The Kings IV I

34

Jo

"One of my biggest clients wants us to play tennis next week."

I pulled my sunglasses off of my face, looking over at her. "Oh?"

She stood up, looking at me as she bent over to grab her glass. "You're good at tennis, right?"

I thought my answer through carefully, my eyes going wide. "Y-yeah."

"Right, why did I even ask?" She asked, "you're Josiah King."

She smiled and pulled her sunglasses off of her face, walking towards the bar. I jolted up from my chair and jogged to catch up to her.

"Minor setback," I began, standing next to her in line.

She looked over at me. "Mm hmm?"

"It's been a while," I lied, scratching the back of my neck, "I-I'm going to need to practice."

She smiled. "Yeah, no problem. There's courts here."

"You're kidding," I said, and my displeasure was apparent in my voice.

"Lucky you, right?" She said, smiling as she placed her glass on the bar.

"Yes, my luck is always coming through," I chuckled, bracing my elbows on the bar.

"The guy, he actually knows Adora. They've known each other for, like, thirty years."

"Jesus Christ, how old is she?"

"She's forty-two, Jo," she laughed out.

"Well, who is he?"

"Landon Wolf," she said, "and his fiancé."

"And they're good at tennis?" I asked, biting down on my lip.

"They're the people that play tennis on their off days," she said, "yeah, they're pretty good."

"Fuck me," I said, leaning my head back.

"What?" She asked, placing a hand on my arm, "it's not like you're having to learn everything. We've just got to brush you up."

I smiled, nodding. "Yeah, that's right."

She smiled up at me, pressing a kiss to my shoulder. "Are you getting anything?"

"Uh, jack and coke, hold the coke," I said, nodding towards the bartender.

She fell into a fit of laughter, her head falling against my chest. I pressed a kiss to the top of her head, gently rubbing her back with a smile.

She pulled away from me, resting her hands on my hips. "I say we lay out for a few more minutes, grab some lunch, and then go to the courts."

I slowly nodded, squinting up at the sun. "Yes."

She grabbed my drink, taking a sip. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you're not excited about tennis."

"I'll be transparent," I said, "tennis is not my sport."

"I thought you'd mastered every sport?" She asked, sipping on her drink as we walked back to our chairs.

"And I have, don't doubt that," I said, "but tennis is not my strongest point. I'm not bad, I'm just not, like, an Olympian."

"I'm sure you'll do great."

I sat down, bracing my elbows on my thighs. I looked up at her and nodded, a weak smile on my face.

She tilted her head over, smiling. "Maybe we can have tennis courts at our house, who knows."

She sat down and pulled her sunglasses down on her face, giggling. "Just kidding. Don't want to scare you too much."