Love Match Page 2

  everyone of their impending arrival into the Miami airport.

  She went down the

  list of connections so those continuing on would know what gate to head for

  once they deplaned. "So ladies and gentlemen, if you would bring your

  seats to their full upright position we should have you on the ground in about

  ten minutes. Again thank you for choosing Virgin for your flying needs and we

  hope to see you on board in the future."

  "The Nike shoot is scheduled in three days so you are going to have to hit

  the gym starting today. If your naked ass is going up in Time Square we want it

  to look pumped up," said Gary. The schedule book had come out of his bag

  twenty minutes ago so that they could review upcoming events. Having Parker

  trapped in a plane helped him make it through the end of the month.

  "Whose idea was this again?" The sponsor had approached her with the

  idea before Wimbledon to add her to the list of athletes that had appeared in

  the ads clad just in their shoes illustrating that the footwear and the body

  were all that were necessary to succeed in sports.

  "It was Nick's idea, and I forbid you to give him a hard time about it.

  You know how sensitive he is and I'm the one that has to live with him. All the

  shots will be from the back and he got Annie and her all girl crew to do it, so

  quit complaining." Gary pointed his finger at her to make his point. The

  last thing he wanted was both of the people he cared most about giving him a

  hard time for weeks to come.

  "I just asked a question, Gary, I hardly see how that could be construed

  as complaining. Are they coming to the house or will it be done in a

  studio?" She put away her book and stood to pull her jacket back on. The

  crew had been surprised that besides her initial hot chocolate and sandwich,

  Parker had stuck to bottled water. The fourteen she had consumed kept her

  hydrated and active with constant trips to the bathroom. No amount of free

  alcohol was worth jet lag in her opinion, so while most of the other passengers

  fought fatigue, Parker would be lifting weights for the rest of the afternoon.

  "You get to stay home, kid. Annie thought the court at home that overlooks

  the gulf would make for good shots. Now let's hope we didn't miss our

  connection. You know how Nick hates waiting around in airports."

  "Now who's complaining?" asked Parker. She was pulling her hair into

  a ponytail when they both felt the wheels of the plane hit the tarmac once

  followed by three hard bumps before the engines were thrust into reverse to

  kill their speed. Not expecting it, Parker came close to smashing her head into

  the seat in front of them despite having her seatbelt on the jolt of the landing

  was so rough. Aside from the earlier announcement it was the first time the

  blonde captain crossed Parker's mind.

  Parker and Gary waited as everyone got off before standing up from their seats.

  Their patience was usually rewarded by an empty waiting area as passengers

  where claimed by family and friends or were running toward baggage claim.

  Parker finally looked up from her book to find an empty plane and Willy waiting

  at the door with her large bag of rackets and a pen. Alicia and Gary hadn't

  been the only avid fans in the stands, and the attendant saw this as his

  opportunity to get his program signed. When she got up he handed the bag over

  and held the booklet up with a pleading look.

  "Willy, my man, I didn't know you were interested in tennis."

  She accepted

  his pen and sat down in the first set of first class seats waiting to hear his

  answer before writing something in the glossy book in her hand.

  "I had to trade some really bum flights to be able to go and watch you

  play. The final match was awesome, though I wish it had lasted longer. Had that

  first ace you rocketed over the net hit Jill, I think the match would have been

  over because of a chipped bone. Having you on our flight home was just an extra

  added bonus." He stopped his babble of hero worship when Parker started

  writing. She handed his program back with a thank you note for his hospitality

  then took the time to sign some of the other souvenirs the rest of the crew had

  produced.

  Emily watched from the door of the cockpit as Parker entertained her crew

  acting very unlike the person most of the press had written about. The tennis

  player never looked impatient as another item was pressed into her hand for

  signing and finished by unzipping the large black bag sitting at her feet and

  sliding out one of the rackets. With Willy's pen she signed Parker 'Kong' King

  and the date along the grip.

  "Sorry you didn't get to see more play, Willy, but I was anxious to catch

  my flight. You might get your wish at the Open since it seems to be my

  Achille's heel." On the other side of her name Parker wrote

  'first ace

  racket Wimbledon.' "I hope this makes up for your shitty schedule. That

  means a lot to me when people go so out of the way to come see me hit some

  balls." The rackets were custom made for her by the sponsor and were a

  valuable collector's item for the few fans that had gotten one as a gift. The

  one she had used for the majority of the match would rest along side the trophy

  at home. Both she and Gary laughed at the squeal Willy let out at her gift. Parker

  could only imagine the hardships the man had endured in his lifetime because of

  his obvious sexuality preference. She respected people like Willy who had a

  real survivor's spirit and let it shine through.

  "Oh my god, thank you. This is the best gift I've ever gotten, Parker,

  thank you." Willy hugged her as she stood up and almost fainted as Parker

  hugged him back. "I know all those tabloids were full of shit," said

  Willy.

  "Thank you, Willy, that means a lot." Parker squeezed him one more

  time and smiled at the sentiment. "Don't play with that one.

  Save it for

  your next vacation, at auction it should get you to Hawaii if you hit it on the

  right day."

  "No way, this one's a keeper," said Willy. The crew bid them safe

  travels as Parker shouldered her bags and stepped off the plane noticing the

  cockpit door was closed as she stepped out. The impromptu autograph session had

  let her escape without having to confront Emily again.

  "Is Nick going to pick us up?" asked Parker. The next leg of their

  trip to Tampa was less crowded and they finished their calendar review without

  interruption.

  "Yep he is. Some of your contracts were coming up so hopefully he's

  resigned everyone and is over having to miss this trip." Gary sighed; Nick

  Spoli was a sweet man but could whine for days given a reason to. He and Gary

  lived together as well was worked together at keeping Parker both happy and

  ranked.

  "Like you said, you're the one that has to live with him, buddy, not me.

  Just remind him of his commission if it gets out of hand. The smallest one

  alone should get him that new sports car he wants along with a new wardrobe to

  go with it." Parker wiggled her eyebrows at him and laughed when Gary

  scowled at her. Nick and the flight attendant they had just met, Willy, could
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  compete on the flamboyancy scale in Parker's opinion.

  The two men were Parker's role models when it came to a loving relationship

  having been together for fifteen years. They had built their home close to her

  on Press Cove, a mostly deserted stretch of beach near Clearwater Florida. Her

  house had everything she needed to train for upcoming tournaments while giving

  her the solitude she needed to prepare for the weeks on the road. Gary looked

  forward to these trips home as much as Parker did in that it gave he and Nick

  the time they needed to strengthen Parker's mental state as well as her body.

  Having every vice imaginable at your fingertips would have ruined her career

  had it not been for their influence along with that of Parker's two sisters.

  Parker seldom complained about the schedules, knowing her career wouldn't last

  forever. There was a small window of opportunity to get all her goals

  accomplished before she either retired to her house, or to the commentator's

  chair. At twenty-two she had plenty of time to contemplate her future barring

  any injury. What happened to her coach was always with her, driving her to

  train harder in case her time on center court was fleeting.

  "You know how much he loves to watch you play, so cut my boy some

  slack," said Gary. They moved onto the gate where their connection was

  boarding both anxious to get home. The woman that followed them on board

  couldn't believe her luck when she saw the two tall athletes go on ahead of

  her.

  Don't tennis superstars live in New York or something? Emily asked

  herself as she slowed her pace not wanting to be noticed.

  The pilot had been

  looking forward to her own first class leather seat for a quick nap before

  meeting Gail. The thought of having to share the space with Parker King made

  her veer into the cockpit in search of an empty seat. Emily would settle for

  some mindless conversation with the crew instead of her nap.

  Parker had apologized but something about her still rubbed the pilot the wrong

  way. Maybe it was the way she apologized. Emily couldn't help but think

  that Parker was one of those people not used to being wrong in any situation,

  or at least admitting she was wrong.

  The young woman's assumption of her position on the earlier flight had just hit

  a raw nerve with the pilot negating the instant attraction Emily had felt when

  Parker had turned the corner. Emily was used to the cracks from men, but when

  it came from successful women it was even worse to her.

  No, Parker King could

  keep her wise cracks and good looks to impress someone else she wasn't

  interested. What she needed now was some time in the sun with Gail, but with

  out permission, Emily's brain drifted back to the sleeping tennis player on the

  other side of the cockpit door.

  Chapter 2

  "Over here, guys," said Nick. The tall Greek stood at the gate with

  two dozen roses in his arms. After kissing them both hello and taking their

  bags, he handed a dozen to Gary and one to Parker. "Come on, I have the

  car parked outside and the Terminator down waiting for your bags."

  "Kimmie's here?" asked Parker. She hadn't seen her sisters in six

  months due to conflicting schedules. While Parker dominated women's tennis, her

  sisters Kimmie and Gray did the same in the sand playing volleyball.

  "Yeah she and Gray are here for today. They are heading out in the morning

  for a tournament in Palm Beach, so they're cooking you dinner and crashing in

  your guest rooms tonight." Nick pointed them toward the exit knowing that

  he and the King sisters had more than exceeded their welcome outside, then again

  they didn't call Gray the Viper for nothing. One look had sent the young

  security guard back to his booth for the hour they had been waiting.

  "Remember workout first, then family reunion," said Gary knowing the

  reprimand was unnecessary but he said it anyway.

  "Yes, master, I remember."

  By the Suburban outside stood two women that looked almost exactly like the

  tennis pro except for the hair. Kimmie and Gray both kept theirs cut short for

  easier maintenance when they played, but all of them had the same powerful

  build. They where all two years apart with Parker being the baby of the family

  and Gray being the oldest. For each, sports had been an escape from overly

  conservative parents that wanted prim ladies and lots of grandchildren to show

  off. Instead they had gotten three of the most famous lesbians in sports, which

  had been more than enough for their parents to disown them. With Nick's careful

  management all three had no more money concerns, just the heartache that came

  from their parents' rejection.

  "Is that the Wimbledon champion we see?" asked Gray as she stepped

  out of the driver's seat. The surprise for Parker was cutting two days off

  their training schedule but had been worth it to see the smile on her little

  sister's face. It killed the older two not to be there for any of the matches

  Parker had played in, but hopefully in September they would be in the stands

  for the entire Open.

  The family caught up on the happenings in their lives since they had seen each

  other last, having Gary write down some dates when Parker could go and watch

  her sisters play. From inside the airport Emily arrived at the exit in time to

  see Parker get into the vehicle right before it drove away.

  Gail as usual was

  running late and Emily waited inside in the air-conditioning not wanting to

  brave the heat until she was wearing a bathing suit.

  Emily ended up leaning against the glass wall by the entrance for forty minutes

  before she saw Gail get out of a rented car outside. By the way she was

  walking, Emily could tell where she had been since she had arrived. When the

  broker made it inside and bent to kiss her, the scotch on her breath only

  confirmed it for her. The blonde got behind the driver's side while Gail loaded

  her luggage and wondered if the dent in the front fender she had seen was there

  when Gail picked up the car. The passenger door slamming shut made Emily look

  at the woman she had spent three years with as she closed her eyes and fell

  asleep instead of talking. If it hadn't been so sad, Emily would've found it humorous

  that they'd been away from each other for almost a month but neither of them

  could find anything to talk about as Emily pointed the car in the direction of

  the place they had rented.

  *************************************************************

  ***********

  The three sisters made the circuit of the workout room as the older two gave

  Parker a hard time about Alicia. The two tormentors had mentioned every tabloid

  headline before Parker changed into her running clothes and hit the beach. This

  stretch of paradise was what she missed most grueling tournament play kept them

  away for months at a time. The pristine white sand and blue green waters were

  like a blanket of calm in an otherwise busy life. Coming back here, Parker was

  convinced she could walk away from tennis and not miss the crowds or the

  action.

  Parker's house was built on a large parcel of water front property in Press
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  Cove. In the opposite direction from Nick and Gary's house there were only a

  couple of houses along the beach for miles. After that there wasn't anything

  really until you hit the more populated stretch that marked Clearwater. Parker

  didn't mind sharing the space close to her since all of her other neighbors

  were weekenders that mostly came in the fall to enjoy the still warm but cooler

  temperatures.

  Leaving her sisters in the kitchen, Parker stood on the shoreline and

  stretched. The usual route she took brought her five miles down the beach

  before turning around and heading back. Her dedication to roadwork, as Gary

  called it, kept her legs fresh during grueling matches. The women on the other

  side of the net were usually cursing by the second set when Parker used the

  same speed to chase down balls as she did in the first game.

  In the summer Parker's usual companions were the gulls flying past her and the

  sandpipers that ran ahead of her to escape the oncoming surf. It was one of the

  reasons she ran without the usual headphones most people used during their

  runs. The sound of the waves and her feet hitting the sand were Parker's form

  of meditation. The enjoyment of her surroundings and the joy of being home

  almost made her trip over the couple locked in a heated kiss on a red blanket

  laid out on the sand.

  Parker could see that the bigger of the two had her hand firmly ensconced in

  her partner's bikini bottom and the blonde on top of her seemed to be enjoying

  the attention. Returning her gaze to the water, Parker ran past them without

  saying anything not wanting to embarrass the two lovers any more than she

  already had. That is if they even noticed me. She thought as her pace

  put her far away enough to miss the ensuing argument she had unwittingly

  caused.

  "Goddamn it, Gail, when I tell you to stop, I would appreciate it if you

  did just that. I told you I heard someone coming and I was right. I don't much

  enjoy being a floor show for anyone," said Emily in a heated voice. She

  had pushed off Gail as soon as she heard the footsteps fading with the surf.

  Any of the good feelings of seeing Gail again after three weeks evaporated like

  the foam on the sand near the water.

  "Funny that, Em, three years ago it wouldn't have mattered where we were