Page 84 of Best Year Ever
As I drive to Landon’s later, and the miles to Orlando click by, I take stock again. I’m more determined to win the U.S. Open than ever. And nothing’s going to mess with my head on the pathway there.
Whatever it takes, I need to stay focused.
Coming up first is another round of late summer warm-up tournaments in Canada and Cincinnati. We have careful plans to make sure I don’t peak early during those weeks, saving my best play for the second week of September—the last week of the U.S. Open. Still, I expect to make the finals of each, at a minimum.
Landon will be at training camp and have preseason games during my warm-up tournaments. His first two regular season games are during the two weeks of the U.S. Open.
AKA—the chaos of our schedules is about to elevate big-time.
So this night is the last calm before the storm. Tomorrow morning, he goes into camp, and tomorrow evening, I’ll stay back in Tampa instead of driving to Orlando.
Tonight, it’s just us, enjoying one last moment before all these other demands start pulling us in different directions.
Except maybe it’s not just us. When the door opens to his house, Grace is standing there.
“Rori, hi,” she says, giving me a quick hug and ushering me in.
“It’s nice to see you again,” I say.
She walks over to the couch, where a large book is sitting. “Landon’s in the kitchen. I’m on my way out, I’d just forgotten a textbook here.”
“Thanks, I’ll head there,” I say back with a smile, secretly relieved I’ll still have Landon to myself for the night.
It’s hard to think about how much we’ll be apart over the next six weeks. I know it’s going to feel like something’s missing without him around. You’d think I’d be used to the time apart by now, but everything has intensified between us.
I’ve never been emotionally tethered to anotherperson before, and while I’m still processing everything he said on the boat, I know there’s something more here. It’s definitely an adjustment.
Maggie had given me a pep talk when I admitted this to her yesterday.
“This is normal. He’s filled in gaps in your life that you didn’t know existed before. Keep your eyes on tennis for the next few weeks and do you. It’ll fly by.”
Landon’s eyes light up as I walk into the kitchen, and he pulls me into a hug.
“Hey babe.” His arms around me feel like anchors, grounding me against the sea of craziness to come.
I just hope I can hold onto this feeling for the next eight weeks.
CHAPTER 30
Rori
Dinner is uneventful, even though it’s our last night together for a while. Landon asks me if I want to go out somewhere where it’s private.
“No, let’s do our usual,” I say to him. “Keep it easy.”
That means eating a couple of prepared meals on Landon’s dining table, with Grover chilling in his dog bed nearby.
No complaints from me. Since we won’t see each other much for at least a month, it’s nice to just be able to be ourselves, without worrying about any prying eyes.
I tell him about the call with Dad over dinner.
“I’m basically never mad at him. This made me irritated, though. Why didn’t he think to call me about the offer?”
Landon nods. “It’s completely understandable. It was your house, too. And you told him how you felt?”
“Yeah, I did. Or at least more than I normally would. Usually I would swallow it and move on, but I’m actually pretty proud that I didn’t shy away from saying how I felt.” I give Landon a small smile.
“You gonna tell Tessa how you feel when you see her next?” Landon quips. I’d sent him the link with two angry emojis earlier.
