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You can't lose something you never had. / Andie, how to lose a guy in 10 days.
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STANFORD, CA ( 2007 )
Morning practice was Brie's sanctuary. The crisp air kissed her cheeks as the soft amber light poured over the court, golden and forgiving. There was something sacred about these early hours, the rhythmic squeak of shoes against the clay, the distant hum of sprinklers still fading.
Today's drills were light, almost ceremonial. Berkeley was coming tomorrow, the game that split the year in two, the match that always mattered the most. Their biggest rivals, always circling each other like wolves.
The goal was to stay sharp, not tired. Tension buzzed beneath every serve and backhand, even if the pace was slow. Everyone felt it. Every shot had purpose. The coaches called it a "recovery day," but Brie liked to think of it as the calm before the storm.
She and Valerie were side by side, as always. Brie could read the spin on her ball just by the way Val's wrist snapped. They moved in tandem—forehand, volley, drop shot, reset. Over and over, until the drills became a dance.
Their friendship wasn't just built on moments, but on the quiet spaces between them. The late nights tangled in blankets on Val's dorm bed, Grey's Anatomy flickering in the background, and the soft glow of a screen casting light over scattered textbooks and half-eaten snacks.
It was in the whispered confessions at midnight, the laughter that left them breathless, and the simple, unspoken promise to always show up for each other, no matter what. It wasn't just about the big gestures, but the comfort of being there in the everyday, in the silences and the shared quiet, knowing they were never truly alone.
Valerie had become Brie's anchor in a world that spun too fast. She was the one who stayed when the pressure got loud, when the noise of expectations threatened to drown her out. With Valerie, there was no pretending. No performing. Just something real.
