Chapter 14

Dan wasn’t a stranger to sports. He wasn’t a stranger to competitions. He’d been playing soccer for as long as he could remember, and had done others such as baseball, basketball, and football. And yet, for some reason, standing back at the baseline, waiting for the very first serve of the match, he felt like his heart was going to explode. The anticipation was killing him.

“Don’t go easy on him.” Peter called out to Sophia. Peter had put Dan on the right side of the court, which he’d called the forehand and Deuce side of the court. Because Peter had only shown Dan how to hit a forehand, he figured it would be the best spot for Dan.

According to Peter, it also allowed Peter to keep them from losing pretty much any of the Games. Because Peter was confident he would be able to win every single point served towards him, which would force them into a standoff called a Deuce, and give him the opportunity to keep them not only in a good position, but also keep the girls from actually wining any game. In other words, Peter was 100 percent confident he could singlehandedly keep them from losing. So confident in fact, that Dan actually believed him, even though he’d never actually seen the senior play.

Being on the forehand side of the court meant he was on the right-hand side of the court. Because servers started on the right side of their court when they were playing in matches, it meant that Dan was set to receive the first serve of the match from Sophia. Not only was this his first ever time on the clay courts, and in a game…he was receiving the very first ball served. Which might have explained all of his nerves…

Oh and of course…the fact Peter had told Sophia that he was training Dan up to be her doubles partner. Talk about adding unnecessary pressure.

“I’m sorry about this Dan.” Sophia called out. “Are you ready?”

“It’s all good.” Dan called back, trying to hide the shake in his voice, “I’m ready.”

“Thata boy.” Peter said to him. Peter was standing on the left-hand side of their court, his feet just near the service line. Diagonally across from him stood Ashley. In a standard doubles match, according to Peter, the teams would stagger like this. So whoever was serving and receiving the serve would be at the baseline, while the other two players would be closer to the net. “Remember, just get it back over the net.”

Dan tried to smile back to Peter, but he wasn’t sure if he accomplished that. He clutched his racquet, his hand sweaty even though there was still the coolness of the early morning in the air. His knees were bent slightly, as he watched Sophia intently. She touched the ball to her racquet, holding both low and out in front of her. It was similar to how Peter had served. This was it.

Sophia tossed the ball up, her hand going back, Dan tensed up, watching as she moved fluidly through her serve, not a movement wasted. Her knees bent as her arm went backwards, she dropped her weight slightly, then she was moving upwards, her arm and wrist snapping forward to connect with the ball.

Aced. The voice erupted in his head a split second later. Dan’s mind processing what had just happened. For a moment, he’d seen her racquet connect with the ball. And then…he’d been so busy watching her complete her serve…he hadn’t paid attention to the actual ball. The ball, which had hit in the service box on his side of the court, and then flew right past him. You do realize you’re supposed to hit it back, right? Syn’s voice was annoyingly buzzing through his head, even as embarrassment rushed through Dan. He’d had one job. One freaking job.

-1 Happiness (57) -1 Self Esteem (53) -1 Mental Health (77)

“Shake it off buddy.” Peter’s voice was light, and he had his smile across his face. Sophia had already moved to the other side of the court, and Ashley was now standing on the left side of the court, in the middle of the service box on their side. Everyone had smiles on their faces. “Everyone gets aced usually on the first go.”

Dan’s mind refocused on the match, and he offered Peter a sheepish smile. “I’ll get the next one.” You better. That’s how this game is played. Syn’s voice continued. Dan really wished there was a way to block him out. Can’t turn off the voices in your head mate. Freaking Syn.

“That’s the spirit.” Peter chuckled, motioning for Dan to take up his spot near the line of the service box. “Now, how about you watch what it looks like to return a serve like that?” Peter stepped back towards the baseline, twirling his racquet lazily in his right hand as he did. Dan couldn’t help but wonder if Peter’s right hand was his dominant or nondominant hand. He knew the Senior claimed to be ambidextrous, but one hand had to be better than the other. Dan just wasn’t certain which one it was.

“Fifteen, Love.” Sophia said as she took up her serving position. According to what he’d learned about tennis, a tennis match was broken into Games, Sets, and Matches. Each game, essentially was decided by the first side to reach four points. However, instead of counting each point won as a single point, they called them by different names. A single point, was Fifteen, two points was thirty, three points was forty, and the fourth was just usually the game point. Love, apparently, stood for zero.

“I’ll show you love.” Peter said under his breath, just loud enough for Dan to hear. A moment later, Sophia’s racquet connected with the ball, just as it had before. Dan followed the ball this time, watching it fly rapidly over the net. It didn’t have as much powers as Peter’s serves did, but it was still flying fast. It hit the back of the service box, perhaps six inches ahead of the white line, and left a distinct mark in the clay as it impacted.

Then, the ball bounced and flew rapidly towards the waiting Peter. Peter’s eyes were fire, and in one single motion his arm went backwards, tracing the C as he’d explained, and then forward. The racquet seemed like a blur as it connected with the tennis ball. A split second later, Dan’s head was whipping across the court, as he tried to follow the ball Peter had just returned. In that single instant, Peter had launched the ball with impossible speed directly back towards Sophia. It flow in small arc over the net, just clearing the top of it, and impacted directly in front of her feet, perfectly on top of the white tape that made up the baseline.

Sophia tried her best to react in time, but the ball flew past her and smashed into the fence with enough force to lodge the tennis ball into it.

“Fifteen all.” Peter called to the girls. Ashley shot Peter a glare, while Sophia simply shook her head, a look of determination on her face as she turned away from them to retrieve the stuck tennis ball.

“Show off.” Ashley responded.

“Hey, I had to make up for Sophia picking on Danny here with that nasty serve.”

“You told her not to go easy on him.” Ashley retorted.

“I know. Because then it gave me an excuse to do that.” Peter was laughing as he stepped up to the service line, preparing himself for the next serve. Dan, extremely envious of what he’d just seen Peter do, moved back to the baseline. Now that he’d watched Sophia’s serve, he was certain he could trace it. Which meant, it was just a matter of…the sound of popcorn crunching in his mind killed his train of thought.

Seriously Syn? Dan sent an exasperated sigh through his mind back to the…whatever Syn was, as he prepared himself for Sophia’s serve. It was bad enough he had to put up with Syn being able to apparently not only read his thoughts, but also watch everything. But the fact Syn was probably purposefully sending the popcorn eating sounds through their mental link was just a complete dick move, even for the snarky being.

Sorry. Syn’s voice said he wasn’t sorry. Especially because Dan could tell he was talking with a mouth full of popcorn. I was just filled with such admiration for Peter’s return there. It got me excited. Figured a good show required a good snack. Syn chuckled. So, come on buddy. Make sure this is a good show.

“Fifteen all.” Sophia called out, drawing Dan back to the present. He held to his racquet, adjusting it slightly so he was holding it properly with his Semi-Western grip. He focused on the ball, canceling everything else out. He was going to return this one. Mainly, because he really needed to make up for getting aced on the first serve. Somewhat, because he wanted to prove himself to Peter, and Sophia. And partially because he wanted to shut up Syn.

+2 Ambition (56)