Love Match

This is an entry in the Summer Lovin' Story Contest 2022 contest, so it must be a complete story. That means it is long - 61 pages in MS Word! If you don't like tennis you may not enjoy some of the story, although tennis is meant to build insight into the characters, and to provide a setting for the ancient tussle between good and evil.

There is no sex among under characters who are under 21 years of age.

Love Match

Breakfast bar and protein shake consumed, Scott picked up his tennis bag, opened the door of the quaint little B&B, and stepped out into the heat. It was only 7 am, but his car told him it was 91 degrees outside when he started it. He smiled.

Texas summers are brutal, even in the middle of the Hill Country, but the summer of '22 was particularly nasty. Austin was reporting 57 days over 100 so far, but was celebrating the end of the 21-day streak of over-100 temperatures had ended with a high of only 99 on Thursday. That "respite" was due to coastal clouds and humidity slipping up beside the big H that had been parked over the state since early May.

Yeah, it was only 99, but the humidity was up from 30% to 70%, and the heat index was 106! The high humidity make his early morning run along Lady Bird Lake unusually vicious, but he was committed to his runs, his weight work, his daily boxing workout, and the two tennis leagues he played in.

His packed daily schedule made acquaintances tell him to 'get a life', but he was happy with his life and schedule. Well, maybe not 'happy', but being busy from before dawn 'til after dark kept him from slipping back into depression and rage.

This 'dog day of July' tournament was known across the state as a test of endurance, but he knew no one entered was in better condition than he: three, four, even five matches per day - no problem! Even when he was playing collegiately, he hadn't been in better condition.

Scott was very confident that if it came down to a mid-day three setter, he would win the war of attrition, even if he wasn't the better player.

As he pulled away from the B&B, Scott considered his recent life with a mixture of dark humor and angst. Being a December 2020 college grad, he had plenty of experience in home-based courses and part-time jobs even before he took the home-based Information Technology (IT) Security job he held now.

Living alone since April 16, 2020, he had learned the necessity of strict discipline in the mental, emotional, and physical realms in order to balance competing elements successfully.

With strict self-discipline, he was highly productive in his job and in his personal and professional development, while pushing himself to new levels of strength, agility, flexibility, and conditioning. If only he had driven himself this hard in high school and the first five semesters of college!

But, he recollected as he drove through the small town to the beautiful tennis center his university would have gladly traded for, he hadn't always had his shit together like he did now. His first two years in his small but prestigious and expensive alma mater, his tuition, fees, room and board, had been paid in part by a tennis scholarship, with the remainder paid by academic scholarships. It turned out that was mixed blessing.

His parents had saved up money for college, and he had earned some money while in high school, so when he got the scholarships he had some money to spend, and he spent a good bit of it before enrolling.

His first purchase was a year-old, barely-used Jeep Cherokee purchased from a wealthy friend of his parents. The friend's spoiled daughter decided she wanted a BMW convertible for her senior year in high school, so Scott bought the Jeep for a song - if about 30% of NADA value is a song.

Next Scott went clothes shopping with his favorite cousin, who relentlessly kept up with fashions for women and men. She picked clothes that would help him fit in with all the rich kids on campus, and be noticed by the girls. She required that he model each 'set' before pronouncing him ready for college, and made him wear one set out of the store to take her out for a late lunch. After said lunch, she told him was a hottie and bestowed a smoldering kiss on him.

"Go get 'em Tiger! And if those rich girls are too self-absorbed to see you for what you are, come see your kissin' cousin - I'll take good care of you! Remember, we're only third cousins, so it's all legal!"

They might only third cousins, but they were unusually close after that.

Excited about college and anxious to get away from his boring high school friends, he left early for rush. His tennis coach told him joining a fraternity was a bad idea, but an older male cousin had convinced him that was the easy way to score chicks, so he did it anyway.

It turned out that the demands of fraternity life, playing college tennis, and keeping an academic scholarship were not mutually compatible, so he only made one semester as an active frat rat. But a glorious semester it was, and the sorority contacts he made kept him warm at night for another year.

Well, the sorority girls and the "tennis groupies" who showed up to support the tennis players after the campus paper and radio station made a big deal about them winning a major tournament held on campus. Scott wasn't particular about the pedigree of the girls he was dating, or simply having sex with, so he scored often enough to become more expert in pleasing young women, and in choosing girls to date.

But that all came to an end in April 2019 when he met Amelia Anderson. They were magnetically attracted from the start - so attracted they married in August, just before classes resumed! They lived in bliss and harmony for seven months, until the world went nuts during the Ides of March, 2020.

Distracted by his memories, Scott made the last turn to the tennis center parking lot, and almost wrecked! Directly in his path was a white Jeep Compass with the tailgate up, and leaning into the back were the longest, most gorgeous legs he'd ever seen emerging from a tennis skirt!

She was leaning into the back of the small SUV, so the rest of her body was obscured. He had no idea what the other parts or her face looked like, but he was instantly lost in fantasy.

They say you subconsciously steer toward whatever you're looking at, and he was transfixed by the splendid legs and what he could see of her undershorts-covered butt. Maybe 10 yards before he ran over her, he hit his brakes, took a hard left, and parked directly across the small lot. His heart was racing for several reasons, including having almost killed his dream girl - or at least his dream legs. But also because he was hoping and praying the rest of her was even close to being as dazzling as what he could see.

He stepped out, pretended to stretch his back while staring at her, and nonchalantly made his way to the back. He raised the tailgate, reached inside, and pulled the tennis bag toward him - all without taking his eyes off her backside.

Her long, dirty-blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail. She was long and lean, with a small waist and a flaring butt that kept the short skirt elevated and her undershorts exposed.

So far, so good!

She found whatever she had been searching for, stuffed it in her bag, took the strap in hand, and spun around - catching Scott staring at her.

He wanted to stop; he tried to stop... but the rest of her was as magnificent as her legs! She was tall - maybe 5'8" to his 5'10"- and slender. Even her face was slender, and from fifteen yards away, seemed perfectly proportioned. Narrow nose, light-colored eyes (probably green, he thought), with high cheekbones, and pouty lips. He was mesmerized.

She blinked, smiled, and began walking toward him. His trance held him in place until she was a single yard away. She stuck out her hand. "Hi! You look kind of familiar, but I can't come up with your name, so If we've met before, excuse my poor memory.

"I'm Sabrina... Sabrina Rychtar. I was raised here, but I've been off in college - in fact, I just graduated in May!"

He was right - she was in the 2% of the world population with green eyes! Recovering after seeing her up close and hearing her voice, he responded, "Well, congratulations on that achievement!

"I'm Scott Carr, and I apologize for staring, and for what I'm about to say - that I couldn't help myself because you have the most beautiful legs I've ever seen!"

She blushed prettily, but rolled her eyes, and demurred. "Sure, you say that, but in junior high and high school they called me 'the giraffe' and 'stick woman' because my legs - and body - were so skinny! I filled out some in college, but I still think of myself as 'stick woman'. It's nice to have someone tell me different, but I'm not convinced of your sincerity."

Scott stared again, shook his head, and asked, "Do they not have mirrors where you live? Are all the men blind? You are absolutely beautiful! From head to toe!"

She gave him a dazzling smile, took his arm, and laughingly replied, "Come with me! I need to check in and find a partner, maybe two, but I want you to stay close so you can help rebuild my fragile ego!"

Scott dropped his racquet bag in the grass, shut the tailgate, picked up the bag, and let her lead him toward the tournament office.

"By the way, Sabrina Rychtar, we haven't met before. I'm absolutely certain I'd remember if we had, even if you were in your 'runway model' phase, before you became a 'swimsuit model!'

She giggled and shook her head, "Shameless flirt!"

"Sabrina! You made it!" cried the pretty blonde at the desk.

"I did! Are you still planning to be my doubles partner, even though we haven't practiced together all summer?"

"Of course! Maybe we can win it this year! I've been practicing, whenever my hubby will take care of the kids, and playing in a local league on Wednesday night, so maybe this year I won't double fault and hit easy volleys into the net - at least not so often!"

The muscular blonde man stringing a racquet in the back corner was smiling at the exchange. He loudly said, "Hey, Sabrina! Good to see you - Sarah was worried you weren't going to get back from Colorado in time!"

"Hey, Ken, you good lookin' hunk you! Did you find me a mixed doubles partner yet, since you're playing with your wife this year?"

"That fella right beside you is looking for a mixed partner, and he's fair to middlin'. See if he's willing to carry you this tournament like I've been doing."

Scott had stood quietly listening to the easy exchanges. Although he and Ken were college rivals, they were also close friends and were playing doubles in the open division. He was also good friends with Ken's sister, Sarah, who was giving him a pleading look.

Sabrina tilted her head and gave him a questioning look. He quickly put his hands up facing her, and said, "I would truly love to be your partner in any endeavor, Sabrina Fair, but I have to warn you right now that it may not turn out well if I have to serve with you at net! Would you be willing to stay on the baseline me when I'm serving? Play two back?"

Sarah laughed at the puzzled look on Sabrina's face. "Ignore him - he's a jackass, and the world's biggest flirt - or at least he used to be! Ken brought him home from college several times a year, so I know all his tricks! But he is a decent partner - he and I won this tournament four years ago."

"Okaaaayyyy... play two back on your serve... but why...?"

"I already told you that you have the most beautiful legs I've ever seen; how can I serve with those legs exposed right in front of me!"

Sarah yelled, "See!"

Ken laughing interjected, "That was awful, Carr! You've completely lost your gift of gab with pretty women!"

Sabrina rolled her head and her eyes, looked at him, and replied, "Okay, Mr. Carr - are you through with the sophomoric lines now? If so, I'd like to go warm up together on court 10 before the crowd arrives. If your tennis game is as lame as your pickup game, I'll need a better partner!"

She grabbed her bag and headed for the court; Scott picked his up and looked toward his friends. Their smiles were gone. Ken's voice was solemn this time. "Hey, brother, it's good to see you here! We wondered if you'd really show up. Thanks for coming, and I'm looking forward to playing doubles with you."

"Thanks, Ken. It's good to be here - I think I need this."

Sarah had watery eyes and a catch in her voice. "Big brother, you don't need this, you DESERVE this! I don't know where you're staying, but Grampa Ray is going to be mad if you aren't staying at his house. You can expect our parents to insist you come over to eat every night after the tourney. We'll all be there, and you CAN NOT decline!"

"Thanks, Sarah. I could use one of your mom's delicious meals, and being around good friends."

The moisture in her eyes turned to tears, and there was sorrow in her voice. "Scott, we're so sorry we couldn't come to..."

He quickly cut her off. "I know, Sarah - no one could. We had a private service with only her parents and me present, and even then, we had to social distance! God damn Covid anyway!"

From a distance he heard Sabrina asking if he was coming, so he took a big breath, forced a smile, and turned to go. Sarah quickly added, "Scott! She's a great girl, and the best friend I've ever had. She recently got out of a bad relationship, so please be gentle!"

He sighed. "Sarah, I haven't even looked at a woman since April, 2020. I have no idea why I find her so attractive, but believe me when I promise those days you remember ended when I got married in 2019."

"Well, as you said," Ken laconically explained, "she does have the most beautiful legs in four counties, and the rest of her ain't far behind. You being a leg and ass man, she's pretty close to your perfect woman! And like Sarah says, she's a great gal - take a chance and get to know her, and remember she's been wounded too."

Scott plastered a smile on his face and walked toward the gate to the court, watching Sabrina impatiently bounce a ball on her racquet strings. She was lean and athletic, but every single part of her was exactly the dimensions he would order if he could.

As soon as he laid his bag down and took a racquet out, she went to the far baseline and challenged, "Let's see what you've got, Pretty Boy!"

He broke stride and almost dropped his racquet: that's what his wife called him the day they first met! His eyes misted, but he continued to the baseline. 'How could ...?' he asked himself before he turned, only to find her facing him with a grin.

She hit a soft forehand to his, he hit it back on autopilot, and so their warmup began. It took a few minutes, but he came around with a little movement and the need to focus on the ball, and the overwhelming sadness dissipated. Ten minutes into their warmup, he was teasing her again, and enjoying their time on the court.

She was most confident from the baseline, with a heavy topspin forehand and a flat two-handed backhand she placed wherever she wanted. Her net play was strong, she hit overheads with confidence, and her serve was consistently well paced and well placed.

The area around the office was crowded with players now, and Sarah was beginning to make court assignments over the loudspeaker. They put their racquets in their bags, dried off with their towels, and sipped water from their bottles.

"Assuming I passed the audition, it looks like you can play either side in doubles; how do you feel about playing the deuce court? I can play either, but my backhand is a little better from the ad court."

"Perfect! I can play either, but I prefer the deuce court! And yes, I think you'll do! As a doubles partner," she added with another teasing grin.

"But you still have to play two back on my serve; nothing about my opinion has changed," he flirted back. She slapped him on his sweaty arm, picked up her bag, and said, "Come on! We need to go get our singles assignments!"

One of the great things about a tournament in this small community is that, for the first three rounds, only the Open Division matches were held at the tennis center. The age group matches were scattered at "the country courts", some of which were in or around town, and some of which were twenty miles out in the country.

As a youth playing in this tournament, he loved the country courts! The sponsors had bottled water and Dr. Pepper in ice chests at each site, and the owners provided snacks, chairs, shade trees and sunshades, and some had swimming pools they could use between matches! It would be ten years before he could play in 35s, but he could see himself out in the country, sitting in the shade wearing a bathing suit and drinking beer with his hosts, their friends, and fellow competitors.

Tennis here was a social occasion, even if fiercely competitive! As it should be.

Feeling all groovy and sanguine walking back to the office with his delectable new partner, he almost ran over her when she suddenly stopped in front of him. He managed to only lightly bump her, and then looked over her shoulder to see what caused her to freeze up. And just like that, his sanguinity evaporated.

Darian fuckin' Huxley! Right here, right in front of him! His blood pressure and heart rate shot up, and then spiked when his archrival smirked at the two of them. "Well, well! I'm not surprised you two found each other. Birds of a feather."

Scott started around Sabrina - might as well kill the MF right now and get it over with! But Sabrina shocked him by raising her middle finger and saying, in a menacing voice, "Here's 'birds of a feather' for you, Darian! Now get out of my sight before I let my boyfriend kick your butt!"

Darian continued to smirk, but the look of death on Scott's face was intimidating even to the much larger Darian. He took the arm of the pretty brunette by his side, mumbled "See you around, losers," and guided her toward the bleachers for court one.

The brunette looked shocked and appalled, but went with him.

Scott exhaled and turned to Sabrina. "How do you know that asshole?"

She looked shocked. "How do you?"

"It's a long story, and one I'll probably never tell unless I'm falling-down drunk. Your turn."

There was fire in her voice. "I'm ashamed to admit that I not only dated the sorry SOB, I was actually considering accepting his proposal and becoming engaged to him! Until my girlfriends let me know that I was only one of a half-dozen girls he was screwing, and he only asked so I'd let him get in my pants!

"He is UNDOUBTABLY the sorriest excuse for a human..."

"I'm well aware! Let's leave it at that, go get our assignments, and try to calm down before our matches. I'll be in the consolation bracket for the second round if we don't, and I suspect you will too."

Sarah had viewed the confrontation, and had a sheepish look. When Sabrina approached and glared at her, she quickly declared her innocence. "He entered as DB Huxley from Midland! We had no idea it was Darian, I swear!"

The hardness of Sabrina's pretty face dissolved as she faced her BFF. She sighed and replied, "I'll be okay; it was just such a shock to see him here, in my hometown!"

Scott was giving Ken such a hard look he stopped stringing and came to the window. "Sarah's right. Counting the kids division that ended yesterday, we had so many entries in so many divisions, maybe we weren't paying attention. But, if I think he used Midland as his home address, and I remember him being from Dallas. It never crossed my mind or I'd have given you a heads up!

"Now, with that said, our local doctors are playing in the tournament - do I need to keep one of them around at all times? I do remember your vow."