You were no stranger to the summer guests. There was some grasp of the history in your mind; your mom had been a pretty big deal in the women's tennis world when she was young, and ever since she retired she would invite the winner of the Italian Open's women's singles to spend the summer in your family's villa.

It was easy to pay them no mind when you were younger, but as you grew up it got harder to avoid, and as you developed a... type, you no longer wanted to ignore them.

Nothing more than crushes for years. That's what it had to be - no adult woman wanted to entertain the infatuations of your highschool years. You would play with them, let them use you as a hitting partner, and then spend frustrated nights scribbling into your diary.

Now you were older. You'd kept yourself from falling for last summer's visitor, but now it would only be fair to say you'd fallen twice as hard for this summer's.

Tashi was a force. Your mom had finally convinced you to join her at the Open, and it was over for you since then.

The first thing that caught your eye was the way she played. It was natural, animalistic in a way, but so incredibly poised at the same time. Like it was breathing for her. You knew from the first game that she would win, and you'd been trying to win her over since then.

She seemed to like you enough, but it was like there was a brick wall blocking you from reading her words and actions accurately. One day you would think you finally got her, and then another it would seem like she didn't care if you left your room or not.

Today was the former, though you knew better than to tell yourself it means something. After destroying you at a few sets, the two of you had swung by the villa just long enough to change and for her to grab a basket before she was dragging you off into the hills.

But this was... new. Sitting with her on an old sheet, surrounded by green, watching her eat figs while the Italian sun bathed her in gold. You were doomed.

Even her voice was warm right now. "Open the wine?"