything, only look ahead at the tall houses that appear row after row.

“He’s not going to make me feel threatened,” I say eventually.

“He’s most certainly not,” Amias replies. “You’ve done nothing wrong, and if things do turn for the worse, then he’s got me to deal with.”

We turn onto my road. I stop and thank him. He only smiles and pulls me in for a hug. I can only breathe in the soft scent of him, not wanting to say goodbye.