Slam Dunk: A Second Chance Sports Romance

by Sinclaire, Roxy

  “I guess I have a lot to think about,” I said with a sigh.

  “Don’t worry too much about it,” she said with a comforting smile. “I know you’ll figure it out. You’re the smartest woman I know.”

  16

  Corey

  I flipped through my phone, wondering if I should call her or if she would even answer. She had been pissed at me since the night before I left. I knew she was angry, and there was nothing I could do about it except apologize. What was the point, though? Chances were she’d already made up her mind to leave me, and I couldn’t blame her. I was screwing everything up. The night had started like any other.

  In a new twist, two more teams were added to the roster at the last minute. Like the rest of the players, I had less than a day’s notice that we would be leaving for the back to back games over the weekend. I’d told her days before that the season was over besides championships. It was the hardest conversation I’d had to date.

  “Why don’t you just come with me? You went to almost every game with me at the beginning of the season.”

  “Yeah, and it was loads of fun sitting around a hotel room with a bored baby,” she shot back. “I have a career too. I don’t like sitting on the sidelines.”

  “You could come to the games and the practice. Have you ever thought about that?” I snapped. “Tons of other girlfriends do.”

  “And watch all those girls fawn over you? Next, you’re going to be asking me to bring our baby daughter to whatever club you guys happen to be at. That isn’t fair and you know it. I just need you to realize that you have a family now, okay?”

  “You know those clubs pay us to promote. That’s money for Penelope.”

  “Do they pay you to dance with every trashy girl who flashes her tits too?” she shot back.

  I winced. I’d been hard on her. It was no wonder she was snapping. I was tired and cranky.

  “Can we please just let this go? I promise you that nothing happened. You see news stories like this all the time, so why is this one so different?”

  She huffed into the phone before falling silent. There was nothing I could say or do that would make the situation better. Only the opposite, actually. The more I told her about the club, the angrier she would get.

  “Look, my dad wanted to leave tonight, so as soon as the next roster is posted, I’m out of here. I’ll talk to you when I get home, okay?”

  “Sure thing,” she hissed.

  “What did I say this time?” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.

  “Are you kidding me with this? They’re sending pictures around right now of you and some chick getting close on a couch. How do you think I should feel about that?”

  “I’m guessing there is no right answer here?”

  “God!” she screamed. “You are absolutely infuriating! It makes me feel like shit when I see pictures like that. You want me to believe you? Then tell me, how did she get so close to you? At any point, did you think that might be a really stupid freaking idea?”

  “She came in with a couple of girls the team knows pretty well,” I said, trying to keep the humor out of my voice.

  Those types of girls turned me off in a split second. I didn’t want to pass around a girl like a toy. They were only after one thing, and it wasn’t my personality.

  “You know how the press waits around for bait like this,” she said with a sigh. “I just don’t know what to think anymore.”

  “Baby, I was texting you. I never saw her coming! Before I could even react, the bouncer had her moving out of there, okay?”

  “I don’t like this,” she said softly. “I don’t like us being apart, but I need to think about my career.”

  “What are you saying?”

  There was a long pause. “I don’t know, okay? I just need some time to think. I want to trust you, but being apart makes it so hard. I feel like you’re always just passing through. You’re like a tornado, in and out, just leaving behind a mess as you go.”

  Her words knocked the breath out of me. I knew that I had some problems with helping out, but not that it was bothering her so much. I didn’t know what to say to her. My heart was racing with fear. Suddenly, the realization that I might lose her hit me like a linebacker. I had to get back to her.

  “Brit,” I stammered. “Can we please talk about this when I get home? I don’t want to talk about something like this over the phone.”

  “Yeah,” she said passively. “Sure, I guess we can. I have an early morning interview, so you should probably just crash at your dad’s.”

  “I miss you and Penelope. Please let me come back to the apartment,” I muttered.

  She sighed. I knew that she was worn out after being alone for so long. I knew how hard she worked at her vlog and as a mother. “Fine, just please be quiet and sleep on the couch. It’s late and I need sleep. Pen still has an ear infection, and she’s up every two hours wanting a bottle.”

  “Sure, anything. I promise I won’t make a sound,” I told her.

  “I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” she said quickly.

  “Okay.”

  My head was spinning. I couldn’t lose either of them. As soon as I was off the phone with her, I called my father’s room and told him to get ready. I wasn’t waiting around for numbers. I needed to get back to my family before they left me for good. I would have no one to blame but myself.

  * * *

  “Boy, you really screwed the pooch on this one,” my dad muttered through a chuckle.

  I glared at him but it was so dark that he couldn’t see me as he watched the road. “You don’t understand, Dad. She’s done, and I don’t blame her. If I don’t fix this . . .” I couldn’t finish.

  “You need to put a little more faith in yourself. Basketball has taught you more than just the game, Son.”

  “What are you talking about? Basketball is the reason I’m in this mess. If I were just a college boy and she was a new reporter, we could have had a happy life.”

  “Stop being so melodramatic. Do you remember in tenth grade when you sprained your ankle?”

  “Yeah,” I sighed. “Worst season of my life. I barely made the team.”

  “But you did make the team, and you know why? Because you saw what you were failing at and changed the game plan. You took the weight off that ankle and moved to point guard. Now look at you. In a few years, you’ll have your choice of teams in the big leagues.”

  “That was different. It was just a sprain. This is my family. How in the hell am I going to fix this?”

  “There are two keys to a good relationship, honesty and compromise. You need to be willing to meet her in the middle. Brittany is one tough cookie, but she’s still only human. Step up and help her. You are blessed enough to have a good woman, so stop screwing it up because you’re lazy!”

  “I already know all that. Why do you think we’re rushing back there? I have to prove to her that I can be the man she needs.”

  He shifted in the seat and cleared his throat. “And what about the honesty?”

  “Dad,” I groaned.

  Lifting his hand firmly, he shook his head. “Now this is important. I know that you boys like to have fun when you’re on the road.”

  “Fun, yes. Cheating, no. I love Brittany.”

  “Then there’s not an issue. You tell her everything that happens and she will come around to trust you. Right now, you just need to have full transparency.”

  Damn. This was going to get messy fast, but I needed his advice. He knew what he was talking about and I would be a fool for passing up the chance to talk to him. Plus, it was a discussion between father and son. There was no reason for anyone else to find out about it.

  “What if the truth causes more damage than good?” I whispered softly.

  He let out a deep breath and shook his head. “Son, I have dated a few women in my time and the truth always comes out. The best thing you can do for yourself is to tell her the whole truth right now. If she learns
you’ve done something shady from anyone else, then shit is really going to hit the fan.”

  I groaned. “Come on, Dad. I would never cheat on her.”

  “Then whatever is wearing on your mind can’t be that bad.”

  “You don’t know that,” I muttered.

  “You’re right, but I also know that you can’t keep your secret forever. You need to get over there and beg that woman to take you back. Don’t screw up a good thing anymore.”

  “But you just told me to tell the truth.”

  “Yeah,” he said firmly. “And don’t screw things up. You got yourself into this situation. Now find a way back out of it. It’s not just you out there on the floor now. You’ve got a little girl who looks up to you too. Show her what a real man is and be the partner that Brittany needs.”

  “I’m scared that I’m going to lose her. I just don’t get where her head is. I’ve given her no reason not to trust me,” I muttered.

  “This time,” he added with a sigh. “Don’t forget that she’s so much more than just your girlfriend. She’s a celebrity in her own right. Her vlog is watched by a whole new audience than a few years ago. Brittany knows what athletes are like off camera and she knows the kinds of women who hang around behind the scene.”

  “But I’m not like that,” I insisted.

  “Star athlete? Charming personality? Playboy past? Sorry, kid, but you are.” He paused. “At least, that’s how you were. You need to see things from her point of view too.”

  I couldn’t focus on the conversation anymore. All I could think about was what I was going to do. I’d gotten myself into a terrible position. Anything I had to tell her, I had to do it fast. Covering my face with my hands, I took a deep breath. The air filled my lungs but still didn’t stop my racing heart. I didn’t need to see where we were to know that I’d be home in just a few minutes. It was a drive I knew like the back of my hand. As predicted, we pulled into the parking lot of my place.

  He parked the car. “You okay? Do you need me to go up with you?”

  I shook my head. “No, I got myself into this mess and I need to fix it on my own.”

  “I can wait a few minutes if you need me to.”

  “It’s really okay,” I said quickly. His coming with me would only make things worse. “She’s probably already in bed. We got here in great time. I’m just going to let her sleep and talk in the morning, okay?”

  “All right,” he muttered. “Well, let me know how things go tomorrow.”

  “I will,” I promised him. “Thanks for everything.”

  “Anytime, kid. That’s what dads are for. Just remember what matters. You love her.”

  I shut the door and took a deep breath. He was right about one thing. I loved Brittany with all of my heart.

  17

  Brittany

  I tapped my fingers on the black wooden table. The only light came from my phone and even that had been dimmed. I felt like a lunatic as I sat in the dark. For the tenth time, I thought about going to bed. Then I would look down and see the picture. My cheeks would flush and rage would wash over me. I wasn’t going to bed anytime soon. This was going to be dealt with tonight while it was still fresh.

  The doorknob turned as he turned his key from the outside and stepped into the house. Corey set his bag down carefully on the floor and quietly locked the door again. I wasn’t surprised he was trying to be quiet. He knew what he’d done. I wasn’t going to let it go, not until this thing was resolved once and for all. Corey flicked on the light and froze when he saw me.

  “Damn, you scared me for a second,” he said with a deep breath.

  I tapped my fingers on the table and waited for him to take off his shoes and walk over. He was silent the entire time, but I could see the wheels in his head turning. I was just about to throw my phone at his head when he took a deep breath and started to talk.

  “We need to talk.”

  “Yeah,” I huffed. “Ya think?”

  “I’m sorry that I was a jerk on the phone with you. I don’t want to fight.”

  My mouth fell open. “That’s what you think this is about? Are you joking?”

  “What?”

  I held up my phone and watched his eyes bulge. His mouth fell open this time as he swallowed back a gasp. I knew that ‘deer in the headlights’ look well.

  “So, what do you think I want to talk about now, huh?” I asked him.

  “I–I didn’t think that it would spread that quickly.”

  My blood felt like it was on fire. I clenched my fist, fighting the urge to slap him across the face. How was I supposed to react to him when he was sitting there looking like a man who had lost everything? Corey was the love of my life. I had to be strong, though. I wasn’t going to be taken advantage of by him or anyone else. Some things just had to be said, whether it broke us up or not.

  “I thought you said you’d never cheat on me,” I whispered, glancing at the picture once again.

  I cringed. The office slut, the skank my boss occasionally dragged into the office, Elisa, was front and center. She was wrapped seductively around Corey. His hand rested on her hip but his face was turned away from the camera. I didn’t need to be an investigator to know it was him, though. And neither did the people of the internet. My inbox was flooded with different versions of what had happened that night between Corey and Elisa.

  He cringed, turning away from the picture. “I should have known it was a setup.”

  My eyes grew wide in shock. “That’s what you regret? Wow, you are really trying to screw this up, aren’t you?”

  Corey frowned. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just . . . I don’t know what you want me to say.”

  “I want you to tell me what happened and then get out of my house,” I hissed.

  “Please, Brittany, can we talk about this?” he begged me.

  “That’s what we’re doing, but so far, all you’ve done is confirm that you’re a lying cheater whom I can’t ever trust.”

  “I didn’t do anything with her,” he said loudly.

  “Keep your voice down,” I hissed.

  I wanted to believe him with every fiber of my being. Our dicey past was holding me back. He was Pen’s father and we would always have a relationship, but was the sex worth all the pain?

  “I don’t want to talk about it anymore tonight. I think you should find somewhere else to stay.”

  “Are you kidding me? What is that going to look like to the press if word gets out that you kicked me out in the middle of the night?”

  “Maybe you should have thought about that before you got caught fooling around with another woman.”

  “Jesus, I told you nothing happened! I was trying to get the attention of a bodyguard when that was taken!”

  Pen cried out in her crib and we both fell silent. Our instincts as parents took over again and we held our breath. She cried out once more before drifting off to sleep. The anxiety of hearing her cry subsided and the pain of what Corey had done crept back in. I looked down at the floor, unable to meet his gaze. I knew if I looked into those baby blue eyes, I wouldn’t be able to hold my ground anymore.

  “Fine, you can stay on the couch, but you need to be out of here by tomorrow. I don’t care what the press has to say about it. I just want you gone,” I whispered.

  “Brit—”

  I turned away from him. He said nothing else as he stood up and grabbed his cellphone before walking out the door. It closed softly behind him just as the first tear I’d been holding back fell into my lap. Just like that, he was gone, and now I was alone, a single mother again who wanted desperately for him to come back, begging to stay.

  Why would he, though? I slowly pulled myself out of the chair and made my way back into the lonely bedroom. I thought we would argue then make up. He would change his ways, and together, we could finally be happy. Everything had changed with one stupid picture. Now I was angrier with myself. For a brief time, things had been so wonderful. How did we end up here?


  My phone rang and I scrambled to answer it. Only Corey would call me so late.

  “Hello?” I said breathlessly.

  “Um, Brittany?” came a familiar voice.

  I couldn’t quite pin it. “Yes, who is this?”

  “This is Dan, Corey’s father? He seemed a little down when I dropped him off. I was just checking to make sure everything is okay. His phone is turned off.”

  “Shit,” I muttered.

  I regretted answering my phone instantly. It wasn’t that I didn’t like Dan. He was a nice enough guy. He pushed Corey and raised him into the man that he was, so I had to give him some credit. Corey was, if nothing else, an amazing father to our little girl. Still, that didn’t mean I wanted to share the intimate details of our love life with him.

  “Brittany?” he asked after several seconds of silence. “Is everything okay over there?”

  “I don’t know,” I said quietly. “I mean, physically, everyone is fine. Corey isn’t here, though. We got into a fight and he left.”

  “Oh,” he said, leaving it open as he waited for more details.

  It was nearly two in the morning. I didn’t have the time or energy to get into what had happened.

  “I’m sure that Corey is fine.” Though maybe not sober. “He’s probably just off pouting somewhere and he turned off his phone. If I hear from him, I’ll be sure to let you know.”

  “Okay, well thank you for that,” he said before adding. “Brittany, if there is anything that you need or that I can do, please don’t hesitate to ask. You and Penelope are family now. I don’t turn my back on family.”

  “Thanks,” I muttered. “Have a good night.”

  I wasn’t so sure he would feel the same way after talking to Corey, but I no longer cared. My bed was pulling me into its folds whether I was ready or not. Dan told me goodbye and the conversation was over. Another time, I would love his insight or that of my mother’s, but not now. My mind was stuck with Corey but my heart felt like it was being ripped from my chest. I’d never known a pain so crippling before. He was supposed to be my forever.