7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Shawn

M arketa had warned me that her dad was leaving for the weekend, some getaway or meeting the owners were having him, and the whole coaching staff, do. Personally, I didn’t care. That means I had over forty-eight hours to see her, and that’s all that mattered to me.

Sure, we were texting every night. And the late night facetimes were awesome. Being able to see her period had made me happy all week, and the guys picked up on it. So did my coach. He told me whatever was making me play better to keep it up.

Wasn’t sure he would have the same sentiments if he knew it was his daughter making me happy. Well, her and the grandbaby that Marketa was carrying.

We hadn’t discussed how we would tell our parents about this new adventure. I, for one, knew my mom was going to be thrilled. She had long wanted a grandbaby to spoil.

Marketa swore her dad would be happy too. Just couldn’t mention who the father was. Which was going to cause a problem since I really didn’t see myself stepping away. Which led to everything we were doing happening behind his back.

Not something I liked to do. But I could easily tell Coach was a man of his word and I knew my ass would be in trouble the moment he found out about me and his daughter. So, for the time being, I went along and kept things away from him.

It was nice to know that Marketa didn’t want to either, but she wanted to explore whatever budding feeling we both seemed to be having.

I checked the time, glad to see that it was past time for her dad to have left and made my way to her house, unable to stop the butterflies from going crazy in my stomach.

Sure, the woman was gorgeous and our one night rocked my world and I was ready for another. But she was also so much more than that. She made me think and made me feel; something that I found honest and unique.

“Planned that just right, didn’t you?” she questioned as she flung open the door, smiling at me.

“I had to make sure every moment counted. Are you ready?”

“You know, I’ve been on a few dates, but I can’t recall ever having one when a man told me to dress casually and make sure I have a pair of sneakers.”

“That’s probably because most men don’t know how to plan something you would like. Let’s go.”

Her brows wrinkled in confusion, but she followed me to my car and allowed me to help her in. I grinned at her before jogging around to my side.

“Believe it or not, Shorty, where we’re going, it’s not too far away.”

“Huh.” It was her only response, and I had to say, I liked it. I loved surprising people. It was something I certainly didn’t get to do often enough.

Fifteen minutes later, I pulled up to a park at the base of a hill and killed the engine. The desert around us was gorgeous and serene, with the sun out but certainly not hot. Our summer was gone, and the slight breeze gave us desert dwellers the hint of fall we longed for.

“Nature?”

“Why not? You like it.” With that, I reached behind her seat and grabbed the picnic basket, smirking as her eyes lit up. “I like thinking outside the box.”

“You sure do.” We climbed out of the car and made our way to a table where I laid everything out, enjoying the smile she kept tossing my way.

“Tell me Shorty, do you want a girl or a boy?”

She sipped on her juice, thinking over the question for a moment but shrugged.

“Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve gone back and forth on that. Really, I just want a healthy baby. But I love each for a different reason. I just don’t want any twins.”

“Well, good thing twins don’t run in my family.”

“Good think they don’t run in my either,” she teased back, and I was transported back to our first night. The simplicity of her captured my interest all over again. I can’t say I was used to high maintenance ladies because my dating was slim, but that’s what was always around us. So, for me, Marketa was really a breath of fresh air that I didn’t know I needed, or even wanted.

But now that she was here, I was letting go. Even if she wanted me to let her go.

However, the look she was giving me, the small smile that played on her lips, the way her eyes still held that glow of happiness, told me that she might not want to let me go either. And that was saying something given the brief time we’ve spent together.

“What’s after this?” she questioned as we cleaned up our stuff.

I tilted my head, checking the sun before pointing to the hill behind her.

“That’s why you needed your shoes. It’s not steep enough for boots, but it would be nice to climb and check out the top.”

She swiveled around so fast to check out the hill behind her and once more I was lost in the smile she had. Had no one ever picked up on the simple things this woman liked to make her happy?

“It shouldn’t be too bad for me. I still need to be careful.”

“What happened? I gathered whatever did, ended your career.”

She helped me put the stuff back in the car and then she grabbed my hand as we made our way up.

“It did. I mean, I wasn’t some big hot shot in the WNBA, but I was making a name for myself. Someone collided with me and when I landed on the court, did damage that was going to be unreliable for me to play. I’m fine, but putting the pressure on it that’s required for jumping, running, pivoting, I can’t. Even when turning, I need to be careful.”

“You loved it?”

I watched as she tilted her head and then shrugged.

“Yes and no. I was good at it. My dad taught me everything I know. And I loved the game. But I didn’t love the pressure of having to be better, having to always outthink the other team, having to be one step ahead because they were out to get you.

“That’s not the sport I loved. The pros changed my view on a lot of things about it. I’m not sure I would go back even if I could. But if given the chance, I would love to coach a team. Or, well, help coach a team. Just not with my dad.”

We stopped at the top of the hill, and I couldn’t help but stare at her. She was breathtaking. It was hard to find a woman who shared my thoughts on a sport that I grew up loving, but she did.

“What?” she asked, glancing at me.

“You’re just so beautiful. Really. There’s not one thing, as of yet, Marketa, that I don’t like.”

She turned to me fully, her hands resting on my hips, and I liked having her there. Liked, again, that size wasn’t an issue. She beamed as she leaned toward me, her lips brushing over mine and I felt the surge of power race down my spine.

“Stay the weekend with me?”