Chapter 13 - Checkmate

Ryder’s POV

I collapsed on the bench next to the courts, downing half a bottle of water within a few minutes as I tried to catch my breath. I had been keeping in shape over the break, but my timing was off by a mile. Training camps achieved a few different things. It allowed the rookies and any players who had been traded to get familiar with the team and allowed the coaches to assess their strengths and weakness and see how they were going to fit in with the team. It also allowed us, veteran players, a chance to shake off the cobwebs of the summer, but it was brutal.

We had just finished our morning session and were about to break for lunch before moving on to the afternoon drills. I was exhausted and really looking forward to a lunch out with some of the other players. Marcus had also decided to join us but hadn’t arrived yet.

Things had been pretty chilly at the house since I sent that singing telegram to Keegan’s workplace. From what I gathered from the report I got from cupid after the event, everyone in the bank loved it, Keegan, not so much. But after the stunt she pulled by the pool, I had no other choice other than to retaliate. I had to listen to the boys go on for hours about how lucky I was to have Keegan as my girlfriend. Even the ones in relationships couldn’t shut up about how hot she looked in that bikini, and it was driving me crazy.

I hated to admit it, but they were right. They didn’t understand that it was all looking and no touching, which was enough to drive any man insane. I had not gotten laid since we had started this whole thing, as I still had to figure out a way to do it discretely so we wouldn’t be exposed. No matter which way you spun it, fake relationship or being caught cheating on my girlfriend, it wouldn’t look good for my contract. So it was just my hand and me at the moment, and that day my hand certainly got a workout.

After a shower and changing into my street clothes, I headed out of the change room to meet the other guys.

Michael was just finishing up on his phone when I arrived, “Table booked, you ready to go? The others bailed, so it’s just you, Marcus and me.”

“Just have to wait for Marcus to show up.” I replied, grabbing out my phone to text him, “He’s always on everyone else to be on time, but he can never seem to follow his own advice.”

“There you are!” A shrill female voice called out, making me freeze in place.

I knew that voice. How did I know that voice? And then it hit me where I had heard it last, Trixie Marshall, Keegan’s Grams. The last time I saw her, she threatened to murder me and hide my body if I ever messed with her granddaughter, and now she was here. Oh crap, how the hell did she get in?”

When I turned to face her, I was in for a shock of my life. Not only was she walking in with Marcus, linked arms and all. She also had my jersey on for good measure. I felt like I had just entered an alternate reality.

When they got closer, Marcus smirked at me, “Sorry I’m late. I ran into Trixie outside talking to security as she wasn’t on the list of approved visitors, so I thought I would clear that up.”

When Michael gave me a questioning look, I cleaned my throat, “Michael, this is Keegan’s Grams.”

Michael held out his hand to her, “Pleasure to meet you, ma’am.”

“What is it with every one and this ma’am business.” She queried, swatting his hand away before turning her attention to me, “Now I came here to spend time with my future son in law. Keegan told me all about how well your relationship is going, and I wanted to come have lunch with you and welcome you to the family. I also thought it was high time that we had a discussion about when you plan on making my granddaughter an honest woman.”

I could see Michael and Marcus struggling to keep a straight face while my other teammates pretended not to listen, but in reality, they were hanging on every word.
What the hell was this woman doing? She knew this relationship was fake. Why was she going on like this?

“Umm……” I stammered, unsure what to say to her, so I looked towards Marcus, but he was no help.

“See, I am a die-hard Clippers fan and have even put on your jersey to show my support.” She advised me, “Now, I know what you’re thinking, why buy the cow when you’re getting the milk for free, but I will not have my future great-grandchildren being born bastards. I will love them, of course, but their parents should be married.”

“Keegan’s isn’t pregnant, Trixie,” I told her, knowing if she was, it was an immaculate conception because we weren’t sleeping together.

“Oh, do call me Grams. I mean, we’re practically family now.” She answered, “I know she’s not, but time is ticking, and I am not getting any younger, Ryder. I would like to be around long enough for them to know me. So are you going to take your Grams out for lunch?”

Oh crap, the rest of the team weren’t even pretending not to listen anymore. They were all watching the discussion, and I knew I would pay for it later.

“Do you think we can get another seat for lunch, Michael?” I asked him, willing him to say no so I could get out of all of this.

“Sorry, buddy, but they were pretty full up.” He replied, making me jump for joy on the inside, “But this sounds important, so why don’t Marcus and I get lunch somewhere else, and you guys can take the table.”

Trixie clapped her hands together gleefully before approaching Michael and pinching his cheeks, “Such a gentleman, your grandmother must be extremely proud of you.”

I shot Michael a glare as she linked arms with me and started to drag me away from the guys. When we made it out the front, of course, paparazzi were waiting there to capture the image of the players arriving and leaving training camp, and of course, Trixie had no issues posing for photos for as long as they wanted. Right there, at that moment, I wanted a meteor to crash into me to make this day end. I breathed a sigh of relief when I finally managed to drag her away and into the car.
Lunch was actually pretty pleasant. Once she was away from my teammates and photographers, we had a fairly enjoyable catch-up. She told me all about her life as a nurse and her life with her husband before he passed away. She was such a selfless woman. Not only did she raise her granddaughter, but she also donated so much of her free time to help out at the local community centre, just like Keegan. I was starting to see what Marcus meant about their strong ties to the community being an asset.

When we arrived back at the stadium, I escorted her back to her car to ensure she didn’t follow me back inside and stir the pot even more. Now that I had spent time with her, I worried about her driving the green death trap as much as I did Keegan, and it made me wonder if I could offer her one of the other cars from the garage. But knowing her, she wouldn’t accept it.

After she got in the car, the engine sputtered to life, and she wound down her window, “Thank you for lunch Ryder. I enjoyed it immensely. But before I forget, I have a message from Keegan for you. She said to tell you checkmate.”

With a wink and a smile, she rolled the window back up and left, leaving me standing there with my mouth open, trying to work out what had happened. It wasn’t until she had driven out of sight that it finally clicked. Keegan had set this whole thing up to embarrass the crap out of me. She was good. She was very good.

I made it through the next training session, ignoring the ribbing I was getting from the rest of the team. By the time I pulled into the driveway that afternoon, I was exhausted, but I was also yearning for revenge. Faith was in her room working on her homework and Keegan was nowhere in sight. I knocked on her door, but there was no answer. However, noises were coming from inside, so I knew she was in there. I tested the door handle, and it was unlocked. I didn’t see the harm in opening it to get her attention.

Keegan was sitting at a makeshift desk she had set up, in front of a sewing machine with Airpods in her ears. It was no wonder she didn’t hear me knocking or even entering the room. I had to do a doubt take because she was feeding material through the machine in nothing but a pair of shorts and a red, lacy bra. I knew I should have hightailed it out of there when I saw that she was partially undressed, but I was curious about what she was doing. She cut the thread that connected the material to the machine and held it up, examining it before standing up and hanging it over a mannequin that she had set up next to where she was working. It looked like a dress of some description, maybe something Courtney sent over didn’t fit her right, and she was altering it. But thanks to Faith, I knew my fair share of female designers, and I didn’t recognise the design.

Keegan stood back, examining the dress with her hands on her hips, her nipples clearly visible through the material. Before I could rethink my choices and back out of the room, Keegan finally noticed my presence. She screamed, pulling the Airpods out of her ears and grabbing a piece of material from the table, holding it over her front.

“Don’t you knock?” She asked me harshly.

“I did, but you obviously didn’t hear me.” I countered.

She backed away towards her bed, grabbing a singlet that was lying on it and putting it on quickly, “So instead, you decided to enter and watch me while I was half-naked.”

I chuckled at her discomfort, “Please, you aren’t half-naked. I saw more of your body in that bikini than I did tonight.”

“Not the point.” She growled.

“Is that one of the dresses Courtney got you?” I asked, gesturing at the mannequin, “It’s unusual for her to send over something that didn’t fit right.”

“No, it’s something I’m working on.” She answered, a hint of embarrassment in her voice, “I design my own clothes.”

I seemed to be learning new things about her all the time and looking at the dress, you wouldn’t think that a novice made it. It wasn’t finished yet, but even half-finished, I could see its potential. It was going to be beautiful.

I could tell she didn’t want to talk about it, so I decided to change the subject, “So I had an interesting visitor today at practice.”

“Oh, and how did that go.” She inquired smugly.

“It was great. Your Grams is great company.” I answered as I headed towards the door, “And she passed on your message. That wasn’t checkmate. We are just getting started. Have a nice night.”

I walked out before she could get another word in. This little game of ours was actually making this fake relationship fun, I didn’t know what I would do next, but I wasn’t letting her have the last laugh.