Chapter 10 #4
Candace Parker, three-time MVP of the WNBA, and all around incredible human being, is shipping us.
I played against her just twice before she retired, but I’ve always been too shy to say anything more than a lame “Good game”.
Belatedly, I remember that Daniel did a deep dive into her career and personal life last year on his show.
His social media shows they’ve kept in touch.
@MinaKimes: Finally, Dan! Get it you two!
Now, this is a more interesting response. Mina and Daniel are friends who have collaborated a few times. Has he talked about me? It’s too insane to consider, so I move on.
@PatrickMahomes: Amazing pose dude [cry laughing emoji].
I’ve had very few crushes in my life, but Patrick Mahomes makes that list. And he’s friendly with Daniel. Maybe I should reconsider this platonic thing and just date him to meet all my heroes?
No, Annie, focus!
Daniel’s Instagram reads like a who’s who of A-list sports stars, commentators, and other people in the business.
Steph Curry, Venus Williams, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Oksana Masters, Michael Wilbon, and John Oliver, who executive produces Daniel’s show, all wrote something supportive or hilarious on the post. I guess the attention makes sense, as both Daniel and I rarely post such personal things on our social media.
His page is almost entirely focused on work, with some sprinkling in of his family wolfhound terrier Dustin.
It’s charming, but mostly professional. My page reads more like a ghost town with a few basketball pictures every three months to show proof of life.
The comments and likes are much more subdued on my page, but still higher than any other post I’ve made.
Fans are commenting on how cute the photo is and how cute Daniel is and how cute my dress is and just generally emphasizing the cuteness overload.
I don’t want to give Jadea too much credit, because she’ll just cheerfully throw it in my face, but her scheme seems to be working.
If there is negative feedback about Jack and the team and me, it seems small in comparison to the fun and bubbling happiness surrounding our relationship.
Our fake relationship.
My group chat is also blowing up with my teammates’ responses:
Taherah: Is this real life? Annie, respond to us!!!!
Olabisi: Bitch, how dare you?
Lynn: It was obvious, y’all, did you not see them at practice??
Allyson: The pic [heart-eye emoji]
Jadea: I took it! Isn’t it incredible?!
Olabisi: Where the hell is Annie? Are they still in bed? Get it girl [fire emoji]
Allyson: So, it’s true? They’ve been dating all this time?? Come on, Annie, details!
I feel the guilt that’s been eating merrily in the back of my mind surge to the forefront.
I’m already partially lying to Jadea about Daniel.
Should I lie to my team about this relationship?
Clearly, Jadea expects me to. I understand her point of view, as not all of them could keep this a secret, especially when he’s around us all the time filming.
I finally decide on a neutral, but playful response, one that doesn’t make me feel like throwing up from guilt.
Annie: Eat your heart out, ladies!!
They immediately start sending R-rated memes and internet pictures of Daniel running track with hideous innuendos as the captions.
It should make me happy that the deception is working so well.
It means this might actually help my reputation and steer focus away from the scandal.
Instead, I feel hurt blooming in between my ribs.
This could be my life. Daniel, who I trusted and grew with and supported when he was hurt, was the future I always imagined.
We had only dated for a few months, but we were together almost every day.
We enjoyed all the same things, we met each other’s families, we took a mini road trip to see the giant Sequoias and sniffled a bit at their majesty. This should be us. But he left.
The hurt only grows worse when I see one text from my mom, who I still haven’t spoken to.
Mom: Are you and Daniel back together?
It’s a gut-punch. I accused her of keeping secrets, and now it looks like I’ve been keeping one.
It was my mom who loved Daniel when she first met him and cursed him every day when he ignored me.
And since I never had the courage to tell Jadea about our relationship, it was my mom who picked up the broken pieces and called me every day for weeks after Daniel disappeared.
To her, this is not a fun relationship. It’s complicated and full of mysteries neither of us can explain.
It’s time to come clean. I need my mom. She kept secrets, but I’ve kept some, too.
It isn’t always easy to open your mouth and be vulnerable.
Especially when it’s clear that Jack Smith was never going to be my mom’s happily-ever-after.
I wonder if she knows that he’s had many affairs, each with a young, vulnerable woman like my mom.
I decide to respond before I can change my mind and avoid her again.
Annie: I’ll explain everything. Come to the game tomorrow and we’ll talk after.
She sends a thumbs-up emoji, and that’s proof enough of our strained relationship. She tends to be an effusive, paragraph-style texter. Brevity is rarely considered, efficiency never on her mind. I have to make this right.
A weight is lifted off my shoulders when I imagine us talking tomorrow. That’s one problem solved.
The next on the agenda: the date. Daniel and I are going out at 6 PM, and I have exactly four hours to get myself together.
This morning, inspiration struck, and I planned the second half of the date.
Daniel assured me in a text this morning that he had planned something he knew I would love.
I just responded with a “Game on”. Easy enough to think of our fake relationship as a competition.
Daniel and I always did have a competitive streak.
I tended to win then, and I intend to win now.