"i remember how you looked at me, how you looked back. and spreading through my limbs—a sweetness, like honey." —linda pastan, insomnia: poems; "sex education"

"maybe we are each other's homes, maybe that is enough. maybe we hold each other across oceans and speak tenderness in our broken languages." —zehra naqvi, the knot of my tongue: poems and prose; "dear baba"

"do you want him? or do you want me? 'cause i want you." —prince, purple rain; the beautiful ones

"how will you remember?" "that i love you?" "yes." "that's easy. i can't help it." —sarah ruhl, eurydice

• • •

summary.

          GENEVIEVE HALEY doesn't lose.

          Well. That is until her ex-boyfriend splits after seven years.

          Once the WTA's former number one women's singles tennis player who volleyed her competition into oblivion and racked up tournament titles like souvenirs, Gen's composure is unraveling faster than a rookie's first serve after things went left with Terence. Now, every stumble on the court resembles a tick-tock to retirement, and the thought of suffocating by the hands of obscurity stirs her awake every night she spends in the high-rise. And, of course, as if he were listening, feeding from her anguish, her ex decides it's prime time to practically drop an invitation to his engagement party into her lap—a gathering of which her agent threatens treason if she were to attend, and one that may completely upend everything's she worked tirelessly for.

          Screw that.

          Enter SEBASTIAN YOO: her first crush, first kiss, first rival. Aliases also include "the physical manifestation of Gen's hurt feelings". The bloody irony, Gen thinks, running into him in a ballroom with freaky plants and no closure. What unfurls as an uncomfortable reunion between estranged partners descends into a disastrous conclave fueled by drunken decisions that land them both in a compromised—and publicized—position. In mere hours, their faces are roaming the tabloids, and Gen's PR team is scrambling to save a career that's already hanging by a thread.

          The solution? Spin the scandal into a comeback story just brimming with sweet, tantalizing romance. The kind that drives the crowd absolutely and stupidly wild and the kind that makes Gen want to absolutely puke. However, she'd rather deal with the yips ten times over than give up tennis.

          Sebastian, now a no-nonsense strength and conditioning coach after ghosting the ITF circuit years ago, isn't thrilled with playing pretend to become tabloid fodder. But the chance to help his greatest rival claw her way back to No. 1 with a Grand Slam title win is way too intriguing to pass up—that is, only after Gen hires him as her new S&C coach. AKA: agree to commit to an absolutely grueling regimen specifically designed to stress her out. 'Course, that's what Bash did best.

         As they travel the world in a wistful whirlwind of taxing matches and late-night training sessions, impossibly high stakes appear to mount against them as their relationship simmers into something beyond forged. And between all the sharp-tongued banter and feelings they dare not acknowledge, Gen and Sebastian realize that despite how deep the ground seems to go, some things just refuse to stay buried—whether it be ambition, rivalry, or an inexplicable attraction that's doomed to obliterate them both.

          After all, what's a bet without a little risk?

• • •

cast.

kylie bunbury is gen haley

jung hae in is sebastian yoo

tommy martinez is terence leon avila

imaan hammam is noor halim

greta onieogou is billie bryant

tripti dimri is aparna choudhury

sydney park is giselle song

dewanda wise is tamar harper

jade eshete is yohana woldemariam

jeremy allen white is bennett mccardle

mackenyu arata is harry nakamura

lucien laviscount is embry hicks

bae suzy is madeline yoo

and

angela bassett is julianne haley

• • •

content.

+ first-person pov,

+ fake dating blunders with a splash of strangers-to-friendly rivals-to-friends-to-(lovers?)-to-enemies-to-strangers-to-bittersweet acquaintances-to-scheming friends-to-lovers,

+ angst galore with a slow roast and a dash of second chances,

+ three-dimensional characters starring human reactions (egad!),

+ sports! we love sports!

+ plus romance!

+ (and heartbreak),

+ found family,

+ profanity and adult themes (discretion is advised),

+ tennis jargon,

+ brief depictions of racism and misogyny (our tennis girlies are Black, Asian, and goddamn proud of it. any antiblackness/racism/misogyny(noir) caught in the comments will result in an immediate block),

+ episodes of anxiety, depression, and CPTSD (engage with caution),

+ tales of Black daughterhood,

and

+ conversations regarding abortion (please approach with caution. pro-choice shaming will not and will never be tolerated here. all offenders will be blocked if found to engage in anti-choice rhetoric).

content is subject to change. discretion is always advised.

• • •

note.

so. tennis romance. yes, i didn't intend to write it. no, i don't know all the details quite yet. this story is a work in progress and i'm not sure when or if it'll leave the drafts completely. however, it's the first story i've really enjoyed writing since 2023 and i'm determined to make something out of it.

BET ON IT is the result of an (unhealthy) obsession with challengers (zendaya you will always be famous), billie jean king, the williams sisters, coco gauff, naomi osaka, stefanie graf, tennis, sports in general, women playing sports, fake dating cuteness, ten things i hate about you, love jones, and girlhood. you might find it outrageous, ask why the characters make the choices they make, or just not vibe with it at all. and that's okay! this is a contemporary and adorably cliché sports/fake dating-gone-wrong romance with trope after trope. it's a dramedy with pretty sad scenes that might leave you with unclear feelings. but most importantly, it's a story about relearning how to love—whether it be a hobby, another life, or yourself.

if you've made it this far, thank you so much for taking a chance on this story. i can't tell you what this book will deliver quite yet; however, i know well enough that i'm going to do my absolute best to make it count for something. alas, here's to gen, bash, and all their mess in between!

all my love, jaliyah

• • •

copyright statement.

© Copyright 2025 J TOUSSAINT.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without prior written permission from the author, except in brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, please contact the author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

BET ON IT is currently available on Wattpad ONLY. If you see a copy of this story on another website, please contact me immediately.

in other words, don't steal my shit. <3