To France With Love
Goodbyes and Credentials
Rafael
R. Nadal def. S. Warwinka
R. Nadal def. N. Djokavic
Maria
V. Azarenka def. M. Kirilenko
Maria lost in her quarterfinals against Victoria Azarenka. She came in my room afterward. We ate pizza, laughed, and cried a little. She was going to leave to go back to Russia, and Tyler was ready to go back to the U.S. and see his family even if it meant missing the finals, but I didn’t want to leave, and I didn’t want to miss the finals.
Around ten o’clock Maria went to go spend some “quality time” with Alex. I decided to go see Rafa. I walked barefoot to his room in my tank top and pajama shorts. I texted him before I came over so he was waiting for me when I arrived. I hugged him as soon as he opened the door.
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We sat on the bed on Rafa’s room talking while the Food Network played quietly on the TV. “Babe,” I said, “Maria and Tyler are going to leave soon.” He looked up at me.
“You don’t have to.” He said. “Stay in here with me.”
“Can I?” I asked.
“Of course.” He answered. “I wouldn’t want you to leave. You miss my last match. The finals.” He was raising his eyebrow in the cute way that he did when he was getting serious or when he was having trouble with English. “Tomorrow I have day off, and you stay with me until the tournament is over.”
“I would love too.” I said. “I’ll tell Ty and I’ll bring my bags up here when he checks out.” I gave Rafa a kiss and jumped off his bed. “I’ve got to go, but I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon after everyone leaves.”
“Wait.” He said while sitting up. “Grab the extra room key from my wallet on the dresser.” I found the wallet and grabbed the key and ran out of the room.
“G’night babe. Love you!” I said closing the door behind me.
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“Tyler!” I said as I walked into our room. “I’m staying for the rest of the tournament with Rafa. He shrugged.
“Have fun and be safe.” He said. “Just let me sleep now.”
Throughout the trip I had kept myself pretty organized. All I had to do to pack myself up was put my clothes from the dresser into my bag and put my makeup case in my bag and I was ready. I zipped up my bags and jumped in my bed.
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"Bye!" Said Maria as she hugged me so tightly. "I will miss you so much."
"Mee too." I said. "I will call you first thing when I get home!" We hugged one more time before she got in the car. I shook Coach Yuri's hand and hugged Tyler before they all left.
My bags were already in Rafa's room so I walked up there to meet him. He was probably still asleep.
There were lots of things to do today. We had to go adjust my credentials so my pass said I was Rafa's guest and he wanted to try to get my access to me access to the training room as his "hitting partner". Then I was going to watch Rafa practice, then he was going to the training room, then he needed to eat, and finally rest, a lot.
I walked in the room and sure enough Rafa was still sleeping. He was so cute in his sleep. I sat next to him on the bed and turned on the Tennis Channel really quietly. They were showing a preshow for the women's final which was going to be on today. I was planning on making Rafa go watch it with me today.
A little later, Rafa's phone alarm went off. He moaned and rolled over. I picked up his phone and turned the alarm off. He was laying on his stomach, obviously trying to avoid dragging himself out of bed. I rubbed his back and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Good morning." I said as I switched to massaging his shoulders. He smiled up at me.
"Morning." He said. I jumped out of bed.
"C'mon babe! We've got a huge day!" I said standing in front of him. He dragged himself out if bed and gave me a hug.
"What's up first?" He asked. I put my head down on his chest.
"Well," I answered, "first we have to go change my creds. Then you have to practice, and last you have to rest. Oh yeah!" I lifted my head up and looked at him. "We're going to watch the women's final." He smirked and looked down at me.
"Oh really?" He said sweetly. "I wasn't expecting that one." I gave him a sweet smile and he sighed. "But we can go if you want." I smiled and gave him a quick kiss.
"Now put some clothes on." I said as i gave him a little slap on the butt. I sat in the bed as Rafa changed from his underwear and t shirt into practice clothes. I was already in mine.
We grabbed all of our stuff and we headed out. We stopped and updated my creds. Now I had access everywhere.
I went to the practice courts with Rafa and watched him play. At the end of his practice Uncle Toni let me hit lightly with him as a cool down from his practice. After we were done hitting Rafa sat down and stretched. There was a huge crowd of people watching and waiting for Rafa to come out.
We picked up our bags and Rafa held onto my hand. He leaned over and whispered to me. "Just stay close to me and don't let the crowd push you away from me." I nodded and braced myself to hit the crowd. There were security guards at the gate to help us get through, but people were going to try and get close anyway.
We stepped into the crowd and were immediately engulfed by people. Rafa held onto me with his right hand and signed an autograph every now and then with his left. We were pretty close to the entrance to the locker room, when Rafa's hand slipped out of mine, but the security guard kept pulling him along in the crowd and I was stuck. "Emelie!" I heard him call as he disappeard from my view.
I kept trying to move through the sea of people. Suddenly I felt someone grab my arm it was another security guard. "Alright!" He shouted. "Make a hole!" I let out a sigh of relief.
The man led me into a door that led to the hallway outside the player locker rooms. "Thanks." I said when we were out if the crowd. He gave me a nod then went off to go back to whatever he was doing before.
Rafa was standing there waiting for me when I came in. He put his arm around me. "Sorry I lost you." He said and gave me a kiss on the head.
"It's okay." I answered. We went to the athletic trainer's room so that Rafa could get some ice for his knee. The trainer taped a bag of ice around it so it was "to go" and we could go watch the women's final.
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We sat down in that stands with all the normal people instead of going to one of the player boxes. I thought it was more fun that way. Rafa put his arm around me. "You sure you don't wanna just go back to the room and sleep." I laughed.
"You can if you want, but I'd like to stay and watch." I answered. He sighed and rubbed my arm.
"Then I guess I'll stay." He said. I smiled and put my head on his shoulder. Serena Williams was playing Maria Sharapova. They had already warmed up and were starting the match.
It didn't take Serena very long to take out Maria. She won 6-4, 6-4, but it was very exciting to watch. When then match was over I squeezed Rafa's leg. "Now we can go to the room and sleep." He smiled and I gave him a kiss. "Thanks for staying."
"Anything for you." He said while standing up. "Now come with me for more ice and then we go back." I nodded and followed him out.
I couldn't tell if he wanted more ice because his knee was bothering him more than usual or because he wanted to be extra careful. I just really hoped he was only being extra careful.
When we got back to the trainer's room someone else was in there too. It was David Ferrer, the man Rafa would be playing in the finals tomorrow. Rafa sat down on the bench next to David's and started untaping his knee. They acted completely normal. They asked each other about thier ailments and just about how they were doing in general. He introduced me to him as his girlfriend. There was obvious tension, but I loved how they could be so civilized to each other off of the court when they had a huge match the next day.
When David left the both wished each other good luck and shook hands. We left after Rafa's knee was taped with ice again.
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When we got home Rafa let me shower first. I put on my usual pajamas, some cute panties and a t shirt. He went in to shower and I sat down on the bed to wait for him.
When he was all changed and showered, he sat down next to me on the bed. He put his arm around me and held my hand while we talked until nine thirty. That was his bedtime on the eve of the French Open finals.
When he turned out the light, he was asleep in an instant. I wondered for a few minutes how he could sleep the night before such a huge match with all the excitement and nerves, but that only lasted for a minute because I fell asleep soon after.
R. Nadal def. S. Warwinka
R. Nadal def. N. Djokavic
Maria
V. Azarenka def. M. Kirilenko
Maria lost in her quarterfinals against Victoria Azarenka. She came in my room afterward. We ate pizza, laughed, and cried a little. She was going to leave to go back to Russia, and Tyler was ready to go back to the U.S. and see his family even if it meant missing the finals, but I didn’t want to leave, and I didn’t want to miss the finals.
Around ten o’clock Maria went to go spend some “quality time” with Alex. I decided to go see Rafa. I walked barefoot to his room in my tank top and pajama shorts. I texted him before I came over so he was waiting for me when I arrived. I hugged him as soon as he opened the door.
.............................................................................
We sat on the bed on Rafa’s room talking while the Food Network played quietly on the TV. “Babe,” I said, “Maria and Tyler are going to leave soon.” He looked up at me.
“You don’t have to.” He said. “Stay in here with me.”
“Can I?” I asked.
“Of course.” He answered. “I wouldn’t want you to leave. You miss my last match. The finals.” He was raising his eyebrow in the cute way that he did when he was getting serious or when he was having trouble with English. “Tomorrow I have day off, and you stay with me until the tournament is over.”
“I would love too.” I said. “I’ll tell Ty and I’ll bring my bags up here when he checks out.” I gave Rafa a kiss and jumped off his bed. “I’ve got to go, but I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon after everyone leaves.”
“Wait.” He said while sitting up. “Grab the extra room key from my wallet on the dresser.” I found the wallet and grabbed the key and ran out of the room.
“G’night babe. Love you!” I said closing the door behind me.
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“Tyler!” I said as I walked into our room. “I’m staying for the rest of the tournament with Rafa. He shrugged.
“Have fun and be safe.” He said. “Just let me sleep now.”
Throughout the trip I had kept myself pretty organized. All I had to do to pack myself up was put my clothes from the dresser into my bag and put my makeup case in my bag and I was ready. I zipped up my bags and jumped in my bed.
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"Bye!" Said Maria as she hugged me so tightly. "I will miss you so much."
"Mee too." I said. "I will call you first thing when I get home!" We hugged one more time before she got in the car. I shook Coach Yuri's hand and hugged Tyler before they all left.
My bags were already in Rafa's room so I walked up there to meet him. He was probably still asleep.
There were lots of things to do today. We had to go adjust my credentials so my pass said I was Rafa's guest and he wanted to try to get my access to me access to the training room as his "hitting partner". Then I was going to watch Rafa practice, then he was going to the training room, then he needed to eat, and finally rest, a lot.
I walked in the room and sure enough Rafa was still sleeping. He was so cute in his sleep. I sat next to him on the bed and turned on the Tennis Channel really quietly. They were showing a preshow for the women's final which was going to be on today. I was planning on making Rafa go watch it with me today.
A little later, Rafa's phone alarm went off. He moaned and rolled over. I picked up his phone and turned the alarm off. He was laying on his stomach, obviously trying to avoid dragging himself out of bed. I rubbed his back and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Good morning." I said as I switched to massaging his shoulders. He smiled up at me.
"Morning." He said. I jumped out of bed.
"C'mon babe! We've got a huge day!" I said standing in front of him. He dragged himself out if bed and gave me a hug.
"What's up first?" He asked. I put my head down on his chest.
"Well," I answered, "first we have to go change my creds. Then you have to practice, and last you have to rest. Oh yeah!" I lifted my head up and looked at him. "We're going to watch the women's final." He smirked and looked down at me.
"Oh really?" He said sweetly. "I wasn't expecting that one." I gave him a sweet smile and he sighed. "But we can go if you want." I smiled and gave him a quick kiss.
"Now put some clothes on." I said as i gave him a little slap on the butt. I sat in the bed as Rafa changed from his underwear and t shirt into practice clothes. I was already in mine.
We grabbed all of our stuff and we headed out. We stopped and updated my creds. Now I had access everywhere.
I went to the practice courts with Rafa and watched him play. At the end of his practice Uncle Toni let me hit lightly with him as a cool down from his practice. After we were done hitting Rafa sat down and stretched. There was a huge crowd of people watching and waiting for Rafa to come out.
We picked up our bags and Rafa held onto my hand. He leaned over and whispered to me. "Just stay close to me and don't let the crowd push you away from me." I nodded and braced myself to hit the crowd. There were security guards at the gate to help us get through, but people were going to try and get close anyway.
We stepped into the crowd and were immediately engulfed by people. Rafa held onto me with his right hand and signed an autograph every now and then with his left. We were pretty close to the entrance to the locker room, when Rafa's hand slipped out of mine, but the security guard kept pulling him along in the crowd and I was stuck. "Emelie!" I heard him call as he disappeard from my view.
I kept trying to move through the sea of people. Suddenly I felt someone grab my arm it was another security guard. "Alright!" He shouted. "Make a hole!" I let out a sigh of relief.
The man led me into a door that led to the hallway outside the player locker rooms. "Thanks." I said when we were out if the crowd. He gave me a nod then went off to go back to whatever he was doing before.
Rafa was standing there waiting for me when I came in. He put his arm around me. "Sorry I lost you." He said and gave me a kiss on the head.
"It's okay." I answered. We went to the athletic trainer's room so that Rafa could get some ice for his knee. The trainer taped a bag of ice around it so it was "to go" and we could go watch the women's final.
..........................................................
We sat down in that stands with all the normal people instead of going to one of the player boxes. I thought it was more fun that way. Rafa put his arm around me. "You sure you don't wanna just go back to the room and sleep." I laughed.
"You can if you want, but I'd like to stay and watch." I answered. He sighed and rubbed my arm.
"Then I guess I'll stay." He said. I smiled and put my head on his shoulder. Serena Williams was playing Maria Sharapova. They had already warmed up and were starting the match.
It didn't take Serena very long to take out Maria. She won 6-4, 6-4, but it was very exciting to watch. When then match was over I squeezed Rafa's leg. "Now we can go to the room and sleep." He smiled and I gave him a kiss. "Thanks for staying."
"Anything for you." He said while standing up. "Now come with me for more ice and then we go back." I nodded and followed him out.
I couldn't tell if he wanted more ice because his knee was bothering him more than usual or because he wanted to be extra careful. I just really hoped he was only being extra careful.
When we got back to the trainer's room someone else was in there too. It was David Ferrer, the man Rafa would be playing in the finals tomorrow. Rafa sat down on the bench next to David's and started untaping his knee. They acted completely normal. They asked each other about thier ailments and just about how they were doing in general. He introduced me to him as his girlfriend. There was obvious tension, but I loved how they could be so civilized to each other off of the court when they had a huge match the next day.
When David left the both wished each other good luck and shook hands. We left after Rafa's knee was taped with ice again.
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When we got home Rafa let me shower first. I put on my usual pajamas, some cute panties and a t shirt. He went in to shower and I sat down on the bed to wait for him.
When he was all changed and showered, he sat down next to me on the bed. He put his arm around me and held my hand while we talked until nine thirty. That was his bedtime on the eve of the French Open finals.
When he turned out the light, he was asleep in an instant. I wondered for a few minutes how he could sleep the night before such a huge match with all the excitement and nerves, but that only lasted for a minute because I fell asleep soon after.