Page 128 of Off Court Fix

I tug at the grounds pass around my neck that I managed to secure from an old colleague who can’t make it to the Open today, and I feel my face tighten. I’m fucking smiling, even though I might wind up inprison. I’m smiling because it feels so good not to hide it. When I think about it now, telling my mother was practice. This, telling Dave, it’s the real deal.

“That’s why you resigned?”

The smile disappears. “It’s complicated.”

“Crosby...” Dave’s voice reeks of disappointment, and I know more of that will come. “What happened out in Indian Wells—”

“Was before,” I clarify. And it was. It was before I fell in love with Maxine. “Everything happened after. And you can watch film of that match and you’ll findnothingfrom my side that shows I acted in a way that benefited Maxine. Quite the opposite, actually.”

Dave lifts his hat from his head and squeezes his eyes shut. “I... how did I miss this?”

I shrug.

“Why did you have me take the flowers in? I mean, I get this is messy, but Cros, if you resigned weeks ago—”

“You’re probably going to be hearing a lot of stuff about me,” I say. “Not great stuff. And you’ve known me all my life, right? I just hope you know there wasn’t bad intent there, that’s all.”

Shaking his head, Dave steps closer. “What do you mean?”

I bite my lip, almost unloading it all—the whole truth—but decide against it. This is Maxine’s day. Everything will surface as needed soon enough. “Just do me a favor, find a better guy to come cut the grass court at the club, alright?” I offer a smile before pushing off the wall. “Clean lines, yeah?”

“Crosby—”

“I’ll catch you later, Dave.” I tug my hat down and make my way past the vendors, leaving my friend behind. I look up, my eyes scaling the enormity of the outside of the stadium as I walk by. It’s not the thought of never umpiring a match on a court like that again or the reality that I’ll likely be banned from all tennis events for the rest of my life that puts me at unease. It’s that I’ll never get the chance to see Maxine play professionally on a court ever again.

I want today to be special, to be about her. I don’t want to be important enough to even be an afterthought in her mind. But damn, I want the last hug and kiss I give her before a match to be agreatone, particularly when she’s awake and alert.

Chewing my lip, I can see the path leading to the exit of the grounds in front of me and look at my watch. If Maxine has listened, she has another eleven minutes to reach out to Samantha. But there it is, that uptick in my heartbeat, the sound of my pulse in my ears, my hands flexing as they hang by my side, eager to touch smooth skin, to palm a strong body.

I turn around on my heel and head to the locker room for one final fix, and I hope it’s enough to get me through whatever journey comes my way today.

* * *

It takes me all of seven minutes of a fast-paced walk before I slip into the players’ quarters, trying my best to keep my head down as I stroll through the hallway past a few training rooms before I find the locker room with Maxine’s name on it. I give one quick look over my shoulder before I open the door and slip inside.

I’d sooner think I’d find Hunter in Maxine’s locker room than her father, but here we are.

“What are you doing here?” I ask. Ted sits on the bench against the far side of the room. I look around the locker room, spotting my hydrangeas but see no Maxine. “Where’s Maxine?”

“She’s on the court with Jack and her coach.”

My heart sinks.Fuck.She already did it.

I turn to leave as quickly as I came, but Ted stops me.

“You can sit if you’d like. I was hoping you might come by.”

Stopping as I reach the door, I face Ted again. “Why are you here?”

Ted rises from the bench, smoothing down his khakis. “This will likely be the last match I watch my daughter play in. But you, you can sit and wait for her. There’s no need to rush out now.”

“What? What do you mean?” I step away from the closed door and fold my arms over my chest. In front of me, Ted reaches down and unzips his backpack, producing Maxine’s phone, which he promptly unlocks.

“I left it at the house.”

“Why do you have that?”

When Ted looks up, voices fill the room.

---