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Post by Josephine Elwel on Mar 10, 2012 18:58:54 GMT -5
"You'd have guessed well," Joey replied, that barely there smile still on her lips. She assessed him thoroughly, and decided that he wasn't trying to kill her. He wouldn't have spent so much time actually talking to her, if he was. It relaxed her, if only a little.
"I don't have one with me," She told him. "I'll rent one too. And a couple of tennis balls. The courts were pretty empty when I passed them earlier, so hopefully my luck with hold out."
She pushed her seat back, a non verbal cue that she was ready to go if he was, and glanced at him with raised eyebrows.
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Post by Doug Whitlow on Mar 19, 2012 0:03:48 GMT -5
"I can be fairly competitive myself," Doug replied with a smile. "After all, I am training for the Olympics, right?"
When he was younger, in fact, he'd been so competitive that he had eventually decided that team sports weren't good for him. Before he went to Hogwarts, he had played on the football team back at his muggle school, and he would yell at the other players on his team if they missed a goal. Even in gym class, he'd had this problem. By the time he started at Hogwarts, he had been pretty bad about his competitive streak, and eventually decided to quit the Quidditch team before he hurt someone. Since then, he'd mellowed out quite a bit, but in general, he still felt individual sports were better for him. That way, when he lost, he had no one to blame but himself.
He took one last drink of water before standing up. "All right, you're on," he said readily. "Race you to the court?"
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Post by Josephine Elwel on May 19, 2012 21:16:31 GMT -5
Good... he was going to kill her on the tennis court (figuratively). Joey was fit and she was definitely athletic- it came from compensating for just how small she was, which on a deeper, more psychological level, came from a need to make Dr. Burkhartd pleased with her. She didn't know that now, of course, but as a young child, she'd been keenly aware of his disapproving eyes and how he assumed she wasn't much good to him- too small to be a fighter. But small had it's advantages.
All of that considered, she was still no Olympic athlete in training. She didn't hold any expectations of beating him, but hopefully she'd give him a run for his money.
When he suggested racing, she picked up her water bottle, and for a second, she quelled her instincts. She shouldn't race him- she shouldn't put herself in front of him, her eyes not on him, and give him an easy target to hit. She thought it, but she ignored it, and she couldn't explain why he made her set instinct aside.
"Did we say anything about playing fair?" she asked before she gave him a wicked smile and took off.
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Post by Doug Whitlow on May 27, 2012 15:35:24 GMT -5
Doug laughed as Josephine took off, leaving him in the dust. He couldn't deny that he was intrigued by her, and he hoped he'd get to learn more about her.
Despite the head start, Doug probably could have beaten her easily. He took off at a run, and pretty soon he was gaining on her. He debated letting her win, though. Josephine was clearly the competitive type, and wouldn't like to lose. And he did want to keep on her good side--just so he could spend more time with her in the future. On the other hand, she was also the type who would know the difference if he let her win. And she'd probably beat him in tennis, which wasn't exactly his game.
He was now hot on her heels, and just about to pass her. "Nice try!" he teased.
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Post by Josephine Elwel on Jun 13, 2012 19:49:15 GMT -5
What did it say about her that when he gained on her and overtook her, her first instinct was to fight? She bit it back, because this wasn't an escape and evade measure, it was just fun. Fun... She knew what that was, right?
Joey was competitive, yes, but she also played dirty. When he passed her, she reached out to grab his shirt. Unfortunately, he was too quick for her. Part of her hated that thought, because she always tried to hard to be better than anyone. But another part of her was intrigued, and she came up next to him a moment later, actually smiling.
"Very well done. Looks like I have my game cut out for me."
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Post by Doug Whitlow on Jul 29, 2012 14:28:24 GMT -5
"Thanks," he said, flushed and smiling--partially from the run, but also because he noticed her smile. It seemed to light up her face, proving what he'd already suspected. She was beautiful. "But I'm a runner, not a tennis player. This is very much anyone's game."
There was a stand at the edge of the courts, where people could rent tennis equipment, and he led her over to it, giving the bored-looking guy behind the counter his member number, so the rental could be charged to his account. Doug glanced at Josephine, half-suspecting that she'd try to stop him, but really, it was silly... it wasn't as if he was using cash.
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Post by Josephine Elwel on Sept 5, 2012 0:43:22 GMT -5
"We'll see." Her smile turned into a smirk, for just a moment, before it was gone, and just like that, he was at the counter, and she knew exactly what he was doing. It made her uncomfortable. She didn't like owing anyone- it made ties and connections that were just better left alone. "I'll pay you back for that," she commented as they were taking their rackets and making their way to the courts.
The second one from the end was the only court that was currently open, and they made their way towards it. It had been a while since she played, but there was strength and skill in her that often took people by surprise, and she was hoping to use that to her advantage.
And then she caught the look on his face- it was a natural, soft smile. A happy look, and he didn't know she was watching him. She needed to not be so competative... this could be fun. It didn't have to be about winning and losing. "Well... ready for this?"
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Post by Doug Whitlow on Oct 15, 2012 22:33:12 GMT -5
Of course, Doug didn't see it as such a big deal. It wasn't even like paying for a date; he was just doing it because it was easier and he wanted to be nice. He'd do it for anyone and he didnt expect or want to be paid back. He definitely wasn't thinking about possible ulterior motives. It was just easier yoo do it this way.
Handing her one of the reackets, he turned to her and nodded. "Sure. The question is, are you ready for me?"
He flashed a roguish grin at her and pushed his hair back out of his face. "All right. Who goes first?" he asked, twirling his racket.
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Post by Josephine Elwel on Jan 8, 2013 1:50:02 GMT -5
Joey couldn't have known it in that moment, but when she responded, "Oh, I'm ready," she might have been answering a deeper question. He might have even been asking a deeper question. Already, he'd managed to get further with her than anyone had, almost ever. That was dangerous enough.
But what could it hurt, really? If he was supposed to be tailing her, she could lose him pretty easily.
"You can serve," she told him as she took the racket he offered and headed towards the left side of the court.
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Post by Doug Whitlow on Mar 20, 2013 0:28:15 GMT -5
Of course, Doug wasn't thinking about any of those things at that moment. Nothing in his experience had taught him to be suspicious or wary of people in the way that she was. Oh, he knew that there were dangerous people out there, but he honestly believed that most people were good at heart, and he went into most situations with an open mind and an open heart. He didn't know it, but his trusting nature would get him into trouble one day.
"All right," he replied with a smile. He thought about telling her that the determined gleam in her eye made her look beautiful, but something told him that she wasn't accustomed to such compliments and probably wouldn't believe him. So he didn't say anything as he he backed up and got into position to serve.
Once they were both in position, he took a deep breath before serving the ball cleanly over the net in her direction.
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Post by Josephine Elwel on Jul 27, 2014 15:34:38 GMT -5
She returned the serve, and they began a nice volley between them. Once they got a feel feel for each other, they intensity of the game seemed to increase, and Joey was in her element.She was having fun, though, which was not something she had been able to say in a long time. Fun was not something her lifestyle afforded her much of, but she certainly wasn't as tense now.
They were tied 30/30 when Joey stopped to take a drink of her water. Whatever he said, he was pretty good at this, and they were a pretty even match.
"One day," she called out between sips, "I'm going to tell people I played tennis with an Olympian. You're quite good at this game, too." It was the first thing she had said to him that was unprompted, other than asking him if he played.
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Post by Doug Whitlow on Oct 7, 2016 17:41:33 GMT -5
Considering that he spent much of his spare time training and exercising, the truth was that Doug didn’t get out a lot. Training took a lot of his time and dating wasn’t really on the schedule, especially since he spent more time around men than women.
So Joey intrigued him greatly. Most women he did see were girly-girls—the wives, girlfriends, sisters, and daughters of other Olympic hopefuls and trainers and coaches and advisers. Joey was not a girly-girl, and yet she was still very feminine and exciting to him. She was a girl he could really relate to.
Or so he thought.
He laughed at her compliment. “Thanks. You’re not so bad yourself. You’re a regular Billie Jean King.”
But prettier, he almost added, before stopping himself. Something told him that she wasn’t used to being told that she was attractive, and he didn’t want to lay it on too thick.
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