Page 19 of Break Point
“Nah, I’m good.”
“Aight. So what’s going on with Liam?” Robbie asks, crossing his right ankle over his left knee and extending his arm over the sofa’s backrest.
“He’s pissed off. And for good reason,” I admit, pretending to pick at my nails. They’re freshly manicured, so there’s nothing to pick at. I’m just keeping myself distracted. It’s better than risking any judgmental looks in my direction.
“Don’t worry. He’ll come around,” Robbie says reassuringly, taking a long sip of his beer. “He always does.” He looks at Henry again. “You sure you don’t want one?”
Henry lifts a hand and gives a single shake of his head in response.
Robbie is twenty, a year younger than Henry, but somehow Henry seems older than that. Not physically, but in his overall attitude. Right now, his expression is dimmed, a diluted version of himself. He seemed happier doing the dishes and talking about salsa verde.
“Besides, what did you expect?” Robbie continues. “You denied him in front of everyone.”
“Oh, come on,” Gemma snaps. “Get off her back.”
“Thank you, Gemms,” I say, reaching over to mess up Robbie’s hair. He grumbles in protest. “I know I messed up, okay? But I’ll make it right. I might ask him to be my boyfriend once he cools off.”
“Aw! That’s so cute, B!” Gemma says, beaming. “He’s going to flip. And you two will make it work. You’ll see.”
Robbie can’t help but keep glancing at Gemma’s cleavage, and I’m a second away from calling out his gross behavior.
“I have to agree with Joe on this one,” Henry says, tone flat. “The last thing you need right now is a boyfriend. You should focus on your footwork and your serve. Trust me, that guy will only be a distraction.”
Excuse me?
“You never struck me as the type who’d date a celebrity. But hey … seems like a lot’s changed in five years.”
I scowl at him, mouth agape, but he looks away.
He knows he’s being a jackass, right?
“Well, my girl here is a celebrity in her own field,” Gemma says proudly. “And everyone loves her. She’s already signed an ambassadorship contract with Ro?—”
“Gemma.” I cut her off before she can finish. She throws a panicked look my way, and I give a quick, sharp shake of my head. I haven’t told her the deal’s temporarily off, but my expression says it all.
Henry tilts his head, brow furrowed, curiosity flickering in his eyes. Though it could be something else entirely. It’s exasperating not being able to read him.
Robbie clicks his tongue. “Rolex is out.”
God …
I blink.
“Oh my god, B, I’m sorry,” Gemma says, covering her mouth. “I had no idea.”
That’s because I was embarrassed to tell her earlier.
“It’s okay.” I sigh. “And they’re notoutout,” I counter, glancing at Robbie. Not yet at least. “They’re putting the ambassadorship on hold for a while.”
“Yeah, and all you have to do is win the US Open next year to be reconsidered,” he says. “Piece of cake, right?”
“Well, I almost won this year, didn’t I?”
Just thinking about it puts me on edge. I need that win, more than oxygen in my lungs, more than anything in this world.
“And she needs tobehave.” Robbie raises an eyebrow as he says it. He really doesn’t know when to quit. “Those are the conditions Rolex put on the table for them to greenlight the ambassadorship.”
“Seems like you’ve got a year of hard work ahead of you, don’t you, Bells?” Henry drags a hand through his wavy hair, and I notice the slight curls at the ends. Those don’t usually show up every day. I remember that. But I’m getting distracted by his hair when I remember to glare at him for what he just said. It has no effect, though; he claps hishands on his thighs and stands up. Hearing him call me Bells again is seriously messing with my head.
