She stood behind the line, adjusted her tennis skirt, held the racket in front of her, and waited intently for the serve. The instructor bounced the ball three times before serving. Olivia had to move quickly to return all five shots. Then she stepped aside so the next player could take their place on the court.
While waiting for her turn, she leaned against the cool glass wall. She had to squint because the sun was in her eyes. She glanced at her backpack but didn’t feel like walking over to get her sunglasses.
A young man unclipped the leash from his dog’s collar. He patted the small dog’s back and watched as it darted off into the bushes surrounding the padel court. Once the white dog disappeared into the greenery, its owner sprawled out on a bench beside the small stands.
Olivia’s knees trembled at the familiar scent. She didn’t look to the side—she knew it wasn’t that man lying behind the plexiglass. But her mind didn’t seem to care. The pleasant tingling sensation immediately spread through her body. She could feel the soft, short beard brushing her face again, and the brief touch of lips grazing her jawline.
Her vision blurred. She shook her head and blinked a few times to clear the haze from her eyes. Two more players stood ahead of her. Ten more shots. Less than a minute. That’s all the time she had to pull herself together and focus on the game.
Unintentionally, she took another deep breath of the warm summer air mixed with the seductive scent. In her imagination, her hand rested on the firm chest under the thin shirt. A shiver ran through her as she pictured the man’s fingertips slowly and carefully running up her back, circling her shoulders, and gently dancing all the way to her wrist. Olivia’s mouth parted slightly.
“Are you alright?” the sharp voice of the instructor pierced through the haze surrounding her.
Olivia nodded dazedly.
She turned toward the bench. The young man was resting with his eyes closed. The dog was scratching at the dry grass with its back legs.
“Ready?” the man asked impatiently, swinging his racket.
“Ready.”
She missed two shots. She walked over to her backpack to finally get her sunglasses. The world looked entirely different through the brown lenses. She looked over at the man napping on the bench. The scent didn’t match him at all. Her gaze caught on his thick hand and hairy fingers. Olivia grimaced. That hand certainly wouldn’t fit so gently into hers. She shuddered as the memory of the silky touch flashed through her mind again.
She pulled out her water bottle and drank. She hoped the lemon and grated ginger in the water would snap her out of her strange, trance-like state. She chewed the tiny, spicy pieces of ginger but couldn’t stop imagining the lips that had only touched her face and hands so far pressing against her own. Desperately, she clutched the silver bottle, her fingers turning white from the pressure. But her mind didn’t let up. The scent that had penetrated her at a cellular level brought forth the wildest images from her thoughts.
“You’re up,” shouted the short-haired woman with a stern expression.
“Thanks,” Olivia muttered.
“Focus,” the instructor commanded.
Olivia nodded. But before tightening the strap of the racket around her hand, she unbuttoned the top button of her shirt.
“Jack, come on, time to stop wandering,” the young man called to the dog.
The leash clicked softly against the collar. A few moments later, the scent disappeared as well. Only the salty, warm summer air remained to clear Olivia’s mind, now filled with vivid, naked images.