Match Point Read online

  “I see you don’t have much to look at,” Miranda said dryly.

  Karen and Mark both chuckled, accustomed to the arresting effect their house had on others.

  “It’s a small house.” Karen gestured to the space around them. “We don’t have hundreds of rooms, but what we saved on real estate we spent on a seascape.”

  Jodi kicked off her shoes. It felt good to be back in her friends’ beautiful home. She had visited a few times over the years and felt at ease here. She and Karen kept in touch by email, mostly birthday phone calls and around other important occasions. She gazed out the window and remembered the terribly uncomfortable visit she had had here with Tara, early on in their relationship.

  Tara had, of course, been enraptured by the ocean panorama and had inquired obsessively about the value of the property. Oblivious to Karen and Mark’s disinterest in selling, she urged them to have the place appraised. When Tara became pushy, Jodi had felt more and more embarrassed, hardly able to meet her friends’ eyes when she hugged them goodbye. They had never really spoken of it, but Karen had been warmly supportive when Jodi emailed her about the breakup.

  Jodi shook off the memories. “Here, give me your bag,” she said to Miranda. “I’ll toss our stuff in the spare room.”

  “I’ll come with you. I’d like to see it.”

  Jodi padded down the cool, wooden hallway and opened the second door. “That’s their bedroom.” She pointed to the door across the hallway. “The bathroom is over there.”

  The room was sparsely furnished, but the same breathtaking vista was visible through a window smaller than the one in the living room. A large inflatable mattress sat next to the window, and the fold out couch had been turned into a second bed.

  “Which do you prefer?” Jodi asked politely. “Blow-up or foldout?”

  Miranda dropped her bag and jumped onto the blow-up bed, which bobbed up and down beneath her. “I’d like this bed next to the window if you don’t mind. I can watch the stars and the ocean all night.”

  “Be my guest.” Jodi stretched out on the sofa bed. “I’ll have the same view from the couch and I find them infinitely preferable to blow-ups.”

  Karen popped her head in the door. “Would you ladies like a drink before dinner? Mark’s got the bar going if you’d like to join us.”

  “Sounds good to me.” Jodi groaned as she rolled off the bed. “Every muscle I have aches.”

  “Well then, a stiff drink should sort you right out,” Karen replied. “Miranda?”

  “Yes, please.” Miranda stared out the window. “I can’t quite believe we’re here. This is like some kind of fairy tale.”

  Karen nodded. “Sometimes I still can’t believe it either.”

  “More importantly, dreamers, what’s for dinner?” Jodi bumped Karen’s hip. “What gourmet feast have you prepared for us, oh food goddess?”

  Karen bumped her back, her soft, round figure a charming contrast to Jodi’s lithe, athletic build.

  “Always thinking about food, aren’t you? Mark thought we should fire up the barbecue tonight and have a big vegetarian smorgasbord out on the deck. James and Carly from down the street are coming—they’re very interested in tennis and apparently have a thousand questions for you. I think James fancies himself as pro material, actually. And Cheryl Miller is coming too. You remember her from last time you were here?”

  Jodi frowned and shook her head.

  “She owns the café in town, you remember her—big red hair and quite loud? She was very impressed with you.”

  “Oh, yes,” Jodi said dryly, recalling the large, enthusiastic woman with the shock of red hair. “She seemed to think my knee had been designated as a resting place for her hand.”

  Karen chuckled. “Well, I thought if we didn’t invite her tonight and she found out you’d been here she might never serve me in the café again. We’ll just have to seat you opposite her this time.”

  “Anything to keep the locals happy,” Jodi said with a sweet smile. “Now, I could definitely use that drink.”

  The evening was perfect. The black sky mingled with the ocean and provided the perfect accompaniment to their simple meal and friendly conversation. The only way to tell where the ocean ended and the sky began was by the wash of bright stars.

  Miranda fit into the group well and laughter flowed as abundantly as the wine.

  Cheryl, from a safe distance across the table, amused the group with bawdy jokes and a quick sense of humor. By the time they had all scraped the last morsels of Karen’s magnificent peach pie from their bowls, Jodi realized she was quite ready for bed. The strain on her body from the previous week, along with a little wine and a fun evening, had left her happily tired, and she was quite pleased when the guests began to take their leave. Jodi shook hands warmly all round, appreciative of the well wishes for her upcoming tournaments.

  As the door finally closed behind Cheryl—who had insisted on hugging Jodi just a little too tightly, for just a little too long­—Jodi yawned and leaned against the dark wooden door.

  “I’m beat, you guys. Can we leave the dishes for morning?”

  “What dishes?” Karen slipped an arm around Jodi’s waist. “We had a barbecue. The only things to wash are the plates and they’re in the dishwasher already!”

  Jodi sighed. “Oh that’s wonderful,” she said. “We should eat more barbecues. So, does anyone mind if I go to bed?”

  “Not at all.” Karen gave her a squeeze. “We’re quite okay here with Miranda, aren’t we Mark? We have a lot of questions for her, actually.”

  “Hey, no fair,” Jodi appealed, suddenly nervous about what they might drag out of Miranda if she went to bed. “Miranda, don’t let them talk your ear off, okay?”

  “I think I can manage,” Miranda said with a grin. “You go. I’m not quite ready for sleep. I want to look at these stars for a bit longer.”

  Jodi kissed Karen and Mark goodnight and nodded to Miranda as she made her way from the room. The realization that she and Miranda would share a bedroom that night set her belly aflutter.

  “It’s not like we’re sharing a bed,” Jodi muttered to herself. As she brushed her teeth, she noted the tired lines around her eyes and the slight pink in her cheeks from the sun. I will not lose my head, she thought. We’re sleeping in the same room for one night. Tomorrow we’ll catch the plane home and life resumes. This is just a bit out of the ordinary. But I am excited to be sleeping in the same room as her. She rubbed her face roughly with a towel. Stop it. She would think of the wild card and go to bed.

  Jodi lay on the firm little foldout bed under a light summer sheet, comforted by the murmur of conversation from the other room as she stared out at the stars. She focused on her breathing as she’d been taught to do on the court, and tried to center herself; she needed to let go of the thoughts and feelings that clamored for her attention. Elated over her win, confused by the emotions stirred up by seeing her dad, and exhausted from the physical exertion of the tournament, Jodi drifted off to sleep. Sometime later, she awoke to the sounds of shuffling and Miranda quietly swearing.

  Dazed, Jodi sat up.

  “Shit,” she heard a whisper in the darkness. Bright starlight outlined Miranda’s figure.

  “Are you okay?” Jodi mumbled, pushing herself up on her arm.

  “Sorry, Jodi,” Miranda whispered, “I’m so sorry to wake you. Go back to sleep, okay?”

  “Okay.” Jodi laid back down on her pillow and closed her eyes, dimly aware of Miranda’s movements. “Wait, what’s wrong?”

  “I’m trying to sort out my bed.”

  “What’s the matter with it?”

  “It’s deflated and I can’t figure out how to blow it back up.”

  Jodi fumbled with the bedside lamp. She winced and shut her eyes tightly as bright light flared through the room. When she cracked open an eye she saw Miranda, dressed in a pair of short, boyish pajamas, crouched at the end of the sadly deflated blow-up bed.

  “Sorry,�
� Miranda apologized. “I woke up and the bed had gone so flat it was sucking me in to it. I think there’s a valve or something here.” She pulled at a tube sticking out from the bed. “I think I can blow it back up again.”

  Jodi watched Miranda put her lips to the valve and blow into it repeatedly. It was a losing proposition. The harder Miranda blew, the flatter the bed became.

  “Shit,” Miranda swore quietly again, only this time with more urgency.

  “I think you need a pump or something for beds like that,” Jodi said groggily.

  “Yeah, I guess.” Miranda stood up, hands on her hips as she stared at the bed. Resignedly, she dragged the sheet onto the floor and pushed the bed into the corner of the room.

  “What are you doing?” Jodi yawned.

  “I’m going to sleep on the floor.”

  Jodi eyed the thin sheet and the hard wooden floor. “You can’t do that.” She grabbed her pillow and wriggled as far over to one side of the small couch bed as she could. “Here, you can share with me.”

  “Oh, I couldn’t! Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” Miranda protested. “Maybe there’s a spare blanket or something in one of these cupboards.” But when she pulled them open, they were empty.

  “Miranda, don’t be ridiculous. It’s fine. Just come up here. It’s the middle of the night and we can’t fix this now, so let’s just get some sleep.”

  “Are you sure?” Miranda’s voice was uncertain.

  “Yes, I’m sure. I don’t snore and I don’t even hog the bed, so let’s just get some sleep now okay?”

  “Okay.”

  Miranda paused and then slid quickly into the bed.

  “Thanks, Jodi,” she said quietly.

  When Jodi flicked off the light, the room was once again bathed in starlight.

  “It’s no problem.” Jodi closed her eyes but awareness of Miranda next to her made sleep difficult. Miranda shifted slightly and Jodi tried not to imagine how close they were in this little bed, with only a light sheet between them. She turned onto her back abruptly, and then turned again, trying to shake off the thoughts and find a comfortable position.

  “Are you okay?” Miranda asked quietly.

  Jodi turned to face Miranda. As her eyes adjusted to the dark she could see Miranda turned toward her, shadows from the night outside playing across her face.

  “I guess,” Jodi replied. Her heart beat loudly in her ears.

  “You just ’guess’?” Miranda smoothed a wayward strand of Jodi’s hair. “What’s wrong?”

  Jodi intertwined Miranda’s fingers with her own and kissed them softly.

  “It’s hard to sleep with you this close,” Jodi said in a thick voice.

  “I think I know what you mean.” Miranda leaned forward and kissed Jodi.

  As their lips met Jodi felt alive, her mouth opening to deepen the kiss. She circled Miranda’s palm with her thumb as their tongues slid against each other. Fragrant night air stole in through the open window. Miranda trailed her fingers down Jodi’s back, setting off shivers across Jodi’s skin. She could feel the delicious curves of Miranda’s body under her light nightshirt as their bodies brushed against each other and the last traces of sleep left her. So this is it, she thought reverently. This is what she feels like. Jodi let go of Miranda’s hand to pull her in closer, hooking her thumb under the waistband of Miranda’s shorts.

  “I want you,” Jodi murmured, breaking the kiss for a moment to stare into Miranda’s eyes.

  Waves crashed against the dark cliffs outside their window as they gazed at each other, their room strangely lit up in the darkness by moon and starlight.

  “You’ve got me.”

  Miranda suddenly captured Jodi’s mouth, kissing her deeply. Her hand skimmed lightly over Jodi’s ribs, pushing aside her shirt to brush fingertips lightly against the sensitive skin under Jodi’s shirt. Jodi impatiently tugged her shirt off and reached for Miranda’s.

  “Take yours off too,” she whispered urgently. “I want to feel you against me.”

  They lay facing each other in the soft shadows, Jodi breathless at the sight of Miranda’s creamy skin, the perfect curve of her breast, the dip of her abdomen running under her shorts. She lowered her head to Miranda’s breast, using her tongue to ignite spot fires of craving.

  A lone gull called out from the cliffs below.

  Jodi closed her eyes as Miranda impatiently reclaimed her mouth, slipping Jodi’s shorts down as their bodies entwined under the soft summer sheet. A tiny voice in the back of her mind tried to remind Jodi that she had told herself she wouldn’t do this. As if I could stop it now. Miranda’s caresses drifted lower, sliding over Jodi’s taut belly, into the warmth below, and all rationale disappeared. Her only thought was to have more, more of Miranda.

  “Touch me now,” Jodi said. “I need you to touch me.”

  She held Miranda tightly, hands skating over bare skin as they found each other in the semidarkness. Miranda arched her back, pressing deeply against Jodi as a bead of sweat ran down between her breasts. Warm night air filled the room as they moved together, matching each other’s rhythm, pulses quickening unbearably as they touched each other.

  “Oh, God,” Miranda whispered, her voice tight, “I’m going to—”

  “Same,” Jodi cried, feeling the world tilt slightly as she held on tightly to Miranda, cascading over the edge into orgasm.

  And as the moon finally passed out of sight of their window they eventually slept, tangled in each other’s arms.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Jodi awoke to the sound of voices in the hallway, the unfamiliar weight of Miranda’s arm across her chest causing her a momentary sense of confusion. She shifted slightly, her sensitive bare skin singing with arousal as she felt Miranda’s naked body pressed into her back.

  Oh my God. Memory of the night they had just shared flooded in, causing her to throb. Jodi’s eyes flew open and she winced at the bright sunshine streaming into the room. What had she done? Easing herself gingerly out of Miranda’s arms, she slid gently out of the bed, holding her breath. She prayed Miranda wouldn’t wake up. Grabbing her towel and some clothes from her bag she let herself quietly from the room and slipped across the narrow hallway to the bathroom.

  Oh. My. God. Jodi sat on the edge of the deep, claw-foot bath, taking shaky breaths. That had not been meant to happen. What the hell am I going to do now? Her eyes flicked around the quaint little bathroom as if searching for answers in amongst the shelf of towel sets and lotions. She certainly couldn’t just pretend it hadn’t happened this time. It had been hard enough the last few weeks to ignore the kiss they had shared in Miranda’s kitchen. But this—this was huge. Jodi sighed, leaning into the bath to turn on the shower taps. How had she let this happen? She’d promised herself she would focus on her tennis and not get caught up in any distractions.

  She shivered as she waited for the water to run warm. Last night certainly had the power to become an enormous distraction, she decided, shedding her towel and climbing over the side of the bath to stand under the deluge. The showerhead was wide and the jet of water was strong. Oh why did I do that? Jodi soaped herself with a thick bar of soap that smelled faintly of vanilla, feeling suddenly weak as she remembered Miranda’s hands on her. Miranda stroking her, Miranda kissing her, Miranda touching her until she was lost to herself. A sharp spasm of desire tugged at her and she groaned quietly, turning her face into the water. She briefly considered getting out of the shower and slipping back into the bed with Miranda. But that would just make things even more complicated, she thought. She turned off the hot tap, gasping as the shock of cold water hit her warm skin. Take a cold shower they say, she told herself grimly, quickly rinsing the soap from her body. She stood under the freezing water for as long as she could bear and then shut it off, rubbing herself briskly with the thick, scratchy towel.

  I will have to talk to her. She sighed again as she looked at herself in the mirror for a moment, the dark lines under her eyes the only giveaway o
f a night spent barely sleeping. Perhaps her lips were a little redder, a little fuller, she thought, studying them as she leaned in closer. The crashing memory of her mouth, hot against Miranda’s taut skin caused her to reel and she gripped the little white basin under the mirror. Clearly a cold shower was not going to cut it. Steeling herself, she got dressed quickly and headed back across the hallway. This was not going to be easy.

  Miranda was standing by the window, already dressed in shorts and a soft, dark singlet, her back to the door.

  “Miranda,” Jodi said hesitantly.

  Miranda turned slowly away from the view. Her hooded eyes seemed abnormally pale against the glittering blue of the sky and sea behind her.

  “Miranda, we have to talk.”

  Miranda inclined her head, as if waiting to hear more. Neither of them moved toward the other across the room.

  Jodi cleared her throat nervously. “About last night.” She waited for Miranda to speak, biting her lip anxiously. “I think it’s best if we can just put it behind us,” Jodi said quickly in the face of Miranda’s continuing silence. Miranda’s face was disconcertingly unreadable.

  When she finally spoke, Miranda’s tone was cool. “I thought you might say that.”

  “I really need to focus on my tennis,” Jodi explained gently, feeling out of her depth. She had always avoided the difficult conversations in relationships, preferring to gloss over the top of things for the sake of peace. She took a deep breath and went on. “I can’t afford any distractions right now, and stuff like this,” Jodi looked around the room awkwardly, “well stuff like this just makes it impossible for me to concentrate. I’m sorry. I can’t do this. I’m right on the verge of winning the wild card and I just have to focus on that.”