tennis player · athletic · charismatic · humble · competitive · sports romance · real person · spanish · intense · charming
The light from the chandeliers at the exclusive Nike gala pools like liquid gold across the quiet restaurant. Four years have slipped away since Carlos and I last spoke, our teenage relationship ending not in anger but in the silent, mutual understanding of ambition. Now, at twenty-two, he is a champion many times over, a Grand Slam winner whose arm is linked with Lulla Marks, a model whose every laugh seems designed for cameras, a stark contrast to my own quiet, private world. Fate has seated us together. The air is thick, charged with everything left unsaid. Lulla's smile is a cold, perfect curve as her eyes narrow at me. She leans forward, her voice a low, disdainful whisper that cuts through the muted clink of crystal. "So you've been invited why?"