Love Match (22 page)

Vanessa smiled and thanked Maya as she took the ball. Then she pounded a fierce serve over the net. Her sister returned it with an equal amount of force. The ball went back and forth between the four of them, crisscrossing the court
until Maya and Dona got locked in a volley like the one that had peppered their match in the Toronto tournament.

The crowd faded away. Even her teammate disappeared as Maya focused on the ball and Dona. She fell briefly into a kind of tunnel vision where nothing else existed. When she came out of it, she was surprised to find herself alone on her side of the court.

The twins had slipped away, totally unnoticed by Maya and Dona. The singers cheered their teammates on, giving them permission to re-create their now famous match. Maya had been holding back. Dona, too, certainly. Now they both let loose.

Maya broke the volley with such force, she sent Dona running to catch the ball.

Dona smashed the ball back, sending Maya across the court.

It was freeing. Maya finally had the chance to just play again. No drama. No paparazzi. Just her racket, a ball, and a stellar opponent. This was why Maya had left her home to come to the Academy. Everything else was just noise. None of it compared to the music that came from the court around her.

Thump-pop
.

Thump-pop
.

Thump-pop
.

Thump
.

The ball hit the clay and whizzed past Dona.

The crowd erupted. Even Dona's teammate, Miranda, cheered.

Dona was the happiest of them all. She dropped her brand-new racket and raced to the net. Maya was already there to meet her in the middle.

“I want to see you do
that
when you take on Nicole King,” Dona said, as if there was no doubt that match was in their future.

The twins ran out on the court, joining them in a group hug as so many cameras flashed around them, they lit up the courts in the fading sun. The stands quickly emptied as spectators filled the court to offer congratulations and get some pictures taken with the players.

After posing for more photos than she'd done in her life, Maya finally saw some familiar faces. Renee and Diego were coming toward them, holding hands. Cleo was right behind the couple, still rocking her new look. They exchanged hugs and congratulations.

“I never apologized for ruining your clothes, did I?” Cleo asked Maya.

“No,” Maya said. “But it was for a good cause, so I'm okay with it. At least, until Grant Adams writes his … or
her
next article.”

“That's not going to be a problem,” Cleo assured her. “We came to an understanding. As long as he/she stops trashing me on his/her blog, I'll keep quiet about what I know.”

“That seems like a fair agreement,” Maya said. She was glad to know that one crisis had been averted. That cut back on the potential negative press coming out of the Expo, so Nails would be happy. There was really only one other possible story
that could sour the event. Unfortunately, that one affected Maya as well.

After all the photos and the interviews and everything else, Maya was one of the last to leave the court. She'd agreed to meet Dona and the girls after she changed so they could hit the town. Maya could have gone off with them, but she'd hung back a bit, hopeful that someone else had been there. She got her wish as Travis pulled her into the equipment room.

“Are we having a secret rendezvous?” Maya asked. They were in an oversized closet, surrounded by tennis gear, extra nets, and other supplies for the court. It wasn't exactly a romantic spot.

“No,” Travis said. “No more secrets. No more hiding our friendship.”

“Travis, we're in a smelly, dark room where no one can see us,” Maya pointed out.

“Well, yes, because today was horrible and there's a ton of press still on campus that I'd personally like to avoid,” Travis said. “But tomorrow we can go back to being friends again.”

“We haven't been doing so well at ‘friends' lately.”

“True,” Travis agreed. “But that's what I need right now. Today was … It opened my eyes. This whole week did. I always thought Jake brought a lot of trouble on himself. Well, he does. But I think I understand it better now. Dad's hard on both of us. He's always been. I lived for his praise. Jake only heard the criticism. Eventually, we got to a point where I started getting all the praise and Jake got the criticism.”

“Until this week.”

“And that's the crazy part,” Travis said. “I was criticized on television. I was made fun of on the field. But the thing that got to me the most was Dad. His big plan to deal with my appearance on
The Hype
was to keep me away from you. Maya, that show didn't focus on you and me. It was all about being his son. Being in his shadow. I have to make a name for myself.”

“I agree,” Maya said. “But I have to ask, what does that mean for us? Your dad doesn't want me around.”

“It means we're friends again,” Travis said. “Just friends.”

“Nothing more?”

“Not right now,” Travis said. “I want to be more. I do. But right now, I've got to get my house in order. I don't want to drag you into this.”

“Travis, I'm already in it,” Maya said. “That's what friendship is.”

She wanted to tell him she was in it as friends or as something more. But he was right. It wasn't the time. Travis needed all the noise to calm down before he could focus on her. It was probably for the best, since Maya still wasn't sure what she ultimately needed.

Travis thanked her with one of their friendly hugs. Maya still felt there was something more to it, but she left it unsaid. It was enough to know he'd felt the same way. She could see it in his eyes as he let her go.

Travis peeked out the door to make sure the coast was clear. “You leave first. I'll follow after a minute.”

“You really were serious about us being public friends starting tomorrow,” Maya said.

“Not really. I just thought it would be fun to pretend like we're spies or something having a clandestine meeting. We can't take this stuff too seriously.”

Maya laughed. “Okay. But you go first. If any reporters catch me out there, you could be stuck in here forever.”

“Good thinking.” Travis put on his sunglasses, which were completely unnecessary since the sun had set. He pretended to raise the collar of an invisible jacket to hide his face as he slipped out of the equipment room.

Maya was laughing as he left. That quickly ended as she replayed their conversation over in her mind.

Travis was right. She needed to focus on her game, too. She didn't come to the Academy for relationships. She came to be the best in her sport. Someday soon she'd go up against Nicole King and a bunch of other players as good as or even better than her rival. They might even have their match at the Skyborne Cup, which was a little over a month away. Maya was going to have to throw even more into her practices. There would be time for love later.

She pretended to put on her own pair of nonexistent sunglasses and hid behind her own invisible collar as she slipped out of the equipment room …

And walked right into Jake.

“What in the world are you two doing?” he asked with a bemused smile on his face.

“We were just …” There was no way Maya could explain it without sounding insane. “Never mind. What are you doing hovering outside the equipment room?”

“Waiting for you.”

“Oh,” Maya said. “How's your head?”

“Pretty good.” Jake said. “I've got a hard skull.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Yeah,” he said. “That's not the first time that joke's come up today. But, to beat the obvious clichés into the ground, that hit knocked some sense into me, too.”

“Okay?”

“I've been doing this all wrong.”

Maya was confused. “Doing what?”

“Trying to win you back,” Jake said.

Now Maya felt like she was the one who suffered a head injury. She didn't have a clue what he was talking about. “What do you mean, ‘trying to win me back?' You haven't been doing anything.”

“Exactly,” he said. “I wasn't doing all the stupid Jake things I did in the past. I stopped going out with other girls. I cut back on the partying. I threw everything into my game.”

Maya had noticed that his game had improved. The rest of it was nice to hear, but it was news to her. “You kept leaving places as soon as I walked in the door. How was I supposed to notice if you weren't around?”

“I'm not saying the plan was perfect.” Jake took her hands in his. “But I didn't totally disappear. Do you think I wanted to do some fashion ad campaign? To be that close to you when I knew you didn't want me around? And then you went running out on the shoot. It was obvious you would have preferred Travis to be your costar.”

“Jake, I chose you over Travis first,” Maya said. “Travis had nothing to do with us not working out. Not really. You did when you couldn't trust me for long enough to keep from falling into bed with Nicole.”

“I get that now,” Jake said. “I always thought Travis was better than me. Dad pit us against each other all our lives. Up until lately, Travis was just better at impulse control. Well, I'm getting better, too, Maya. I'm better at taking a minute to breathe. You know how I scared everyone because I didn't get up right away after Travis knocked me in the head? I wasn't unconscious. I was waiting. Because I knew if I got up right away, I'd take Travis right back down to the ground with me. Wouldn't that have made for a fun story on the Wall?”

“I'm glad you didn't,” Maya said.

“Me, too,” he said. “It was the first time I ever really stopped myself from doing what every part of me was screaming to do. And, yeah, I'm going to do stupid things from time to time. I'm going to mess up. But nobody's perfect. And someday, you're going to be able to move past how stupid I was with Nicole. You're just going to have to. Because, Maya, I
am
going to get you back.”

Jake knew an exit line when he said one. He gave her that smile that ran through the Reed family, then he turned and walked away.

Maya couldn't help herself. She smiled as she watched him go.

MONICA SELES
was awarded a full scholarship to a sports academy at the age of thirteen and attended a couple of sports academies during her career. She won the French Open at the age of sixteen and went on to become the number-one-ranked woman in tennis, winning a total of nine Grand Slam titles before retiring from the game in 2004. Monica was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 2009. She is now an ambassador for the Intergovernmental Institution for the use of Micro-algae Spirulina Against Malnutrition (IIMSAM) and a board member of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, using the power of sport as a tool for change. Her memoir,
Getting a Grip: On My Mind, My Body, My Self
, was a national bestseller.

PAUL RUDITIS
has written licensed novels, companion guides, and graphic novels for a variety of television series ranging from
Charmed
to
The Walking Dead
. His original novels for teens include the DRAMA! series and the romantic comedy
Love, Hollywood Style
.

Game On

Love Match

Copyright © 2014 by Monica Seles

All rights reserved.
You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce, or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

First published in the United States of America in February 2014 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
by Bloomsbury Children's Books
www.bloomsbury.com

This electronic edition published in February 2014

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to
Permissions, Bloomsbury Children's Books, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Seles, Monica.
Love match / Monica Seles.
pages  cm.  —(The Academy)
Summary: At the Academy, a sports training facility/boarding school for teenaged athletes, sixteen-year-old Maya finds it hard to focus on tennis when gossip, a modeling gig, and renewed feelings for her ex-boyfriend get in the way.
[1. Athletes—Fiction.  2. Tennis—Fiction.  3. Dating (Social customs)—Fiction.
4. Interpersonal relations—Fiction.]  I. Title.
PZ7.S456918Lo 2014        [Fic]—dc23        2013034320

eISBN: 978-1-6196-3158-8

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