Reese

 

I wasn’t sure what was currently going through Cam’s head, but I was scared shitless. For him.

The fate of the game could very well depend on what Gus and I determined the problem was.

No pressure or anything.

“I got it,” he grumbled as we helped him onto the exam table.

“All right,” I said gravely, “you have to be honest with us. What did it feel like when you went down, and how bad is the pain now?”

He propped himself up on his elbows. “It was a sharp pain, almost different levels of sharpness as I went down.” He let out a frustrated grunt. “That probably doesn’t make any sense. Look, it hurt like a son of a bitch, but there wasn’t a pop so I know it’s not ruptured.”

“It doesn’t always feel like a popping sensation,” I said gently. “We may not be dealing with just a partial tear anymore.”

I’d informed Gus of Cam’s injury before the start of the tournament—made him promise to keep it to himself—so he wasn’t surprised to hear any of this.

“Tear or not,” Cam growled, “I’m going back out there and finishing the game. If I have to do it on one leg, I will.”

His eyes were challenging as they gazed at me, refusing to back down.

“And how’s the pain now?” Gus asked.

“About a six,” Cam answered. I shot him a look and he sighed. “Okay, maybe a seven, but I can manage a seven.”

“Cam, it could shoot up to a ten as soon as you step back out on that court,” I said. “Then you won’t have a choice. You’ll have to sit.”

“But I’m not there yet,” he retorted. “I’m playing and that’s that. If either of you want to stop me, I dare you to try.”

In any other situation, I’d have said that I would have been able to change his mind. But this was something I knew I wouldn’t have any say in. This was what he’d been working toward for five years, and it was important to him. I couldn’t stand in his way.

I looked to Gus. “What do you suggest?”

“You mean if he plays?” I nodded. “Well, I’d wrap the hell out of that knee, as tight as he could stand it. He’ll probably want a shot of Toradol, too, for the pain.”

“What’s that?” Cam asked.

“It’s a painkiller and anti-inflammatory,” Gus replied. “It won’t totally numb the area, but it will make the pain a little more bearable.”

Cam nodded. “Do it.”

I worked on wrapping his knee as Gus administered the injection. Cam was bending and straightening his knee, testing the wrapping job, when we heard the buzzer sound, ending the third quarter.

Gus headed for the door. “I’ll go let Coach know you’re coming back for the fourth quarter.”

“We’ll be out in just a sec,” I called.

The door shut behind him, leaving us completely alone in the quiet room.

“Why do you have to be so stubborn?” I pleaded.

He chuckled. “Because then you wouldn’t love me.”

“False. There’s plenty of other parts of you to love, without you being so damn headstrong.”

He scooted toward the end of the table and pulled me into him by the hips. “Hm. Sounds like someone else I know.”

I laughed reluctantly. Looking at him there on that table, covered in sweat, his hair a mess, I had never loved him more. And even though, yes, his stubbornness did drive me crazy most of the time, it was also part of what made him irresistible. He just cared too much. If he didn’t care, he wouldn’t give me grief about anything and where would the sport be in that? What kind of fun would that be?

“Will you promise to be careful out there?” I asked.

His face softened as he pushed my hair off my face. “You don’t have to worry about me, sweetheart. I’ll be fine.”

“I’m your girlfriend and your trainer. It’s my job to worry.”

He smiled. “I’ll never get tired of hearing that.”

“Can you just tell me you’ll come out of this game in one piece? You know Trey will be gunning for you even more now.”

His nostrils flared at the mention of Trey. “Believe me. That asshole isn’t going to break me. I promise, sweetheart. I’ll make it out of this in one piece. And when I take you to bed tonight, all parts of me will be one hundred percent functional.”

He didn’t give me a chance to respond. His mouth covered mine in a fast, but no less devastating, kiss. His tongue speared into my mouth for several seconds, turning my legs to jelly, before he pulled back.

“I need to get back out there. The quarter should be starting soon.”

“Right.”

He walked out of the room and back down the tunnel on his own, but it took him quite a few steps to get used to the stiffness of the wrap. Once he got used to it he hobbled, but I expected nothing else for the rest of the game. It would be super uncomfortable for him, and assuming nothing else happened, he’d most definitely being limping painfully by the end of the game.

I hoped those painkillers were kicking in.

When he stepped back into the arena, the stands erupted in a chorus of deafening cheers. Signs that read “King Cam” and others of his face with a crown on his head flew up in the air, waving proudly.

“Kick their asses,” I whispered in his ear before we had to separate.

He winked and then shuffled off to the bench. The guys crowded around him, slapping him on the back with wide smiles. I locked eyes with my dad through the tangle of bodies and noticed his questioning expression. I simply nodded, letting him know that Cam was mostly good to go, even if it went against my own opinion.

We’d hardly spoken since that day in his office. I’d been telling my mom the truth, though. I’d planned to talk to him after the tournament and apologize for my behavior toward him. I wouldn’t do it tonight because he’d either be too busy with the guys and the press if they won, or too depressed and desperate for solitude if they lost. I’d call him sometime this week and meet him for lunch or something.

I noticed Gus check his cell phone for about the sixth time since the game started. “You got a hot date tonight or something?”

He didn’t chuckle or come back with one of his snarky rejoinders like I expected. Instead, he looked…nervous. “No. My son’s actually here.”

“Here at the game? You called him?”

He nodded, running his hand over his jaw. “I haven’t seen him in seven years, Reese. I’m not sure I’ll want to hear what he has to say.”

My heart soared at hearing he would finally have his reunion. “He came here to see you tonight. No matter what he says, that’s a good sign. He wants to see his dad. And once you both get whatever you have to say out of the way, you can make a fresh start.”

“I just didn’t think I’d be this scared.”

I rubbed his back comfortingly. “All you can do is be honest with him. Helene would want it this way.”

He smiled, staring straight ahead like he was somewhere else. “Yes, she would.”

That was enough to distract me for a few seconds, but unfortunately, it couldn’t last.

The guys took the court—including Cam—and the whistles blew to start the fourth quarter.

My heart was in my throat the entire time.

 

***

The energy in the arena was chaotic.

Between the aggressive play and frequent fouls called on both teams, the lights-out shooting on both sides, and the constant shift in momentum from one side of the court to the other, everyone in the stands had been on their feet the entire fourth quarter.

“Thunder Road!” my dad yelled from the end of the bench, calling out the play he wanted the guys to run. “Thunder Road!”

I followed Cam as he swung around to the opposite end of the court while Boyd and Krys screened for him, giving him an open shot. As soon as he was behind the three-point line, Jesse passed him the ball, Cam immediately put it up, and—

Swish.

I sprang to my feet, shouting incomprehensible noises. They weren’t even words but who cared? I high-fived Clark and Shane and took my seat again.

Despite his troublesome knee, Cam had been making shot after shot, forcing BelV to double-team him. The score now showed NCU up by three points with two minutes left in the game. Plenty of time for a whole lot to happen.

Two trips later, Trey made a tough fade away two-pointer, cutting NCU’s lead to only one point.

I had no fingernails left by this point.

I’d been closely watching Cam and Trey, especially when we were on offense. It looked like Trey had stopped the trash talking. I was guessing because he was too busy actually trying to keep Cam from scoring on him. No one had been expecting Cam to play at the level he was with his taped up knee.

Except for me.

I wasn’t the least bit surprised.

The guys were moving the ball around the perimeter when I spotted Krys standing wide open under the basket. “Down low!” I screamed.

Colt got the ball to Krys, and the huge center dunked the shit out of it.

The entire arena went nuts. Or at least the NCU fans did.

That put us up again by three.

The score didn’t reflect it so much, but the momentum had certainly been on our side for the past several minutes. If we could just keep it there for the next minute…

A scuffle on BelV’s side of the court caught my attention. A foul was called so play had halted.

Cam was on the floor, pushing himself back to his feet.

Oh, God.

Jesse and Boyd helped support him as he struggled to put weight on his knee. He looked up and waved at my dad, signaling the need for a timeout. Whistles were blown and the guys headed toward the bench, while I moved in Cam’s direction.

“Is it a new pain?” I asked, forcing my way into the circle.

“No, I just spun around weird and tweaked it,” he said on a heavy exhale. “I’m fine.”

We stared each other down for a second, communicating silently.

Really, I’m okay, he said. I can handle this.

You sure?

He gave me a reassuring nod. I got this, sweetheart.

I went back to my seat at the end of the bench by Gus, leaving them to their timeout. I sent up about a million prayers from the time I sat down to the time they finally took the court again.

Colt fouled out with fifty seconds left, sending Vaughn in to take his place. That made me nervous because Vaughn might have been a smarter player, but Colt was a far better defender, which was what we needed if we wanted to hold on to our three-point lead.

Krys got his fourth foul a few seconds later, sending BelV to the line. They made both free throws.

Only up by one. Forty-one seconds left.

On the next trip, Jesse sprinted down the court and took it straight to the hole before BelV could set up on defense. He made the basket, putting us back up by three.

Dammit, I couldn’t stand this. If this were a movie, I would have fast forwarded it to the ending so I wouldn’t have to deal with the suspense.

Thirty-two seconds left.

Vaughn tripped over his own feet on defense, leaving one of BelV’s players open just long enough to toss up a three-pointer and make it. Shit. I ran my hands through my hair, my stomach in knots.

We were tied. Twenty-five seconds left.

Thankfully, BelV made a mistake. More like Trey made a mistake by fouling Cam on the next trip down. You could tell Trey knew he messed up because he fisted his hands and shouted a few expletives to the ceiling. I couldn’t suck in oxygen until Cam made his first shot…and then made his second.

We were up by two. Nineteen seconds to go.

Come on, guys. Play smart.

The seconds ticked on as we played tight defense. Cam wasn’t letting Trey out of his sight because everyone in the room knew that’s who they were looking at to score. But Cam was sticking to him like white on rice.

“No foul, no foul!” my dad yelled.

Trey tried to get a shot off, but Cam blocked it. Boyd came out of nowhere and picked it up, but another BelV player was right behind him and stole it back. They got off a field goal shot and made it.

My dad called a timeout with eight seconds left. We were tied again.

This could very well be the last play we ran. If we couldn’t get a shot off, we’d be going into overtime.

Vaughn threw the ball in to Jesse. Jesse immediately passed it off to Cam.

Six seconds.

I knew Cam was going to take the shot himself. Krys couldn’t get open down low—his guard was all over him. Boyd and Jesse didn’t have good angles on the basket and I knew he wasn’t giving it up to Vaughn.

Four seconds.

Cam’s eyes were locked on Trey as he dribbled in front of him. He didn’t look the least bit worried or concerned, even with the way he was heavily favoring his right leg. He looked calm and steady, while Trey was wide-eyed and looked scared as hell.

Three seconds.

Cam took off toward the basket, shoving past Trey. He took a few more steps, picked up the ball, and sent up a ten-footer off of one leg.

Every head in the place slowly turned as the ball sailed toward the rim. It bounced once…twice…

And fell through the net.

He made it. They did it.

They. Did. It.

The buzzer went off, signaling the end of the game. The scoreboard reflected the final score with us up by two.

Holy shit, we’d won!

NCU were the new National Champions!

I can’t even describe the volume of noise that suddenly filled that arena. I had never experienced anything like that in my life.

The entire NCU bench cleared as the guys ran onto the court. Cam had fallen to the floor after his shot, clearly getting emotional as his teammates lifted him to his feet. Fans were screaming and cheering and clapping as they rushed the floor in the players’ wake. I stayed where I was, partly because I was in shock and partly because I wanted a better view to watch the scene before me play out.

I had never seen Cam look so happy. Tears welled up in my eyes as I watched him embrace each of his teammates and then each coach. I paid special attention when he and my dad hugged. They said a few words to each other, both with smiles. Cam nodded a few times and looked like he’d said “Yes, sir” once or twice. I’d have to ask him about that later.

Then he was pushing through the crowd, limping on one leg, and heading straight for me.

People were darting in front of us, running up to hug him and shake his hand. He never once took his eyes off of me, though. My insides turned to liquid at that look. It was so intense, like nothing could stop him from reaching me.

I don’t think there was a bigger turn-on on this planet than Cam Donovan needing to get to me.

Except maybe a naked Cam Donovan needing to get to me.

He finally reached me. We stood there smiling at each other for mere seconds before I launched myself at him, throwing my arms around his neck and wrapping my legs around his waist. He spun us around, making us both laugh.

Then he kissed me.

And I swear, this kiss was like magic. Epic.

I was vaguely aware of camera flashes going off all around us, but neither of us cared one damn bit. The sense of freedom I felt in that kiss was overwhelming. We were finally free to be who we were and do whatever we wanted. It didn’t matter what the papers said anymore.

We could be us.

In those brief moments, we connected on a level we never had before. I could feel his happiness pouring over me, consuming me. It was like the past and future ceased to exist. It was only us in the present moment, surrendering ourselves to euphoria.

Only then did it occur to me that he’d been supporting us mostly on his left leg.

Breathless, I jerked away, panicked. “Oh my God, I forgot about your knee.” I tried to shimmy down his body, but he stopped me. “Cam, my extra weight isn’t good for it.”

“Reese, just let me hold you,” he said. “I’m never going to get this moment back, and I’d like to spend it with you in my arms.”

How could a girl argue with that?

I cupped his cheeks and rested my forehead against his. “You did it,” I whispered.

“I guess I did,” he said, smiling. “I think it’s still sinking in.”

“I’m so proud of you.” Unable to resist, I kissed him again. “I love you so much.”

He dug his fingers into my hair and held me tight. “God, baby. I love you, too. You have no idea how much.”

A throat cleared behind us. “Sorry to interrupt.”

My dad.

“I just wanted to talk to Reese for a minute if I could?”

Cam slowly lowered me to my feet, and we turned to face my father, his coach. Well, I guess it would be former coach now. Dad and Cam assessed each other for several moments, having another one of those manly silent conversations I wasn’t privy to. Dad looked over at me, then back to Cam, and finally stuck his hand out to my boyfriend. Shoulders relaxing, Cam took his hand with a relieved smile.

“I’ll give you guys a second,” Cam said, laying a kiss on my hand. “Some reporters wanted a few quick words with me. I’ll be right back.” Then he left us.

“Congratulations,” I said when the silence became awkward.

Dad shoved his hands in his pockets and looked around the bustling crowd. “Yeah, well. I didn’t really do much. It was all them.”

“Haven’t you always said a coach is only as good as his players? I’d say that makes you a pretty great coach.”

As if embarrassed by the compliment, he lowered his head. “Reese, you said in my office that day that I never apologized for the things I’ve done over the years.”

I threw my hand up to stop him. “Look, I’m the one who—”

“Just let me get this out,” he cut me off, lifting his head. “I’m apologizing now. I know that doesn’t make up for the things I’ve missed in the past, and it doesn’t exactly fix anything. But I wanted you to know that I truly never wanted you to get caught in the middle of your mother’s and my problems. I never wanted you to get hurt, and I certainly didn’t want to be the one to hurt you.”

I nodded. “I know. Nobody ever means for these things to happen, Dad. But it’s not like I’m one of those people who blames you for everything that goes wrong in my life. You didn’t screw me up, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

He snorted in laughter. “Hell, I’m not worried about you being screwed up. How could I be? Look at you. You’re smart and ambitious and already successful. I doubt I had any part in that, but I can’t tell you how proud I am of the woman you’ve become.”

“Well, I have been told I take after my father.” We both smiled at that. “Which I take as a compliment.”

There was no mistaking the spark of pride in his expression. “I just wanted you to know how sorry I am, Reese. I haven’t been a very good father, and I hate myself for that. But I really want to make up for it, if you’ll let me.”

“Of course,” I said without hesitation. “I wanted to apologize to you, too.”

His brow furrowed. “For what?”

“For the way I’ve treated you over the years. I’ve always blamed you for the divorce and for leaving us, putting the fault completely on your shoulders. But Mom recently told me the truth. She told me about the part she played in you leaving. That you tried to save the marriage and didn’t want to break up the family. I never knew that, and I’m sorry for being so awful. You didn’t deserve that.”

His face softened. “Well, I did deserve pretty much all of it, but you don’t have to apologize. Your mother made her decision, and I wasn’t going to force her to stay married to me if a divorce was what she really wanted. And I definitely didn’t want to be one of those parents who always bad mouthed his ex to his child every chance he got. You and your mom are close, and I never wanted to mess up your relationship. I figured you’d either find out in time, or you wouldn’t and that would be that. It doesn’t change anything, after all.”

“I love you, Dad,” I choked out.

I saw a sheen of tears in his eyes when he said softly, “I love you, too, kid.”

Like a little girl crying to her father because a bee stung her, I rushed into his arms and gave him a real honest-to-God hug for the first time in I couldn’t remember how long. When I pulled back, I wiped my wet cheeks with my sleeve before he could see that I was bawling like a baby.

“I know I said this at the beginning of the season,” I said, “but can we officially start over? Finally leave everything in the past?”

Hope blossomed in his features. “I’d like that.”

“Good. Then you, Cam, and I can all have dinner together this weekend.”

You could tell it took him some effort to keep the smile on his face. “So soon?”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re not his coach anymore, remember? Now, he’s just a guy dating your daughter, so you’re going to have to accept that and get used to it.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it,” he muttered.

“Well, too bad.” I leaned up and kissed his cheek. “Because he’s here to stay.”

I smiled at his horrified expression, just as a reporter pulled him away. I craned my neck to see over the packed court, looking for Cam, when I spotted two of my other favorite people, charging toward me.

“Holy shit, this is insane!” Gemma cried before engulfing me in a massive hug that left me with a mouthful of her strawberry blond hair.

“This really is amazing,” Syd said with a giant smile and hug of her own.

“Right?” I was still so excited, I sounded like I was constantly out of breath. “I’m still processing it all.”

“Well, when you’re done processing I want to hear where everyone’s going to celebrate tonight,” Gemma said, winking. “I’m ready to party.”

Syd just looked at her. “When are you not ready to party?”

Gemma ignored that and waved at someone across the court. “I’m going to go congratulate some of the guys. I’ll catch up with you two later.”

We watched as she walked over to the team and suspiciously sidled up next to Jesse. Hm. That wasn’t the first time I’d caught them looking all smiley and cozy.

“So, how’d the conversation with your dad—”

“Hey, Syd.”

Her words were cut off by Boyd’s voice from behind her, startling her. “Hey, Boyd,” she said, tucking her hair behind her ear.

I knew that tell. That was a sign of nervousness. Boyd made her nervous. That was good.

“I’m glad you came,” he said with all the boyish charm of a southern gentleman.

He was so adorable and so much of a better option than Caleb the Cryer, I didn’t know how she was still resisting.

“Yeah, you had a great game,” she said. “Congratulations.”

I saw Cam once again on his own and searching for me, so I excused myself from the not-so-lovebirds. I rose up to my toes and smacked his lips with mine.

“I’m about tired of sharing you with all these people,” I said. “I’m ready to get you in a shower and have you all to myself.”

He groaned, long and deep. “And I promise you’ll have exactly that…tomorrow.” I playfully stuck out my lower lip. “It’s just that the guys are talking about, like, four different parties tonight and I kind of feel like I need to—”

I shushed him with my fingers. “I’m kidding. We should have a good time tonight. You’ve all earned this. But tomorrow, we’re doing nothing but staying in bed, eating food we shouldn’t eat, and turning off our phones.”

“Deal.” He started tugging me away from the hoard of people, toward the stands. “They’re going to do the trophy ceremony in just a minute, but there’s enough time for you to meet my mom.”

I stilled. “Your mom?” I should have thought about that happening tonight. “Oh, God, Cam.” I looked down at myself. “I look terrible. And it probably looks like I’ve been making out with you.”

“Sweetheart.” He pulled me in tight. “You have been making out with me. And chances are she saw it. It’s not like we were hiding or anything.” A smile lit up his face. “Finally.”

I groaned. “You’re not making me feel better.”

“Hey, you have it easy compared to what I’ve had to endure with your dad.”

Okay, he had a point there.

“Besides, she’s already impressed by you. Hell, she’s probably in love with you by now.”

“And how do you know that?” I asked.

He tilted his head down, laying a gentle kiss on my swollen lips. “Because I love you and she just wants me to be happy. And since you make me happy, that automatically gives you an in with her.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“I’m always right. Haven’t you figured that out by now?”

My laughter was cut short when he froze in place. I glanced up and saw Trey blocking our path.

Shit. What were they going to do? I could barely breathe as I watched them face off. Trey looked miserable and pissed off all at the same time. Cam’s arm around my shoulder had tensed, but other than that, he didn’t show much of a reaction. Trey looked between us, taking in the sight of Cam’s arm around me, our closeness and general happiness. He clenched his jaw and stared me right in the eyes for about three seconds before he switched over to Cam. His chest rose and fell with his heavy breaths but he didn’t say a word.

And then he just…

Walked away.

No niceties were exchanged—not that I expected there to be. It was just a silent departure, and with it, I got a sense of finality. What more could be said, anyway? Cam had beaten him in every possible way there was to beat a person. I had a feeling that Trey Warren was out of our lives for good.

Cam kissed my forehead and breathed against my hair. “You’re mine, Reese. You know that, right? I’m never letting you go.”

I laid my head against his chest. “I never want you to.”

Because I’d found everything I’d ever been looking for.

If someone had told me after I first met him that day in the locker room when his naked body had barely been covered by a T-shirt that I’d be standing here with him now, like this…I would have told them they needed to stop drinking the Kool-Aid.

But I would forever be grateful for that little potty break.

Who’d have thought it would be the beginning of the rest of my life?