"It's all right, Captain, Rosa will get it in the morning don't worry about it." Parker stopped the blonde before she picked anything up. Gail had turned already and made her way off the deck not waiting for Emily. "We can just say the dinner party was a smashing success."



"I'm sorry, Parker. Good night," was all Emily could think to say before she too stepped off into the darkness. At almost the half way point between the two houses Emily saw Gail waiting for her. The anger that had erupted on Parker's deck minutes before that had only gotten worse Emily could see so she walked up slowly. "Thank you for embarrassing me like that."



"You want to tell me when you became so fucking chummy with Parker King? Or did you fuck her to see what all the fuss was about?" Gail grabbed Emily's arm and squeezed as if trying to force her to answer the question.



"Maybe I did. At least she is sober past ten in the morning." For the first time they had been together, Gail balled her hand into a fist and cocked it back. Emily just looked at her as if daring her to carry through with the threat. "Let me go." She was shaking inside but Emily's voice sounded calm and clear.



"I'll decide when to let you go, don't forget that," said Gail squeezing Emily's arm harder. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hit you. There's no way you fucked someone else, Emily, because we both know you are too cold for that. I should tell your crew just how appropriate the nick name ice queen really is."



"I said let me go," said Emily with more passion this time. She pushed Gail getting to fall backward into the sand. When the grip came loose, Emily started to shake and tears filled her eyes. She turned and ran for the house leaving Gail sprawled out in the sand. The fact she never looked back should have been a clue as to what point she was at with her lover of three years, but Emily didn't care. Gail had crossed a line that night and there might not be a way back.



Continued in Chapter 3




Comments to: terrali20@yahoo.com









The Athenaeum's Scroll Archive

~ Game, Set and Match ~


by Ali Vali



Disclaimers: See Part 1


Chapter 3




"All right, people, let's get this stuff set up before we get one of those summer showers this place is famous for. I did the Sport's Illustrated cover here last year and ruined my favorite Nikon lens. If that happens today, heads will roll," said Annie Crain, the photographer Nike had hired.



A crew of fourteen women ran around the outside court setting up lighting equipment hoping to get as much natural light as they could. In the gym Parker was lifting weights in her birthday suit on a towel draped bench so there would be no marks on her body of any kind for the camera to find.



The shouting and music from next door finally woke Gail who was still asleep in the dunes with what tasted like a mouth full of sand. The combination of alcohol and sun had made a bad situation worse and she felt as if a team of horses had trampled her during the night. On the way into the house she passed Emily who had her bathing suit on and was on her way out. Emily shrank away from her as if in fear and Gail reached to comfort her making the blonde take a couple of steps back to get away from her. The small woman's demeanor told Gail that there was nothing to say at this point so she just headed to the shower and some aspirin. Maybe after a nap she would feel good enough to have the talk they were avoiding. Had Gail made it into the house the night before, she would have found the door to their bedroom locked.



The music pumping through the outdoor system made Emily put her book down and concentrate on what was happening next door. Besides a whole lot of people with camera equipment, there was a huge selection of tennis shoes around the outside of the court. Once the photographer was set up she called to a man named Nick and told him to get Parker. The shower the woman had been complaining about was just offshore and looked like it was bringing with it a dazzling lightening display.



Emily watched as Parker walked out of the house onto a now clean deck wearing only a robe. The fencing from around the court had been taken down and Emily figured they were going to take photographs of Parker's play. The pilot found it odd that Parker grabbed a racket and hit a few practice rounds with the robe on. Out of sight in a small boat in the water Gary fed her some lobs over the net so that Annie could get her locations for different shots set up.



Once a good sweat had broken out on Parker, they were ready to begin and she dropped the robe. Emily thanked god that she was sitting on the beach and not out in the water. The sight before her would have made her drown she was sure.



Standing on the court with her hair loose wearing only tennis shoes was Parker. The makeup job Parker had undergone that morning made it look like there were no tan lines anywhere on the most perfect body Emily had ever seen. "Holy shit," was all she could think to say as the popping noise from the day before returned. Parker hit ball after ball as the woman shot more and more rolls of film. The backdrop of the incoming storm only accentuated Parker's form thought Emily as she watched how the muscles bulged when she went to hit the ball. Without her permission Emily found her feet moving closer to the court as the commercial shoot came to an end.



By the time Emily was next to the deck Parker was sitting at the table they had had dinner on the night before having another bottle of water wearing the robe she had come out in. The man that had been throwing the balls from the water was sitting with her as the other man helped the crew pack up their gear.



"Emily, good morning. I hope our little bit of capitalism didn't disturb you too much this morning. If it did see Nick, it was all his idea," said Parker. Abby's whining had alerted Parker to the pilot's presence before Parker had actually seen her.



"No, I came to apologize again for last night," started Emily before Parker put up her hand to stop her.



"Not necessary, Captain. I think if I were in Gail's shoes the evening might have played out about the same, minus the drinking and the broken dishes. I am really glad you came though, I enjoyed our time together before you have to go back to the real world." The bathing suit finally clicked as to who this woman was and that she was very much, like Willy had said, involved with someone else.



Gail wouldn't look as good as you in your shoes, thought Emily as the mental picture of a naked Parker played in her head again. "Thank you then, I enjoyed it too. I'm thinking of heading back today and I wanted to see you before I go. If you are ever in New York please give me a call and if I'm in town I'd be happy to return the dinner favor," said Emily. She crossed her arms over chest to hide her discomfort.



"Why don't you come up for some juice or something," offered Parker not ready to see her go just yet. Parker could see that like her, Emily looked lonely and the thought of not seeing her again was suddenly unacceptable.



"Parker, we need to finish this," insisted Gary. Parker glared at him to shut him up and the coach just ignored her. Before him on the table was the fifth death threat that had been sent to Parker in just the last month. In each note the group that claimed to be the Soldiers of Christ got more explicit as to how they were going to kill the tennis player. The tabloids headlines of her latest break up with Alicia had spurred a new flurry of right wing hate mail, but this group scared Gary. The others never sent such detailed descriptions on how they were going to do away with his friend.



"Maybe I should just go, Parker, you seem busy." And I'm standing here half naked, and you are naked under that robe.



"Nonsense, Emily, Gary is just our resident worry wart. People threaten me all the time because of who I am, the clothes I play in, for the way I wear my hair you name it they find fault with it. This isn't anything new and I'm sure it won't be the last time it will happen. Apple, cranberry or orange?"



"Apple thanks," She picked up the letter that was on the table and read it after Gary encouraged her to do so. Emily wasn't there to further upset Parker so she settled for humor when her hostess handed her the juice glass. "Ah, so you do know my name, I was beginning to wonder."



"Of course I know your name, Captain. Willy told me all about you. Your likes, your dislikes and what kind of person you are."



"I'd be afraid to know," said Emily. The chair swallowed her up and Emily wished that she had remembered to wear a shirt over the revealing suit she had on.



"Abby, fetch blue for me, boy," said Parker to the dog sending him inside before putting to rest Emily's doubts. "He and the rest of that crew think you are hard to work for, but they love you, Emily. They feel safe with you. Hell you can fly the plane serve hot chocolate and put up with full of themselves tennis players. Good boy," said Parker when Abby came back out with a red shirt in his mouth. Parker threw it at Emily as she petted Abby for his good deed. It was hard enough looking at Emily like that for the obvious reasons, but the sight of Gail's hand in the back of the bikini bottom was etched in her mind now.