(𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙙)

I decided to go to the tennis court and hit some balls after lunch. I hadn't played tennis for so long, and I missed it a lot. So I put on my workout clothes, filled up a water bottle, grabbed my racket, and walked over to the courts. Luckily, the courts were only a five-minute walk. I didn't need to bring any balls either because the tennis ball machines there were open to the public.

Playing tennis was the only thing that could truly allow me to escape from reality. The only thing that could allow me to block out all of the shit in my life. I didn't even know how to describe it, really.

I had just hit a ball when I heard someone singing Motley Crue at the top of their lungs.

"Oh, hey there, tennis girl! How's it shakin'?" Cook said. He walked over to the court as I hit another ball, "Can I try?"

"Sure. So, first, you want to hold the racket like you're shaking hands with it," I showed him. I handed him a spare racket for hands-on experience, and he did as I said.

"Then, you just need to aim for the ball, either underhand or overhand," I tried my best to show him how I usually hit. He was a lot easier to teach than Eff, and he didn't talk back or act stubborn about it. Watching him trying to hit the balls and missing almost every time was hilarious and entertaining.

"Fucking hell, man! How do you do this shit?" he said, handing the racket back to me.

"Practice. 10 years of it," I chuckled as I hit another ball. I continued to hit some more balls until the machine needed to be refilled. I picked up the balls and put them in the machine as Cook watched me.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer. Are you going to just stare at me all day or do you have somewhere else better to be?" I said.

He laughed, "I go wherever I want, whenever I want, babes. And I like watching your ass when you play. You've got a nice one."

"You know, Katie was right. You're repulsive," I said as I continued to hit and ignore his presence.

"Eh, you'll come around. They always do," he smirked.

I shook my head as I failed to break my concentration, "Don't count on it, Cook."

"I already got your bestie the first day I met her. How hard can it be to convince you?"

"Harder than you think," I said, still focused on hitting the balls, "You'll have a better chance at shagging Panda."

I had just run out of balls when both of us seemed to receive a text. It was from Effy, telling us to meet at this place I've never been to before.

"Hey, Cook, do you know where this place is?" I said.

"Of course. I know where every bar and club is in this fucking town," Cook said.

I grabbed my water bottle and guzzled down half of it.

"Alrighty, then. Let's go!"