Page 83 of Long Shot

Other than her affair with Mac, Taylor’s Finals match ritual was potentially her most shameful secret. After months of watching every single morsel of food that entered her body, Taylor could never stop herself from a bag of juicy hamburgers the night before the Championship game.

Taylor shut the door and followed him to the couch.

As Gerald tossed the bag on the glass coffee table, Taylor shook her head. “How did you find out?”

“Oh sweetie, I’ve always known. Your mom hates the accounting part of this, but I check every credit card statement.” Gerald laughed, flopping onto the couch.

Taylor sat down next to him, peeling open the warm bag. There was no point hiding it now. She pulled out each item andlaid it out on the table. All in all, there were four burgers, a large fry, some chicken nuggets, and one large soda.

The massive, 72 inch TV was playing the Sports Central. Gerald watched it for a second. Two pictures of Mac and Taylor popped onto the screen. Taylor raised an eyebrow at the new promo photo of Mac. From the outfit, Taylor could tell it was from the photoshoot she had walked in on last week.

Mac looked undeniably gorgeous, a light sweat glistening over her bulging muscles. It made Taylor’s stomach flip.

Grabbing a fry, Gerald shrugged. “You make a beautiful couple.”

Taylor punched his arm. “Cut it out.”

Gerald shrugged. “Look, my job is to tell you the truth. And that’s the truth. You’d have stunning kids.”

Glaring at him, Taylor scoffed. “You know that’s not… like… possible? Right?”

“Duh.” Gerald stole the burger from Taylor’s hands. “My coach would have beaten my ass if he found me with stuff like this.”

Taylor smirked. “So would mine.”

The two of them could picture Kim’s beet-red face as she yelled at not just Taylor, but Gerald too. After a moment of laughter passed, the two sat in silence.

Gerald sat up. “I hate to break the peace here, but I have to ask. What happened there?”

Shoving a burger into her mouth, Taylor rolled her eyes. “I suck, that’s what happened.”

“Oh, come on. Tell me what really happened.” Gerald wiped his hands on a napkin, turning to face his daughter.

Taylor’s head dropped. “I have loved Mackenzie since the day I met her, and Mom will never let me be with her. And I’m scared she’s right. What if itdoesruin my career?”

Gerald sighed. “Yeah. It could.” He paused. “But what if it doesn’t?”

She felt her heart drop into her stomach. It was the question no one – herself included – had bothered to ask. She had been afraid to indulge that thought at all.

“Dad, be serious.”

Gerald waved her off. “I am being serious. Your mom and I… we played in this league at averydifferent time. People did get blackballed for being queer back then. Someone like Barbara McConnell was a real once in a blue moon occurrence. And Kim… she was part of it.”

Taylor eyed her dad.Was he being serious?

“I know she regrets it now.” Gerald sighed. “But I think she’s worried someone will do to you what she did to Barbara.”

Taylor’s gaze darted back to the TV, clips of Mackenzie training flashed across the screen.

Gerald pointed to it. “Besides, everyone knows Mac’s a lesbian and no one has a problem with it.”

“But she’s not the “Princess of Tennis”. It’s different for me.” Taylor shoves a handful of fries into her mouth, washing it down with the cool dark soda.

Patting her back, Gerald nodded. “You’re not wrong there. But maybe you could make it easier for the next girl like you.” He wiped his hands together and stood from the couch, releasing an obnoxiously loud dad groan. “It’s just a thought. I love you and I’m begging you to drink some water before bed so you don’t lose tomorrow.”

Taylor stood and gave her father a hug. “Thanks, Dad.” She walked him to the door, her bare feet padding across the tile floors.

“Oh,” Gerald spun around before closing the door behind himself. “Don’t worry about Kim. I’ll handle her, okay? It shouldn’t be your job to appease her fantasies.”

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