Page 35 of High Baller

"I'm sorry, I don’t, and don't plan on finding out." I answer, making coach and Giulia laugh. “So, when do I get to see these moves?”

“When I feel like showing you.” She winks again, and I start laughing.

"Well, I have to say, I like her," Giulia tells me, taking Sky's hand. "Let's move to the kitchen’s sitting area." I follow them both as they walk in front of us.

Coach gets right to it as I sit next to Sky. “So, you seem like a nice girl. The only thing I care about is, are you going to affect Trey’s game? Are you going to make him take the wrong road?” Just as I thought. Coach being coach and straight to the point.

"I won't affect his game,” she replies. “I hope my job doesn't get in the way of anything. I'll try my best to make sure that he plays the way he is, and as far as taking Trey on the wrong path, that won’t happen, he knows where my line is. And I'm sorry to say, I really don't care who he is. He crosses it, then it's not my problem." I'm not sure if that harshness was meant for Jade, or if Sky’s just she’s annoyed. Everyone thinks that she’s going to ruin my game.

“And what line is this?” Coach looks at me.

"I don't do drugs, and I don't let drugs come in my house. If any of my friends do drugs, she walks away,” I tell him, and coach has a huge smile on his face. "I knew you’d be happy about that."

Coach looks at Giulia. “How about we get some coffee while they chat?” Guilia asks Sky, Sky turns at me, and I give her a nod.

I turn my attention back to coach when he says, "You really like her.”

"I do. It wasn't easy to get her to say yes to me. She doesn't want the public to know about us, doesn't want to take pictures together to post on social media, and has told me if I mess up, there’s no way she’ll even take me back if I cross that line.”

"First time I've seen you happy in a while. You have a girl, you seem to be settling down, and you really do look happy. So. I'm happy for you."

"Thanks, coach,” I say in relief. “Jade came over today, and that was—“

“Horrible,” he says, and I laugh. “So what? Did she asks if Sky’s a fame whore, she wants your money, or that’s she’s white?”

“All of them,” I groan. “I thought Jade would've at least given her a chance.”

“The world knows how you love your family, so what are you going to do if—”

"I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." I cut Coach off because, at the moment, Sky and I are having fun. I'm enjoying my time with her; I enjoy having her around me.

“Well, make sure you sort it out before you fall in love with her. I get the feeling she’s going to be easy to fall for,” coach says, glancing over at the women. I look over my shoulder and see them both laughing. “She’ll do anything to make you happy—you can see that she wants to make you happy. So don’t fuck it up.”

I turn back to him, “I won’t,” I say as I hear them both walking back over.

"So, Sky, where do you like to fly to the most?" Guilia asks.

“My trips are from England to anywhere in America. I like Seattle, and Chicago—I love it there.” Sky tells them, and I drink my coffee.

“Do you watch any sports, besides basketball?” Giulia asks. Sky and I begin to laugh.

"I don't watch basketball—I’ve no idea what's going on, but before I’ll learn more about it before the first game. I only watch football."

“Soccer. So, how did you two meet if you don't watch basketball?” Giulia asks, and Sky looks pointedly at me.

"I take it I'm answering that question then?” I ask with a shake of my head. “I saw her in the club. I went over to her, she turned me down, then by some luck of the gods, she was my flight attendant to England. I thought all my Christmases had come at once, but even then, she turned me down. Then, I sent a lot of messages to her, She finally said yes to having breakfast with me on the Monday before my flight back, and that's about it."

"That's it, Sky, play hard to get. It keeps them on their toes." Giulia gives her a wink, and I shake my head as coach starts laughing at me.

Coach has always been a man that supports his team. If we have a problem, his door’s always open for us, no matter what time of day it is. And now that he’s a fan of Sky’s, it's like it's taken a load off my shoulders.

"See you at training," coach tells me as we walk to the door. “It was very nice to meet you, Sky. I hope we’ll see more of each other." He leans down and gives her a kiss on the cheek.

She and Giulia start talking to each other in Italian as I wait by the door for her. They’ve just spent that last five hours talking, what else is there for them to say?

Saying bye to them both, we leave. “Coach likes you, and you seem to like them too as you’ve been smiling all afternoon,” I say, opening the door for her.

Sky gives me a smile as I shut the door, then run around to my side "Yeah, they're really nice, and I see why you respect him so much." She looks down at her phone, tapping away, and already know that it's Calvin, as that's the only person she really talks to.