“I thought you said you sucked,” Jonny said gleefully. He swung his racket, playfully tapping her behind, stoked by the prospect of winning.
“I guess you’re not the only one with secrets,” Pandy said.
* * *
An hour and a half and three sets later, they were still playing the tiebreaker for the win. As Pandy had predicted, the game had gotten ugly. Pope and Lindsay weren’t speaking, while Jonny, on the other hand, couldn’t stop talking. He kept up a running commentary until Pandy was forced to set him straight.
“We need to let Pope win,” Pandy hissed as they changed sides yet again.
“Yeah, right.” Jonny’s eyes crinkled in amusement; he thought she was joking.
“I’m serious.”
Jonny wiped the sweat from his forehead. “So am I.”
Pandy decided to take matters into her own hands.
“Add in,” Lindsay declared, bouncing the ball under her racket.
She served to Pandy. Pandy sent an easy lob back to Pope. She figured he would place it right on the baseline, in between her and Jonny, where neither one of them could get to it.
Which was exactly what he did, save for the fact that the ball landed just outside the line.
“In!” Pandy shouted firmly. “That’s game, set, and match.” She lowered her racket. “Amazing shot, Pope. Well done.”
Jonny strode to the net and angrily tapped his racket on the tape. “That ball was out.” He turned accusingly to Pandy. “It was out, right?”
Pandy shrugged. “I thought it was in.”
“It was definitely out,” Lindsay said. “I saw it.”
“Do-over,” Jonny declared, giving Pandy a dirty look.
“Jerk,” Pandy said under her breath.
Pope had used up his last reserves of adrenaline on what he thought would be the winning shot. He fluffed the next two balls, and Pandy and Jonny won.
Pope stalked off the court. Lindsay shrugged and looked at Jonny. Pandy smiled to herself. She guessed that Jonny and Lindsay wouldn’t be hanging around together much longer.
And then Jonny made a pass at her in the changing rooms. Or what apparently passed for a pass in his world.
She looked up from where she was untying her sneaker to see Jonny, naked from the waist up, crowding the door. The sun was behind him. Her pulse pounded in the hollow of her throat. Her body was suddenly awash with desire.
“Whaddya say, Wallis? You and me. Right now. Standing up in the shower,” he said.
Pandy remembered the sensation of his hair on her cheek and was shocked to find herself considering the offer. Then she remembered Pope and Lindsay, and the Senator, and came back to her senses.
“Are you insane? Do you think I would have sex with a guy who has absolutely no manners?”
Jonny chortled. “I certainly hope so. Manners and sex don’t usually go together.”
“Well, manners and tennis certainly do.” Pandy removed her sneakers and flung them into the bin. “You should have let Pope win.”
“Are you kidding?” Jonny
took a step forward. He frowned as if he truly didn’t understand. “Why would I let Pope Mallachant beat me?”
He sounded so befuddled by the prospect that Pandy had to laugh at his ignorance. “Because he’s our host. This is his house. His tennis court. And he’s old.”