Page 107 of In the Safety's Zone
“I won’t. Even if it all blows up in my face I’ll know I did the right thing. I stood up for myself and didn’t let you all continue to use me. You all are my parents and I love you, but I can honestly say I don’t like you all very much. And I definitely don’t love you all more than myself so in the end I chose me. And that’s something I’ll never regret. Your access and proximity to me is your only cache in a world you so wish you could’ve dominated. It’s been so long since you were relevant and yet you still can’t let it go. I did nothing to you but be born. And you’ve lied and manipulated your way into my bank account for years. You had a great run but now it’s over.”
They looked stunned at the way I was speaking to them but that was expected. They thought that they would stress me out or use guilt to have me help them but I wasn’t going for it. I’d watched how Anthony moved with his mother: he had love for her but he didn’t allow her to use him. I was going to move the same way.
“Aphrodite!”
I glanced up and watched a familiar face walking toward me and for the first time since I’d gotten here I smiled.
“Hey, Bobby!”
When he was in arm’s reach he gave me a hug but didn’t leave my side. I wasn’t sure whether Billy or Anthony gave him the heads-up about my family but I was thankful that he was here to run interference.
“We’ve got a few interviews lined up before you head out.”
He was in a full suit so I know he was in business mode. Bobby was the best PR agent I knew handling all the bullshit that the blogs tried to throw at me and Bam’s relationship. I knew once the season started and this tournament was over he was going to be fielding even more calls from people.
“I hope y’all enjoy the matches. If you’ll excuse me I need to handle business.”
I dribbled the ball trying to keep my mind on this point and not the ache that came from my head. I needed to rehydrate as soon as this game was over because I was low on just about everything. This match had gone on for almost six hours and I was ready to claim my trophy. The one thing that didn’t ache was my arms or my back and I owed that to Anthony and his advice. The chest work was paying off and I could only pinpoint that asthe change that had helped me almost sail through my matches during this tournament. Despite my having won the other three for the year, I still wasn’t ranked number one: something that my baby took personally. He wasn’t above using other people’s trash talk to hype me up and keep me focused. This bitch waiting on my serve was the main one.
Marguerite Gillou had made it her mission to rattle me since I beat her in the Australian Open. She was pissed because I had beaten her on her home turf and had gotten a lot of shit about it from her local media. They were on her about disappointing the home crowd and it didn’t make it any better when the French Open and Wimbledon finals didn’t include her. But I guess she wanted to return the favor. Too bad that I was going to be the one hoisting this trophy over my head today and not her. We’d both won a set and this was match point. I was up and could close this out. And I wanted to.
All I could think about was the fact that my baby was watching me somewhere in the city. After his last preseason game, he was told he’d made it to the fifty-three man roster and when he called me he had tears in his eyes. I almost got my ass on the plane right then because my heart was so full of joy for him. Since I couldn’t be there in person I had Rye deliver the gift I’d gotten for him. It was a big-face, diamond-encrusted watch for him to wear on game day. He was so appreciative but also pissed that I’d spent that kind of money on him. I had to remind him that he was buying us a whole house without me so this was the least I could do.
Especially with the way he’d sent me off to this tournament. He’d made love to me in a slow and sensual way. I felt like his soul had touched mine and I could still hear his groans echoing in my ear as he hyped me up while making my pussy weep for pleasure.
“You’re everything I could have ever wanted in a woman and nothing I deserve. That’s why I’ll always go as hard for you as I do. You are worthy, you are a fighter, you are a champion and you are a history maker.”
I’d teased him that he had a praise kink but the way I flooded the sheets when I came after hearing those words meant I might’ve been projecting.
Repeating his affirmations in my head I lobbed the ball in the air before using all of my strength to send it over the net. Immediately I was back on guard since she’d been able to return the ball. Back and forth we went, the only sounds our sneakers on the hard court. My thighs were burning but my hamstring had been holding up well. I didn’t care what I needed to do; I was about to send this bitch back home to Australia a loser.
She tried to drop the ball at the front of the net but she didn’t have enough spin on it so I hustled to it as it made its descent and I smashed it in the back corner of the court out of her reach before she could get to it.
“Game Harper.”
I barely heard the announcer acknowledge my win because I was so busy cheering for myself for once. I couldn’t believe that I had actually done what people thought was impossible. I’d made history as the first Black woman to sweep the majors in one year. He had spoken life into me to replace all the negativity I’d ingested for years: worthy, a fighter, a champion and a history maker.
I fell to my knees with my hands on the court and felt all of my emotions wash over me. I’d actually done it. The tears melded with the sweat, my emotions and adrenaline causing conflicting feelings in my body. I wanted to scream for joy and cry in a corner. My talent had always been undeniable but this time I wasn’t looking around for someone to accept me. To tellme I’d done well. I knew it for myself and I was proud of who I was: a champion.
Once I gathered myself I stood up and waved to the crowd. They erupted in applause before I walked back to the net with my hand out. Marguerite didn’t bother to hide her disdain as she gave me a halfhearted handshake and a smile that was definitely a frown.
“Lucky shot.”
I raised my brows but her words only made me smile harder. “That’s normally what losers say. Guess I only seem to be lucky against you.”
Her mouth opened like she’d just expected me to stand here and let her taint this moment without me saying something back to her.Damn, everybody thought I was weak out here?
“What a tacky thing to say.” Her dark brown eyes were narrowed at me and I knew this was going to make a crazy front-page story. But I wasn’t about to let people keep playing with me.
“So is calling a shot luck just because I beat your ass twice this year. I guess all that hardware I have to make room for was luck too. You kept trying it and I was rooting for you. Not because I liked you, but because I wanted the chance to gloat once I beat you. Again. So smile for the cameras, Marguerite, this is the last time you’ll be on the front page this year, make it count.”
I smiled broadly at her seeing the flashes of the cameras go off around us as I gave her hand a friendly squeeze. She knew I was right and put a fake smile on her face as we dropped one another’s hands and waved toward the crowd. The media swarmed us then and I wasn’t sure if my parents were there or not. It wasn’t really my business. I was just trying to enjoy this moment and then get through to the next bit of joy I had on the schedule for this weekend especially with my birthday being on Monday. It was kismet that theDesperados’ first game was inNew York to open the season, and I was grateful. I wouldn’t have to run around too much to get to the game and would still be there to support him.
This had to be a dream.
I wiped at my face, cognizant of the tears almost as soon as I’d fallen to my knees. I’d kept my composure momentarily but now that was all out the window. I let them stream down my face unbothered by how I looked. My emotions were raw, my body was exhausted but I was so grateful.
“Aphrodite, how do you feel about having swept all the majors this year? Four Grand Slam singles titles in one calendar year is a major accomplishment. It hasn’t been done since 1988 and you weren’t even born yet. How does it feel to add your name among the greats?”
