Page 8 of This Could be Love

Over the afternoon, Kay had shown me around the immense premises, which were within walking distance from her house. The twelve hard and clay courts, the fitness and therapy rooms, and the wellness area. I had shaken trainers’ hands, given employees autographs, signed tennis balls, and agreed to a few selfies with other tennis-school attendees. What Kay had managed to build over the last few years here was impressive, and it didn’t surprise me one bit that she wanted to expand and even had a kind of sports-based boarding school in mind.

“So?” She tilted her head. “What do you think?”

“About the shrimp?” I held back a yawn. “Super good!”

She’d told me that the area around the North Shore was famous for its shrimp. So as to stick to my nutrition plan, Kay had simply grilled them in olive oil with a bit of sea salt.

“I’m tired too,” she said, running her index finger across her eyelids. “It was a short night.” Then she quickly added, “It’s not what you think.” She grinned briefly before her expression grew serious again. “Something…unexpected came up, and I had to call the police.”

My eyes grew wide. “The police?”

She raised her hand softly. “No, no, a noise complaint. Don’t worry, this is a really safe area. And a quiet one, too, most of the time.” She clicked her tongue. “That’s why I couldn’t come pick you up today. I went to go file a complaint.”

“You filed a complaint?” I asked in surprise, as it struck me as somewhat dramatic.

“This was the third time. At some point, enough’s enough.”

She stood up and began to clear the dishes. When I moved to help her, she shook her head. “Sit down. It’s your first evening.” She winked. “Enjoy it.”

Although she was just being nice, her words triggered that touch of unease in me again. Because the fact that it was my first evening also meant that one day on the way to my comeback had already passed. A day that I hadn’t used to train. My guilty conscience dug into my gut. Well, at least I’d been jogging. For a moment, I saw myself running along the ocean. Toward the sun. Toward Vince. He was wearing his bright-red trunks and had come straight out of the water, his surfboard under his arm. Drops of water ran down his face, his naked torso, following the fine line of his hair as…

“Lou?”

I started. Kay was standing behind the chair she’d been sitting in all evening, her hands on the backrest.

“When do you want to start tomorrow?”

Her eyes and tone told me that this was the second time she’d asked already.

“Umm.” I needed a moment to collect myself. “Around eight thirty? That’ll allow me time to go jogging beforehand.”

It took a lot of effort to keep myself from drifting back to my fantasy.My god!I’d simply had too much sun, that’s what was goingon. Too little water to drink. Hit my head. And jet lag. Yeah, that definitely was in the mix too.

“Fine, then eight thirty it is. I’ll be over there already. I’ve got to send a few emails. You can find your way, right?”

I nodded. Aside from the fact that I’d inherited my mom’s good sense of direction, it wasn’t any more than a quarter of a mile.

Shortly thereafter, we wished each other good night. I went upstairs, brushed my teeth, and slipped into my pj’s. Stretched out like a starfish, I fell into bed. The mattress was pleasantly hard, and the linens smelled fresh and flowery. It didn’t feel like more than two minutes before my eyelids grew heavy and I dozed off.

Chapter 5

After twisting and turning for a while and crumpling my pillow, I swung my legs out of bed. A sliver of morning light was creeping over the horizon as I opened the balcony door. Although it wasn’t even six, I was met by a balmy breeze. A few birds were greeting the day with cheerful cries, and in the distance I could hear a rooster. Apart from that, everything was peacefully quiet.

After watching the ocean for a while, I decided to make use of my jet lag and go jogging earlier than planned. This time, however, I wouldn’t make the mistake of forgetting my water bottle. With a touch of shame, I thought back to my collapse. That Vince had carried me. Vince, whose eyes were a blue I’d never seen on anyone before.

I splashed my face with cold water and brushed my teeth, then pulled on a pair of jogging shorts and a sports top, and put myhair into a ponytail, which I could easily pull through the back of my baseball cap. I snapped my hydration belt into place, left my room, and went downstairs. The door to Kay’s bedroom was still closed. As quietly as possible I filled up my bottle and took a bite of banana. A little energy boost certainly wouldn’t hurt.

By the time I left the house via the terrace it had grown lighter. The pale pink had become a warm yellow. The chirping of the birds had also swelled. With the scent of plumeria flowers in my nostrils, I walked down to the still-deserted beach. I jogged along the water at a relaxed pace, enjoying the cool sand under my feet and the unobstructed view of the ocean stretching out smoothly before my eyes. Beautiful but no surfing weather. No Vince. I felt an irrational pang of regret but refused to engage it. Having said that, the fact that I was passing his house at that exact moment didn’t help matters. With its yellow-green paint job and the tree on the terrace, it was easy to spot from the water’s edge. What I hadn’t noticed yesterday was the small platform beneath the top. The railing seemed to go all the way around the trunk. How beautiful it must have been to look out over the ocean from there. Drinking your first coffee of the morning or watching the sunset. More and more kitschy images flashed through my head…along with the question of whether someone was up there with him. I quickly pushed the thought aside and turned my gaze ahead. I had found a rhythm. My breathing was also calm and even. Unlike yesterday, I felt rested. My head was clear, and I was looking forward to the training day. Kay had scheduled a session in the morning and atraining match in the afternoon. Strength training in between, followed by physiotherapy. So I would be seeing Gabe again, which I was also looking forward to. I enthusiastically picked up the pace. I passed the watchtower, which was still abandoned today, and came across a walker throwing sticks for his dog.

On my way back, I jogged into the sun. Though I enjoyed the feeling of the soft rays on my skin, I couldn’t help but wonder if I shouldn’t have put on sunscreen. As Hawaii was close to the equator, the UV rays were strong all day long. That wasn’t just something I had read, my parents had warned me about it too.Well, I’ll know better tomorrow, I told myself. Back home in Munich I went jogging every day, and I wanted to keep it up. It helped me greet my day full of energy and with a clear head. On top of that, I liked to use the time to define my goals. What I wanted to achieve.Had toachieve in order to get ahead. In order to finally become number one.

With a glance at my watch to check my heart rate, I slowed down a bit. I encountered another walker and watched a woman easing her stand-up paddleboard into the water. Happening to glance to the left, I realized that I’d made it to Vince’s house—and who just happened to be coming down the steps at that very moment? Or, well, I thought it was him. His hair seemed blonder than yesterday, and instead of the bright-red trunks, he was wearing black. But the way he moved… The way he came to a stop and looked in my direction. Only then did I become aware of the fact that I’d stopped too. My hand shot up while a smile spreadacross my face. But he didn’t return it. I could see that even from a distance. The corners of his mouth didn’t move a millimeter, and his gaze was pinched. Maybe he didn’t see me? Didn’t recognize me? Maybe he was one of those people who couldn’t remember faces. Or maybe he wasn’t a morning person. Someone who wasn’t in the mood for small talk. While my thoughts darted back and forth like tennis balls, my legs took on a life of their own and took a few steps toward him. At almost the same time, he turned around and went back the way he had come, disappearing between the bushes and shrubs that lined the steps to his house. I watched him go, bewildered. I waited for a moment, but he didn’t come back. My gut told me something was off. Rationally, however, there were many possible explanations for his sudden departure. Maybe he’d forgotten something. Or something more important had occurred to him. Or maybe Laurie had called. I came up with another three explanations as I bounded up the stairs to Kay’s. And once I was under the shower washing off all the sweat, I realized that all of them were more likely than the idea that he had been avoiding me.

Chapter 6

Kay was already waiting for me when I got to the tennis school shortly before eight thirty. She was wearing a pink Nike polo shirt and bright shorts. Picking up her tennis bag, she slid a pair of mirrored sports sunglasses from her hair onto her face.

“We’ll be going onto N. 1.” She pointed to the blue hard court nearby. “I’ve blocked it out for you for the next few weeks. Then you won’t have far to go.”