Love Match, page 7
opening her eyes just enjoying the space Barnaby had talked so fondly of. When
she opened them Emily accepted both Parker's hand to help her up and her
invitation to walk her to the door of the room she was staying in.
Parker handed Emily her sandals and smiled, "Good night, Emily, I hope you
have good dreams." Parker kissed her softly on the lips then turned and
headed toward the master suite. Emily closed her door and leaned against it
bringing her fingertips up to her lips. It wasn't the type of kiss you get from
your lover or even a date, but it had left her tingling just the same.
"Good night, Parker, and I think that's going to be impossible now."
Chapter 4
Emily wandered around the house with Abby looking for Parker the next morning,
hoping to have breakfast with her before they had to head out to the airport.
Her plane wasn't scheduled to leave for another three hours so they had plenty
of time to eat and talk. The music coming from room beyond the kitchen led her
to Parker. The dog stood in the doorway and waved a paw at her to get Emily
moving.
Lying on a padded bench, the tennis player was doing bench presses. Emily
admired the practiced fluidity of her movements, surprised that it took so much
to play the game well. Parker was dedicated to keeping as fit as she could to
prevent injuries.
"Good morning." Emily waited until the weight had put back before she
spoke. It wasn't even seven in the morning and Parker was already sweating.
Parker looked up from the towel she had her face pressed into to see Emily
standing in the gym in her pajamas. "Hey, did you have a good sleep?"
"Yes I did, thanks. You have a great house here, Parker, very conducive to
peaceful sleeping. Are you almost done?"
"That was the last reps I'm doing today. Let me take a shower and I'll
take you out for breakfast." Parker threw the towel in the hamper sitting
in the corner before downing the rest of the juice she had been drinking
throughout her workout.
"I want to cook for you if you don't mind me using your kitchen. Think of
it as my thank you for all that you've done for me in the past couple of days.
It's not much, but I would enjoy doing it for you."
"You don't mind?"
"I wouldn't have offered if I didn't want to. Go take that shower and meet
me in the kitchen." Emily smiled and had a desire to hug Parker good
morning, but her tall hostess hadn't made a move toward her as she headed out
the door. Her thoughts stopped cold when she heard the banging on the back
door. Parker stopped at the door and smiled in an effort to relax Emily. It
surprised Parker that the idiot staying next door had taken this long to come
over and bitch about what had happened.
"Why don't you sit and enjoy the view for a minute and let me take care of
this." The wall of windows only went along the back of the gym and it
faced the beach. Whoever was on the deck couldn't see in.
"You don't mind." The lost look on Emily's face was so far removed
from the confident woman that had stood up to her on the plane that Parker was
having time making the comparison.
"I wouldn't have offered if I didn't want to." Emily laughed at having her own words tossed back at her. "You forget I'm an expert when it
comes to volley. Seriously though, I'm used to dealing with difficult women,
Emily, trust me on that one. Gail is just a sore loser that needs time to cool
down." Parker was trying to make Emily laugh but the opposite happened and
tears sprung to the green eyes.
"I'm sorry, it's just that the last time we spoke it wasn't pretty, and
I'm not ready to see Gail again so soon." Emily brought her arms up in an
effort to comfort herself making the short sleeve of her top ride up enough for
Parker to see her bicep.
"What happened?"
"She didn't like the answer I gave to a question she asked,"
was all
Emily could think to say. More tears fell down her face as she wondered how she
had ended up in this situation.
"She won't hurt you, I promise." Parker moved closer and gathered the
scared woman into a hug and tried her best to comfort her and make her feel
better about the persistent knocker. When Emily relaxed against her, Parker
whispered, "I'll be right back."
Parker could see Gail through the glass in the door. The broker looked like she
had slept in the clothes she had on and there was sweat running down her face.
She fell forward when Parker yanked the door open. Parker looked down on her
when Gail used her taller body to steady herself. "Yes, can I help
you?"
"Where's Emily?" Without the car Gail knew Emily couldn't have gone
far without the help of her new friend. The tennis player just crossed her arms
and stood just inside the door looking at her. "Look I just want to talk
to her. We had a little falling out and I just want the chance to set it
right."
"The next time I see her I'll let her know that you want to talk with her.
It's her decision to make if she wants to do that so why don't you give her
some space to think things out. Or at least for the bruise on her arm to
fade." Parker waited to see if Gail was going to say anything else or if
she was going to leave quietly. Parker wasn't worried about Emily's safety,
only how she was taking this unexpected visit, it was the reason she had left
Abby in the gym with her to keep her company.
"I'm not going away without a fight, Parker, just remember that. Emily's
mine, and what happens between us is none of your business." Parker just
slammed the door in the woman's face. Anyone that felt that way about women
didn't deserve to be with one as special as Emily.
"Butt head," Parker muttered to herself. She stood in the kitchen
looking out the window to make sure Gail was on her way back to the house next
door. Parker had wanted more time with the pilot before she left, but having
the girlfriend she had just left right next door didn't make for the best of
situations. She walked back into the gym to find Emily on the floor with Abby.
"Gail wants to talk to you." Emily had such a sad look on her face that
Parker stopped any other teasing comment she thought of making. "She's
gone so don't worry about it, Emily. We'll put Abby out for awhile just in case
so smile for me."
"I should have put a stop to this relationship a long time ago. It's my
fault really, I didn't love Gail the way she was expecting me to but it just
got to be something comfortable. That wasn't fair to her for me to have stayed
this long, but I'm just tired of the arguing we're constantly doing." Abby
rolled to his other side so Emily could rub him some more.
The small blonde
found him waiting for her outside her bedroom that morning, and she was coming
to like him as much as his owner.
"You don't owe me any explanations. The most important thing for you is to
do what's right for you. Do you have a place to stay once you get back into the
city?" If Gail was capable of violence, Parker didn't want Emily anywhere
near her.
"Yeah I'm staying with a friend until I find a place. Let me go and get
breakfast started and you go take that shower. No, Parker, it will help me take
my mind off all this stuff." Emily spoke over the objection Parker was
about to make. "I don't get many vacations so I think I should get to do
what I think is fun, and for me that's cooking."
"You're the boss so have at it. Abby, go outside boy." The dog put
his paw over his eyes as if he knew what Parker had asked would put an end to
his massage. Both Emily and Parker laughed at the ham's antics getting him to
move from his spot next to Emily.
Parker slipped on a robe when she heard Emily calling her to breakfast after
she had finished with her shower. Her guest did indeed know her way around the
kitchen Parker could see when she sat down to a wonderful omelet, toast and
hash browns. To make Parker happy, Emily had made hot chocolate instead of
coffee smiling when the blue eyes rolled at how good it was.
"What is it about you and hot chocolate?" Emily held her own mug of
the hot brew watching the cloud that marred Parker's face for a moment. Parker
looked like she reliving a nightmare and Emily was about to tell her it was all
right not to answer, but Parker surprised her by telling her something very
personal.
"When I was little it was the happiest memory I have of my father. We
would be the first ones up and he would stand at the stove and make us each a
cup of the stuff. Not the mix either, my dad shaved chocolate and stirred it in
slowly with sugar until it was just right. Over the years it became our ritual
every morning, sitting at the table and discussing all kinds of different
things. Then at around sixteen or seventeen he found out that I was like Gray
and Kimmie and he stopped talking to me all together. I would wait for him
before I had to leave for practice, but he wouldn't step out of his bedroom
until I had left. Maybe it was all for the best since when we did talk all we
could do was scream at each other." Emily reached across the table and put
her hand over Parker's. It seemed absurd to her that people who were so rigid
and bigoted had children.
"I'm sorry for asking, Parker."
"It's all right. All those cups I had as a kid just make me love the
stuff. My parents may not accept me now, but drinking hot chocolate reminds me
of a time they did." The big smile Emily had seen on television a million
times when she watched Parker play was being aimed at her from across the
table. Things could have been better in her life, but Emily was grateful that
her parents had accepted her choices without censor. They just wanted her to be
happy and find someone that would share her life.
"You're a wonderful person, Parker, and in time your parents will come to
realize that. I've only known you a couple of days and I have at least that
part figured out." Parker turned her hand over and squeezed Emily's
fingers. She was glad that she had offered the pretty blonde a place to stay
the night. Emily would leave in little over an hour and she would in all
likelihood never see her again, but she was still glad she had done it.
Parker packed all of Emily's bags into the trunk of the car after Emily had
gotten dressed. She saluted the pilot when she came out of the room in her
uniform getting a slap on the arm for her trouble. When they pulled out,
neither of them saw the disheveled woman sitting on one of the dunes that
separated the houses. It wasn't noon yet, but Gail held a glass of scotch in
one hand and the scrap of paper she had found on the beach the day before in
the other. She had just known that Parker was lying about Emily and seeing her
girlfriend in the car just proved that.
"You can't say that I didn't warn you, Parker King."
*************************************************************
***********
Emily was in line for take off behind five other jets, so her thoughts turned
to the last two days of her life. She had left Gail and met Parker; the latter
made her smile. Parker had dropped her off at the airport and insisted on
parking and walking her in. It was incredible how many people on the way to her
gate recognized the tennis star walking with her.
At her gate Parker had handed over her bag and a card with all her numbers on
it. Before their last good bye a woman had come over with her young daughter
and asked Parker if she would take a picture with the girl.
Parker handed the
camera to Emily and posed with both mother and child.
Emily almost teased the
two that she was going to have to back up to fit their smiles in the frame.
Like the night before Parker kissed her gently on the lips then turned and
walked away. Emily would go back to her flight schedule and Parker to her
grueling practice schedule to prepare for New York and the Open. The voice from
the control tower spoke in her ear and they were cleared for take off.
"Goodbye, Parker." Her copilot looked at her to see if she had said
something but Emily was focused on getting the jet off the ground. Emily was
sure that in the next two months Parker would forget her and move on to someone
else. From the ground Parker watched the jet take flight as the same thought
went through her head about Emily.
*************************************************************
***********
"You are ready, Boris. I think the other women at this tournament, they
are in big trouble," said Natasha after their practice one day.
Parker had
used the month to work on all of her shots and to improve her stamina through
workouts. Gary had planned for the higher than normal heat factor in New York
that summer through extra running time.
"Thanks, Natasha, I'm feeling good and looking forward to playing. You
promise you'll come up to practice with me?" Parker wiped her face off and
packed her rackets after her last practice at home. They were taking the next
couple of days off to take care of last minute stuff before heading to New
York. Abby was staying with Nick for the next couple of weeks until her friend
flew up to meet her and Gary in the city.
"I wouldn't miss it especially since Gray will be there. If I can't have
you, my friend, then I will make a play for that sister of yours." With
careful planning both of Parker's sisters would be there for most of the play.
"If I'm lucky then I will get to compare her ass to the billboard of yours
you did a while back."
"Please don't remind me of that. I'll put in a good word for you and I'll
see you in two weeks. Gary set up some playing time for us once you
arrive." Natasha kissed both of Parker's cheeks before leaving promising
she would call once she arrived in New York.
Four days later the tennis player and coach arrived in New York and checked
into the Renaissance Hotel. After they registered and unpacked the couple
headed to the Stage Deli for sandwiches and a slice of cheesecake. It was their
first indulgence after settling in.
The next day Parker walked over to Central Park for an early morning run. As
she took time to stretch she couldn't help but notice the woman that was
staring at her as she went through her own stretching routine. The letters
threatening her life has started coming more regularly and Parker found herself
looking around for threats whenever she was out alone.
There had been more than
enough arguments between Gary and her on the subject, but she refused to bend
to what he and Nick wanted. If she started living her life in fear or altered
the way she went about her routines, the idiots sending the mail would start to
win in her opinion.
"I'm sorry to stare but I just wanted to say good luck." The blonde
woman broke her silent staring and addressed Parker. When she straightened out
Parker noticed that the woman equaled her in height.
"Thanks, I appreciate it." Before they could get into an in depth
conversation Parker put the earpieces to her radio in place and started down
the path. It was at this time of the morning that she missed the tranquility of
the beach.
The next two weeks was like in any tournament Parker played in, the toughest.
The waiting to play was the one thing she had never gotten used to, but it was
she attributed to the fast starts that marked her style of play. There was one
thing that was biting into that boredom this time though, and that was whether
she would try to find Emily or not. The pilot hadn't called all summer and
Parker was trying to figure out why that was. Had Emily moved on, or gone back
to Gail? Even if she had, Parker felt the woman had owed her at least one phone
call.
Parker finished her run then put in two hours of practice on the court. Gary
found her in her room sitting by the window reading a book a few hours after
they had gotten back. He hated to disturb the boxer and t-shirt clad player,
but it was time Parker got out of her funk.
"Want to go out tonight?" He took the chair across from her after
knocking her feet to the ground.
"Aren't you supposed to keep me indoors eating healthy foods and drinking
distilled water, or something along those lines?" Gary laughed at the
arched eyebrow aimed in his direction. "Not surely to lead me astray in
the big city?"
"I was thinking dinner, Parker, not a night of picking up hookers."
"I don't know, a hooker can be a new bonding experience for us. I promise
