Bruna charged to the left-hand side of the court, stretching every sinew of her body to reach the ball just after it bounced. She felt the ball ping against her racket in her left hand - good contact, she thought - and was relieved to see it drop over the net, just inside the tram line. Her opponent, Rosana, was quick and Bruna watched her get to the ball to play a delicate drop shot that just cleared the net. Bruna set off again, her eyes transfixed on the ball as she hurried towards the net. Reaching out her racket a fraction of a second before the second bounce, her relief at making the shot quickly turned to despair as she watched the ball brush tamely against the net.
'Yes!' shrieked Rosana from the other side of the court, '40-30 - that's match point for me.' Bruna turned on her heels, kicking the ground in frustration. She couldn't believe she was going to lose this match. She had been a set up, and 4-1 up in the second, before a horror run of shots saw her lose the set 6-4 and she had been unable to wrestle back the momentum since then. It was the heat, she thought - the stifling, intrusive heat that smothered the court as the sun beat down on the two young women.
She took her position on the left of the court, ready to receive Rosana's serve. Her thick black hair tied tightly in a ponytail, she could feel strands of it matted to her face and neck as she wiped beads of sweat from her brow and fidgeted with her shirt until she was comfortable.
'Ready?' yelled Rosana from her service position. Bruna could detect the glee in her voice even from just one word and responded through gritted teeth,
'Go for it.'
One shot, she told herself, just hit one good shot and it's deuce. Anything can happen at deuce, the match isn't over yet. Rosana bounced the ball a few times as Bruna tried to read her body language, which way would she go? She had targeted Bruna's forehand a lot from her serve, but would she double bluff this time?
Bruna's eyes stared intently at the ball as Rosana tossed it high in the air. Her right arm came over her shoulder and her racket connected with the ball with a resounding 'thwack' - a perfect connection. Bruna tried to be proactive, tried to get into position for the forehand with a little half step to her left but Rosana had out-witted her. She stood helplessly as the ball whizzed past her down the middle of the court, clipping the service box line on the bounce before harmlessly rolling into the fence at the back of the court.
Bruna slumped to her knees and let her racket drop to the floor with a resigned clang. She was exhausted, and she had been beaten. She was vaguely aware of Rosana's victorious whooping from the other side of the net, but she couldn't face that at the moment. Right now, she needed a few seconds to herself to regain composure and build her energy back up.
Eventually, Bruna gathered herself up onto her feet and picked up her racket. She could feel the lactic acid building up in her legs and the dull ache in her left wrist was becoming more pronounced. She looked up to Rosana waiting at the net, fiddling absent-mindedly with the high ponytail she had tied her dark blonde hair into. Bruna could see her opponent's olive skin glinting as the beads of sweat on her body reflected the pounding sun. A wide, triumphant grin emanated from her pretty face as she said to Bruna, cheerfully,
'Good game, Bruninha, you had me worried for a bit there! Come here and let's hug it out.' Bruna had never beaten Rosana at tennis ever since they started playing against each other as kids. She had been getting closer and closer and today felt like it would be the day until her meltdown in the second set. Rosana's magnanimous words were of little consolation at this time, but nonetheless she strode to the middle of the court and embraced her friend across the net.
Bruna's rested her head against Rosana's collarbone for she was several inches shorter than her long-legged opponent. She felt Rosana's arms wrap around her shoulders before she was patted on the head, half patronising, half sympathetic,
'There, there. Always next time, eh?' said Rosana, her grin growing even wider. Bruna looked up and smiled wryly,
'I know I'll beat you eventually.' Rosana chuckled out a response,
'You keep telling yourself that, babe.'
The two competitors broke their embrace and headed off to the side of the court to gather their belongings. Bruna took several sips of water and sat on one of the chairs underneath the umbrella while Rosana packed up her racket and slung her bag over her shoulder.
'Ready to go then, loser?' asked Rosana, mischievously. Bruna made a face at her friend, but stood up and walked across the court towards the clubhouse changing rooms. The heat once again engulfed her as she stepped out of the shade and she was looking forward to her shower, or at least the clubhouse's air conditioning.
'It was too hot for me today, Rosie,' said Bruna as they crossed the car park.
'Yea, I guess that's the downside of playing in the middle of the day here. I like the courts and the clubhouse being empty though,' Rosana replied. Bruna shrugged by way of a response,
'Suppose so, swings and roundabouts.' Rosana nodded in agreement as they entered the clubhouse, each of them half-heartedly acknowledging the receptionist with a little nod before heading towards the changing rooms and showers.
Rosana had a point about this time of day, thought Bruna, as the changing room was totally deserted. She lay back on one of the benches, welcoming in the air conditioning as the sweat on her body cooled and her clothes gradually became less sticky. Sitting up, she could see Rosana pulling the scrunchy out of her hair and shaking her head a few times as it fell loose. Bruna did the same with her ponytail, rubbing the back of her neck as her hair fell against her shoulders.
The two women then undressed on opposite sides of the changing room: Rosana lifted her yellow and blue Aerodry sports top up over her head, a black sports bra now the only thing covering her generously proportioned 34C breasts. She slid her skirt and underwear along her long, tanned legs before finally unclipping her bra, her full breasts popping free as she took a deep breath and exhaled heavily.
'Phew! That feels a bit better,' she said, stretching her arms above her head before rubbing the underside of her breasts where her bra had been rubbing. 'I'm going to hit the shower, see you in a bit Bruninha.'
'OK, I'll be there in a bit. I just need to put some cream on my ankle,' replied Bruna. She had twisted her ankle a few weeks previously and was still in some pain - another excuse for losing, she thought ruefully.
Rosana picked up her towel and shower gel and headed off to the shower area while Bruna undressed. She struggled to get out of her sweaty shirt and removed her bra, skirt and underwear, enjoying the lack of prying eyes in the empty changing room. She sat on the bench and rotated her injured left ankle a few times, feeling a little pang of pain with each turn. It's on the mend, she thought as she rubbed her cream that was supposed to dull the pain into her size 3 foot.