The Other Side

Blurb:

A pregnancy, billionaire, BWWM, sports romance novel.

Mark Hildenstern used to be the tennis world’s golden boy until Andy Henson knocked him off his top spot.

Andy’s not just winning matches; he’s also rubbing a lot of people the wrong way.

Looking for a bit of revenge, Mark plots to shake Andy up by hinting that Andy’s girlfriend, Charli, might be seeing Mark on the side…

But Mark never planned to fall for Charli instead!

Just as things start heating up, Mark finds out that Andy and Charli’s relationship is on the rocks, and a surprise pregnancy throws them all into uncharted territory.

How will Mark and Charli cope with the chaos that ensues?

And what will happen when Charli learns the truth behind Mark’s initial intentions?

Get answers in this interracial sports romance book by Erica A Davis.

Chapter 1

“Mark? Mark, are you there?”

Mark Hildenstern didn’t look up as Stephen Akhtar entered the changing rooms, staring at the floor as he sat forward with his elbows on his knees. Sweat dripped off his face and onto the tiles. He didn’t want to talk to anybody, especially his coach.

“Get lost, Steve.” He growled. “I’m not in the mood to talk.”

“I should say you’re not.” Stephen folded his arms and glared at him. “What happened out there?”

Mark wanted to hit someone and Stephen was available. It would be so easy to stand up and swing. But despite his slight build, Stephen was very fast and even stronger than Mark. If Mark tried to punch Stephen, chances were he would be the one ending up in the hospital.

He looked up, knowing that he was trembling.

“I got outplayed.” He snorted disparagingly. “Isn’t that the way? He played better than me and I got caught on the back foot.”

“That never happens with you. You never get caught on the back foot.”

“It did this time.” Mark rubbed his hands over his face. “Henson is bloody good and he got me.”

He felt like the worst person on the planet. When he was out on the tennis court he dominated it. Even when he lost a match he made it hard work for his opponent; it was how he played – hard and fast. But then a younger man comes onto the scene and he flipped Mark’s tactics on its head, annihilating him on the court. In front of the TV cameras and thousands of people watching. Mark had never been beaten that badly since he was sixteen years old and no one had even come close to doing that in the last fourteen years.

Now a new kid on the block was making him feel like crap. Mark didn’t like the feeling. He felt embarrassed. People came to watch him play; he was a favorite with the spectators. They didn’t come to see him lose and not that badly.

“Then you can get him next time.” Stephen leaned against the lockers, punching the air with his statement. “There are plenty of tournaments to go to where you’ll face him again. You can beat him on the court, no problem.”

“Maybe I will.” Mark sat up and slumped. “But chances are I won’t. Maybe I’m getting too old to be playing professionally.”

“What are you talking about? You’re only thirty. That’s not old.”

“It is in professional sports. Henson’s twenty-five. He’s got quite a few years in him yet.”

Mark knew that for certain. He had been playing professionally since his early teens, playing men’s tennis since he was sixteen, and he had beaten many players who were at the top of their game and they were approaching thirty. Those over thirty seemed to be a little slower than those in their twenties. It was an observation that Mark had made and he knew he was reaching that stage where he was getting slower than the younger players. He was going to have to admit that he was getting old sooner or later.

Denial wanted him to do it later.

“But how long has he been playing tennis at the top like this with a world ranking in the top twenty?” Stephen demanded. “Only the last year. You’ve been at the top of your game for fourteen. He’s got a long way to go to get your record.”

“But he’s certainly on his way.” Mark grunted.

When Andy Henson had appeared on the scene the season before and annihilated most of his competition, Mark had been stunned. He had never heard of Henson before then even though he was an average player in lower competitions. But suddenly he had rocketed to the top and taken everyone by surprise. No one knew exactly what had happened or how he had managed it but he was there and he was taking out the top players. Two of Mark’s closest friends, two of his best opponents in the grand slams, had retired shortly after being slaughtered by Henson, both of them admitting privately to Mark that Henson was the reason and they couldn’t take the humiliation.

And it wasn’t just the humiliation of being beaten easily in front of a crowd. It was Henson’s attitude. He was sneering, bordering on nasty but not enough to be warned or disqualified by the officials. But when he was in the change rooms and they were waiting to go on court he would be dropping nasty comments in his opponents’ ears, enough to put them off and struggle.

Mark knew. Henson had done exactly the same to him before the match. Most of it had been about his past and his dad being killed. It was still a touchy subject even after twenty years and it shook Mark up. That had kept him off-balance throughout the game and Mark hated himself for being in that position.

But the tactics were downright nasty. People used tactics to throw their opponent off and get in their heads but Mark was friends with the majority of his fellow players. Even the ones he didn’t get along with never got in his head like Henson got in his.

“Mark.” Stephen pushed off the lockers and ruffled his hair. “Don’t let him get to you. You’ve been beaten before.”

“Not like this.” Mark stood. He wasn’t going to listen to any more of this. “I’m going to shower.”

He knew Stephen was watching him as he walked away, collecting his towel and gel from his bag and making his way to the shower room. And he knew his closest friend was concerned about him. But Mark didn’t care. He was feeling sorry for himself and didn’t want to think about anything else except getting drunk.

Maybe he was getting old. Maybe he needed to remind himself what it was like to be young again. A few drinks should help that.

Or a few dozen.