Chapter 14
The next morning, I wake up anxious. It happens sometimes when I dread my tasks for the day. Getting my oil changed. Filming a team promotional video. Going on a date. Getting a cavity filled. Arguing with someone I love.
Today’s anxiety has to do with my biological father. The conversation with my mom rattled me. We both agree that we avoid our problems, so shouldn’t we try to change? Try to be brave and actually confront our problems head-on?
I don’t ever have to like Jack Smith. But I’d like some information from him.
I don’t want to be ambushed again once the WNBA is finished with their investigation.
I want Jack to tell me the truth. I want him to explain how he treated my mother and his own family.
I want him to explain the risks he took that have ultimately jeopardized both our careers.
I deserve all of those answers and more.
I stare at my phone for a long time, the numerous missed calls from him.
Strangely, I haven’t heard anything from him since I talked to Trenton.
Did he and his son come to an agreement that we shouldn’t be in contact?
Is that another reason why Trenton swooped in and met with me instead of Jack?
Maybe he doesn’t want us talking at all.
But it’s not against my NDA to talk with Jack. Just about him.
Or maybe Jack just got the message that I didn’t want to talk to him unless it was about basketball. I can change that message if I’m the one to reach out.
I take three deep breaths, burrow my feet deeper into my pink fuzzy slippers, and press the call button. I’m buzzing with anxiety as I listen to it ring.
And ring.
And ring.
There’s no answer, and the answering machine lists the number itself, not some damning personal message such as, “This is Jack Smith, meddler in the life of the daughter I never wanted.” When the beep sounds, I hesitate for a moment.
Is this his way of telling me he doesn’t want to talk?
That Trenton handled everything in his office a few days ago? Does that matter?
Finally, I say as evenly as possible, “Hi Jack, this is Annie Larger.” Do I put some emphasis on my mother’s surname? I sure mean to. “I’d like to talk if you can find the time. Thank you.”
I sound like someone’s secretary, but I guess it’s better than sounding like his hot mess of a daughter.
I get ready with one ear tilted towards my phone, primed for it to vibrate and Jack’s number to flash across the screen.
It never happens. I braid my hair, no call.
I put on my combo moisturizer/sunscreen, no call.
I put on my favorite slides with the glittery Arrows logo, no call.
I swing my backpack over my shoulder, phone clutched in my hand, no call.
I drive to practice, trying to push the whole thing out of my mind. I was brave and tried to reach out; it’s not my fault if he doesn’t respond. Just as I’m about to get out of the car, I see I have a text message. I expect it to be from Jack, but instead it’s from Trenton.
Trenton: Hi, Annie. It’s Trenton. I thought we agreed that you needed to stay out of my family’s life. Please don’t call again, especially if you want that scholarship fund we agreed on.
My heart starts pounding at the vaguely threatening tone of the message. How did Trenton know I called his dad? Are they together and having a big laugh about it? Did Trenton convince his dad to avoid contact with me…forever?
As I exit the car, I slam the door extra hard behind me. All that matters is basketball. Winning the championship. At this point, everything else is a distraction.
*
Practice seems normal when I arrive, at least at first. Maybe a little extra exhausting. Despite our miracle victory against Indiana, Coach Rembert is still putting on a clinic. Even cardio goddesses like Olabisi and Jadea are sweating buckets.
And, of course, for karmic reasons, Daniel is really delving into one-on-one interviews today.
Our schedule from Iris reads that he’ll be doing a half hour interview with Olabisi, Lynn, and Allyson today.
He rotates through them as we do our early morning individual workouts.
I can see him intently questioning each of them up in the bleachers—the venue he chose for the interviews.
Tomorrow night, we have an away game. The following day, Taherah, Jasmine, and Flo are on the schedule.
Jadea and I will be interviewed last, at the end of the week.
I’m chugging my second Gatorade of practice, this one a battery acid yellow, when Jadea practically runs me over in her haste to talk to me. “Jadea!” I yelp as a splash of Gatorade hits the floor. “Where’s the fire?”
“We have a problem,” she says without preamble. “With our…” She leans in to whisper, “Special project.”
I look around the court for Daniel, expecting him to literally be on fire or talking fervently on the phone to an aggressive reporter.
Practice is just winding down, and his crew is packing up.
He is on his phone, but in the casual way most 21st-century Americans are.
If there’s anything strange going on, it has to do with my teammates huddled up together across the court from us.
No doubt Olabisi is sharing a sordid dating story, or Taherah is showing them a new TikTok dance.
“What’s the problem?” I carefully screw the cap on my Gatorade.
“We were on this morning. It’s even more mainstream than we could have hoped. ”
I don’t know why I’m repeating myself. Jadea was the one who sent me the link today.
It wasn’t like we were People’s number one trending story or anything, but in their “What’s New” section, there was a small blurb with the headline “HBO’s Daniel Chan and WNBA player Annie Larger confirm relationship. ”
Jadea shakes her head dismissively. “It’s the team. They’ve gotten sort of carried away, and I couldn’t nip it in the bud. And then they talked to marketing and the Arrows social team, and it just got…out of hand.”
“Marketing?” I croak. I’m getting goosebumps as I associate all these words with public speaking and another hellish interview. “What do you mean?”
The words flood out of Jadea. “They’re about to ambush you and Daniel into playing a game of Who Knows Who Better. They want to film it and put it on the team’s social media.”
I almost sag with relief. That doesn’t sound so bad, does it? “What’s wrong with that?” I ask curiously. You’d think Jadea would be jumping for joy—she lives for social media.
She gives me a bewildered look. “I know you two kind of knew each other at Stanford, but I don’t think you’ll be able to fool anyone into thinking you’ve been together for six months.”
“Oh.” The lies that have swirled around Daniel and me are finally coming back to bite me.
I try to reassure Jadea. “We’ve talked a lot this week.
I think we can wing it convincingly.” I’ve seen these challenges before on social media and half the fun is when a couple gets an answer wrong and bickers charmingly. We could always lean into that, right?
Jadea’s face grows a bit suspicious. “You’re being very calm about this, Annie.”
I try to sound flippant. “Maybe I’m just getting better at this whole public speaking thing?” She narrows her eyes, but she can hardly disagree without insulting me. I keep my tone cheerful. “I’ll go warn Daniel about the ambush.”
I sidle over to him, and he smiles beautifully when he notices me. I struggle to keep my steps even. “Daniel!” I’m whispering like we’re undercover spies. “We’re about to be attacked.”
He leans towards me conspiratorially, eyes wide. “Where are the troops coming from, General?”
I stifle a snort. “The girls have convinced the Arrows social media team that we need to play a segment of Who Knows Each Other Better.”
Daniel nods gamely, as one who has seen these challenges in every form on social media and YouTube. “Like the newlywed game?”
I keep my expression dead serious. “I believe so.”
When all my teammates come over and explain their grand idea to us, Daniel and I try to act shy and surprised.
Truthfully, I’m trying hard not to laugh.
They force us into two chairs placed next to each other.
Taherah has a stack of notecards so she can read off the questions.
Olabisi is holding her phone up, entirely focused on getting our “best light”.
Once again, this fake relationship feels like the best relationship I’ve ever been in.
I always imagined Daniel knowing and laughing with my friends, Jadea especially, but I could never explain either group to the other as well as I wanted.
Despite my nerves about getting these questions right and acting like a true couple would, I’m also genuinely excited we’re all together.
There’s a sort of warmth in my chest that I would not normally associate with being on camera.
Taherah orders everyone around behind the camera.
I’m not surprised this is her brainchild.
She’s always been the true romantic of the group, and she’s obsessed with game shows.
“Social told me they’d put up a title at the beginning to introduce the game,” she tells us earnestly, a smile on her beautiful face.
“So, we can just jump right into the questions! You get a point for each question you get right.”
Once she introduces the competitive element, it’s like Daniel and I both immediately sit up straighter. Daniel rubs his hands together gleefully. “You’re dead, Larger. I know you better than anyone.”
I squint at him. “I think you’re overconfident, Chan. We only got back together a few months ago. How well do you know the in between?” It’s a little snarky, but I can’t help it. He’s so confident.
The girls are giggling a bit behind the camera, signaling to me that our sassy interaction is being recorded. I roll my eyes at Daniel’s cutthroat expression and turn to give my attention to Taherah and the camera.