by M. B. Gerard
Sasha knew the most important part of this story already. Lulu and Gaga switched matches which was a detail that came in handy. With her exclusive knowledge she was able to adapt more quickly to their game, even though in the past few matches it seemed to have been Gabriella who had taken the court with Sasha, because Luella didn’t play against her anymore.
Sasha once again began to wonder why. Had it to do with Luella’s unashamed sexual advances in the locker room? Something was still bothering her about the Galloways and she couldn’t say what exactly. Sasha shook her head.
“No, no,” she scolded herself. “No more Galloway mystery no more.”
She needed fresh air and some peace of mind to sweep away all the things that had happened to her lately. It was time to take control of her life again. Her next match was tomorrow, so after finishing lunch with her team, Sasha put on her sunglasses and her hat and went out for a little walk through the streets of Wimbledon.
The streets were busy but no one recognized her. Most people couldn’t imagine that a great player like her would just walk down the street like everyone else. She smiled at their naivety. She was just turning around the corner of the main square, looking down at her feet, when she bumped into someone. The unexpected contact made her scream.
“Oh dear, I am sorry.”
It was that photographer again. Tom. He, of course, had recognized her. Why did he seem to pop up behind every corner, she wondered. Hoping he wouldn’t make a fuss and blow her cover, she lowered her eyes and noticed that he was holding a camera. He followed her glance.
“I’m taking pictures! Beautiful place, isn’t it?”
Raising an eyebrow, Sasha shrugged. She wasn’t in the mood to start a conversation with Tom.
“Good luck in the tournament. You are doing great so far.”
Without saying a word, the Czech player nodded briefly and left, still a bit confused by the encounter.
***
As soon as the door of the locker room was closed, Elise turned around to Amanda with a little jump and planted a big smooch on the Australian’s mouth. Amanda was amazed by the German’s lack of concern. One day, she feared, Elise would kiss her while on the court, just because she seemed to be completely head over heels and might forget about the consequences. To witness the exuberant carelessness was nevertheless terribly sweet, and Amanda pushed her worries away and kissed Elise back before bursting into cheerful laughter. They both had good reason to be happy.
They had just knocked out one of the top seeded doubles pairings in straight sets and would now move on to the third round. After Elise’s incredible win against Marieke Bender she was the talk of the town and she and Amanda had stayed more than fifteen minutes on court after the match finished to sign autographs and take pictures with their fans. Their opponents had already left the locker room before Elise and Amanda made their way back, and with a men’s match scheduled next on court the ladies’ locker room was empty and undisturbed for the moment.
They embraced again in the silent room. It was the first time since they had arrived in London that they were truly on their own. One evening Elise had come over to Amanda’s house which she shared with Dan and his family, and even though they had retreated to Amanda’s room nothing had happened but some fooling around. Amanda had told herself it was for the better. Let’s take it slow, she had reminded herself. No need to rush things, especially since she still felt a nagging insecurity about the relationship.
On the other hand, it had been months since her last time with Felicia and Elise herself had become more audacious. The German’s kisses had grown more daring in the last few days, exploring beyond Amanda’s lips and tongue, and she was now going over the sensitive skin on her throat to the fine hairs of her neck. Perhaps she should just give it a go? Elise’s skin was soft and tasted salty.
“Let’s get you out of these sweaty clothes,” Amanda whispered while slowly pulling up Elise’s shirt. They agreed tacitly to move closer to the showers, with every step taking off another part of each others’ clothes, until they were both standing in the cubicle. In the darkness of the tiled walls they took off their remaining underpants, then paused within inches of each other to let the short moment of bashfulness pass by while they looked each other over, naked and pale. Amanda turned on the water and as soon as it was warm enough they stepped under it and began to cover each other with wet kisses, each taking in the prodigious sensation created by their bodies fully touching for the first time.
With growing desire, Amanda threw her good intentions overboard and slowly pushed Elise against the wall. Still embracing Elise so that her back wouldn’t touch the cold tiles she moved her lips over Elise’s shoulders while her leg moved against Elise’s groin. With Elise’s breathing growing heavier and the water gushing onto her head, Amanda felt like a storm was rising. Elise had opened her mouth and every time she exhaled she let out a little sigh.
Amanda pulled the moaning girl closer and grabbed her hips while moving her mouth over her breasts and slowly making her way down her whole body. Elise breathed even faster and grabbing Amanda’s hair, the German pushed Amanda’s head even further down.
But suddenly she stopped, gasping for air.
“Wait,” she spluttered. “Wait.” She straightened her body and began to slowly shake out her hands.
“What’s up?” Amanda had taken a step back.
“They’ve grown numb,” Elise answered, still holding her hands out and trying to shake the blood back into her arms. Amanda couldn’t help but grin compassionately. Amazing, what a little bit of high-performance romancing could do.
“Let’s wake them up again,” she grinned turning on the cold water tap.
When the cold jet of water hit her, Elise let out a loud yell but then held her hands in the refreshing stream. As if someone had stopped a record by badly scratching the needle over the vinyl Amanda’s desire had been washed away down the drain. She stepped out of the shower and looked for towels. The storm had passed by them and the water was just running regularly now. She threw a towel over her naked body and after wrapping Elise in the other towel, Amanda sat her down on the bench and tenderly rubbed her arms with lotion until Elise nodded that she felt better. With a sheepish smile Amanda sat down next to Elise still holding her hands. Sensing Elise’s disappointment and embarrassment over their failed lustful attempt, she turned her head to the German and looked her in the eyes.
“Let’s not rush this,” Amanda said. She put her arm around Elise and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “We have all the time in the world.”
Because suddenly she knew that they did.
***
“How could you do that to me? I can’t believe it!” Gabriella slammed the door of their Wimbledon apartment and crossed her arms on her chest while frowning at her sister. She was furiously staring at Luella.
“I didn’t do it on purpose, sweetie.” Luella bit her lower lip reaching out her hands to apologize but her sister pushed her away.
“No, of course not,” Gabriella shouted. “You just forgot about the game plan, about the strategy we talked about the whole evening yesterday. Most of all, you forgot to hit winners.”
Luella made a step backwards, suddenly a bit scared.
“I suppose it has to do with your nightly activities again?” Gabriella added coolly. “Tell me who insisted playing my match? You! That was a qualifier, Luella.” Gaga shook her head in anger. She was out of her favorite tournament. Not only that. She would slump by at least two ranking spots depending on how some other Top 20 players did. Gabriella knew that Lulu had been adamant about playing her match because she knew it would be easier than her own match. But Luella had screwed up and she deserved to be told over and over again.
“Sweetie – ” Luella started again.
“Don’t call me sweetie! I’m fed up with your sweetie! You should concentrate on tennis and practice a lot more so these things won’t happen anymore.”
“Oh, Gaga,” Luella
snorted. “You’re just jealous. I’m still the better player of the two of us. So if there’s someone here who should go back on court and practice then it’s you. I’m still ahead of you in the rankings, in case you forgot.”
Gabriella gasped. “I pushed up your ranking. It was me who won the important matches and you know it,” Gabriella said suppressing her anger. “But you can’t even admit it. It’s time for you to question your commitment, Lu!”
“My commitment?”Luella’s body had grown stiff. She looked at her sister with blatant animosity. “Just because you won one lousy tournament doesn’t mean you are the better player. You lost playing for me in the past and did I say a word? No. See? You’re such a whining wimp right now.”
Gabriella snorted in disgust, opened her mouth to reply but remained silent for a few seconds. This was it. Lulu would never understand. It was time to make up her mind.
“I’m a wimp? Then let me tell you something. I’m out.” Gabriella could hardly believe what she was saying to her twin sister. But the words spluttered out of her mouth. “From now on, I will play all my matches and you will play all your matches and I don’t care who is on the other side of the net. Then we’ll see if you have the maturity that it takes. The maturity and the talent, that is.”
And without saying another word, Gabriella left the house.
Wimbledon, Great Britain
“What the hell are you thinking?” Ted stared at Tom in disbelief.
“I believe it’s the right thing to do,” Tom countered self-assuredly.
“No, Tom,” Ted yelled. “It’s not. These are peoples’ lives you are playing with. You cannot do this!”
Tom shook his head in disagreement, however, made a step forward and reached out his hands in reconciliation.
“I believe that I can change the lives of all of us for the better,” he said calmly to his boyfriend. But his amiable tone just sparked Ted’s fury even more.
“Are you fucking gay Jesus now? You must be mad. Absolutely mad!”
With a leap Ted stormed to the bedroom door and pulled it open. He turned around and seeing the fury and disappointment – and maybe sadness – in Ted’s eyes made Tom’s heart slump.
“When I come back,” Ted said with thin lips, “I want you to be gone.”
He slipped out and closed the door. Tom sat down on the edge of the bed and sighed. Clearly this had been a terrible idea. He should have never told Ted about his blog and how he had finally come to envision it now. Or maybe the blog was a terrible idea? No, no. He shook his head. He was right. It was a wonderful idea, but he should have known that Ted would disapprove of it. After all, it would affect him, too.
Tom perhaps should have waited another week before telling Ted. Perhaps only after he had published the first article on his blog and there was no turning back. Ted had been cranky since he had lost in the semifinal yesterday and, of course, the prospect of being forced out of the closet by his own lover could not cheer him up. Annoyed by his own myopia Tom got up and sat down at the desk.
The screen of his laptop displayed the words he had so proudly read aloud only a couple of minutes ago. He had spent hours polishing and tweaking the text until the words had seemed perfectly right. Now, they seemed merely a black on white proof of his own utopian convictions. Again he went through the arguments he had written down. They were deliberate and well-thought-out. In no way had he pointed out a single player or given any names.
But he had to admit that his article had the power to make a lot of people uncomfortable. It brought attention to a subject that was handled as a taboo, especially for the male players. Giving a precise and unadorned insight into the hardship and efforts of gay and lesbian players to keep their private life undisturbed by the media might bring exactly the attention they were all so keen to avoid. Tom clenched his teeth and logged onto his blog 30 Love.
Remembering how he found the name for his website almost made him cry. Was it over between him and Ted? It looked like Ted was serious. But Tom was serious about this, too. And one day, he hoped, Ted would understand. He pasted the article into the blog and went over it for the last time. It was a good first article and it was only the beginning. He would feed the readers with little tidbits and behind-the-scenes information but would not give any names. Not until he had evidence of each and every gay and lesbian player currently ranked in the Top 20. Once he had gained all the evidence he needed, he would announce the sexual orientation of all the players and make it public with one single blow. It would not be a case of one player being singled out to be tarred and feathered, but instead the media would be completely overwhelmed by the number of players and the players themselves wouldn’t be alone. In the end they would have to stick together and weather the storm side by side.
It was a congenial idea and he knew it. He also knew he was playing with other people’s lives. Tom looked at his words a last time and then pressed PUBLISH.
***
“Why should I do that for you?” Gabriella Galloway looked at her sister and shook her head. “You can do it yourself. You’ve proven you can play good tennis.”
She and Lulu were sitting on the veranda of the players’ restaurant overlooking the Wimbledon site, both staring into their tea cups.
“Yes,” mumbled Luella. “But not against Sasha.”
Gabriella was about to get impatient. Since their dispute last week, after Lulu had lost Gabriella’s match they had not talked about switching matches again. Gaga thought she had made it clear to her sister that this was over.
Being out of the tournament, Gaga had functioned as Luella’s hitting partner and they had achieved modest success in the doubles competition by reaching the third round. That had been Gaga’s last match in Wimbledon and that was exactly a week ago. Lulu had done well. She had had easy opponents in the early rounds but had managed to oust Tamara Parova in the quarterfinal and Yelena Kovalenko in the semifinal. Against all odds, here she was in her very first Grand Slam final. Even Gaga was impressed by her twin sister. Suddenly it seemed Lulu could put it all together once she could no longer rely on Gabriella stepping in for her.
Why would she now ask Gabriella to play against Sasha? True, Gaga had the better head to head against the Czech player, but she hadn’t played competitively for one week. This could be a disadvantage.
“I told you, I wouldn’t play for you again.”
“Yes, that’s what you told me.”
Luella poured more and more sugar into her tea cup. By now, the infusion must have become undrinkable.
“You played really well the whole week. You can do it.”
Lulu looked up and gave Gaga a little smile.
“That’s nice of you to say.” Lulu sighed. “I would have preferred Elise though.”
“I don’t know if Elise would have been the easier task,” Gabriella said thinking about her friend and had to smile a bit. Elise had had an incredible run in Wimbledon. She had become the overnight sensation with the newspapers already forecasting a Grand Slam win with a Wild Card entry. Not only had Elise reached the quarterfinal before falling short against the more experienced Sasha Mrachova, the German had reached the doubles final with Amanda Auster which was played right after the ladies’ singles final. Gabriella smiled, as there were already jokes being told in the locker rooms about Elise and Amanda, that love for sure was a great performance enhancer.
Luella had been silent for a while, but finally she looked up and opened her mouth.
“Listen, Gaga,” she said meekly, “I’m sorry about what I said last week. I know I’m not the better player. I know you did a lot more for my ranking than I did for yours. I know I messed up your Wimbledon. Please play for me.”
Dumbfounded, Gabriella watched her sister. Never before in their lives had Luella been so humble.
“Why?” Gaga leaned back, still watching her sister. She knew how hard it was for Luella to show her affection.
“Because I know, that I cannot beat Sasha. She’s in
my head,” Luella finally said. Gabriella almost had to laugh. She’s in my head, too, she wanted to tell Lulu. “And because you are my sister and –,” Lulu stumbled. She took a deep breath and then looked up to meet Gabriella’s eyes. “And because I love you a thousand times more than I could ever love Rafael.”
Gabriella swallowed. She knew Lulu was honest and in this moment she understood how much her sister’s love meant to her. Many thoughts rushed through her head at once. Would Lulu still love her if she revealed her interest in girls? Would she ever be able to do that? Why was the thought of playing against Sasha so intriguing and confusing at the same time? Could she even imagine holding up that trophy?
“Please, play the final for me,” Luella asked again. “Please, play it for us.”
Pushing all these images away she sat up straight in her chair.
“Ok, I will do it,” Gabriella said with a clear voice. “I will play the final. For us.”
***
This was clever, Sasha had to admit when she sat down on her chair on Centre Court. Very clever. She had observed the Galloways during the last few days, telling herself that she was not giving in to her previous obsession with the twins but was preparing for the possibility that she had to face Luella Galloway in the final. And now the day had come.
Here she was in another Grand Slam final and here was the Galloway on the other side of the net, in her very first Grand Slam final. But it wasn’t Luella as the scoreboard suggested. It was Gaga. To be honest, it had surprised her a bit that it wasn’t Luella who played. The loudmouthed Galloway twin had stunned the crowd during the last week and had silenced her critics. She was hitting the ball in terrific fashion the whole week. Why not today? It had to have been their overall plan, Sasha concluded, that Gabriella would go out early in the tournament to save her energy while Luella played the early rounds. Yes, that was clever. While Sasha had battled new wunderkind Elise Renard in three long sets in the quarterfinal and then defeated Tamara Parova in the semifinal, Gabriella was fresh as a wild flower.
