Page 160 of Adrenalina (The Rush World)

Still, it’s not the one I gave her, but I hope one day she’ll play a match with it. She’s wearing a bright blue tennis set; it sparkles against the sun and the necklace I gave her is around her neck. It’s always around her neck even when she’s mad at me.

I find security in that.

Chucking off her headphones, she rolls her head in preparation.

She walks to the middle of the court, and I wait for the coin toss to unfold.

“Tails,” Vio says, and Sasha calls heads.

The coin flips into the air in slow motion. I see the bronze outer layer glimmer in the sun.

It lands on heads.

Sasha has the serve.

Vio doesn’t seem to worry about it, walking backward to her side of the court, waiting for Sasha to hit the ball in her direction.

Vio squats down and flips the tennis racket in her hand with her eyes laser-focused on her opponent.

“You got this, Vio,” I whisper under my breath.

I don’t need her to hear me because I know she needs to do this for herself.

This time I won’t be messing with her head, just watching.

Sasha throws the ball into the air, her hand curving once the ball leaves her fingers. Her racket hits the bright green globe. Her shout says she put a lot of force into that ball.

Vio responds in seconds, running forward, and returns it.

“Love-Fifteen,” the umpire calls out.

Cheers envelop the crowd. Vio just got the first point of the game. Her return was hit with a force that Sasha couldn’t return.

She has a smile on her face and recognition of her skill registers.

Vio has this and she knows it.

In the next serves, Vio moves with grace and agility, her footwork impeccable as she effortlessly covers the court.

With each stroke, her shots are powerful, leaving Sasha scrambling to respond.

I can see the frustration building in Sasha’s eyes.

The rallies are intense, but Vio doesn’t waver.

She has a confidence I’ve only seen once, in Qatar.

A championship she won.

The way her snow-white shoes move in the clay, staining them is in contrast to the way she sparkles in the sun wearing my favorite color. Her blond hair moves along with her and everything about Vio in this moment is beautiful.

Her focus is unwavering, and her determination radiates from every pore on her beautiful face. The crowd erupts into applause as she unleashes a thunderous forehand winner.

The ball blazes past her opponent, leaving her rooted to the spot. I can’t help but feel so proud as I watch her dominate the court.

Everyone is entranced, including me.

It’s as if everything stops for a second and I look up at the crowd adjacent to me. Each spectator’s head moves back and forth as they watch the ball move from right to left. The flicker in their eyes as one of them hits a return that seems impossible for them to hit back. This is what tennis does to a person, complete and utter focus. When the cheers boom and then seconds later it goes completely quiet.

---