Losing at Love Read Online Free PDF Page A

session, regular time. Jasmine, you want to start yours a bit early? This is Penny’s usual training slot and 3,000 miles is a long way to fly for a practice session, especially in a walking boot.”
    Indy left them, grumbling about Calculus under her breath and they followed close behind.
    ~
    "So I guess my parents told you about the meeting today," Jasmine said, as they matched strides toward her practice court.
    "They mentioned they were bringing in a guy from a recruiting service. It's a decent option, Jas."
    "It's not what I want. You told me a while back that not everyone can be a great player, not everyone was meant to be in the top ten, win grand slams. Do you still believe that's me?"
    Dom stopped walking, considering the idea. "You tell anyone I said this, I'll deny it to my grave." She nodded. "I think that it doesn't matter what I think. Do your physical skills match up against the best in the world? No. They don't. You know that, Jasmine, but physical skills aren't always what wins matches. You've got to decide if you're willing to go through that, go into matches knowing that your opponents are better than you, knowing that if they play their best or even not quite their best, they'll still beat you. You've got to decide if you love it enough to play even though you're probably going to lose. Some players can handle that. Some can't. You have to be mentally stronger than nearly everyone else. You think Penny could handle that? Or Indy? Or Alex? Or your father? They couldn't, so you just have to be stronger than them. If you think you can handle that, if you think you can go out there and just play for the love of it, then tell the NCAA guy to take a fucking hike.”
    It sounded tough, so much tougher than training her body to the limit and putting her heart and soul into the game, because if she did that she’d have to surrender all the control to her opponent and the game itself. Could she handle that? Did she even want to? "And if I can't?” she asked, wondering if that was possible.
    "Then college is a great option. Four years, maybe three depending upon how you progress physically. You'll be away from home, away from the kind of pressure that comes with being John and Lisa Randazzo's kid. College tennis is all about the team concept. It's fun and you'll get a great education, then maybe you’ll have grown a little stronger physically, make the leap to the pros a little easier. Why don’t you talk to Teddy about it? He made that choice a long time ago and you two have always been close."
    Jasmine toed some of the dirt that had escaped the planters lining the practice courts, the orange and white flowers brightening up the concrete paved walkways. "We did, not that long ago. He said I should go to Duke with him.” He said a lot of other things too, but Jasmine shook her head. Teddy Harrison wasn’t important right now, at least not as anything more than her best friend. She’d let her feelings for him cloud her judgment more than once. She wasn’t going to make that same mistake again. “At lunch today, the recruiter was talking about Stanford and maybe Harvard or one of the other Ivies."
    "Are you really considering it?" Dom asked, arching an eyebrow. “Hard to turn down schools like those.”
    "I mean, I told him no, but I guess I have to think about it, don't I?"
    Dom hesitated and wiped a hand over his face before he said, “You should consider it, Jasmine. I know you think it isn’t what you want, but how do you know that unless you find out more? Explore it a little, give it a chance. It doesn’t mean it’s the right choice for you, just that it’s a choice and it would be foolish to dismiss it out of hand.”
    She nodded, not sure what else to say. A warm hand landed on her shoulder and squeezed gently. Dom was rarely physically affectionate, so she gave him a small smile in return. “Thanks, Dom. I promise I’ll think about it.”
    “Come on, let’s get on the court. Whatever you