Page 130 of False Play
I took a deep breath then knocked twice before opening the door.
Anthony was already inside, seated at the head of the small conference table. Coach Sloane was sitting to his right, arms crossed over his chest, with his face serious as always.
“Morning,” Anthony said as we stepped inside. “You said you needed to talk to us?”
I nodded, motioning for Kennedy to sit before I did. My palms were already sweating. “There’s something we need to be upfront about before someone else has a chance to twist the narrative.”
I caught Kennedy’s eye. She gave me the tiniest nod.
Anthony and Coach stared at us expectantly.
Here goes nothing.
“The relationship between us…didn’t start as a real one,” I admitted, my face cringing. The words felt heavy against my mouth. I was struggling. “When the whole article dropped, the pictures were taken out of context, but the PR backlash Kennedy was going to receive wasn’t fair when it wasn’t even her fault. We both did what we thought was best at the time for both of us.”
Kennedy gripped my hand in reassurance as we both held our heads high. There it was. We laid everything on the table. There were no takebacks. Just pure honesty.
Coach leaned back slowly, tilting his head with that unreadable expression that always made me sweat during lineup reviews. Anthony just stared with a blank expression. Both were completely silent.
My stomach was in knots. I could practically hear my heartbeat pounding in my ears.
Fuck. This was the part where everything came crashing down, wasn’t it?
This was it for us. As soon as the playoffs were over, I was going to be dropped. And good luck to me finding another team. Who the hell would want a player dumb enough to fake a relationship and risk PR hell?
And Kennedy? She’d lose everything. Her job, her reputation. It was unfair. She didn’t deserve that.
Panic clawed its way up my throat. I actually thought I was going to throw up right in the middle of the conference room table.
After a long, agonizing beat, Coach glanced at Anthony, then back at us, and chuckled. The man who barely laughedactuallychuckled. This was worse than I ever imagined.
Anthony let out a long sigh. “Yeah, we were wondering when you were going to come clean.”
Kennedy and I blinked. “What?” we said in unison.
“Come on,” Coach said, gesturing between us. “You two weren’t exactly subtle.” He looked at Anthony. “Remember when they met with us? Kennedy practically jumped out of her skin when Anderson kissed her hand.” He shook his head. “And when we grilled Anderson with questions, he jumped to her defense.” Coach’s eyes settled on me. “That’s when I knew that even though it was obvious you got together to put the rumors to rest, it was going to become real at some point.”
Anthony nodded then added, “We’ve been watching this little soap opera unfold for months. Quite entertaining.”
“I’m surprised he made a move so quickly. He’s been pining for Kennedy for so long,” Coach said. “I thought for sure he wasn’t going to do anything until at least next season.”
Anthony clicked his tongue. “Nah, I was rooting for him since the beginning.”
Unbelievable.
I gaped at them. “Why are you both talking like I’m not in the room?”
Kennedy chuckled but didn’t say a word.
They both laughed, which made my shoulders relax and share a laugh with them, too.
“But why now?” Coach asked, his tone turning serious underneath the amusement. “What made you decide to finally tell us the truth?”
I swallowed hard. This part was harder to explain.
“My father,” I said. “He’s a difficult man, to say the least. He showed up at our place and threatened her. Told her to break up with me or he’d tank her career—and mine.”
Anthony scoffed. “Wow.”
