Page 4 of High Baller

Chapter 2

Trey

I rest my palms on my knees as I try to get my breath back, my chest tightening as I gasp for air. I knew this HIIT session would kill me today. I know more is coming because we’re only half way through training.

“Come on, Trey, get moving,” my trainer yells at me. “We still have a few more things to do and you’re slacking. Were you out last night?”

“No.” I stand up so I can start the next part of the session. “My ma would kill me if I mess this up.” I start my run, baseline to baseline.

I’d worked too damn hard to become the number one NBA player. My ma worked hard to help me get here, there’s no way I would do anything to fuck that up. She'd kill me before I could even explain my reasoning for whatever I did. I make sure that everything I do will never affect my career or my family. My career is good, brilliant even, so I know there’s nothing to worry about there. Family, now, that's a whole new area to work on. I love them all, they will always be the most important people in my life, but sometimes, they can be a little hard to win over.

My mother brought us up when my father walked out on us before my younger brother was even a year old. She had help bringing us up from my two older sisters—working tirelessly to raise us. They’re my rock. They all took me to every one of my high school games, then all of my training sessions, games that were far away, and took me to all of my NBA tryouts. Everything I am today is because of my family—I owe them everything, so there’s no way I’m messing anything up.

The moment I finish my sideline to sideline runs, my trainer shouts the next session. “Right, let’s start the sprints.”

He will kill me today.

Running up and down the court as my trainer times me, I see Derek walking through the door.

He’s been my best friend since we were kids, and now he’s my manager. I wanted a manger that knew m, and I could trust. If I did something stupid, I'd need someone to be straight with me instead of dancing around what they wanted to say.

Since high school, Derek has always been the angel on my shoulder, making sure I kept my grades up so I could play every game, and would never let me cheat on a test. The moment I got my break to play the game I love, in the league I love, I knew Derek was the man I wanted for the job. Now, everything I’m asked to sign goes through him first. He'd never make the wrong choice for me.

“And stop,” my trainer yells.

I knew having a late night would’ve been painful this morning, but Derek wouldn’t leave until he beat me in at least one game on the PlayStation.

“Well, you’re not getting slower, but you’re not faster either,” Wesley, my trainer, tells me as I walk over to him. I catch the water bottle, which Derek throws over to me. “You might want to pick up the pace.” He laughs.

Pick up the pace? I gave this session my all.

“You’re talking like I’m the slowest player out there,” I say as I get my breath back.

“You’re not—we all know that. But, isn’t it better to be the fastest and stay the fastest?” Wesley asks as I grab the towel to wipe the sweat off my face.

“Fine, I'll do better on Monday morning,” I reply. I hear him laughing, which makes me shake my head at him.

“Right, I'll see you bright and early on Monday.” Wesley gives Derek a fist pump as he leaves the court, and I grab a ball and take a few shots in the basket.

The season starts in nine weeks, and I want to make sure I’m still on game. I signed a new contract, a record-breaking deal, so I need to make sure I’m worth every dollar they’re paying me.

Derek stands under the basket to throw the ball back. “I’ve booked the flight. We’re leaving for London Monday afternoon, and we’re staying there for a week. Not sure where you'll train, though.”

Straight from training, I get to sit on a plane for over ten hours. At least I get to rest. “I’m sure London will have basketball courts for me to use for a few hours in the morning,” I say. I’ll be on the court and done with training before anyone is even out of bed.

“Still want to go out tonight?” Derek asks.

“Yeah, after the family dinner I have to go to.” I’m not looking forward to this because I know my ma will try to set me up with one of her church friends’ daughters again. No matter how many times I tell her I don’t need her setting me up, she never listens.

“Shall I meet you at the bar?”

“Or you can come to dinner with us,” I suggest as I shoot the ball effortlessly into the hoop.

“No, not today.” Derek smiles as he passes the ball back to me.

“Why aren’t you coming?” I ask him as I bounce the ball in front of me. He’s hiding something, I can tell. He’s the first to go to my ma’s for dinner, so I know something is up.

“I have a new girlfriend, and—”