And hearing it, she understood he was nervous. (That’s what all the ball bouncing was about, to show he was at ease, but he wasn’t, not even close.) She understood why he was nervous, too: he was afraid she’d witnessed him in a vulnerable state. Charlie had been so nervous herself all night, so filled with uncertainty and dread, it hadn’t occurred to her that he might be as well, even if for an entirely different reason. And knowing he was made her relax, every bit of tension suddenly draining out of her body. “Not long,” she said, holding his eye.

He continued to bounce the ball in that casual/not-casual way. “How long’s not long?”

“However long it takes to run up to a window, throw a ball, run away from a window. Two seconds? Three maybe?”

He nodded, but then turned his face away, so she couldn’t tell if he believed her or not. He must’ve, though, because when he turned back thirty seconds later, a smile had formed on his lips—half-cocky, half-lazy, all Jude. “Winner takes all, the note said. High stakes.”

“The highest,” she agreed.

“Spin to decide who serves first?”

“No. I’ll do the deciding. You serve first.”

Without waiting for his reaction, Charlie turned around. She unsheathed her racquet, tossed the cover, then strolled back to the baseline. Crouching down, she got into ready position. Jude started his service motion. The ball came at her. She let it pass by without even attempting a swing. “Whoops,” she said.

He looked at her, confused.

She moved from the deuce side to the ad. Again the ball came at her. Again she let it pass without attempting a swing. “Should we do this another forty or fifty times?” she said. “Or are you starting to get the picture?”

“I think I might be.”

“I could go through the hit-and-miss motions, but I’d rather not.”

Nodding, beginning to walk from his side of the court to hers, Jude said, “Yeah, too warm a night for that.”

“Exactly. And I don’t want to get all hot and sweaty. Not playing tennis, anyway.”

“That would make you the loser in this competition then.”

“Yes.”

“And me the winner.”

“Yes.”

“So I take all.”

“Those were the terms.”

He was close to her now, very close, their bodies nearly touching, and she could feel the heat of him through his T-shirt and shorts, the swirl of his breath in her ear when he said, “Then I think it only right that you should take it”—pausing, grinning—“off.”