“I thought that was your job…”
“Sure, but it frees me up for our sessions—or itdid, I should say.” She turns to me. “Speaking of which… You planning on doing any actual teaching today?”
“When did he get here?”
“Three weeks ago, maybe.”
Amazing.This guy shows up right when I duck out—unfortunate timing, to say the least.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Sorry, Dad.” She laughs. “Why would I tell you?Whencould I have told you, come to think of it?” She brightens. “Oh, I know! That time I left you a voice message and you never called me back? Yeah, guess I could’ve told you then.”
I cringe. She has a point, and now I’m getting a fuller picture of the situation, I regret going quiet on her. Instead of explaining myself, I decide to double down.
“How long is he sticking around?”
“What is this, a cross-examination?”
“No!”
“Then what is going on with you? Because you’re behaving like a jealous boyfriend.”
She’s looking at me weirdly, and that last comment makes me feel even weirder.I’m not jealous. I just really, really care—that’s all.
“That’s not what this is about.” I shake my head. “It makes sense for me to be worried when one of your old buddies shows up in town.”
Especially when he shows up right when I drop my guard.
She sighs, bouncing a fist on her thigh. “What exactly are you so scared of? You worried that I’m gonna undo all your hard work? That I won’t make the grade?”
Something like that…
It hadn’t even occurred to me that anyone from her old life might wander out this way—especially not anyone with Esteban vibes.
“Thankssomuch for believing in me,” she says flatly. “It’s nice to know I’ve earned your trust.”
I don’t like where this conversation is heading, and I know that’s on me, so I try to change tracks.
“Listen, I’m sorry—okay? I’ve been a little stressed these past few weeks.”
“Well, stop taking it out on me. Find some other way to relax.”
I can think of a few.I can feel myself hardening already. Three weeks of hard-core basketball practice has meant three weeks of zero sex, which takes me right back to my virgin days. That paired with this Esteban situation is making me want to just pull over and break every resolution I made this morning.Be strong, buddy.
“Okay, time-out.” I take a deep breath in. “Let’s get this lesson going.”
I’m Lewis Conley. I’m in total control of my body and mind.
EVER SINCE THAT LAST TRAININGsession, I’ve had no problems trying to avoid Firebird. My daily schedule is insane—there’s literally no time or space to see her. Work is piling up like I can’t believe, andwith my profs stepping things up, I’m stuck hitting the books harder than I’d like. Coach is pretty riled up, too—our last two conference games were average at best, and with the tournament looming in March, this is a bad time to be scrabbling around in the dirt for points. Throw in the rumors that scouts have started going undercover to watch us, and I’ve tripled the amount of practice I’m squeezing in. Don says I need to take it easy, but I don’t have time for that. I’ll spend the summer chilling—once I’ve graduated and been signed by the NBA, or once I’ve completely burned out. Whichever happens first.
I’m in the mall shopping for sneakers when I hear a woman calling my name. I turn. Amy’s sister is standing there.
“Raven! How you doing?”
She gestures at her belly, and I smile.
“When are you due?”
