Page 34 of Breakpoint
Dani cleared her throat. “I’m really glad you agreed to do this tonight.”
“Me too. I’m having a nice time,” Jaz declared honestly.
Dani’s smile widened. “Same. I’ve missed being able to talk to you. And not just about tennis, but anything that popped into mymind. But now that we’re on a date, I feel like I’m blocked from asking you certain things I really want to know.”
“Like, what?” Jaz inquired. “You can ask me anything.”
“Okay, I know you aren’t supposed to ask this on a first date? But I’m dying to know about your dating history because I’m shocked I hadn’t heard a thing about you being queer. Like, who was your last relationship? Was it recent?” The words poured out in a tumble, all in one breath. Dani winced after she was done because it wasn’t really how she wanted to bring it up, but she was obviously couldn't help herself.
Jaz didn’t expect that question, but she guessed it was what some people talk about on dates. Not knowing where to begin, Jaz picked up a small pebble and skipped it across the water. It caused the ducks to squawk, bringing a smile to both their faces. Jaz finally glanced at her, a smirk still playing on her lips. “Recent is a relative term, I guess. It’s been almost five years.”
“Five years, wow,” Dani said, astonished.
Five years really was a long time, but in some ways it felt like forever, and also only yesterday. Jaz hadn’t even looked at another woman with interest until Dani, lest she put herself through that heartbreak again.
“And with who, you asked? Lena, my old physio, who you met at the Wimbledon Ball.”
“I knew it! My gaydar pinged so hard on her. How did you keep that out of the tennis rumor mill? I feel like everyone on tour knows I’m queer even though I haven’t publicly said anything or confirmed it in the press.”
“I mind my own business and don’t put mine out in the street. You can keep most things out of the public sphere or from anyone knowing if you really want to,” Jaz declared confidently.
“Well, not when you kiss your double partner in a room full of athletes.” Dani smirked at her.
“You kissed me,” Jaz quipped back. “But how did you know about Lena?
“I didn’t really know, know. You know? But the way she was looking at you, I knew something had to be there,” Dani surmised.
Jaz was confused. “How was she looking at me?”
“Like a snack that she wanted to eat. Which I totally get. You were beyond breathtaking that night. But there was also this longing look in her eyes, like she was pining.” There was no jealousy, only curiosity in her tone. “If you don’t mind me asking…what happened?”
The question hung in the air. Jaz tried to think of where to start. She hadn’t discussed it with anyone, not even Brandon, but she was comfortable enough that she wanted to tell Dani everything about her past relationship. “She broke up with me, so I don’t think she was pining. I just…couldn’t give her what she wanted.”
“Which was what?”
Jaz kicked a small pebble along the path, her gaze following its short trajectory. “To pick her over tennis.”
The statement hung between them.
Faced with the growing attraction she felt towards Dani, she was reevaluating everything she thought she knew about herself. This could be even messier than her situation with Lena. But here she was on a date, in public, with Dani Kappas. Was this just a fleetingattraction, brought on by the intensity of their friendship and connection on the court? Or was it something deeper? Whatever it was, Jaz was going to live in the moment, enjoy herself, and figure out all the what-ifs later. She was taking a page out of Dani's book.
She needed to bring them back from the precipice before this date went downhill. “But that’s ancient history. I’m more interested in the present. When did you know you were queer?”
A smirk appeared on Dani’s face. “Like every other self-respecting rich girl, at the fancy boarding school that I went to for a semester. It wasn’t my roommate, I’m not that cliche, but it was a girl who lived on my floor. Her name was Sarah, and I thought she was the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen.”
Jaz was envious of the thought of being young, getting an opportunity to date, and fall in love. “And she, of course, liked you back?”
“Obviously,” Dani preened. “But then she dumped me. Here’s the kicker, for my roommate!”
She winced. “Ouch.”
Dani sighed, a long, slow release of breath. “Yeah, it was my first heartbreak. I thought I would never get over it. Funny, before you asked me, I hadn’t thought about her in years.”
“Brandon always says sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.” Jaz thought about all the times her brother had said that phrase to her when she was anxious about things not going the way she wanted.
“That’s so true. She did open my eyes to my sexuality, which was great, but we obviously weren’t meant to be. So Brandon’s right, I guess.” Dani turned to her again. “What’s it likehaving an older brother and being on tour with him? I’m an only child, so I don’t really get the sibling dynamic, but you seem super close.”
“Brandon was my first and bestfriend. I literally can’t remember my life without him in it every day. He’s always been there for me, even when we were kids. And let me tell you, when your older brother picks you to play with him beyond any of his other friends, you feel like you’ve made it!”
