Living in a Postcard

By Daisy Jordan

In May 2007, two photographs drastically changed the course of Hilton Joliet’s life. Now, twenty months later, the wild ride hasn’t stopped. It’s a new year of jetting off to a different location each week, hanging with the best tennis players in the world, taking the scandalous pictures of them her boss at Game Set Match magazine loves her for, and finally starting to work on her book, which will document one year in her life through pictures and places and be called Living in a Postcard, a term Hilton and her best friend Jill coined to represent living in the moments they would die for.

For Hilton, that’s what 2009 is all about. After spending the off season adjusting to the end of her seven-year relationship with her boyfriend Luke, who is still her roommate, Hilton rejoins the tennis tour ready to have the time of her life with her two favorite players, bad-boy-turned-actually-kind-of-funny-hookup-buddy Haidin Bayliss and her best friend on tour Tanner Bruin, the guy who might be perfect for her if she were a little more over Luke and he were ready for something more serious than a six-month joyride.

Sundance, Utah, the opening location for Hilton’s book, provides a week of hot tub parties and laughter-filled twists and tumbles down the slopes. But it’s not long before the twists and tumbles look dreadfully different. Hilton’s no-strings-attached fun with Haidin takes a confusing turn, Tanner drops a bomb about his girlfriend Austin, and Hilton withholds the biggest tennis story of the year from GSM in a failed attempt to protect a friend. In the midst of her boss’s fury, one player’s maddening slump, a season-halting injury, an encounter with a ghost from the past, and the disturbing moment of realizing the actual postcard that is her life no longer matches the image in her head, Hilton manages to find another explosive story that will save her job. But all along she’s been missing the most unexpected, and yet maybe the most obvious, story of all, one that will once again drastically change her life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Daisy Jordan
• Release date: Oct 27, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311674135

Daisy Jordan

I am a YA and adult fiction author currently living in Fort Myers, Florida. My books include YA and general fiction, mostly about relationships and everyday life, with some extra plot twists thrown in for fun! My characters reappear from one novel to the next, and even when they're not main characters in the current book, you can still get updates on their lives. I love writing because I get to capture emotions people feel in everyday life and play with my readers' emotions! ;) I write characters people can relate to, and I almost always end a book with a cliffhanger to keep my readers coming back. Plus, life is always better with a little suspense! ;)

Book preview

Game Set Match presents

YOU WON’T WANT LOVE ONCE YOU KNOW HOW TO SCORE

A beginner’s guide to tennis

A tennis match is divided into either 3 or 5 sets. To win a match, a player must win either 2 sets (in a best-of-3 match) or 3 sets (in a best-of-5 match).

To win a set, a player must win 6 games. The player must win the set by at least 2 games (example: 6-2).

To win a game, a player must score 4 points and win by at least 2. The scoring, however, does not go 1, 2, 3, 4. It goes as follows:

love = 0 points

15 = 1 point

30 = 2 points

40 = 3 points

There is no specific name for the 4th point, because as soon as someone wins it, the game is over, unless the score going into that point was tied at 40-40. If the players are tied at 3 points apiece, or 40-40, this is called deuce. Whoever wins the next point after the deuce has the advantage. If this player wins the next point as well, he/she wins the game. If the player who does not have the advantage wins the next point, the score returns to deuce. This goes on until someone wins the game.

If the score reaches 6 games to 5 in a set, another game is played. If the score is then 7-5, the set is over. If the score is then 6-6, a tiebreaker, or "breaker," is played. To win the tiebreaker, a player must score 7 points and win by at least 2 (example: 7-4). In the tiebreaker the score simply goes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and so on. If the score is tied at 6-6, 7-7, or higher, the game goes on until one player wins by 2 (example: 12-10). The winner of the tiebreaker wins the set 7 games to 6, or 7-6.

In 3 major tournaments—the Australian Open, the French Open, and Wimbledon—tiebreakers are not allowed in the 5th set of matches. Therefore, if players are tied at 6 games apiece in the 5th set, they will continue playing normal games until one player has won by 2. The longest 5th set to ever be played was at Wimbledon in 2010, when John Isner of the US beat Nicolas Mahut of France 70-68 in the 5th set of their 1st-round match. (Note: The longest 5th set prior to this was in 2003, when Andy Roddick of the US beat Younes El Aynaoui of Morrocco 21-19 in the 5th set of their Australian Open quarterfinal. This match is referred to in the book as the longest 5th set in history, because the action of the book is taking place in 2009, prior to the Isner/Mahut match.)

Scores of matches are written and announced as follows in this example:

Player 1 d. Player 2: 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(1), 7-6(8).

The numbers in parentheses () tell the scores of the tiebreakers. The number shown in parentheses is the number of points scored by the player who lost the tiebreaker. Given this number, it can be determined how many the winner scored as well, since it is known the winner must score at least 7 and win by at least 2.

So, here is what can be interpreted from the above score:

1) Player 1 defeated Player 2.

2) This was a best-of-5 match, because Player 1 had to win 3 sets to win the match.

3) Player 1 won the 1st set 6 games to 4, lost the 2nd set 5 games to 7, and won the 3rd and 4th sets in tiebreakers.

4) In the 3rd-set tiebreaker, the losing player (Player 2) scored only 1 point. Therefore, it can be deduced that Player 1 scored 7 points since 7 points must be scored in order to win.

5) In the 4th-set tiebreaker, the losing player (Player 2) scored 8 points. This means Player 1 had to have scored 10 points, since the tiebreaker must be won by 2.

At the beginning of a match, a coin flip is performed to see who will serve the first game. The other player serves the second game, and they continue to switch back and forth every game of the match. Typically, players win the games they serve. Every time this happens, it is called a hold. Players are said to have "held serve." If a player is able to win a game while the other player is serving, it is called a break. The player who lost the game he/she served has "been broken." The following are some terms that go along with serving.

up a break: a player is ahead in the set because he/she has broken the other player’s serve (up 2 breaks would mean a player has broken the other player twice in the set, and so on)

down a break: a player is behind in the set because he/she has been broken (down 2 breaks would mean a player has been broken twice in the set, and so on)

on serve: no one has broken in the set; each player has held his/her own serve in every game

back on serve: each player has broken the other player an equal number of times in the set, so that the score is what it would be if each player had held his/her serve in every game

trade breaks: one player breaks, then the other player breaks back so that the score is back on serve

fault: a player’s serve does not land within the service lines on the court

2nd serve: after a fault, the player’s 2nd try to serve the ball within the service lines

double-fault: a player serves 2 faults in a row and therefore loses the point

let: a player serves and the ball hits the net on the way over but still lands within the service lines—the player then gets a free do-over

We don’t expect you to remember all of this, but feel free to use it as a guide, tear it out to keep by your TV when you watch tennis, refer to it while reading GSM, use it to improve your tennis lingo, etc. If you do take one thing from this how-to, just remember…love won’t help your game in this sport. GSM

Sundance, Utah

January 13-17, 2009

This is like, the biggest disaster of my life! Hilton cried with a wild laugh as she landed on her back in the snow, her legs splayed out in different directions. She could tell she’d lost one of her skis and had no idea which way it had gone.

Tanner appeared above her, holding her missing ski and laughing hysterically. His pale green eyes twinkled against the cloudy sky behind him. His face and the gray sky were all Hilton could see.

"You’re terrible! he said. Terrible!"

Hilton kicked at him with her foot that had no ski attached. It was hard though; her ski boots were freaking heavy. She laughed again and turned her head into the snow. She was already soaked, even under her thick ski pants and jacket. This had to be at least the twentieth time she’d fallen, and it was only her second time down the slope. Tanner had told her this slope wasn’t even close to as long as a regular slope either; it started only about halfway up the mountain. It had taken Hilton an hour to get down it the first time, and she’d needed a fifteen-minute break before she was ready to try again. She couldn’t even imagine if it started from the top.

I’m gonna have so many bruises, she said as she pulled herself into a sitting position and tried to maneuver her leg that did still have a ski attached into a position where she could push her other foot back into the other ski, which Tanner had put beside her.

It’s not even lunch yet! Tanner laughed.

It’s gonna be when we get down this time! With lots of beer involved. To numb the pain. Maybe if I’m drunk after lunch, it won’t hurt when I fall. Hilton laughed, then stuck her poles in the ground and pushed herself up. She immediately started to lose her balance again as her left ski slid downhill, but she quickly righted herself with the help of her poles and stood facing Tanner. Skiers whizzed by them on all sides, probably on their way down from the harder slopes that started at the top of the mountain. This was the easy part for them, the end of the run. They were cruising. Hilton’s mouth dropped open as a girl flew past with her poles tucked under her arms. That girl’s like six!

Tanner was still cracking up. I had no idea this was gonna be so entertaining.

Hilton jabbed one of her poles at him. Well I’m so glad, she said sarcastically. Wouldn’t want you to be sad about missing a day on the blacks. The black diamonds were the really hard slopes. Hilton was pretty sure she would never be good enough to attempt one of them.

Oh no, this is way better, Tanner said, jabbing her back.

Hilton tried to move sideways, and her skis got tangled. She crashed to the ground again, both of her skis above her up the hill.

Tanner threw his head back and laughed uproariously. "Terrible!" he shouted again, and Hilton laughed into the snow.

***

When they finally got to the bottom of the slope half an hour later, after several more haphazard falls by Hilton, they left their skis on racks outside the restaurant. Hilton thought it felt great to be off the skis, but she felt ridiculously awkward trying to walk in her ski boots.

They grabbed trays inside and Tanner called his girlfriend Austin, putting his phone on speaker and laying it on his tray while he looked over the pizza selections.

Oh, hey, Austin’s voice said. There was wind in the background.

Hey, Tanner said, his eyes still on the pizza. He pointed to one. Supreme, he mouthed to the guy behind the counter. We’re at lunch, he said to Austin.

Oh, okay. We’re in line for the lift. So we’ll be down in like twenty or so. We’ll come in.

Okay, see ya then. Tanner pushed End on his phone and took the pizza as the guy handed it over the counter.

I’ll have cheese, Hilton said, thinking it was crazy that Austin and her friends were going to ski a black run in twenty minutes. Well, less than that, because it would take a few minutes to ride the lift. It was 1:10 now, and by the time Hilton ate lunch and got back out there, she’d probably only have time to do one more green slope before the lifts closed at four. Maybe two. But Austin was going to ski one black run in less than twenty minutes.

But then, Austin had grown up skiing. She’d lived in LA her whole life—both her parents were music producers—and her family owned a mountain house in Olympic Valley near Lake Tahoe. Austin had moved to New York a year and a half ago because she’d landed a starring role in the TV drama NYC, but she still went back to Olympic Valley for Christmas. Tanner had gone with her just a few weeks ago. They’d stayed for about a week, through Christmas Eve, then caught the red-eye to Colorado and his hometown of Aspen for Christmas Day.

Hilton stuck her tongue out a little as an uneasy feeling washed over her. She thought of her own Christmas Day in Caldwell, Indiana, her hometown. Her first Christmas without Luke…

It had been achingly lonely thinking of him at home with his family in Treyville, four and a half hours away from her, and of Tanner in Tahoe and Aspen with Austin…them hanging out with each other’s families….She smiled a little as she thought of the text Haidin had sent her on Christmas. It had said only Merry Christmas, but she just loved that he had sent it at all. She figured he’d had a somewhat lonely Christmas too; he’d spent it in New York. She wasn’t sure what he’d done, but he didn’t have any family he kept in touch with, and she and Tanner were pretty much his best friends.

These are together, Tanner said a minute later, when he and Hilton had gotten drinks and were standing at the checkout. Hilton had a huge Corona and she couldn’t wait to feel that first long, chilled rush of beer hit her throat. Mmmmm. Right now she didn’t even care about going back on the slopes. She wanted to sit in here for at least an hour.

Oh, you don’t have to get mine, she said.

Please, Tanner said. I want to. I feel like I owe you after putting you through that torture.

Hilton laughed out loud. Well, that’s a good point.

She and Tanner found a table and both inhaled their pizzas. They were finished by the time Austin and her two friends walked in right on schedule, about twenty minutes later. Austin’s long light brown hair hung out of her black ski cap, and her goggles were perched on her head.

Austin Delks! a ten-or-so-year-old girl shrieked as she practically ran into Austin. The girl had been on the way out the door with her mom, and Austin had been turned backwards talking to her friends as she came in.

Austin turned with a slight look of annoyance but quickly covered it with a smile. Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! she said to the girl. I didn’t see you! Are you okay?

Oh, of course, she’s fine, the mom said, ruffling her daughter’s hair and smiling at Austin.

Yeah, I’m fine! the girl said. "Can I have your autograph? You’re my favorite actress."

Hilton looked at Tanner, and they both laughed. They knew Austin didn’t love dealing with fans, especially screechy girls, but she always acted nice to them and always signed autographs.

Of course, Austin said sweetly. She looked around. You know, I don’t have a pen. Here, just take my goggles. She pulled them off her head. They have my name on them, see? She pointed to the inside.

Oh my gosh, are you serious? The girl looked at the goggles excitedly, then back up at Austin.

Sure. I don’t really need them anyway. Austin smiled and handed them over.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! the girl cried.

Thank you so much, the mom said gratefully as she started to lead her daughter away.

Sure, no problem, Austin said. She and her friends had now drawn the attention of most of the diners, and a few people whispered and stared while trying to look like they weren’t whispering and staring, but most just went back to their meals. It was Sundance, after all, and the Sundance Film Festival started in two days, so it wasn’t out of the ordinary to see somebody famous.

Austin spotted Tanner and Hilton and led the way to their table. She took off her coat and scarf and tossed them over a chair, then leaned down to kiss Tanner, Hi, she said with a smile.

Hi, he said back, grinning up at her. His green eyes sparkled.

Hilton looked away to greet Austin’s friends, Nikki and Camden, whom she’d met last night when everyone had gotten into town. Nikki and Camden had flown in from LA, Austin from New York, Tanner from Vero Beach, Florida, where he lived and trained in the off season from tennis, and Hilton from Indianapolis, the city she now called home, even though she was rarely there.

How’d the lesson go? Camden asked Hilton, glancing at Tanner for his reaction too.

Oh my gosh, it was awful, Hilton said with a laugh. She met Tanner’s eyes and shook her head. He was laughing too. "I’m so bad," Hilton added.

It’s entertaining, Tanner said.

Hilton threw a piece of pizza crust at him.

He put his arm in front of his face and laughed harder.

It gets easier, Austin said, smiling at Hilton. Do you like it?

I think so. I’m not totally sure yet. I’m gonna be dying tomorrow.

Probably tonight, Austin said. We’ll have to hit the hot tub.

Let’s eat. I’m starving, Nikki said.

Okay, we’ll be back. Austin leaned down to kiss Tanner again. Is the pizza good?

Pizza? You only eat salad and sushi, Nikki said.

Not after skiing. I need energy, Austin said.

It’s fantastic, Tanner said, still laughing at Hilton.

Hilton grinned back at him with her eyes as she took a long sip of her Corona.

Come on, Austin said to her friends, and they took off to get food.

So do you really like it? Tanner asked Hilton. Or do you hate it?

No, I like it. I just think maybe I should’ve taken a real lesson, you know, from a real instructor?

Tanner threw the pizza crust back at her as Hilton broke out laughing. Fine, good luck on your own the rest of the day.

Oh, I’ll be just fine. I’ll be sitting right here with another nice big Corona. See you in a few hours.

We are gonna have to hit the hot tub tonight. I’m gonna be sore ‘cause I’ve never skied this slow. My body’s like, what the hell’s going on? Why don’t you just take the skis off and walk; you could get down faster.

Fine, why don’t you walk? Hilton mimicked. I hope I crash into you and knock you over with one of my skis and then the other one hits you in the head when you fall.

Wow, then Rick and Jeff would really be mad I came skiing. Rick was Tanner’s tennis coach and Jeff was his trainer. They hadn’t been happy that Tanner had chosen to come to Sundance the week right before the Australian Open rather than spend the time practicing or playing in a warm-up tournament.

Yeah, and I’ll take pictures of you passed out on the slope and send them right to Deidre. I can just see the headline now: ‘Tanner knocked out of Aussie Open.’

Ooohh, clever. ‘Knocked out.’ I like that. Maybe you should be writing the stories too, not just taking the pics.

I know, I’m multitalented. Hilton worked as a freelance photographer for Game Set Match, a weekly tennis magazine. Deidre was her boss and always loved a juicy photo or story. Actually, that’s a pretty weak headline. I’d think of something a lot better.

Tanner laughed again and reached his beer over to clink it against hers. To skiing.

Hilton laughed. To the hot tub.

Oh, okay, to the hot tub.

***

On Hilton’s final run down the slope after lunch, she actually made it off the lift at the top without falling. Both times in the morning she had completely wiped out, but luckily she’d managed to do it off to the side and they hadn’t had to stop the lift. This time, she stood up and skied right off, gliding to a stop twenty feet out.

Aahhh! she shrieked happily, turning to Tanner with a huge grin.

Miracles do happen! Tanner yelled, throwing his poles toward the sky.

Hilton laughed out loud. Woohoo!

Her trip down was no better though; she fell just as many times as she had in the morning. The lift was still running when she and Tanner finally made it to the bottom, but when Tanner asked her if she wanted to go again, she shook her head and skied toward a bench. She couldn’t wait to take off her skis and sit down. I think I’m done for today.

Okay, hey, I’m gonna meet up with Austin and hit a couple blacks. Do you care?

No. I’m gonna sit for a minute, then I’m gonna go take a really long hot bath. The idea sounded amazing, and Hilton couldn’t wait to be submerged in the swirling water. She was already in a crazy amount of pain. A couple Advil sounded good too.

Okay. I’ll see you when I get back. Have a couple drinks too. Keep numbing that pain. Tanner grinned.

Hilton grinned back. Oh, I plan to. You can find me in the bathroom with the bottle of Captain on the side of the tub.

Ooohh. Tanner glanced up and down her bundled-up body. That sounds like a good thing to walk in on.

Hilton laughed. She’d never said something suggestively flirty like that to him before, and she’d just been joking around, not really thinking about it when she said it. She was glad she had said it though, because now she knew he at least found her attractive, and it added a new level of comfort to their relationship, for her at least. She had liked him a lot for a good part of the last year and a half, and it had been slightly weird liking him so much but having no idea how he thought of her. So this was good. Their relationship had never even come close to moving out of the friends territory, and she knew it still wasn’t going to. She didn’t want it to, for a couple reasons. But she did want her and Tanner to be in a place where they could make joking comments like that to each other without it being awkward because she didn’t even know if he thought she was hot.

I’ll leave the door unlocked, she said.

You do that. Tanner grinned and skied away, heading back to the lift line and pulling his phone out of his jacket pocket as he did so.

Hilton made it the rest of the way to the bench, stepped out of her skis, and sat down, sighing with relief as soon as the weight was off her feet. She watched Tanner expertly maneuver himself through the turns in the line while talking to Austin on the phone. He took a seat in the lift and was whisked up and away, and Hilton smiled at the back of his head, laughing as she thought of how truly terrible she had been at skiing. It had definitely been a fun day though.

***

Hilton did take the bottle of rum into her private bathroom in their mountain house, but she didn’t leave the door unlocked. As hot as she thought Tanner was and as much as she liked joking with him and being around him, she would never even consider hooking up with him while he was with Austin, and probably not even if he and Austin broke up in the near future. Because if she ever did hook up with Tanner, she wouldn’t want it to be just a hookup, and definitely not a rebound. She would want it to mean something more, because she was kind of in love with him.

He was her ideal guy, her fantasy, and even being his friend was a fantasy that still felt unreal sometimes. She’d watched him on TV for years, and it seemed unbelievable that she knew him in real life now…and hung out with him. He had known she would be heading to Australia this week to cover the Australian Open for Game Set Match, and he’d been planning to go to Sundance on the way, and he’d thought she would like to go and had wanted her along, so he had invited her. It was freaking crazy.

And Austin was cool; there was really nothing about her Hilton didn’t like. For being a gorgeous twenty-four-year-old actress starring in one of the hottest shows on TV, and a notorious party girl always captured in dramatic photos of her nights at NYC clubs—such as the latest one of her flashing the paparazzi outside Vogue last week—she was incredibly laid-back in everyday life. She didn’t get jealous, she didn’t care about Tanner skiing with Hilton all day, she never picked fights with Tanner or had any trouble with their very different schedules, and she really just didn’t ever seem to get mad about anything. She was just all about fun, and she always seemed to be having it. It was why she and Tanner were such a good match, Hilton thought. Tanner was all about fun too. He did what he wanted, when he wanted, and he was hilarious. So wherever he was and whatever he was doing at any given moment, he was most likely having a great time and entertaining everybody around him too.

And Tanner would never cheat on Austin anyway. Cheating on girlfriends wasn’t something he did. When he was with a girl, he was with her all the way. If he lost interest to the point where he might cheat, he would just break up with her. So Hilton was in no way taking his comment about walking in on her seriously or hoping it would actually happen. She just liked the little bit of a new twist it had given their relationship. It had opened the door to those fun, flirty jokes that didn’t mean anything. Hilton was used to saying whatever she wanted around her friends, but with Tanner she’d always held back from that kind of comment. Now she wouldn’t have to.

She ended up falling asleep in the bathtub and staying there for an hour. It felt amazing with the jets swirling all around her. When she woke up she felt relaxed and slightly less sore, but she knew she was still going to be in a lot of pain later tonight and tomorrow. She wondered if she would even feel like going skiing again tomorrow. She rolled her eyes and laughed at the thought. She had some bruises too, from where her skis had fallen off and then she’d fallen on top of them. She moaned just thinking about it, then laughed again.

When she finally pulled herself out of the bathtub, she toweled off and put on lots of lotion, then dressed in sweats and went out to the living room of their huge house. The house was owned by the Sundance Resort, but it felt like some rich person’s private mountain home. It had four bedrooms, five bathrooms, two fireplaces, its own hot tub, and floor-to-ceiling windows in every room. The views were breathtaking, and Hilton felt like she was surrounded by fresh, crisp mountain air, even inside the house. Tanner had rented it for their first few days here. They would leave on Friday to go into Park City, where Austin would then stay after Tanner and Hilton left for Australia Saturday night. Austin wasn’t coming to Australia at all; after Sundance she had to go right back to New York to film NYC.

On Saturday during the day, Best Friends Animal Society, which was based in southern Utah, was going to be in Park City for an adoption event. Best Friends was the main charity organization Tanner supported. It was a sanctuary for lost, hurt, sick, or abandoned animals from around the world. Best Friends took the animals in and gave them medical treatment if needed, then looked for homes for them or, in the case an animal wasn’t ready for a home, housed it at the sanctuary.

Just about a month ago, in mid-December, Hilton had gone to the Second Annual Tanner’s Best Friends, a weekend-long fundraiser and charity event in Aspen to support Best Friends. Last year the event had raised over four million dollars, and this year it had raised just under six. Tanner paid for the whole thing himself, including renting out the ski lodge in Aspen where his dad worked and funding two all-expenses-paid vacations that were raffled off at the event. That way all the money from each person’s $1000 ticket and all other donations given over the course of the weekend went directly to Best Friends. Hilton had known about Best Friends and sponsored an animal from there even before she’d met Tanner, and she was excited to go to the adoption event on Saturday. It had been at the adoption event at the First Annual Tanner’s Best Friends that she had gotten her two cats, Aspen and Cookie Monster. Well…her and Luke’s cats.

Hilton sighed and made her way across the living room to the windows. All the other bedroom doors were closed, and she wasn’t sure if Tanner or Austin or Austin’s friends were back yet.

Just then the front door opened, and Tanner and Austin walked in. They were both still wearing their ski boots and carrying their skis.

Hey! Hilton said, turning from the window.

Hey! they greeted her.

Where’re Nikki and Camden?

Oh, they’re at the bar, Austin said. We had a drink, and they decided to get appetizers.

I thought we should come back and check on you, Tanner said. Make sure you were able to lift your legs high enough to step in and out of the bathtub.

Hilton laughed. "I’m not that bad. You guys didn’t have to come back. I would’ve come and met you."

I wanted to shower, Austin said. But I have a feeling Nikki and Camden are out for the night. I don’t think they’ll come back and get ready. So after we get ready do you wanna go meet them there for dinner?

Yeah, sure. Hilton thought eating dinner at the bar sounded way better than going to one of the resort’s restaurants. She didn’t really feel like getting dressed up tonight.

Okay, cool. Well, we’ll try to be fast. Austin smiled at Hilton, then pulled Tanner by the hand toward their room.

Tanner grinned back at Hilton. Bye! he said in a goofy, high-pitched voice.

Hilton laughed at him. Her phone buzzed with a new text, and she pulled it out of her sweatshirt pocket. It was Deidre, her boss at Game Set Match.

How’s Sundance? ;)

Hilton shook her head and grinned. Deidre loved that Hilton was here with Tanner, and she was expecting some juicy, scandalous pictures for the magazine. That was her number one priority, as she had flat-out told Hilton when Hilton first got hired. Scandalous or shocking pictures ranked above even great tennis photos taken during matches. The whole purpose of the magazine was to make tennis players household names, just like Hollywood celebs, and raise interest in the players and, therefore, the sport. So in order to do that, Deidre liked to focus on players’ everyday lives, their relationships, ties to A-list celebs like Austin, anything that would spark interest for readers who might not know that much about tennis or follow it on a regular basis.

And she did a fantastic job. She was a great storyteller and always had something up her sleeve—some new story or some new angle to take on a previous story. Hilton had been the focus of a couple of those stories last year, when Deidre had speculated on her having a relationship with Tanner or with Haidin Bayliss, the tennis player Hilton had worked for last year as a personal assistant and photographer. And even though those stories had caused some friction in her relationship with Luke, her boyfriend at the time, Hilton hadn’t been mad about them, because they had been good stories. They were just that…stories. Deidre had done a good job on them, and Hilton respected her for it. Deidre had started this magazine from scratch, and it was a huge success. It was bringing more publicity to the sport and igniting interest in people who weren’t self-described tennis fans, which was exactly what Deidre had wanted. She was ambitious, businesslike, and gossipy at the same time, and Hilton liked her a lot.

Hilton replied and attached a picture she’d taken this afternoon before coming back to the house, of Tanner and Austin skiing off the mountain together. She’d sat on the bench for about twenty minutes, and right as she’d been getting ready to leave, they’d skied down and gone back in line for the lift. They hadn’t even seen her, but she’d gotten a decent picture, especially considering it was with her phone.

Great so far, hot tub tonight and pre-parties tom ;), she texted back, laughing as she hit Send.

***

Hilton, Tanner, and Austin got to the bar around seven. Nikki and Camden were already well on their way to drunk, and they were at a table with two cute ski instructors. Austin bought some vodka shots and quickly caught up, and Tanner and Hilton ordered nachos, wings, and rum and Cokes. Austin moved on to vodka Red Bulls after her shots and didn’t order any food. Hilton laughed to remember it had been her suggestion to meet Nikki and Camden for dinner.

A band came on at nine. They were no one Hilton had heard of, but they were good and loud and fun. They played a mix of their own music and covers, and Hilton was having a blast drinking and singing along and talking to everybody at the table. The ski instructors were pretty cool, and she wondered if Nikki and Camden would go home with them or bring them back to the mountain house.

Around eleven Hilton remembered she really should use the hot tub tonight so she’d be less sore tomorrow, and she hoped she’d think of it when they got back to the house. Then she realized she was single, so she could be trying to hook up with one of the ski instructors, or with some other guy here. She gave a brief glance around the bar and then abandoned the idea. It was so weird to think of herself as single. She’d been with Luke for seven years, and they’d only been broken up for three months. It’s not that she’d feel bad for hooking up with someone—she already had, with Haidin—but she just didn’t want to. She wasn’t in the mood, and nobody here caught her attention. She’d rather just chill.

They left the bar around two, the ski instructors in tow. Hilton figured the ski instructors would probably rather go back to the expensive vacation house of two girls from Hollywood than take those girls to their own houses or apartments or wherever they lived.

I have to use the hot tub, Hilton announced as soon as they stepped inside.

Oh yeah, you do, Tanner said, nodding. We’ll join you. He put his arm around Austin’s neck and kissed her.

Of course we will! Austin said. Nik, Cam, are you coming to the hot tub? Chrissy? Alexi? The ski instructors’ names were Chris and Alex, and Austin had been calling them by those pet names all night. They seemed charmed by it, and Hilton figured most guys would let Austin Delks call them whatever she wanted.

Chris and Alex looked at each other. Yeah, we’ll come, they said together.

Oh, but you don’t have anything to wear! Camden said.

Go naked! Austin said. We all will.

Hilton laughed and followed them toward the hot tub, which was in a corner of a porch-like room off the back of the house that had only screened-in walls.

Austin went onto the porch without turning on the lights and started to strip. Then she leapt over the side of the hot tub and plunged in. It was way too dark to see anything, and everybody else stripped too.

Once Hilton was in, she realized she needed to get a picture of Tanner and Austin. Deidre would love this. She reached over the side and pulled her camera out of her purse.

I see what you’re doing, Tanner said. Their eyes were adjusting to the dark now. How should we pose so it’s obvious we’re naked? He put his arm around Austin, and Hilton laughed.

Just get high enough out of the water so you can tell Austin doesn’t have a top on.

Austin had been saying something to Chris and Alex, and her head swiveled around. Austin doesn’t have a top on? What? Then she saw the camera and beamed, putting her arm around Tanner and sitting upright so her boobs were just hidden beneath the water. Tanner scooted closer to her and grinned at the camera.

Say naked! Hilton said.

Naked! Tanner and Austin shouted.

Hilton snapped the picture. She looked at it and smiled. The flash showed the dark hot tub and Tanner’s and Austin’s bare shoulders and smiling faces. It was very clear Austin wasn’t wearing a top. Deidre would be thrilled. Thanks as always, she said in a teasing voice as she put her camera away.

Hey, you look all lonely over there, Tanner said.

Hilton looked around and realized she was the only one here not with somebody. She hadn’t really thought about it until now. Oh yeah, she said. Bummer. She pouted her lips, then laughed.

You can come join us, Austin said. She reached across Tanner and patted the side of the hot tub. Here, sit by Tanner.

Hilton laughed again and leaned back to soak her hair. No thanks. I’m okay. She snuck a grin at Tanner, and he laughed back. He was really drunk, and his smile was cute and hot at the same time.

Austin shrugged carelessly. Whatever. Hey, who’s making drinks? Why don’t we have any? Do you think we can call room service?

She just wants a jet all to herself, Tanner said.

What? Austin asked.

Hilton. She needs it ‘cause she’s majorly injured. That’s why she doesn’t wanna sit by us.

Austin had stopped listening to him because Nikki was talking to her. Tanner looked at Hilton again, still laughing. Right? he asked her.

Yeah. That’s it.

***

The next day nobody woke up before eleven. The ski instructors both had lessons that afternoon and had to leave. The rest of them went down to one of the restaurants for brunch.

So are you gonna make it skiing this afternoon? Tanner asked Hilton with a grin while they waited for their food.

Hilton made a face back. I don’t know. I’m pretty much dying, but I kinda wanna give it another try. Maybe like once or twice down.

I don’t know if I’m gonna ski today, Austin said. I kinda wanna go down to Park City tonight. All the pre-parties are going on, and Aub gets in this afternoon.

Hilton looked down at the table to hide a laugh. Aubrey Gage was Austin’s costar in NYC and best friend in real life, and she was also Haidin Bayliss’ ex-girlfriend. She had hated Hilton ever since they’d met two summers ago, months before Hilton had started working for Haidin. During their first conversation, Hilton had told Aubrey she was a GSM photographer and had been the one to take a picture of Haidin cheating on Aubrey earlier that summer. Aubrey had called her a bitch and stormed off. During the year Hilton had worked for Haidin, Aubrey had behaved similarly every time they were forced to be in the same place, or she had ignored Hilton entirely. Hilton had been wondering if she would be here this week.

I don’t wanna do that, Tanner said. We’re going down Friday anyway. And there’s a huge pre-party up here tonight too.

Yeah, but I kinda wanna go to Justin’s, and it’s in Park City.

Uh, yeah, Sundance was like his and Jessica’s first hookup, Camden said. It’ll be so adorable.

Hilton hid another laugh. They were talking about Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel.

I don’t know, Tanner said. I’m thinking Robert Redford’s party’s gonna be pretty legit.

Well, you can stay, Austin said. I don’t mind. Nikki and Camden and I can go down tonight.

That’s cool, Tanner said. I kinda wanna do some night skiing too.

Okay, Austin said. We’ll come back late tonight. She looked to Hilton. Do you wanna come with us?

Part of Hilton did, just to see what outrageous shit Aubrey would say to her, because Aubrey’s outbursts were usually pretty hilarious. But Park City was an hour away, and Robert Redford was the whole reason the Sundance Resort or the Sundance Film Festival even existed, so Hilton would rather go to his party. No, I think I’ll stay here, she said. Thanks though.

No prob, Austin said. She signaled their waiter. Hey, what time do the afternoon shuttles to Park City leave?

***

Hilton skied for about two hours that afternoon, making it down the green slope twice. She thought she did maybe a little better, and Tanner seemed to think so too. She was still in pain from yesterday, and she hoped not to add too many more bruises and sore muscles, but she did think skiing was fun, and she wanted to get better.

After that, Tanner went to ski some blacks, and Hilton headed back to the mountain house to change out of her ski gear and go take some pictures…the first pictures for her new book.

Just the thought made her grin crazily. She couldn’t believe she actually had a book deal. It had come from her year of working for Haidin; he had offered it as part of the terms when he’d hired her. If she worked for him for a year and helped him get good press—he was notorious for making horribly rude and inappropriate comments in the media and having pictures published that made him look like a huge asshole—then she got a book deal through the publishing company he owned, Adelaide International. Their specialty was travel books, which was exactly what Hilton wanted to publish, a photo/travel book. She had her idea for it pretty clearly planned in her head and had already gone over it with the people at Adelaide. Her editor, a woman named Macy, had called her in December, saying she’d been assigned to Hilton’s book and had gotten Hilton’s number and information from Haidin. Hilton had told Macy the basic concept she’d already developed—a book called Living in a Postcard that followed a year on the tennis tour. She would include not only tennis shots and shots of players living their day-to-day lives in the cities the tour visited, but also scenic photographs of each location. Macy had seemed pleased with and enthusiastic about the idea, and that had made Hilton even more excited to get started. And now, today, she was going to.

Austin, Nikki, and Camden were just leaving the house to catch the shuttle when Hilton got there.

How was skiing?! Austin asked. She was bundled up in a huge black coat and wore black leggings and boots underneath. Her long, light brown hair was in a low ponytail, and she looked chic and perfect for a Sundance party.

Better, Hilton said with a grin.

Good! Well, have fun tonight!

Thanks, you too!

Thanks!

Hilton quickly changed into dry sweatpants, a sweatshirt, and snow boots, put her coat back on, grabbed her camera, and headed back outside. She snapped some pictures of their house, then walked down toward the main part of the resort and took several around that area, both of the hotel itself and the surrounding mountains. They looked stunning on her camera, and she couldn’t wait to see them on her computer. She walked quite a ways away from the resort and then turned back toward it, getting some shots of the buildings with the mountains and trees in the background. It was a snow-covered paradise. It was so beautiful, and the air was so crisp. Hilton knew that was going to be captured in the pictures, that clear, pristine quality of the air. It would be visible somehow, as a stillness, an untouched-ness. The perfect white snow, the contrast of the sharp mountain peaks against the sky.

She took some close-ups of snow on branches and an owl she saw in a tree. How fitting, since the bar they’d gone to last night at the resort was called the Owl Bar. She wondered if there were a lot of owls in this area.

Finally she headed back toward the house, stopping outside of it to take more pictures of the stones around the walkway peeking through the snow. She definitely had a preference for beaches and sun and hot weather, but there was something about this place. It was gorgeous, more so than she had expected. She lingered outside for a few more minutes looking at her pictures; she kind of didn’t want to leave the winter wonderland.

When she did go in, she walked over to the huge wall of windows that looked out of the living room and snapped some shots from inside, then backed up so she could catch some of the house in the foreground. The wooden beams and rafters near the ceiling looked so cool with the snow just beyond, separated only by the windows. She thought looking at these pictures would make her want to visit this place, and she hoped other people would feel the same way. Her favorite high school teacher, Ms. Kirkwood, had told her last fall when they’d run into each other that Hilton’s photographs made her feel something, even though she didn’t normally follow tennis or know anything about the players, and she thought that was the mark of a great photographer, to be able to make people feel emotion about things they normally wouldn’t. It was the best compliment Hilton had received regarding her photography, and it had stuck with her and become her goal for her book…to make people feel some kind of emotion.

She didn’t care what emotions they felt, necessarily, but she wanted to capture different things and emotions with different photos—the excitement and fast, high-class lifestyle that was the tennis tour, the incomparable joy of huge victories, the exotic beauty of cities. It would all merge together in a book that left people wanting something…some taste of what filled the pages…whatever aspect of it appealed to them most. The thrill of victory, the exhilaration of travel, the excitement of the tennis lifestyle. It would be different for different people. Hilton knew the books and movies that always got to her the most and left the biggest impression on her were the ones that did exactly that…left her wanting something.

Like The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald, one of her favorites. She’d read it as a junior in high school, and it had left her wanting to live with a sense of invincibility so she wasn’t scared to try anything, and it had left her dreaming of a lifestyle like that of the characters in the book…one where every moment was pushed to the extreme and every desire was at their fingertips. Parties, turbulent relationships, nights that lasted till sunrise. Then whenever it started to feel stale and boring, they would jump on a plane and do it all again somewhere else. But probably the thing she’d most taken from it and applied to her life was the idea of living in her own reality. Reality was what you made it, and what you believed, not what other people told you it was. She had seen that in the book’s characters and wanted to adapt that mindset for herself, so she had.

So that was what she intended to do with her book…make it so good that it left people feeling some emotion and wanting something, whether it was to live a jet-setting lifestyle, visit one of the locations she photographed, even just travel more in general…or really anything. She wanted it to inspire people in the moment and then have a lasting effect.

***

Hilton took another long bath, then decided to take a nap. When she got up Tanner was back and in the shower, it sounded like. So Hilton showered and got ready for the party tonight. She decided to wear a black dress with tights, boots, and a long gray three-quarter-sleeved cover-up made of fairly thin material. She wore her honey-colored hair down and in loose waves.

When she went back out to the living room, Tanner had a fire going and was drinking a rum and Coke. He grinned and gestured to a glass on the counter. I was about to put it in the fridge.

Just in time, Hilton said with a grin as she grabbed it and sat on a barstool. So what’s the plan?

Well, do you wanna do dinner at the other restaurant we haven’t tried yet? The party’s at nine, I think.

Hilton glanced at the clock on the microwave. It was 6:39. Sure. When are you gonna do your night skiing?

I think I’m gonna wait till tomorrow. ‘Cause there’s not a huge party tomorrow night; it’s just a band playing I think. So I can ski and then come join you guys for the band.

Oh, that’s cool. All right, let’s get dinner. I’m starving.

Just then Tanner’s phone rang. Oh, it’s Rick, hold on.

Hilton sat back to finish her drink as he answered. Rick was his coach. Hilton realized it was Thursday afternoon in Australia right now, and the draw was probably out for the Open. She jumped off the stool and ran into her room to grab her phone. She wanted to check it out.

She went back out to sit in the kitchen as Tanner talked to his coach.

That’s not bad, he was saying. I guess Federer or Nadal’s half, does it really matter?

Hilton smiled as the Australian Open website loaded on her phone. Federer and Nadal were the number one and two ranked players in the world. Tanner was number three and had been for a long time, but catching Federer or Nadal was somewhat of a long shot. Tanner had won the US Open in September though, his first Grand Slam title. Hilton had been there, sitting in his box, and she had partied with him and Austin afterward. It had been freaking amazing. So he did have a chance to win the Australian, definitely.

Hilton scanned the draw and nodded as she went through it. No real crazy matchups in the first round. There were still a lot of blank slots, waiting to be filled by qualifiers who would earn their places in the main draw by playing in qualifying matches this weekend. Tanner would play Potito Starace in the first round, an Italian who was ranked probably somewhere in the eighties. It should be an easy win for Tanner, but there could be some close sets. Starace had been around for a while and was pretty good.

I’ll be fine; I’ll sleep on the plane, Tanner was saying. He paused for a moment. All right, see ya there. He hung up. The draw’s out, he told Hilton.

She held up her phone with a smile. I saw.

Rick’s afraid if I play Monday I might lose ‘cause I’ll be too tired. Hilton and Tanner’s flight didn’t arrive in Australia until Monday morning at nine, and he could potentially play at one in the afternoon.

You won’t.

I know. He told me I’m being too cavalier for the start of a new season.

Hilton smiled again. You’re not. Really though, he kind of was. Players usually arrived in town for a Grand Slam at least a few days early to practice at the park where the tournament would take place. The only reason somebody might arrive on the first day would be if they’d played in the finals of a warm-up tournament the day before.

I know.

I mean, Best Friends is at Sundance. You have to be here for that.

I know, right?

And I checked the on-time arrival percentage of our flight. Ninety-eight percent.

Tanner grinned. Dinner?

Hilton tipped up her glass and downed the last of her rum and Coke. Dinner.

***

Robert Redford’s party was packed with actors, singers, reality stars…everyone imaginable was here. And yet Hilton knew that really wasn’t true, because this many more of them were at the party Austin had gone to, the one hosted by Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel, and just as many more were at the other parties in Park City or Salt Lake. At dinner alone, before the party even started, Hilton saw John Travolta and Kelly Preston, Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Kid Rock, and Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, and their daughter Rumer, the three of whom were sharing a table. It was crazy. She held back from taking any pictures in the restaurant though, not wanting to be too obvious, and waited until the party. There she saw at least thirty other celebs she recognized, including Sharon Stone, Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, Kristin Davis, and Matthew McConaughey. She about died when she saw him, because she thought he was ridiculously hot, and she and her best friend Jill had once lied to a girl in high school who was a total bitch and told her they’d seen Matthew McConaughey on their vacation to LA, just to make her a little jealous. Hilton pulled out her phone to text Jill as soon as she saw him.

U will never guess who’s here…mm and camila.

The response came back only seconds later. No f’ing way! freaking CRAZY! I am soooo jealous! lucky!!!!!!

Hilton laughed. She snapped a quick, discreet picture with her phone and then sent it to Jill.

Aaaggghhh! so hot! I hate u :), Jill texted back.

Hilton laughed again and put her phone back in her clutch. She was using her personal camera tonight, as she always did at bars or restaurants or parties, because the one GSM gave her to use at matches was way too big and awkward for a party, as was the new one she’d bought herself for Christmas to use for her book. She tried to be a little subtle in social situations.

She circulated with Tanner for a while, then wandered on her own while he talked to someone his parents knew from Aspen, a guy who was one of the major people in charge of the annual Aspen Filmfest. It was even easier to take pictures inconspicuously when she wasn’t with Tanner, because nobody recognized her or came up to talk to her. By the time Tanner found her again and presented her with a second rum and Coke, she had gotten over fifty shots. She still hadn’t looked at this afternoon’s pictures on the computer, and now she couldn’t wait to look at these too. She was going to sell a ton to GSM. Since Deidre loved any tie between a tennis star and an A-list celeb and Tanner had attended Sundance, GSM would do a large spread on it.

Let’s get one of you and me, Tanner said as she started to put her camera back in her clutch. We need to document our year together. He grinned.

Hilton smiled too. Okay.She held the camera up and snapped one of the two of them. They both leaned in to look at it.

That’s good, Tanner said. For Facebook, at least. Well, you never know. Deidre might buy that one.

Hilton laughed. Here, let’s take another one on my phone. I’ll put it on Facebook right now. He’d added her as a friend sometime last year, but she’d never put up any pictures of the two of them, because he didn’t really have any pictures on there except a few of him and Austin or tennis ones fans had tagged of him.

They leaned together and took another one.

Tag me, Tanner said.

I will. Hilton was already pulling up Facebook. She uploaded the picture and tagged Tanner. pre-party @ sundance, she wrote as the caption.

Tanner leaned over to see. Hilton showed it to him. He nodded. Like. Then he looked thoughtful. Wow, we really are gonna be spending the whole year together. Now that you’re not working for Haidin.

I know. Hilton grinned. Last year she’d had to go to whatever tournaments Haidin had played in, and when he’d lost, she’d usually had to leave with him to go back to New York, where he lived, so she could practice with him before the next tournament. She had played tennis in high school and been pretty decent, and Haidin had actually seemed to like practicing with her and think she was a worthy partner.

That’s sweet, Tanner said. Cheers to that. He held up his glass.

Hilton clinked hers against it. Cheers to a crazy year. Didn’t we say that last year? On New Year’s?

Tanner appeared thoughtful again. Yeah. I think we did. Right after you told me you were working for Haidin and you’d be on tour all year.

Yeah. Well, last year was pretty good. Hilton laughed at her complete understatement. Here’s to another one.

Yeah, it was all right. Tanner grinned. "You know, okay, fine, whatever. But this one I really have a feeling about."

***

Austin was still gone when Hilton and Tanner got back to the house a little after 3:30, but when Hilton got up the next morning around eleven, Austin was lounging in the kitchen drinking a Bloody Mary.

Hey, how was the party? Hilton asked her.

Oh, good. Austin stuck her tongue out a little and took a long sip of her Bloody. Hungover as hell. She smiled. How was yours?

Good. There were a ton of people. I got a lot of pics.

That’s good.

So what are you doing today?

Sleeping. And then maybe hitting up the hot tub before dinner.

Hilton laughed.

What about you?

I’m thinking the hot tub too. Maybe a couple times. And looking at all the pictures I took yesterday.

You want a Bloody?

Sure.

***

They had dinner at the Owl Bar again that night. Tanner left to ski when Hilton, Austin, Nikki, and Camden went to dinner, and he joined them later, around 10:30. By then the band was in full swing. Tonight was the first screening of the film festival, down in Park City, so Hilton had expected a lot of the people who’d been here last night to have made the trip to Park City for that, but she was surprised how many were still here.