Page 86 of Full Court Crush

“So, Clara…got any more stories for me?” Keira asked, flashing a grin over the top of her drink.

“Maybe…” Clara teased. “But first, I want to know more about you. I need to vet the person who’s dating my little sister, obviously.”

“Obviously,” Keira said and put down her drink. Leaning in, she asked, “So, what d’you wanna know?”

Amelia sat back and watched her girlfriend and her sister slip into an easy banter, as if they’d known each other all their lives, rather than this being their first time meeting. When Keira made Clara laugh, Amelia squeezed Keira’s hand under the table and sighed contentedly.

It was to be a day of firsts, apparently.

“Dad, I’m home!” Keira shouted as she walked through the door in front of Amelia. This was the first time Amelia would meet Keira’s father. She shifted her weight from foot to foot and wrung her hands in front of her.

“It’ll be fine. He’s gonna love you,” Keira said quietly.

“I’ve brought Amelia with me,” Keira called again. A shuffling noise came from the living room, then Keira’s dad appeared in the doorway.

“Amelia, so good tofinally”—he glared at Keira—“meet you! I’m Jeff.”

Before Amelia really knew what was happening, the slender man hugged her. She froze for a second, still not used to parental-style hugs. Eventually, she relaxed and hugged him back.

“Come in, come in!” He waved into the living room. “I watched the game on the live stream. You girls did fantastic.” He beamed with pride. Amelia’s knee-jerk reaction was not to trust it, but then she remembered this was Keira’s parent, not hers. He was genuinely proud.

“Thanks, Dad. Second win, first at home. We’re on a roll, of sorts.” Keira laughed.

Amelia took a seat on the couch.

“Shall I make a cuppa?” Keira asked.

“Oh, we’re out of milk, love.” Her dad sat down, then leaned forward in his chair, as if Amelia was some exotic flower he’d waited his whole life to see bloom. She didn’t quite know what to do with that kind of affection.

"We had plenty this morning?"

"I drank it all." Jeff grinned.

“Oh, er, I could go get some, I guess?” Keira looked between Amelia and her dad.

“We’ll be fine, won’t we?” her dad said, his eyes twinkling.

“Yes, of course.” She smiled at Keira, but she knew her eyes betrayed her nervousness.

Keira looked between Amelia and her father once more.

“It’s okay,” Amelia said quietly, more confident by the second.

“Do you play chess, Amelia?” Jeff asked, pulling an ornate wooden board towards himself.

“I mean, I know the rules, kind of…” She trailed off, distracted by Keira shuffling her shoes back on by the front door, then leaving. She felt a lot less sure of herself without Keira here.

“Eh, it’s easy. I’ll explain it to you as we go,” Jeff said, setting out the pieces. “You’re white, so you’ll start,” he said patiently, and Amelia moved one of her pawns forward. Jeff reached out for one of his, then hesitated, and took his hand back. Amelia looked up at him.

“You really have made her so happy, you know,” he said, his voice cracking. “Thank you.”

He focused back on the board and moved his opposing pawn forward. Amelia was slightly dumbstruck and didn’t quite know what to do.

“It’s your turn, Amelia,” he prompted softly.

Right. Chess. She’d done a lot of new, scary things over the last few weeks. What was one more?

Chapter 25