Page 25 of Breakpoint
“What are you doing here?” Jaz finally asked.
Lena pointed behind her. “One of my clients won mixed doubles. And when I saw you, I thought I would bite the bullet and pop over to say hi and congrats. I know this is all you’ve ever wanted.” Lena’s eyes lingered on Jaz for a second too long, but something in her voice was melancholy.
Dani’s eyebrows raised because it wasn’t just the familiarity of her tone but the way she looked at Jaz. A lingering gazefilled with a longing that was almost palpable. And then there was Jaz’s reaction because the air crackled with unspoken tension around them.
“Thanks, Lena,” Jaz stated. “I really appreciate it.” Jaz truly seemed pleased, but there was a hurt in her eyes. Though her voice and words gave nothing away beyond politeness.
Lena turned and walked away. Dani could see her look over her shoulder at Jaz one more time, with a hint of sadness in her eyes. What the hell had that been about, Dani wondered? Because her gaydar said that woman obviously had feelings for Jaz, and as far as she knew, Jaz was straight. Maybe it was unrequited love, and Jaz fired her. This wasn’t the time to bring it up, though, because Jaz would definitely clam up talking about her personal life in public.
Jaz’s words brought her out of her reverie, but they didn’t quite land in her brain. “Huh? What did you say?”
“How long do we have to stay?” Jaz repeated with indignation.
Dani whined, “You just got here, Jaz. Come on.”
“I know, and I’m already over it,” she declared, obviously exacerbated by the ball already.
“You’re the singles and doubles champion. You have to stay for at least an hour.”
“You made me come, so now you have to make this tolerable. For the next,”—Jaz looked down at her watch—“forty-five minutes.”
Holy fuck. Now her brain was thinking about all the ways she wishes she could make Jaz come. Okay, so she was definitely attracted to Jaz. Maybe it was the thrill of the hunt? She always had a thing for unattainable women. But Jaz was straight and ninety-five percent of the time still a pain in Dani’s ass.
This was definitely a problem.
Jaz took Dani’s hand and led her towards their seats and as their fingers brushed, Dani’s skin crackled with electricity. Their victory on the court had been significant, but this, this realization, this unspoken acknowledgment of something new and unexpected between them, felt even more monumental.
The Florida sun beat down on the hard court in Jaz’s backyard, the air thick and humid even at seven in the morning. Florida in July was no joke. Sweat beaded on Dani’s brow as she stretched for a wide serve from Jaz. The satisfyingthwackof the ball against her racket strings usually filled her with a focused energy, but she knew the shot was going wide. Again.
Across the net, Jaz was a vision in her crisp white tank top and tiny workout shorts. Dani worked extra hard to ignore the way Jaz’s slim-fitting top hugged her curves and dipped a tad in the front. But Dani’s eyes couldn’t help but focus on all the skin on display with each powerful swing. When Jaz moved to return the ball, her muscles rippled beneath her mocha skin. Dani’s heart did a little flip at the way the sunlight caught the fine hairs on her arm or the slight furrow of concentration in her brow.
Focus, Dani,she told herself, but her gaze kept drifting back to Jaz. She’d never noticed before how gracefully Jaz moved, how the effort of the game made sweat to drip downher shirt that Dani wanted to lick off with her tongue. Even the way Jaz tucked a tennis ball into her shorts seemed…captivating.
Every interaction now was laced with the undercurrent of attraction. Because now that this attraction was here, Dani couldn’t un-see it. Everything about Jaz turned her on. Her muscles strained as she hit a forehand, the slight peek of her skin visible when she tossed the ball up for a serve. Her thick thighs were astonishing; hard muscles in her arms as she made contact. Every movement set Dani ablaze.
This revelation was too much to process by herself. She needed to tell someone. To process this seismic shift in her perception. To share her surprising discovery of the unexpected depths of attraction for a woman she once loathed. Everything now felt charged with a strange, unfamiliar energy when she was in Jaz’s presence.
It was a lot easier to push down feelings when they were apart after Wimbledon. Dani doing a press and sponsor tour Chris had set up to capitalize on her win with Jaz. They still texted and talked every day, but she could also focus on other things.
Dani wished she had true friends to talk to about whatever this was she was feeling. No way she could tell Sascha. It would be on social media so fast it would make her head spin. No one on her team. Most of her friends from college she’d lost touch with, and she was afraid they would leak it too.
She would have to process it alone. But it was definitely throwing her off her game and even Jaz could see it.
“Dani, that’s your third missed backhand. The forehand I hit didn’t even have any top spin on it.”
“I’m good. Just serve.” Dani tried to rally, to push the unsettling thoughts aside and concentrate on the game. But the very next serve Jaz sent out wide, Dani didn’t even get her racket on it as it whistled past her outstretched arm.
“Get it together, Dani,” Jaz barked. Jaz blew out a breath, seeming to calm herself down. “We only have a few weeks before the Olympics, and now that we’ve won Wimbledon, we have a target on our backs. We’ll get everyone’s best shot. They’ll be gunning to take us out.”
“I know, I know. I’m just having an off day. A lot going on.” It was a lame excuse, and she could feel her cheeks burning. Jaz frowned, unconvinced.
Then her demeanor changed and she approached the net, a hint of concern in her voice. “Still upset about your mom?”
Warmth spread through her that Jaz cared enough to ask. She and Jaz had multiple conversations, usually one sided where Jaz would let her ramble, about the disconnect she still felt with her parents, especially her mom. It was nice having someone real and meaningful to share what she was going through, but who also understood her current life.
Dani shook her head no, picking at a loose thread on the griptape of her racket. “But I am sick of the media requests Chris keeps pushing on me to get a joint interview with her.”
“The media are vultures and only looking for their own narratives. Don’t give them anything you don’t want to,” Jaz spat out with venom.
