Page 17 of High Baller

I laugh. “I was going to ask you if I should.”

“I have no idea—can’t help you there. You know something? She better be good in bed after all the effort you’re putting into this.” Derek says. “I mean, you said no to every girl that came close to you this week.” He even tried a few times to get me to hook up with some of them.

“Why are you so bothered if she is or if she isn’t?” I ask.

“I’m not. I’m just looking out for you, that’s all.”

“I told you, I want to work on things with Sky. Don’t you like her?” He's had a problem with her the moment I saw her in the club. It’s like he's trying to break us before we’ve even been on a date.

“I don’t even know her, and neither do you. Don’t you think it’s a little strange that she doesn’t want her picture taken with you? All the girls want a picture taken with you.” Derek looks over at me. “I’m your friend, and I want to make sure that you’re not going down a street where she'll mess with you.”

“I know that I like her,” I snap. “I know that if this picture thing was something I needed to worry about, she'd tell me, and she doesn’t look like the girl to play around.” I lean back as the game starts, wanting this conversation to be over.

I’ve spoken to Calvin a few times this week just to get ideas from him, and I asked about why Sky’s worried about pictures of us going out in public. He said that she has her reasons, but it’s more of a personal thing. I told him that I don’t care. All I needed to know was, could the reason damage my basketball career? He said no; she’s never been arrested, and has never taken drugs. He also told me that she'll end any relationship if drugs are involved. I told Calvin that I won’t ask about it again, and when Sky's ready to tell me, I'll listen.

She has a past, and she doesn’t want to share it— that's fine. I have a past and I have no choice but to share it. The moment I signed on the dotted line, my life seemed to become public property. If I could keep parts of my past hidden, I would.

Chapter 5

Sky

I woke up early so that I can get a shower in before Trey got here. I didn't get much sleep, but Trey was messaging me every day, every hour asking for a date. In the end, I said yes to breakfast today.

I look through my dresser and grab a pair of shorts and a tank top, then after dressing, I start working on breakfast. I didn’t ask Trey what he wanted to eat; I thought I would make something different. I made some fresh scones served with cream and home-made jam. And, on top of that, I wanted to try this new recipe for some waffles with a white chocolate filling, so I thought he could be my guinea pig.

As much I've been telling him that I don't want to date him, I'm nervous about this. I'm nervous that once we sit and really talk, get to know each other, I might like him a lot more than I want to admit. I already feel excited when I'm around him, and I keep putting that down to pure physical attraction. Every time I close my eyes, I would see him shirtless. The time we were in the pool keeps going through my head, and the way he touched my skin. It already has me shivering with excitement. And that kiss on the plane… Was it a kiss? Oh, I don’t know. My lips felt all tingly; I can still feel them now, thinking about it.

I look over at the door—he’s here. I take a deep breath to calm my nerves.

I move to let him in. “Hi," I say as I open the door.

“Morning, shorty, I got you these and these,” Trey greets me and hands me some flowers.

I take the tulips from him. "Thank you so much for the dozen that got delivered last night. They're beautiful—so are these,” I say as I take the Lola’s cupcake bag from him. He’s definitely been talking to Calvin; these are my favorite cupcakes. “We have dessert for after breakfast.”

As I watch him walking into my house, I let my eyes take in his clothing. He’s a man with style. Jeans, a blue t-shirt, and bright blue trainers that stand out, but look perfect on him.

“So, what’re we eating?” Trey asks as he walks further into the house. "Whatever it is, it smells delicious.”

I shut the door behind him and point towards the kitchen. “Home-made scones with home-made jam, and then I wanted to try a new recipe for some waffles," I tell him as I walk behind him to the kitchen.

“You make your own recipes? That’s cool.” He stops and turns around to face me. "You look beautiful this morning.”

I watch his eyes roaming my body. I have to admit, it makes me feel sexy the way he looks at me.

I look up at him and wonder if he’s going to kiss me. Do I want him to kiss me? Yes. A million percent, yes.

"You look nice yourself," I reply, my voice barely above a whisper.

I walk behind Trey, telling him where to go as he steps into the kitchen. He stands by the kitchen door, looking around the room, then pauses at the title photos I have on the wall by my small dining table.

“Would you like some tea, coffee or juice?” I ask.

“Coffee, please,” he replies smoothly. “If you look in the bag, I brought you some different teas—I hope you like them.” He continues to focus on the on the pictures.

I peek in the bag, and a huge smile spreads across my face as I pull out the three different boxes. Rose, Australian breakfast, and chamomile tea. Yeah, he’s definitely been talking to Calvin.

“Thank you. You’ve been researching me, I see.” I glance at him with a grin as I open the Australian breakfast tea box. I like that he's making this much of an effort to get my attention.