Cam

 

I was woken up the next morning by chimes.

My phone.

Knowing the texts couldn’t be about anything good, especially at this hour, I snuggled up closer to Reese and buried my face in her hair. It was probably the one place on her body that didn’t smell like cherry vanilla. But the scent of fresh apples was just as intoxicating.

The constant chiming, though, kept intruding on our peace.

“You should probably check that,” she mumbled into her pillow. “Oh, I need Gus to make me The Cure. How do I have a hangover right now? I was pretty sober by the time we went to bed.”

With a frustrated grunt, I rolled over and grabbed my phone off my nightstand. Jesse and Boyd had both sent me the same message, asking if I’d seen the headlines that were apparently all over the networks. I’d missed two calls from my mom and one from Coach Tippins. His voicemail didn’t give anything away and just said to call him back ASAP.

Still groggy from sleep, I sat up and opened my sports network apps. Every network had a variation of the exact same headline.

KING OF THE COURT CROWNS A QUEEN: THE COACH’S DAUGHTER

DONOVAN BRAWLS WITH WARREN OVER BRADLEY’S DAUGHTER

DONOVAN VS. WARREN ON AND OFF THE COURT

BEAUTY AND THE BALLER: THE STORY OF CAM DONOVAN AND HIS TRAINER A.K.A. COACH BRADLEY’S DAUGHTER

TWO BRADLEYS AND ONE DONOVAN: WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR NCU’S TOURNAMENT HOPES?

It was the top story on every single site.

“Oh my God,” Reese whispered in horror as she read over my shoulder. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

This probably wasn’t the best time to tell her I didn’t give a shit about any of it. We were finally in a solid place, and no rumor was going to screw up my chances with her. I wouldn’t let this bullshit affect the team, either. My head was still one hundred percent in the game. I’d let them know they shouldn’t pay any more attention to this crap than I was.

The only thing I was worried about was facing Coach Bradley.

He had the power to bench me, for multiple reasons. I violated one of his biggest rules by getting into a fight, and I did exactly what he told us not to do by going after Reese. I doubted he would kick me off the team at this point in the season, but he certainly didn’t have to let me play in the Best of 16 game tomorrow night. Or in the rest of the tournament.

That had me sweating bullets.

“I should call my dad and explain,” she said, scooting toward the edge of the bed. “He’s probably going ballistic.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” I caught her around the waist and hauled her back up the bed. “We’re not going anywhere or doing anything today. We don’t have a practice to go to, so we’re going to stay inside and not speak to anyone. We deserve to have a day to ourselves. All of this is going to be there for us to deal with tomorrow. But can we please just try to forget about it for one day and enjoy this time together?”

She bit her lip. “You mean turn our phones off and ignore everyone?”

“That’s exactly what I mean. Let’s just be us today.”

Her mouth slowly spread into a smile. “Well, I do need to catch up on my Game of Thrones.”

“Good because I have Hulu.” I kissed her and said against her lips, “You stay in bed and relax and I’ll make breakfast.”

She looked impressed. “I didn’t know you cooked.”

“Eh, just breakfast food. I could eat bacon for every meal.”

“Yeah, your arteries would love that.”

That made me want to give her another kiss, which turned into several kisses, which ended up with me inside of her. But come on. Her bare breasts were shoved in my face while I grappled with my morning wood. There’s no help for that. Eventually—some forty-five minutes later—I got around to cooking breakfast and calling Coach Tippins back.

After we’d had sex again in the shower.

Reese was a voracious little thing.

That sure as hell worked for me since I didn’t see myself getting my fill of her…ever.

She came into the kitchen as I was putting food on the table. She wore one of my NCU Thunder basketball T-shirts. And nothing else.

Shit, I was already hard again.

Her eyes flitted down to my flannel pants. “Down boy. I need some food in my belly to recharge.”

I poured coffee for both of us, learning how she preferred it. “Can’t help it. I don’t think you could ever look sexier than you do right now.”

She fingered the material of the tee. “In your old T-shirt?”

I shrugged. “It’s a guy thing.”

“What did Coach Tippins want?”

“Your dad wants to see me in his office, first thing in the morning.”

Her mug froze halfway to her mouth. “What do you think he’ll do?”

I stabbed some scrambled eggs onto my fork. “No idea. I can’t see him not benching me for at least one game. After that, I guess it just depends on how pissed he is.”

“You mean about the fight or about us?”

Our gazes clashed. “Both, I guess.”

“Well, he doesn’t have much right to be mad at you for dating me,” she said firmly. “I’m a grown woman and I can date whoever I want. True, he’s probably not happy that we hid it from him, but he’ll get over it.”

In a less complicated world, maybe.

I still hadn’t told her about her dad’s warning. Part of it was because I’d been too much of a coward to tell her. But more than anything, I just didn’t want to drive a wedge between the two of them. I knew their relationship was already strained.

“So, you don’t think he should have any say in the matter if you date one of his players?”

Her lip curled in disgust. “Absolutely not. It has nothing to do with him. As long as our relationship doesn’t interfere with the team, it’s none of his business.”

Oh, boy. That didn’t sound good for Coach. Maybe for me, too. That warning was, after all, the reason why I’d stayed away from her for so long.

This meeting tomorrow may end up going even worse than I thought.

 

***

I was man enough to admit I was nervous about facing him the next day. Not because he was my coach and he was probably about to ream my ass. But because he was my girlfriend’s father, and I cared about his approval much more than I thought I would.

I took steady breaths as I walked toward his office, steeling myself for whatever was to come. I knocked on the door and heard a “come in” from the other side. He sat behind his desk, leaning back in his chair with his elbows on the armrests, fingers laced together in front of him.

His eyes bore into me.

It was an intimidating picture, but I was going to face him like a man.

“Have a seat,” he said calmly.

The surface seemed placid enough. But I had a feeling the waters were a swirling vortex underneath that serene façade.

“I have several questions and I expect some honest answers,” he began. “But first, I want to know if the rumors are true.”

Here we go. “Which rumors, sir?”

He spun his computer screen around to me. It was the front page of some media outlet with a split picture of me and Reese. They could have gotten my picture from anywhere, but the one of her had obviously been taken while she sat the bench during a game.

“The ones about you and my daughter.”

That was the voice of a protective father, recognizable because of its lethal edge.

“Yes, sir, they’re true. At least the ones about us being together. Dating, that is.”

He pursed his lips. “Did I not specifically tell every one of you to stay away from her? Did I not make it clear enough what would happen if you went near her?”

I wanted to glance over at the picture of Reese one more time. As stupid as it sounded, seeing her face gave me an extra boost of confidence. I kept my eyes on him, though.

“Yes, you did. And I did stay away for a while. We kept our distance for a long time. But it got to a point where I couldn’t do it anymore, sir.”

“Yeah, and how long is that going to last?” he challenged. “How long are you going to keep her around before you move on to the next girl? And what will that do to Reese? I’m not talking to you as your coach now, son. I’m talking to you as a father who’s trying to protect his daughter from a guy who’s famous for avoiding commitments. And that’s putting it nicely.”

“I respect that,” I said. “And if I were in your shoes I’d probably say the same thing.”

He put his hand up, cutting me off. “Don’t. You have no idea what it’s like to be a father.”

“You’re right, I don’t. But I do know what it’s like to want Reese in my life, which is something you and I have in common.” I leaned forward in my chair. “I can’t change what I’ve done in the past or how I’ve acted. But I can change the type of person I am now. I can be better. Ever since I met your daughter, sir, I’ve wanted to be better for her. Hell, she makes me better.”

I saw the spark of surprise in his eyes before he pushed it away. “So, you decided to sneak around behind my back.”

“We weren’t trying to disrespect you,” I insisted. “We just didn’t want to make a big deal out of it until we knew for sure what was between us.”

He quirked an eyebrow. “Which is?”

Time for the bomb drop.

“She’s it for me. I know she deserves better, I admit that. But I can’t find it in me to turn her away if she wants me back.”

He sighed and put his elbows on his desk. “Look, I know you’re a good guy, Donovan. I’ve coached you for five years and I see more than you think. I know your parents raised you right. But until very recently I haven’t seen a whole lot of growing up from you. Reese has a lot of plans for the future, and she needs someone with his own plans. Someone who’s not going to keep living like he’s still in college even after he graduates.”

That irked me a little, but I understood where he was coming from.

“With all due respect, sir, you don’t have any idea about my plans.

He gave me this look that said you wanna bet? “Entering the draft, I assume. A career in the NBA.”

“You’d be wrong.”

He didn’t look convinced. “Care to explain?”

I rubbed circles in the back of my neck, considering whether or not it was a good idea to reveal this now. “Shit, I wasn’t planning on telling you this. I have a partial tear in my patella tendon, the same one I ruptured four years ago. It happened back in October, but I didn’t want to say anything because I knew you’d bench me. So you see, my knee won’t make it to the NBA.”

I’d accepted that a long time ago.

He shot to his feet, looking outraged. “Damn it, Donovan. How could you not tell me something like that? Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to play on that knee? You could seriously injure yourself, even permanently. I can’t believe Gus didn’t tell me.”

“Gus doesn’t know,” I said. “Only Reese does. She’s been helping me with my physical therapy. She and my doctor have been monitoring it. And if it’s any consolation, she threw a fit when she found out, too, and hates that I’ve been playing on it.”

He shot me a look. “Despite the fact that that’s yet another thing you two have kept from me, I hope she told you how stupid it was.”

I grinned. “She did. I think she used the word ‘idiot’, too.”

I didn’t get a laugh, but a snort was close enough. I’d take it.

“I know it was wrong of me not to tell you,” I went on, “but you have to know how important it was for me to play this season. I’d already been on the fence about joining the draft after graduation, and this just sealed the deal for me. This year is the end of my career, and I couldn’t watch it pass me by from the bench. I’m sorry, but I can’t go out like that. That’s not how I want to leave the game I love.”

He was silent for a few moments. I took the opportunity to make one final point.

“I’ve been making plans for my career in sports management after graduation, and I have some prospects. So, if you’re worried about me holding Reese back, don’t be. The last thing I would ever do is keep her from achieving her goals.”

He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. “And what of the fight with Warren?”

My temper flared, and it was a struggle to rein it back in. “I’m not sure you want to know. It was about Reese.”

He put his fists on the desk and leaned forward, his wrath showing in every line of his face. “Tell me what the hell happened.”

I saw his wrath and raised him some rage. “He attacked Reese.” The color drained from his face. “Warren’s had a thing for her ever since they went to high school together, and he’s been hounding her all season. She’s refused every time, of course. Anyway, he was drunk at the party and got her alone in an upstairs bathroom. He took things too far and went after her.”

“Went after her?” he rasped, the sound barely above a whisper.

I nodded, fisting my hands in my lap. “They scuffled and she fought him off. She ran down the stairs, and when I saw him follow, saw what he did to her, I lost it. He didn’t pay nearly enough for what he did, but I don’t regret it for a second. The son of a bitch deserves to have his dick cut off.”

He looked like he was taking the news really hard, and I felt bad for being so harsh. “Is she all right?”

“Yeah. A few bruises and scratches, but she’s fine.”

With a menacing growl, he shoved the stacks of papers off his desk, sending them flying across the room. I just sat quietly and watched as he dealt with his emotions. This kind of information was enough to break even the strongest of men. Once he finally calmed down, he fell back into his chair.

“Okay, look,” he said. “Since there was no police involvement, the NACA said it’s up to my discretion on how to punish you. So, here it is.” I sucked in a breath. “You won’t play in the first half of tonight’s game. That’s our team policy on fighting and whether or not I approve of your reason for the fight, I have to abide by those rules.”

“I understand.” Even though it sucked. “And after that?”

“After that we’ll see,” he replied. “I’m still pissed about your knee, and there’s also the matter of you going behind my back and dating Reese. I’m going to need to think about that some more.”

I didn’t argue. To do so would only make the situation worse.

“Is that everything?” I asked.

His eyes pierced through me. “For now. Be back here by noon.”

It was a good thing the Best of 16 games were being played here at our stadium. Otherwise, all of this would have been going down on the road, in front of the entire team, and that would have been miserable.

I stood up to leave but stopped at the sound of his voice. I turned. “Sir?”

He fidgeted with the pen in his hand. “Did you tell her? About my threatening to bench anyone who didn’t keep his hands off her?”

I shook my head. “No. It wasn’t something I thought she needed to know at the time. For what it’s worth, I pushed her away in the beginning solely because of that. It was probably the only thing that could have kept me away from her that long.”

I wasn’t sure if he looked consoled by that or not. He studied me for several silent moments before tipping his head to the door, giving me permission to leave. I probably should have, but at that moment, I didn’t care what he thought. I just wanted to get back to Reese because she made everything better.

Little did I know, coming face to face with her would happen sooner than I thought.

I opened his office door and there was Reese, waiting on the other side like a beautiful fire-breathing dragon.

She did not look happy.