Page 88 of High Baller

"Shorty, you're not running. You're living, you'll be free, and you’ll be with me." I know the last part is a little selfish, but when she goes back to England, she's always worrying about what her parents are doing or going to be doing next.

"And I love you for saying that, I really do. OK, now I have to get going for dinner, and I'll see you in Seattle in a few days." She blows me a kiss, and I say bye to her.

I close the laptop, and wonder why she hasn't answered my question about moving in with me. I take the engagement ring box from the bedside table, and wonder if she’ll answer this question?

***

"You want me to get tickets for you?" I ask my Ma. I know that she said she wasn't going to come, but sometimes she changes her mind the day before I have to leave.

"No, I won't be coming to these two away games. Tracy has a few things happening at school, and I need to stay here." She sits down at the table.

"Sky was saying she'd been helping with his Math," I say, then take a sip of my water. "She said he's getting better."

"He’s got a few A's and the teachers have said that it’ll get him in a better college if he carries on," my Ma says with so much joy. I know she was worried about him when he said he didn't want to play basketball. She thought he'd do nothing, but he wants to do something different than me.

"That's great. So, as you're here, I wanted to talk to you about something."

"You want to ask Sky to marry you,” she states. I look up at her. How the hell did she know? Derek’s the only one that knew. "I'm your mother, we just know." She laughs.

"Derek thinks she'll say no, I don't know who I should ask permission. I mean her dad is… Well, you know." I take a bite of my burger.

"You don't have to ask anyone if there isn't anyone to ask. And you know I love you, Trey, but I do agree with Derek. Sky… I don't know, she's different from the other girls. She loves her job, and I think she wants to keep it for a while."

"I'm not going to stop her from working, Ma. I hate when she goes away, but I'd never tell her to quit." I know Sky would never quit. I see how happy she gets when she's about to fly somewhere.

"I know that, and I think she'll know that. I just think that she's a girl that once she gets married, she'll want to be here with you, have kids… I don't know Trey, maybe work it in conversation somehow."

Well, this conversation isn't going the way I wanted it to. I thought Ma would've helped me a little more. I know that she hasn't spoken to Sky a lot, and when they do, it's not about marrying me.

"If I do, will you be happy?" I ask. That's the main reason I wanted her to come over—to see what she thought about me asking Sky to marry me.

"Trey, she makes you happy. So, as long as she makes you smile, I'll always be happy."

I lean over to give my Ma a kiss on the cheek. I love my family, and I want their support. Even though Madison is still not talking to me, I know that Ma will be the one to talk to her.

Even though I started dating Sky knowing my family wouldn’t be happy with it, I knew there was something about her that I just couldn’t ignore. I knew they’d like her eventually, because I did. I love her. And now, I want her to be in my life forever.

I just hope I have my family’s support. All of them.

Epilogue

Sky

"How did this happen?" I ask Calvin as I walk over to the kitchen where he's standing. "I mean, this has to be a mistake." I look at him, and I can see that he wants to laugh, but he won't because I'm not in the mood right now.

“Well, if you don't know, then—"

I hold my hands up. ”Shut up, just...shut up." I don't know what to say to him. I mean, how did this happen? "I think that it's wrong.” I jab my fists to my hips.

Calvin looks at the counter, then back at me, and raises a brow. "Sky, I’m not sure how to tell you, but all twenty-seven of them say the same thing.” He points to the pregnancy tests on the counter.

"Well, they're all wrong.” I look at them lined up on the counter. "We're always safe, so how did this happen?” As I try to work out the time scale in my head, I think about what we were doing. Was it a heat of the moment time? Did we drink too much? No answers are coming to me. "How am I going to tell him?" It’s the only other thing that's going through my head right now.

"Sky, the man asked you to marry him,” Calvin says, and takes the bag from me with two more tests inside. “So I don't think that a baby will scare him away.”

Yes, Trey asked me to marry him, yes it took me by surprise, but I said no. Not because I don't love him; I do so much, I said no because it was way too soon for us. I mean, we've only been dating a short time. The look on his face, though, hit me hard, and I wanted to change my answer, but I didn't. In the end, I moved in with him. When I travel to England, I stay with Calvin.

Since I moved to LA, I've not heard anything from my parents. They have no idea where I am when I come to England, and I like it that way. They went to Dave a few times, and as he never gave them any answers, they finally stopped going to him. I’m now parent-free, and it feels brilliant!