Page 102 of Clean Point

And then he said the words. ‘I am pulling out of the singles title completely, in order to focus my efforts on the mixed doubles title.’

And the room immediately erupted into chaos, reporters standing up out of their chairs once again, yelling questions, but it was all a distant noise to me as I processed what Nico had done.

He had pulled out of the singles. The last title he had dreamed of winning. For me?

When I finally had enough control over my body to focus, I found Jon and Nico deep in conversation, Jon’s hand outstretched covering the microphone so their conversation wasn’t picked up. Jon retreated into his chair, his face pale and features still wide with shock. He swallowed, before speaking to the microphone, ‘I guess we will take some questions now.’

The room did little to calm, so it took more than a moment for them to be able to pick somebody out of the crowd. When they did, Nico’s face twisted with recognition. I moved forward to see it was the man from The Daily Tea.

My eyes rolled at the sight of the journalist, an impulse far beyond my control.

‘Is this change of heart anything to do with your doubles teammate, Scottie Sinclair, and the rumoured romance between the two of you?’ His question was predictable from a tabloid. Who on earth let this man go first?

Nico leaned back in his chair, his smirk ever telling. ‘No comment.’

The man shook his head in disappointment, and I couldn’t help but grin at Nico’s delight in denying him an answer.

Another reporter was picked, and someone else in the crowd stood up. ‘What’s your plan for taking on the rest of the competition? Is there a strategy?’

Nico took a moment, before slowly sitting up, leaning into the microphone, his words almost a challenge as he said them. ‘The strategy is to win.’

Something grew inside of me, pride that he was back to his normal grumpy self after so much stress with his knee. He was being cocky, annoying and … I couldn’t love him more.

Love. My heartbeat pounded in my ears, my head woozy. Months with him on a court, spent teasing and toying and playing. I’d learned so much from him, and somewhere along the way, I’d found my old self again. He’d brought me back. And I loved him for it.

Jon picked a final reporter, obviously seeing that they wouldn’t be getting much out of Nico after his bombshell announcement. ‘Arguably, nobody expected you to do this well on a comeback. Some might say you’re a favourite, given your past efforts in other competitions.’

Nico looked confused between Jon and the crowd, before asking into the microphone. ‘Is there a point to this?’

‘What’s behind your motivation to give up the more prestigious title for a mixed double?’

The crowd fell silent, waiting to see if he would give them an answer. They could speculate all they wanted, but only he could give his reason.

Instead, he leaned close to the microphone, and with a smile aimed directly at me, he repeated, ‘No comment.’

We were swept out of the room, the noise of the reporters louder than it had been as they desperately shouted their questions at him.

All I registered was the rough brush of his palm against mine, our fingers intertwined, as he stormed from the stage. Jon led the way down the hall back to his locker room, not even waiting until we were alone before he exploded.

‘What happened to what we discussed, Nico?’ he yelled, a couple of paces ahead of us in the hallway.

‘I did what I thought was right.’

Jon turned around, the frustration clear on his face. ‘All this time it’s been the singles title. You’ve made it clear several times that’s all you’ve ever wanted.’

There was a moment of tension before Nico simply shrugged. ‘Things changed.’

Jon looked between us, his teeth gritted as he searched for answers. He let out a loud sigh, pushing open the door to Nico’s locker room. We took a moment to breathe, my eyes going to Nico only to find his already on me. His hand squeezed mine, the reassurance silent but clear. I smiled softly in reply, still processing everything.

Had that really happened? Was it a heat-of-the-moment decision, or had he always planned this? Just as I formed a tangible string of words to say, Jon’s voice boomed from inside the room, pulling us both in.

‘Have you at least thought this through?’ We found Jon pacing across the room, and as I closed the door to give us some privacy, his next question went right through me. ‘Is it just for Scottie?’

I almost froze, the same concern filling my brain. I knew how important this was to Nico, felt his anxiety around his injury and the ticking clock he couldn’t help but be haunted by. I wanted this for him, this last title, but … had he given it up for me?

‘Of course it’s not only for her,’ Nico burst, just as I shrank into a forgotten corner of the room. ‘But it’s because of her I even made it here. And my chances are better in the doubles, we make a great team.’

‘I agree, you obviously do make a good team, but—’

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