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“So, consider this me returning the favor.”
She smiles, and it sets the world to rights. “Literally?”
“If you’d like, yes,” I say. “If you want to rub Percy’s nose in us, make it clear you’ve moved on… then you can. What I said at the Montauk party still stands.”
“You mean that,” she says. It’s a statement, not a question.
But I nod anyway. “I do.”
“I was worried I’d overstepped.”
“You didn’t. I don’t say things I don’t mean.”
She chuckles. “No, I suppose you don’t. It’s refreshing. So many people do.”
“Yes, and then they pay the price for it,” I say and pull out my racquet.
Sophia eyes it. “You’ve played before, right?”
I hold the racquet like a frying pan. “Which way is up, again?”
She laughs. “Okay, so you have.”
“Yes. Anthony and I played growing up.”
“So, you’re good?”
“Good enough,” I say. It’s been years since I played just for fun. Years, really, since I made the time and effort for things of any nature, just for fun.
“They’re here,” she murmurs. I look across the net to see them, Percy and Scarlett, step onto the court.
He’s in all-white, and so is his girlfriend. They both smile and wave to us like all is normal and right in the world, and as if this won’t be a fight to the death.
“Oh my God,” Sophia murmurs.
“You’re not playing him,” I say. “You’re just playing the game. Don’t focus on who he is.”
She takes a deep breath. Fire flickers in her eyes, so clear I can almost see the flames. She doesn’t need to be talked down from her nerves, I realize. They’re giving her fuel.
“I have to win,” she says fiercely. “Iwantto win.”
“We will,” I say. “You will. But you know what will be a true victory?”
“What?”
“Walking away from here and looking happy, regardless of what happens during the game. That’s what’ll hurt him the most. You, thriving without him.”
Her mouth curves into a smile. “You’re good, you know. Very good.”
“It doesn’t take a genius,” I say, “to imagine how it would feel to lose you.”
Her smile falters, and the eyes on mine turn questioning. Damn. Too much, and if it wasn’t for my lack of sleep, I wouldn’t have let those words slip.
The game begins and saves us from the silence. The first few serves make it clear that Scarlett is a competent, if not a particularly ambitious, player.
Percy, though? That’s a different story. He’s not a wild talent, but from the very first ball, I see the hunger in him. He’s playing to win this, just like I am.
And just like Sophia.
