NOAH
I wakeup to early morning sunlight streaming through my bedroom window and Danny Masterson’s arm draped across my chest.
For a moment, I just lie there, remembering every salacious minute we spent together.
We had sex. In my bed.
And I don’t regret it. At all.
That’s the part that should terrify me. The part that should send me into full panic mode, rebuilding walls, pushing him away, morphing back into the cold professional who keeps everyone at arm’s length.
Instead, I’m lying here watching him sleep, his face relaxed in a way I’ve never seen it, and all I can think is that I want to do this again. All of it. Over and over and over.
Which is a problem for a hundred different reasons.
Danny stirs, his eyes opening slowly. When he sees me watching him, a slow smile spreads across his face.
“Morning,” he says, his voice husky.
“Morning.”
“You’re still here.”
“It’s my house.”
“You know what I mean.” He props himself up on one elbow. “I half expected to wake up alone with a note saying, ‘this was a mistake, please leave.’”
I grin. “I considered it.”
“But you didn’t.”
“No. I didn’t.”
He studies my face, like he’s trying to figure out if I’m about to bolt out the door. “So what happens now?”
That’s the million dollar question, isn’t it? What happens when the PR director sleeps with a player he’s supposed to be managing? When the coach’s son gets involved with one of his father’s athletes? When everything I’ve built my career on…professional boundaries, appropriate distance, sound judgment…gets thrown out the window because I can’t keep my hands off Danny Masterson?
“Now we figure out how to keep this quiet,” I say.
“So you want to keep it secret.”
“Do you want it public? Because I can draft the press release right now. ‘Raptors Communications Director in inappropriate relationship with player under disciplinary supervision. Coach’s son compromises professional integrity.’ How’s that sound?”
“When you put it like that...”
“Exactly.” I sit up and pull the sheet around my waist. “This stays between us. No one can know. Not your teammates, not my colleagues, definitely not my father.”
“For how long?”
“I don’t know. Until we figure out what this is. Until Alex gets the hell out of Oakland. Until—“ I stop, run a hand through my hair. “I don’t know, Danny. I just know that if anyone finds out right now, it’ll destroy both our careers.”
He’s quiet for a moment. “Okay.”
“Okay? You’re good with that?”
“Yeah. We’ll keep it secret and be careful. We’ll figure it out as we go.” He reaches for my hand. “But we definitely don’tpretend it didn’t happen. We don’t go back to you being cold and professional and me wondering if I imagined everything.”
“I can’t promise I won’t be cold and professional at work. That’s literally my job.”
