Page 108 of Match Point

I wasn’t sure how to handle this much attention, so I ignored all of the texts and settled in to watch the doubles final. Dominic and Tristan received a huge cheer when they walked out onto the court, a home-field advantage since one of them was an American, while their opponents were from India and Russia.

Dominic and Tristan jumped out to a quick 3 - 0 lead. As the players switched sides and took a short break, Gabriel came walking down the stairs and sat in the seat next to me.

“I didn’t expect you to watch this match,” I said.

“It was either this, or continue talking to the media. Besides, I would like to return the favor by cheering for them.”

Tristan noticed him as he walked by our seats, and flashed a thumbs-up. He whispered something to Dominic, who glanced over and broke out in a huge smile.

“I hope this does not put too much pressure on them,” Gabriel said.

Dominic began the next game with an ace, putting that concern to rest. They ended up winning the set, 6 - 2.

Before the next set began, Gabriel leaned over to me and whispered, “You were joking when you said you wanted to be single again, yes?”

I tried not to laugh. “Yes, Gabriel. I was only making a joke.”

“Because I very much do not want you to be a single woman.”

I grinned at him. “I feel the exact same way.”

Both of us cheered fervently in the second set. The rest of the crowd was just as enthusiastic in their support. At one point, Dominic turned to one of the line judges and pretended like he was going to hit a tennis ball at him. The line judge laughed and pointed at Dominic, and the two of them shared a funny little moment and a fist bump before play resumed. The crowd ate it up.

Yeah. His image will be just fine.

Compared to Gabriel’s match earlier this morning, the doubles final was free from drama. Dominic and Tristan were dominant on the court, moving around as a team rather than two individual people, anticipating each other’s motions and strategies. It was all perfectly seamless. The outcome was never really in doubt, and they won the second set 6 - 1, completing their victory.

My voice was already hoarse, but I still screamed loudly when they won. Dominic and Tristan embraced for a long time on the court before shaking hands with their opponents. Then they made a slow victory lap, walking around the edge of the arena while waving and throwing autographed tennis balls up into the crowd. Dominic removed his shirt and tossed it to some fans, and after some teasing and encouragement, Tristan did the same.

“I’d like to thank Miranda Jacobs,” Tristan said during the award ceremony that followed. “My coach hired her as a consultant to tweak my backhand, and I owe my success in this tournament to her help. If I had reached out to her sooner, maybe I would have been able to beat Gabriel Moreau in the semifinals.”

The camera cut to Gabriel in the crowd. He rolled his eyes, and shook his head doubtfully. The fans laughed at the whole scene.

“On that note,” Dominic said when it was his turn, “I want to thank Gabriel Moreau himself. It’s good to have a rival pushing you to be better.”

He paused for another round of cheers.

“And,” he added, smiling over at our seats, “it’s even more incredible when that rival ends up becoming a friend.”

Epilogue

Miranda

Four Months Later

“Let’s go Tristan!” I shouted.

Next to me, Dominic yelled, “Come on, Gabriel!”

“Both of you!” I added.

We had front row seats in Rod Laver Arena, at the Australian Open in Melbourne. I was not in a smiling mood. It was the men’s singles final round, and Gabriel and Tristan had been locked in a back-and-forth battle that was fraying my nerves. Dominic, who had lost to Tristan in the semifinals, was equally stressed. His method of dealing with it involved rooting for a different player on alternating points.

The match had huge swings of momentum. Gabriel came out strong and won the first set 6 - 2, but Tristan battled back to take the second and third sets, 7 - 5 and 6 - 4. The fourth set went to a tiebreaker, which Gabriel won, and now the two men were tied 5 - 5 in the final set.

Dominic and I spent the next two games tightly holding hands down between our seats where the cameras wouldn’t see us. There was plenty of speculation among the tennis tabloids about my relationships with Dominic, Tristan, and Gabriel, but for the most part we hadn’t garnered much attention. That was good, because I doubted the world would understand what kind of relationship the four of us had.

Sometimes I don’t even understand it.

---