Page 32 of High Baller

“Tomorrow morning, what about you?” Dave replies. “What flight did you get?”

“Our flight is at three in the afternoon, but it should be a fun few weeks.”

Dave looks at me. It's that look telling me he needs to talk to me about something, and that something is always my parents. I shake my head, letting him know that this conversation will not be happening in front of Trey.

I hand my phone to Trey. “See? This is the difference.” I step away from him. “I’ll be right back.” Dave follows me out of the restaurant. “I’ve told him my parents are dead.”

“Sky, I—”

“If I tell him, then you know what it’s going to be about. I'm not with Trey for his money. I mean, I’ll do everything to make sure we don't get spotted together. I’m scared they'll find out.”

“You know what you’re doing, but I don’t think you should hide it from him. Gemma got a call from them. Your dad got arrested, and your mom needs money to bail him out.”

I shake my head. No matter how hard I'm trying to stay away from them, they always seem to find a way back in. "Well, he’ll have to suffer for two weeks, as I can't give them any."

“When I get back, I’m going to talk to a lawyer to see how you can finally get rid of them.” Dave looks over my shoulder. “I think we should head back in.”

"Thank you, and if she’s getting really bad, just give them the money and I'll pay you back." I know what they're like. I tried the hard way, saying no to them. It got that bad they just slept on the ground in front of my house; banging on the door all day non-stop. I called the police, but that never helped either. It just gives me a day of peace, but they come back.

I walk back over to the table, and Trey hands me my phone.

"I see your point,” he says with a smile, and I return it.

All my comments are, ‘Have a nice time,’ ‘new boyfriend, want more details,’ fun things. Where his would be more, ‘who is she?’ ‘she's after his money’ and many other things, and now he sees it, too.

“So, what’ve we been talking about?” I ask as I take a sip of my wine.

"You drink way too much, but I’d never tell you to stop because I love you," Calvin tells me, and I raise my eyebrows.

“You drink more than I do.” I turn to Trey. “So, do you not drink during the season?”

"No, we still drink, just not the day before a game. Coach—“

"So you never drink,” I cut in. “I had a look at the season, and you play nearly every day.” How the hell basketball players have a long time girlfriend, or even a wife is a question to me. When do they see each other? The only thing I can think of is that they go on the road with them. It made me wonder how are he and I going to make it happen.

Chapter 8

Trey

"Shorty, you look beautiful, stop stressing." I watch Sky standing in front of the mirror again. I keep telling her that she looks great, and my coach will like her, but she’s nervous—so very nervous.

The two days in Seattle was amazing. We spent all of it in the hotel room, and I'm not complaining about it at all. I could easily spend all day in bed with her. When you hear guys talking about the girl being an animal in bed, you laugh inside, knowing they're talking shit, but Sky… Fuck, she's an animal in bed. Not in a way that I don't want it anymore, because the second she touches me, I don't want her to stop.

We ended up getting a later flight and didn't get back until really late. I wanted to show her the house, but she was tired. So was I, but I still wanted her here with me. I think the only time we left the hotel was for lunch on Friday. Other than that, we didn't leave the bed.

“Is he going to be easier to impress than your family?” She turns around in her summer dress.

"Coach will look at you to see if he thinks you'll affect my game or damage it in any way, but you won’t. As soon as the season starts, I have a feeling that you're going to make sure I'm focused." She walks over to me, and I pull her to sit on my lap, and she wraps her arms around my neck.

“Do we have time?”

"I'll always have time, but—“

She places her finger on my lip and slowly teases them. I know what she’s talking about. Sky pulls away from me as the doorbell rings. Derek would've messaged or called me if he was coming over.

Taking Sky's hand, we make our way downstairs. As I make my way to the front door, I see her stopping by the stairs, "Shorty, stop worrying."

"I'm not," she says, looking away from me.