Page 20 of From the Courtroom to the Court
"So you're the girl for everything," Emma quips as she follows a couple of steps behind, taking the opportunity to check out her butt with a boldness that seems unlike her.
Mia ignores her and continues walking until they reach the building where the women's locker room is located.
"I'll wait here," Mia says, leaning her shoulder against a tree in front of the building while crossing her arms over her chest with a casual air.
Emma finds this strangely sexy, which irritates her.
"I don't need a ball girl to wait for me," she spits venomously.
Mia looks her up and down, unfazed by the comment, and smiles.
"You certainly don't. What you need is some manners and a good lay," Mia retorts, surprising Emma. "Especially the latter it would definitely help with that bad attitude you seem to have in excess. Besides," she adds, straightening up when Emma opens her mouth to protest, "this ball girl here," Mia points to herself while taking a few steps toward her, "could beat you on the court without breaking a sweat."
Anger climbs up Emma's neck, and she gets so close to Mia that there's barely room for air between them.
"We can test that whenever you want," she says with an arrogance that really bothers Mia.
"There's a free court. We can test it right now," she says, maintaining eye contact.
Emma feels like she's about to spit her heart out of her mouth, though she's not sure if it's from anger or something else.
"Get a couple of rackets while I go to the bathroom, ball girl," Emma hisses, pushing her body against Mia's, who flashes a cocky smile while thinking about how much she'll enjoy making this snob run around the court.
"Great job, Emily!" Leah shouts when her clumsiest student returns the third consecutive shot.
After practicing serves during the first fifteen minutes, forehand shots during the second, and backhand during the third, she's now decided to simply rally with Emily to give her a break at the end of the training session. Besides, she's noticed that this is when Emily seems to enjoy herself the most, as if all she needs is to run after the ball and try to return it.
The tennis player sends another gentle shot, making the ball bounce just a couple of meters away to ensure Emily can return it, and prepares to run because, while Emily might manage to return the ball, the direction she sends it is another matter entirely.
"In the next class, we'll focus on getting all your balls to land on the opposite side," she smiles after running to the net to cut off the ball, aware that it would have gone so high it would have left the court.
"I'd be happy if just a few of them made it in," the lawyer laughs, and Leah stops, placing her racket between her legs to tighten her ponytail.
"You shouldn't settle. You'll improve, I promise. It's just a matter of time. We've managed to get you to focus for more than two minutes at a time now it's every five," Leah jokes, drawing a laugh from Emily, who approaches her, considering the training session over.
"Thanks for being so patient with me," she says, surprising the tennis player, who narrows her eyes.
"It's my job, Emily. You don't need to thank me."
"That's not true. I've had other trainers before," the lawyer explains, shrugging her shoulders as they walk toward the bench, separated by the net. "At first, they have patience, but it runs out quickly when they realize how clumsy I am. You, on the other hand, always treat me the same way—you even seem to enjoy it."
Emily mentions this as if it's normal, but rage gnaws at Leah, and she considers asking who Emily has trained with, but she doesn't want to upset herself. Instead, she turns to Emily and blocks her path just before they reach the bench.
"I do enjoy it, Emily," she confesses in a burst of honesty. "Your class is always the most fun of the day, and it's not just because you're a bit clumsy, though that's part of it," she adds with a wink that shakes the lawyer's insides like an earthquake. "You're a very pleasant and fun woman. It's very difficult to get bored with you."
"Wow, thanks," Emily says, equally stunned and moved. "I have a great time with you too. I love coming here, training, and..." Emily realizes that if she continues down this path, she might say something she shouldn't, so she decides to change the subject. "Where did my cousin go?"
Leah turns toward the fence, grateful that Emily has shifted a conversation that was getting out of hand, and furrows her brow when she realizes she hasn't seen Mia either.
"I'd say they haven't returned from the locker room, though I'm not sure," she says while wiping her neck and arms with a towel.
"I'm not either. I haven't really noticed," Emily laughs, and they look at each other for a moment, aware that they've been so focused on one another that everything around them has disappeared.
"Well, grab your things, and I'll walk with you to find her if you want," Leah suggests.
The two women head toward the bar, the only place they assume Emma might be, but halfway there, Leah stops when she hears a girl's grunt after a racket strike. She turns because she knows that sound well it's Mia when she returns a shot with fury.
"There they are," says Leah, pointing to one of the courts where the two women watch in perplexity as Emma and Mia run from side to side, hitting the ball as if their lives depended on the match.
