Page 76 of Long Shot

Mac

Mac arrivedat the Billie Jean King Tennis Center early in the morning. It had been just under a year since the last time she pulled into this parking lot. Last time, she hadn’t even made it past the qualifiers.

But this time, she was a seed in the first round. She got out of the car, slinging her racket bag over her shoulder. As soon as she walked toward the entrance, Mac spotted a tall person, holding a few black bags.

Mac smiled at them and extended her hand. “Hey, you must be Drew. I’m Mackenzie.”

Drew smiled and shook her hand. “It’s great to meet you. You know, they’ve been playing your matches at Mary’s and all of us have been watching.”

Guiding them into Arthur Ashe Stadium, Mac blushed. “That’s very sweet of you. It’s nice to know my community has my back.”

Drew nodded. “I’ve already set up most of my stuff on the court so we should be good to go.” As they walked down theplayer hallways – which were completely desolate just a week ahead of the Open – Drew fell back and started taking pictures of Mac.

Mac whipped her head around. “Should I, like, pose?”

Drew shook their head. “No, act like I’m not here. I want to capture how you feel here.”

“So… like throwing up?” Mac laughed, her head tilted slightly over her shoulder. Drew snapped the picture.

Before long, Mac was emerging from the player tunnels and onto the bright blue court. She stopped in her tracks as she looked up into the stands.

“Have you ever been here?” Drew asked as they walked around Mac and captured her gawking. The light caught her eyes and lit them up into a fantastic amber.

Mac shook her head. “Just in the stands.” Scanning the rows of seats in the nose bleeds, Mac pointed up to the top deck. “My mom took me one year to watch the finals. It cost her an arm and a leg just to sit all the way up there. But man… watching those women fight it out on the court. It was over for me then. One of the two great loves of my life.”

Drew smiled at the story, their heart strangely warmed. “One of two?”

Licking her lips, Mac shrugged. “Maybe I’ll buy you a drink sometime and we can talk about the other.”

Taking the hint, Drew got to work. They started to pose Mac all across the court, asking her to run through her serve, forehand, and backhand.

“That’s perfect.” Drew hollered across the court of Arthur Ashe as Mackenzie took another swing.

Sweat was dripping down Mac’s temples – just enough to show her hard work but not so much to be gross. After a minute, Drew’s camera made a strange click and they yelled again. “Alright, let’s take five?”

Mac nodded and watched as they jogged back to their equipment bags. She hadn’t realized just how much gear went along with being a photographer. While she waited, Mac took another look at the stadium. It was probably a good thing that Tommy had booked this at the BJK Center. This way, Mac wouldn’t be as nervous coming on to the court in a week.

As she waited, more press and players started to funnel through the stands. Mac jogged to her bag and took some water, hoping to steady her breathing and calm down her sweating. After she caught her breath, Mac watched Drew’s gaze wander off into the stands. It was a look Mac was all too familiar with these days.

She came up behind them and smiled. “You good?”

Tilting their head, Drew squinted. “I’m good, why?”

With a shrug, Mackenzie laughed. “You’re definitely not.”

Drew rolled their eyes. “Why do you care?”

“Look, when you play out there, you start to read people. You have to. You need to take advantage of their bad days, of their overconfident days. Of their heartbroken days.” Mac’s voice trailed off as her gaze caught on something. Her heart rate escalated within seconds as she watched Taylor Young walk onto the Court, a string of paparazzi following behind her.

Trailing even further behind, was none other than Kimberly Parker.

Noticing her gaze caught on something behind them, Drew turned to look. After a moment of staring, Taylor’s head tilted down toward the court. Her thick sunglasses stopped Mac from being able to see much.

But her eyes lingered on Mac… longer than they should have. Mac felt a smile teasing the corners of her own lips.How can I still want her?

“What’s your point?” Drew tried to bring her back to the court, recognizing something in her gaze.

She needed these photos to be just right. Because she may never know what was really going through Taylor’s mind. All she could do was win this match. Mac nodded, centering herself. “My point is: I can tell you’re missing someone. And as much as I feel you, I need you here with me. So if we gotta talk about it, let’s do it.”

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