Page 45 of Breakpoint
“Just five more minutes,” she whispered, pulling Dani back in. Her fingers tightened in her curly hair, the soft strands a tactile anchor. Five minutes stretched into ten, then fifteen. Each kiss was a precious indulgence, a defiant act against the ticking clock.
As the intensity picked up, Jaz couldn’t take it anymore. She needed to touch her again. She pulled at the hem of Dani’s tennis skirt until it was up around her waist. She ran her middle finger up and down Dani’s pouting slit through the fabric of her underwear, dipping deeper into the cleft with each pass.
“Jaz, we can’t,” Dani whined, but she didn’t move from Jaz’s grasp, her hips canting into Jaz’s touch.
The magnetic pull of their connection, the sheer pleasure of being lost in each other, was too strong for Jaz to resist. She moved to pull the crotch of Dani’s panties to the side so she could slip her fingers inside. “I promise, I’ll be quick.”
Dani finally stepped back, pulling her skirt back down, letting out a long breath. “You said that this morning, and we spent an extra hour in bed.”
Jaz smirked. “I didn’t see you complaining.”
“Who would throw you out of bed? I’m not stupid.” Dani smiled. “But I need to be at the facility in less than twenty minutes so I can get a decent warm-up and hit session before my match.”
“Look at you being the responsible one.” Normally, Jaz was the one keeping them on schedule and making sure that they got out the door, no matter who was on court first. But Dani had done something to her where all rational thought left her brain when she kissed her. She wanted the world outside to fade away and be replaced by the intimate bubble they had created.
“I’ve never been someone like the woman I am with you,” she admitted.
Dani bit her lip in obvious worry. It was a tell Jaz had picked up when she was nervous. “Is that a good thing or not?”
“You know what? It’s better than I could have imagined.” Dani had gone a long way toward opening up new parts of Jaz Mason.
“Good, and if you haven’t noticed, I’m a fan of yours too.” She smiled and crossed the room to put her tennis shoes in her bag and pick up her gear. “I’ll see you this afternoon?”
Jaz nodded. “You can count on it.”
She turned to walk to the door. But just when Jaz thought she was going to leave, she turned back and kissed her once more, this time more soulfully. Jaz brought her hands up to tangle in her hair to deepen this final kiss of the morning.
Dani pulled back with a slight nip of Jaz’s bottom lip. Shefinallyopened the door, turned to exit, and almost ran over Kira, whose hand was well placed to knock.
“Oh, hey Kira.” Dani’s eyes widened at seeing Jaz’s agent standing right there.
“Hey Dani. How are things?” Kira smirked and crossed her arms across her chest.
Dani blushed. “Good, good.”
“Aren’t you due on court today?” she asked, glancing down at her watch.
“Oh yeah, I… uh… we were…I was just chatting with Jaz about my match today. But I’m running late and I’m sure Tom is going to lose his shit if I don’t get there soon.” She finished with a nervous laugh that sounded hollow to everyone. She quickly slid by Kira, bumping her with her tennis bag as she moved past her. “Bye, Jaz.”
“Later, Dani,” she shouted at Dani’s retreating form. “Hey, Kira, what brings you by so early?”
Kira closed the door behind her and crossed the room, putting her across her chest again. “So you want to talk about that?”
“Dani just stopped by,” Jaz replied nonchalantly.
Kira threw her hands up. “Jaz, really? We’re doing this? Again? I know there’s something going on. Which is cool. Good for you both. But Iama little annoyed and disappointed that you lied to my face when I asked you at Wimbledon.”
“I wasn’t lying. We werejustfriends then, and nothing had happened yet,” she rushed out. She hated it when Kira gave her a disappointed face. It was worse than Brandon’s. “I promise I was telling the truth then, and I am now.”
Kira squinted her eyes at Jaz and lasered in on her face. She was doing that thing where she tried to read Jaz’s innermost thoughts. “Okay, I believe you.”
Jaz released a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She respected Kira and valued her opinion of her. “Thank you. Do you think the rest of the team knows?”
“Duh, of course they know, girl. It’s obvious there’s been a change between the two of you, even if y’all didn’t announce it to anyone. These are the people who know you better than anyone, and honestly, Jaz, you know they don’t care. I’m at least glad you didn’t wait a year like with Lena to admit to us what we already knew.”
“Well for the record, I’m really happy with her.”
“I can tell. There’s this lightness about you lately. You’re not strung as tight as one of your four-hundred-dollar rackets. Plus, when she’s in the room, you just smile more.”
