by Xyla Turner
The next morning, six-twenty-five exactly, someone knocked on the door. Diamond was just putting her hair in a ponytail and clipped her iPod mini in the case, attached to her arm. When she opened the door, she saw Shane Sinclair in a white tank top, black shorts that fell to the top of his knees, white socks and colorful Nike running shoes. He had dog tags whose face were hidden under his shirt and he had a basketball under his right arm. The man looked good, Diamond thought.
Real good.
“Morning. I thought we were running?” Diamond looked at him in confusion.
“We are, but afterward I want to see what skills you have.” Shane smiled. “Morning. You look ready to go.”
“Yeah, let me just grab my key,” she said as he stepped in and kept the door open.
When she returned, he moved out of the way, so she could exit and they made their way to the boardwalk. After they had stretched for ten minutes, they started with a light jog. Diamond was not sure if Shane was a sprinter or long distance runner. She figured he might be the first, since he was quick and was good for bursts of speed. Most people like that were not long distance runners. An hour later, she realized that he was more than good as he wasn’t even winded, but she was. His long stride had her doing double just to keep up with him. Her five-foot, eight inches versus his six-foot, three inches was no comparison.
“You want to slow down,” he chided her in a mocking way.
“Shut up,” she breathed.
Shane ran backward and chuckled, “Just trying to help you out.”
“I’m fine.” She kept running, but at her own pace.
Eventually, he slowed down to her pace as they kept running in silence. After another thirty minutes, he stopped and said, “Let’s rest over there.”
He was pointing to a mini-mart across the street, where they had water and benches for patrons to sit. They both drank two bottles of water and started to walk back towards the hotels.
“Why did we run all the way out here again?” Diamond asked.
“Because there was no way I was letting you show me up.”
She burst out laughing at her very own thoughts.
“Then are you sure you want to play me in basketball?” She raised an eyebrow.
“Most definitely,” he exclaimed.
After another twenty minutes of walking, Shane hailed a cab and they both laughed as they entered the green eco taxi to get back to his hotel. It was only eight-thirty when they returned and they told the girls they'd be ready by nine-thirty for breakfast. So that left them with half of an hour to play since Diamond was going to go to her room and get a shower afterward and walk over with Trudy and Bridget.
They made it to the court and Diamond said, “You first.”
Shane shook his head. “Nope. Ladies first.”
She smiled and sang, “Okay.”
Diamond had not played basketball in a long time, but she had a shot and she had post moves. Both of these he wouldn't expect her to have. She wasn't that tall, but she could jump, so they made her a small forward and she often out-jumped girls that were six-foot and two-inches. This element of surprise would help her as she tried to figure out her strategy. She didn't intend to lose to him, because he'd never let her forget it. However, she also didn't know how good of a player he was. Because if he was good at basketball like he was good at football, she should just put the ball down and take her shower.
“Check,” he called as he bounced the ball to her. He stood far enough away that she figured she might as well stop stalling and show him who's who on this court.
Swoosh.
Diamond hit the jumper at the top of the foul line, causing Shane to raise his eyebrows at her.
“Ohh, I see how it is.” Diamond bust out laughing as he gave her another bounce pass.
He changed tactics like she thought he would and guarded her closely. A little too close for her emotions, but close enough to evade him. She held the ball in a triple threat position and took off towards the basket on the right-hand side. She figured since she lost him he'd go to block the ball from behind her back. So when she neared the target, she switched the ball from her right to her left and scored on the other side.
As Diamond turned around she saw that she was right, because he was in the air, swinging at the air. When he landed out of bounds, he stared at her and asked, “Did you just con me? We didn't bet for money did we?”
She laughed again and walked back up towards to foul line. “That’s two.”
“Don't remind me,” he scoffed.
He checked her the ball three more times after that and Diamond continued to use different moves on him, and scored five times in a row. When she missed her last shot, he was finally able to get the rebound and score. It was his turn to try and score on her. She noticed that he had a good handle on the ball, but mostly with his right hand. His jump shot was good as well. She was surprised that he was an all-around athlete. Most guys stuck to one sport. The only advantage that she had over him was that she was shorter and could steal the ball from him, when he crossed over towards his right. And that’s exactly what she did and scored on him again.
As she went up towards the top of the key, he called, “You know you not right? Huh? I just want you to know that.”
“Six to one. I’m up.” Diamond grinned so much her cheeks were hurting.
He gave her a hard chest pass, which she caught and sunk it in the basket.
“Seven to one. I’m up.”
Shane just looked at her and sat down on the gravel with his legs bent and his arms resting on his knees.
“Are you alright?” Diamond asked him as she walked towards him.
Shane kept shaking his head.
“What’s wrong?” She had stopped laughing as he seemed really perplexed.
She bent down slightly to see if he was okay or if he looked feverish, since they had been outside in the hot sun.
“Everything is wrong in life. I’m getting beat by a girl.” Then he suddenly tried to snatch the basketball from Diamond but she had a grip on it, so she fell on top of him. He flipped her over on her back so he was straddling her. She was still holding on to the ball, which was above her head on the ground and so was his hands. His smoldering eyes seared into her soul. Her breathing stopped, along with the playfulness and everything became serious in that moment. So serious, that she swore his face was leaning down as if he was going to kiss her.
“Oh, sorry. Is this court taken?” An older man with what looked like his son was standing there and each one had a basketball in hand.
Diamond let the ball go and scurried from under him.
“Oh no. Uh, we were done and fighting for the ball.” Diamond wanted to crawl under a rock as he was still kneeling on the ground in the same position she left him. “It’s all yours.”
The man smiled at her and they started walking towards the other end of the court.
“Shane, I’m going to my room to shower and then we’ll come back over for breakfast. It’ll take me about a half hour,” Diamond quickly stated and scurried out of the hotel.
She could not believe what had almost happened. Well, she thought it was going to happen. He could have been trying to pull an eyelash off her lip or something, she tried to ration. It didn’t matter. He wasn’t interested in her like that, it was just a moment. What man has a woman under him and won’t make a move, she figured. It was nothing to write home about.
Breakfast was quick, because the parasailers were leaving at eleven in the morning, so Bridget did not have time to order poached egg whites or whatever she had yesterday. The entire conversation at breakfast was about how Diamond crushed Shane in basketball. It was mostly him talking about how good she was and how she surprised him. They sat next to each other, but did not really communicate directly.
Even though Diamond was excited about parasailing, when it was time to strap her in, she was beyond nervous. Shane was her partner, so he was trying to encourage her. She figured her face probab
ly told how she really felt since he even put his hand on the small of her back and whispered in her ear. “Breathe.”
Right, breathe, she thought and nodded at him. When it was time, her stomach was inside out, but he was right next to her. He continued to talk about how they needed to do a rematch, but maybe next year, because he had to practice some of her moves and watch her game tapes. He was trying to get her to laugh and it was working. Shane said that she should start a basketball camp for girls and how she could partner with one of the WNBA players. He even offered the names of some of them that he knew and respected. She nodded and told him she’d think about it more. Before she knew it, the boat had taken off and she was in the air. Shane was watching her as she was marveling at how beautiful it all was.
“You alright over there?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m good,” she screamed over the motor and wind blowing in her face.
“Good. Isn’t this great?”
“Oh yeah,” she yelled again and then lifted her hands and closed her eyes.
Shane did the same thing and yelled out in glee. Trudy and Bridget’s boat passed them and Diamond yelled to get their attention. Neither of them looked, because they were holding on for dear life. Bridget's face was completely in awe and Trudy looked like she was going to vomit. Shane yelled over, “Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to eat breakfast so late. Trudy is about to lose hers.”
Diamond laughed because she looked just like that. Green. After an hour of riding around, they landed in the water and were soaked. As they walked back to the pier, they sat down on the bench excitedly discussing how they could easily do it again. Trudy said she had fun, but she would not be doing it again.
Shane walked them back to their hotel and as they said their goodbyes to him, he nabbed Diamond by the elbow. She looked at his hand on her elbow, once again, but this time he didn’t move it. He pulled her closer. Her heart fluttered a little as she saw adoration in his eyes. It was not necessarily romantic, but on some level he respected her and that was good.
“Hey, about the thing on the court. I don’t want there to be any awkwardness between us. You know? It was nothing. You know?”
“Oh yeah, yeah. It’s cool.” She smiled, as a slight sting hit her chest.
“Yeah, okay. Good.” He smiled. “So, can you have dinner tonight? I found a nice seafood restaurant that we won’t have to run to?”
“Sorry, I can’t tonight. I promised the girls, we’d go to Karaoke night. Bridget loves those.”
“Okay. Mind if I tag along?” he asked.
“Uh, no. I doubt if they mind.”
“Do you?”
“No,” she scoffed. “I don’t mind.”
As she kept telling herself, just leave me alone.
“Cool, what time should I be here?”
“We’ll be ready by seven, so we’ll meet you in the lobby around that time?”
“Good.”
“Okay, see ya later.” Diamond waved as he let go of her arm.
9
Back To Reality
Shane didn’t know what had come over him to almost kiss Diamond that way. She was beautiful, there was no doubt about that. She was funny, actually really funny. Confident in some things, especially basketball. Vivian wasn’t half the woman Diamond was. Actually the complete opposite and he had been engaged to her for months. He wasn’t attracted to Diamond, not like that, is what he kept telling himself. She was a friend. A good friend, who he felt comfortable around. That was all it could be because after all she was a reporter. They were as conniving as snakes. That’s what he told himself, as he prepared to get ready to go to Karaoke. He wondered if she was going to sing. If she did, he planned to tape and blackmail her until she played him in basketball again.
Shane could not believe that five-foot, eight-inch woman crushed him in basketball. He was going to have to place some bets on her and have her play some of the guys. She would kick most of their butts because he always kicked their butts. She had moves, he’d give her that. Then he made the dumbest move of all. To top that off, he told her it was nothing and she agreed.
Dang.
Karaoke night went by without a hitch. They were back to their normal selves and after the libations had been consumed by Trudy and Bridget, they graced the crowd with the song RESPECT by Aretha Franklin. It was off beat but hilarious. Diamond laughed so much, tears were streaming down her face. She said she absolutely was not going to do it and there was no way Shane would either. That would be on YouTube for all to see, like and follow.
His vacation was supposed to end that evening, but he wanted to stay a little bit longer. His agent told him to take a week or two off and technically it was only a week. So, he texted his agent and told him, he was taking two weeks off. Diamond and her cousins were not set to go back until Sunday night, so that is when he planned to leave as well. It was only Wednesday evening, so a few extra days weren’t going to kill anyone. They wanted him rested, they wanted him to play, they wanted him to be mentally ready.
The next few days were much like the last three. Diamond and he ran every morning but not as far as the first day. They weren’t showing each other up, it was simply a silent run that usually ended with water, Italian ice or a dip in the ocean. All four of them would have breakfast, they alternated hotels, but they said his was definitely nicer. Trudy and Bridget would make themselves scarce or go on the prowl for men and Diamond and Shane would either spend the day together, go their separate ways to take a nap, chill on the beach and they always had dinner together. Some nights Trudy and Bridget would join.
When their time in Myrtle Beach came to an end, Trudy and Bridget both hugged him at the airport and said they had fun and to make sure next year they coordinated their trips during the same week and place again. Shane made a mental note that if he did, he’d bring some of his friends along. They’d really love him.
Diamond’s flight left an hour after theirs and Shane was trying to get on her flight, but it was booked. After bartering with another passenger and exchanging his first-class ticket for a coach ticket. He was able to finagle a seat on the plane and also get to sit next to her for one-hundred dollars. He was no fool, he kept his hat and glasses on so he would not be recognized. Diamond thought he looked silly, but the last thing he wanted was for their last moments to be interrupted.
They talked and laughed the entire way home. She tried to say goodbye to him at the airport, but he insisted on his driver taking her home. After fifteen minutes, she acquiesced to his wishes and they were standing outside of her apartment saying bye for the final time until the press room.
“Diamond, this was unforgettable. Thanks for making a lonely vacation turn into one of the best.” He smiled at her.
“Yeah, we had a lot of fun too. Thanks for hanging out with us. You know that was cool. I think Bridget is in love with you.” She laughed.
“Naw. She was star struck, but it always goes away. By the end, she was telling me to shut up just like you do.”
She laughed and his gaze fell on her smile until she stopped and asked, “Why do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Stare at me when I’m laughing or smiling or something. Like I have lettuce in my teeth.”
He laughed. “No, no. I don’t know. Guess I’m not used to it yet.” Shane shook his head. “Sorry, love. Won’t do it again.”
Her eyes grew bigger, but he liked that nickname for her. He intended to keep it. He reached his hand out, grasped the back of her neck and pulled her closer. His arm moved to her mid back and he gave her a half hug. His chin was resting on her head, when he said, “Really enjoyed myself. I’ll see you soon.”
Shane squeezed her tight and let go to walk to the elevator. Diamond let herself in and waved bye, then closed and locked the door.
The next day, the day before practice officially started Shane was restless. He ran, worked out, and even went to see how his mom was doing. Mindy had shared that she had concerns about her, bu
t when he arrived she seemed fine. Upbeat, happy to see him doing better and was excited that he had decided to continue to play football. She promised to be at the games like always and continue to support him. She even made him some chocolate and peanut butter cookies to take home.
Now that he was back at home, he did not want to call his boys because they were probably enjoying their last bit of freedom before the season started. As he flipped through his phone, his fingers automatically called Diamond, as he was used to doing this the past week at the beach.
“Hello?” she answered.
“Hey. Want to grab some food? I’m starving,” he asked nonchalantly.
She busted out laughing and said, “You’re nuts, you know that.”
He chuckled a little and mumbled, “Apparently, but seriously. Want to grab some food and a drink?”
“Shane,” she paused, then sighed. “What is this? What’s going on?”
“Nothing, just want to grab some food with a friend. I also wanted to talk to you about doing a piece on my father’s charity.” Shane made up the last part because he figured she’d take the bait.
“Well, getting food with a friend is very different from doing work with a colleague on a Sunday night. If you want to talk about the charity, have your agent or lawyer call the offices tomorrow and ask for LeAnne. She’ll get someone to do that for you.”
“And if I want to eat dinner with a friend?” he asked.
“Shane, really?” She hesitated. “We work together, so to speak. There are already things going around saying we are more than colleagues. Pictures of us on the internet and everything. Have you seen them?”
“No and I don’t care. I refuse to dance to the beat of the media’s drum. They’ll have me suicidal by the time they are through. They spin things to make them more than they are and won’t say anything about the things that matter. I don’t care what they say.”