The following days dissolved into each other as Rianne found her time crammed with training. There was so much to worry about! Between fitness, weights and tennis training she had hardly enough time to relax. She found that as the tournament progressed she had to further economise her time to slot in special sessions with Josh to discuss game plans and player strategies. She had never realised that so much work went into a Grand Slam tournament. After four days of torture, Josh finally commented on the strain.

"Rianne, I know the past few days have been a little hectic." He paused as she gave him an incredulous expression. "But that's all over. You've done the hard work to get this far, and there's no sense in running you into the ground. You're in the fourth round; we never expected you to do so well, so all I want you to do now is to enjoy being out there, and see how you play. What do you think?"

"I thought you'd never let me off!" relief spread over her face. After another informal chat about her upcoming match in two days time, they were interrupted by Anthony who smoothly breezed into the room.

"Rianne, we've found a clothing sponsor! It's not Nike or Reebok, but it's the best offer we've had so far, so I think we should take it. They've offered us a two year deal. What do you say?" He was obviously keen on the idea.

"Sure, why not? I don't see any other offers around. Who's it with?"

"Asics. I've checked their gear out, and it's not too bad. You'll look great in their current line..."

"Thanks, but I really don't care. Anyway, if you guys don't mind, I'll be off. I've had a really heavy day." With that she made her getaway. All Rianne cared about at the moment was the nice comfortable prospect of her bed in the hotel room.

****

The next day brought a pleasant surprise. As she did not have to be at training until the afternoon, Rianne decided to relax the morning away in her room. A gentle rap brought her to the door.

"Hi!" Toby was leaning against the door carrying a bowl of fresh fruit salad, candidly smuggled from the breakfast buffet. "It was the only thing in the hotel that was healthy enough for us!" He flashed a shy, inviting smile, his eyes looking down on hers with a friendliness impossible to resist.

"Come on in, I wasn't doing anything much. Sit down. What're you doing here? Don't you have training or something?" She ran into the bathroom to check on her appearance.

"I was really bored, and since I didn't have to go to training until afternoon I thought I might come and annoy you."

"Oh no, you'd never annoy me." Not someone as cute as you anyway, she added silently. She emerged, satisfied by what she saw in the mirror. "Besides, I haven't known you that long yet."

Rianne spent an entertaining morning alone with Toby. They had not seen one another since the night at the movies, and while she had constructed time to see Nick, the same had not been the case with Toby. Rianne was rather confused about him. She didn't know whether it was because he was her tennis idol, or the fact that she found him to be absolutely gorgeous. And why shouldn't she? Even if she was attracted to him, Nick was the one she liked. But now the thought of them spending time as a threesome was gradually making her uncomfortable.

These relatively unpleasant thoughts were aided by her own acute observation of him. His expressions, his tone of voice, and the way he casually tossed his hair all had an effect on her. Most of all his eyes caught her attention, those big innocent baby blue eyes peering adorably through the loose strands of hair he always tried to keep in place. She thought he looked cuter that way. Uselessly she tried to bar these thoughts from her mind. She was convinced that this attraction was only the residual effect of her admiration of him.

She of course had no inkling of what her companion thought of her and her attraction for him seemed to proceed unnoticed. Toby was of a disposition to always be congenial to everyone, and had never met with any complaint with his nature his entire life. Although he smiled, was nice to everybody and was acknowledged to be modest, kind and considerate, he was often shy enough to remain distant from people. He possessed a reserve which allowed him to contain his innermost thoughts without detection from anyone, defying even his closest friends.

Toby at first did not mind knowing Rianne. Being modest, he had trouble conceiving how anyone could ever idolise him to such a ridiculous degree, especially someone as smart as her. When they had met the first time he was so focused on his first match he had not taken the time to think about it. And when they met again a day later she seemed agitated and unwilling to talk. However when she finally confessed why she was so uncomfortable in his presence his exterior melted. It had not escaped his attention that she looked absolutely fantastic and was by far the most intelligent person he had ever met. He refused to be tempted to think that he might even be slightly attracted to someone else's girlfriend. However he did concede that he thought she had very striking eyes. And she did have a very pretty face.

The pair walked to the tennis complex in comfortable silence. Neither of them were talkative, and with both of them consumed by these confusing thoughts during the walk hardly any words escaped their lips. When they did speak they confined themselves to general small talk. Arriving at the courts earlier than expected they did not know what to do with themselves. Toby had an entertaining idea.

"I'm really bored. Why don't we go and see Nick or something?" Rianne wasn't as enthusiastic as Toby had hoped.

"Isn't he practicing now?"

"Yes, but I'm sure he'd very much like to see you." He grinned teasingly. It was his idea of making sure to himself that he wasn't any more attracted to her as the next guy. Rianne coloured a shade deeper but agreed to his proposition. Walking in the public area, Toby was stopped several times by autograph hunters eagerly asking if they could take a picture with him. Bemused, Rianne stepped back and wondered if this kind of attention would ever be bestowed on her. Although she acknowledged that it would be a nuisance at times, she thought she would enjoy the fame and prestige enough not to mind it. Presently, she could tell that Toby was feeling very awkward posing for shots, and with his extremely modest nature he surely would not enjoy this kind of attention. Finally the fans went away satisfied with yet another autograph from a player.

"You didn't enjoy that, did you?" She smiled consolingly.

"It needs to be done. Every time I feel really annoyed at them, I imagine I'm one of them and how I would feel asking for autographs. It's tough; I guess it's part of the game."

"No, it's part of being a really good tennis player, especially one like you who's in the top 10. As for people like me, we don't need to do it because we're not good enough!" Toby immediately protested against this idea.

They spotted Nick on the furthermost court from the administration building. Rianne could tell he was quite popular, even for a top player, as the fence surrounding the court was completely covered by people taking pictures. Rianne was wondering if they should disturb him when Nick suddenly stopped and called out,

"Hey guys! Come on in, I've nearly finished." The crowd turned towards them, and some recognising Toby, began to swarm towards him. Rianne was feeling very cumbersome just standing there in the midst of the activity when she overheard someone saying,

"Who's that?" Rianne had a nagging suspicion that they were talking about her. She pretended not to hear. Out of the corner of her eye she saw they were two teenage girls armed with heavy looking cameras. The other replied,

"I think she's that Australian who's in the fourth round."

"Yeah ... she's really pretty." At this Rianne felt a hot flush of embarrassment. Luckily, before she had to endure any more comments of that nature, Nick pulled her onto the court and whispered,

"Nice to see you." Rianne, fearful of being overheard, whispered back,

"Shhh! People will hear you!"

"So what? I don't care!" His eyes softened as he took her hand and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. Laughing with embarrassment, she again urged him to be silent, but it was too late. Comments around the court seeped into her hearing.

"Oh my god she's his girlfriend!"

"I didn't know he had a girlfriend!"

"She's so gorgeous, no wonder he likes her."

"She's not that pretty."

"She came with Torbjorn Linberg, I thought they were going out. They look good together."

"Obviously not." Rianne thought she would go crazy if she heard anymore. Toby, eyeing her carefully, fully understood and raced towards them.

"You okay?" he asked with a concerned expression on his face. "Let's get out of here. Nick, we'll be in the lounge after you finish right? Come on, let's go." Rianne nodded gratefully, quite overwhelmed by the sudden speculation she had incited. She was so glad that Toby had completely understood and was caring enough to handle the situation for her. As Nick hadn't noticed her distress, she was relieved that Toby was on hand to alleviate her anxiety. He herded her through the throng of people and shut the door behind them as they sat down inside the player's lounge. He let her sit in silence for a while.

"You OK? Can I get you anything?"

"No, I'm fine. I'm just a little ... surprised ... and scared. I mean, I thought I wouldn't have to deal with that kind of stuff yet. I was ... unprepared." She gave him a cautious smile. She found a sense of warmth and security in his bright blue eyes as they gazed at her intently. Rianne realised that she valued his empathetic friendship much more than any physical attraction she may feel for him, and began to comprehend that they would be better off friends than anything else. They understood each other's minds and emotions to an almost impossible degree.

A flicker of doubt crossed her mind as she caught herself unwillingly measuring Nick against Toby. It did matter to her that Nick had not even picked up her discomfort, while Toby was so alert to it. But she put it down to experience. Nick, she knew, revelled in the limelight of high profile tennis while Toby wished it wasn't such an essential part of the game. It was the difference in character that allowed one to be so completely unaware of her problem and the other to be completely aware. Having thus satisfied the score with herself she felt that it would be better if she resolved to put this matter completely from her mind, so close was she to getting angry at him.

Rianne chatted more inanely than usual, trying to cover up her confusion. However Toby was not fooled by her act, but was hesitant in which course of action suited the situation best. In the end he thought it better to let the matter drop. After all, it wasn't really any of his business.