Let the Floods Cross

“Hold the tennis racket up above your head, point it to your right side.” The photographer instructed.

Liezel did as she was told even if this photo shoot is the last place she wanted to be at this moment. She needed to do a promotional shoot for her upcoming adventure at the U.S. Open in New York City and it is important that this photo shoot is done. Playing tennis has been her passion ever since she was a little girl, and she loves and appreciates everything in her life; but photo shoots are dreadful sometimes.

She is no model, and she feels a bit pretentious in a red cocktail dress and five inch heels. Liezel personally would rather be posing in her tennis attire, if she had a choice. Firstly, she did not like photo shoots and posing for the camera. Second, the makeup on her face made her feel unnatural. The only time she would be willing to pamper up and be pretty is when she is at tennis exhibition events or accompanying Alex to his award shows.

“Very good, Miss Beckett!” The male photographer encouraged.

The tennis star shifted awkwardly as the stage assistants bombarded her with their care. Her hair is being adjusted like crazy; assistants twirled her curled wavy hair with their fingers, trying to reach their desired effect. After they were done with her, they stepped aside for the photographer to capture. The raven-haired tennis star watched the photographer curiously, waiting for his next set of instructions.

She is no Dale Levine; she cannot improvise and look good on camera at the same time. She required instructions in order to make this photo shoot accessible. Twirling her tennis racket, she continued to wait impatiently for the photographer to speak.

“Miss Beckett, hold the racket out at the camera as if you are challenging a foe to a tennis match.” Fred, the photographer said.

The tennis star pointed at the camera with the head of her racket, standing awkwardly behind the object. She did not know how she should be posing in this shot; everything about modeling for photo shoots is confusing for her.

“I want you to look menacing, as if you are facing off Portia Andonov.”

Liezel felt her grip on the tennis racket tighten at the mention of the Bulgarian tennis player. Andonov is one of Beckett’s current rivals in the tennis world. Two years ago, Liezel suffered greatly from a back injury during a final’s match in the Australian Open and Andonov emerged to the tennis scene during her absence.

After she returned the end of 2010 for the U.S. Open, the Bulgarian wasn’t missing a beat during the tournament. The pair met in the finals and Liezel was the one to come out victorious. Even though Liezel had been leading their rivalry all throughout 2011, this year had been stressful for her.

Andonov defeated her at Wimbledon and continued to hold the upper hand during their tour in the United States. However, she is not going to take the U.S. Open away from Beckett this year. She is going to win the grand slam this year and end on a good note.

“There you go! That is exactly what I want!” Fred exclaimed excitedly.

Liezel returned to the present moment and realized that her eyes are being bombarded by the constant flashing lights. She tried her absolute hardest to endure it but eventually, her eyes just got tired of all the white flashes and as a result, she closed her eyes shut to give them a rest. Just as she closed her eyes shut, the flashing stopped abruptly.

“Miss Beckett?”

“Sorry, Fred. I need to take a break.”

“Alright, take five!” Fred shouted at the entire crew.

Crewmembers rushed over to the tennis player and escorted her back to her dressing room. She sighed heavily as she snatched her phone off of the makeup table.

“Yeah, that thing was going off like crazy, you might need to get back to whoever has been calling you.” A makeup artist said as she noticed Liezel.

“Thanks.” Liezel sat down at the makeup chair and stared at the screen of her phone.

Missed calls:
Alex (5)

Sighing heavily, the tennis player clicked on his name and pressed the iPhone device to her ear. It is kind of strange for Alex to be calling her at this time of the day. Firstly, she expected him to be in the studio at this time. Secondly, she informed him of her morning photo shoot before she left the house. He knew she would call him as soon as she got out.

Alex picked up on the second ring.

“Good to know you would call back!” He chirped excitedly.

Liezel chuckled.

“You didn’t leave me with much choice. Five missed calls scream desperation and urgency.”

“Yes, my darling, the thirst for you is real.”

“Indeed.”

Liezel smiled at her reflection in the mirror and realized how happy she looked as she conversed with her boyfriend. A phone conversation with him makes her really happy; it shows that being with him is one of the best decisions she has ever made in her life. Losing him cannot be an option, she reminded herself.

It won’t ever happen, she thought.

“Anyways, I want you to be at the Monroe Cuisine at twelve o’clock sharp; can you do that for me?”

“A brunch date, I sense?” Liezel asked.

Alex stopped for a few seconds.

“As much as I’d love to have alone time with my girlfriend, Jack is going to be the third wheel.”

Liezel rolled her eyes, but couldn’t bring herself to be surprised. It is often that Jack intruded on their couple time, but she is so used to Jack being around all the time that she stopped paying mind to it. Besides, she likes to have Jack around to liven up her life.

“Cool, so I don’t need to dress to impress right?”

Her boyfriend laughed into the phone.

“For the sake of keeping Jack’s prying eyes away from your curvaceous cleavage and those long, sexy legs of yours, let’s just have a friendly little brunch in the outfit you walked out in.”

“Aye aye, sir!”

“Gosh, it is too early in the morning for you to be calling me sir. If only you knew the thoughts running through my head now.” Alex groaned loudly as he said this.

Liezel shook her head and giggled. She is very well aware of the effect she left on her boyfriend; it is definitely her intention to be a bit promiscuous towards him.

“Alright, easy there tiger, we can pick up the foreplay after brunch.” Liezel replied in amusement.

“Yeah, as long as you promise me that I will be in charge.” Alex warned.

The tennis star rolled her eyes.

“I did call you sir for a reason.”

“Good point.”

“Alright, I have to get back to my photo shoot; I’ll see you in a few!”



“I absolutely miss this place.” Liezel shared aloud as she took the first bite of her swordfish meal.

Alex rolled his eyes at her but smiled as he observed his girlfriend. He knew how much she adored this restaurant and their food. It has been her favorite place to eat since Alex brought her out after she won her first grand slam title.

“What I miss are the times when Jamison was considerate enough to decorate my dessert with penises in chocolate dressing.” Jack remarked, staring down at his early dessert in dissatisfaction.

Both Alex and Liezel glanced at their friend in disbelief. They laughed at him as they continued to eat their food. Jack usually ignored the actual dish and go straight to dessert because he felt like it, and no one could convince him otherwise. It is after the dish when Jack would actually even consider eating actual food.

“Jack, this is a high class restaurant, I’m honestly surprised that Jamison would even consider the idea of doing something so scandalous for you.” Liezel commented.

The guitarist looked up at his friend and smirked at her.

“That sexy bitch would do anything for me.”

“Yeah until she decided that you needed to outgrow your fascination of dipping your dessert in penis-shaped dressing.” Alex mumbled.

Jack pouted at his friend and turned from him to focus on his pumpkin cake. As he focused on his dessert, the tennis player turned to her boyfriend. She smiled as she watched him fiddle with his silverware.

“You’re staring.” Alex murmured.

“Sue me for staring at my sexy boyfriend, if you will.”

Jack distorted his face in disgust as he acknowledged this conversation.

“Hey, I sincerely apologize for being so damn attractive; I tried my best to reduce my sex appeal, but genetics kicked me in the ass and inherited me with such dashing looks.”

Liezel rolled her eyes at her boyfriend and shared a look with Jack.

“Gee, we’re running out of space at this table, it seems to me that we do not have enough room for your big head.” Liezel retorted.

“His ego is just as big as his dick.” Jack added.

Both Alex and Liezel broke into a fit of laughter as they glanced at Jack simultaneously.

“Oh trust me, you can’t be more right about that.” The tennis player said suggestively.

“Honey, I have reached that conclusion on my own.” Jack retaliated.

Liezel smiled at her friend, shaking her head.

“Jack doesn’t need you to corroborate on his statement. He has done some uhm… exploring on his own.” Alex winked at his friend as he said this.

She rolled her eyes at the two, knowing well that their bromance is the realest factor in this world. This Jalex thing has always been something that she liked to playfully talk about. It is quite amusing, and it also shows people the extent of Jack and Alex’s friendship. Even she believes that Jack’s friendship with Alex is more important than his relationship with her.

It is the truth, and she accepts it completely because Jack has been with him through tougher shit than she has. Jack truly understands Alex, and they stuck with each other throughout the years unconditionally.

It’s not that Liezel hadn’t been doing that, but Jack’s friendship with him seems to be a lot stronger.

“So where’s your girl today?” Alex asked, pulling Liezel out of her own thoughts.

Liezel visually frowned at the mention of Dale Levine. She doesn’t exactly hate the model, but she just cannot stand her presence over personal conversations as well as mentions in the media. This girl is overhyped and a bit overrated in her book. Dale does not have real talent; she just has a way of working the runway and posing in front of the cameras.

She literally is building her career around her beauty and how she presents herself to the world. She does not have an actual talent to back up her worth. It is a bit rude for Liezel to think of the model like that, but it cannot be helped; just as long as she does not speak her thoughts aloud. It could be very hurtful to not only Dale, but also all the models.

“She’s at rehearsal for the fall fashion show. Oh, and she will be the face of Zac Posen’s new line at fashion week this fall. It has something to do with this compromise Loki made with her.” Jack noted.

Liezel snorted.

“I didn’t think you would even know who Zac Posen is.”

Jack glared at her, folding both arms across his chest.

“I happen to be a well-educated man, thank you very much.” He said defensively.

“Yeah with what degree?”

Alex laughed, giving his girlfriend a fist bump for her come back.

“Shut up, Beckett, you don’t have a college degree either; UPenn rejected you, remember?” Jack stuck his tongue out at her.

The tennis player flicked her friend off, laughing at the realization that she had been a hypocrite.

“Still makes her a lot smarter than you.” Alex defended his girlfriend.

“Oh yeah? Do you know who Zac Posen is, dear Alex?” Jack tested.

The singer nodded.

“Trust me, me and my bank account know Zac Posen very well.”

Liezel smiled at her boyfriend sheepishly as he turned to glance at her. Zac Posen is her absolute favorite brand, especially his handbags. Eighty five percent of her handbags are Zac Posen brands and she is not ashamed to admit that. Even though she is not very much into high fashion, she did admire that man and the products in his line. She’s worn his dresses several times during tennis banquets or red carpet events.

Alex does spend a lot of money on Zac Posen products for the sake of appeasing her.

“And that’s why Alex is getting laid as soon as we get home from this lackluster brunch.” Liezel said to Jack as she wrapped an arm around the singer.

“Lackluster brunch? I am offended Beckett! No man ever lived to tell the tale of what happens to people who refer to my presence as lackluster.”

Liezel snickered.

“Fortunately for me, I am a woman!”

“And a damn sexy one at that.” Alex added.

“Alex! Why you no on my side?” Jack whined.

The tennis player shared a look with Alex before turning back to Jack.

“Because he’s getting laid.”

Notes

Just a head's up, I finished the third story of this series and already started on the first chapter of the fourth. I really like where this is going!!!! Hope you guys will enjoy it too when I post em'!