Chapter 14 #2
It was late, but I walked to the other side of the house and checked on my grandfather. He was sleeping comfortably, and the aide with him seemed to have dozed off, too. As long as she woke up when he needed something, I wouldn’t tell on her. Right before I could walk away, she woke up.
“Oh my God, Mr. Cooper. I’m so sorry for dozing off,” she whispered. Panic filled her eyes as she looked back and forth between my grandfather and me.
“It’s all good. I’m sure it’s damn near impossible to stay awake all night. And you are sitting close enough to where you would hear him if he got up.”
“Yes, sir. I do apologize, though. It’s been a really long day, but that’s no excuse.”
“You’re good. I’ll be back to check on him in the morning.” I smiled, closing the door.
I walked back to my side of the house to shower and go to bed. I had practice in the morning, and I would be tired as hell, but spending time with Sloan was worth it. I knew I would sleep like a baby.
By the time I got out of the shower, Sloan had let me know she had made it home. After we exchanged a few messages, I set my alarm and fell asleep.
“Oh, you showing off tonight, huh?” Julian joked as he ran past me on the court.
We were in the last quarter of the game, and I was on fire. I had scored fifty points and was on track to score more before the game was over.
I didn’t respond to Julian because I got pushed from behind. “Yo! You ain’t gonna call a foul, ref?”
The crowd booed because the ref acted like he didn’t see that foul. All night, the refs had been making bullshit calls all night. After I said something, the ref blew his whistle.
I got the ball and dribbled it to the free-throw line.
When I was at the free-throw line, it was just me, the ball, and the net.
I blocked out the crowd cheering or booing.
I counted down in my head as I dribbled.
When I felt like the ball would go in, I shot the ball.
Nothing but net. The crowd cheered, and I was tossed the ball for my second shot.
Just like the first one, it went in. The noise in the arena was deafening.
I lived for nights like this, and it made it better that Sloan and her boys were there. I had to show off for them.
“Let’s go!” I shouted when one of my teammates stole the ball from the other team.
We ran down the court to our side, and he passed me the ball. I was at the three-point line and was wide open, so I took the shot, and it went in.
By the end of the night, I scored sixty points, the highest of my career.
My adrenaline pumped through my veins as I walked off the court.
I told Sloan where to meet me so she could introduce me to her boys and so I could show them the locker room and meet some of the team.
As soon as I saw her, her face lit up, and I knew mine did.
“Hey, Calil,” she greeted me when I got close.
I wanted to hug her but didn’t think it would be appropriate in front of her kids. Both boys looked at her then back at me.
“Mom, you know Coop?”
The one who asked the question looked like the oldest.
Sloan looked at me, then at him, and giggled. “Yes, and I would like to introduce you two to him. Blake and Brooks, this is Mr. Cooper, or as y’all like to call him, Coop.”
I chuckled at the boys’ expressions. Both of their jaws dropped.
“What’s up, guys? Blake, right?” I stuck my hand out and shook the taller one’s hand.
“Ye-yes, sir.” He gave me a firm handshake.
I turned to the other one and did the same thing. “And you must be Brooks.”
“Yes, sir.”
“How do you know my mom?” Blake asked.
“That doesn’t matter. I’m sure he needs to get to the locker room or whatever,” Sloan interjected.
Sloan looked like she wasn’t ready to answer that question, and I understood it.
Telling them we had known each other for years may have warranted more questions from them.
I was sure they would tell their father they met me before the night was over, especially since she said he watched the games with them.
“Hey, how about I show y’all the locker room and introduce y’all to some of the guys?” I glanced at Sloan and realized I should have asked her first. “That’s if it is okay with your mom.”
Both of them turned to face her and begged her to say yes.
“That’s fine, but we can’t stay too long. You two can’t be up all night.”
“Yes!” they both shouted.
I laughed then showed them to the locker room. Sloan followed behind us as the boys talked about the game. They both knew many of my stats, and I could tell they were big fans.
The four of us walked into the locker room, and I introduced them to a couple of guys.
“This is Julian.”
“Whetstone!” Brooks finished for me.
“What’s up, fellas?” Julian greeted both boys. “If it’s okay with y’all’s mom, I can show you two the trophy case.”
Sloan didn’t come fully into the locker room, and I was glad because I didn’t want her to see these other dudes half naked.
The boys ran over to her and asked.
“Thanks, J,” I said to Julian when the boys reached Sloan.
“I got you. I see we need to catch up on some things.” He smirked.
“She said yes, but we can’t be too long,” Blake relayed as they came back over to us.
Julian took the boys, and I walked over to Sloan.
I pulled her into a friendly hug because I didn’t want everyone in our business.
Nobody really paid attention, but there was always someone lurking.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Clarissa was somewhere in the cut.
I wasn’t trying to fuck with her, though.
“Thank you. I know they are going to talk about this for days.”
“No problem. I can get y’all season tickets if you want me to.” I kept my arms around her waist for a moment just enjoying touching her. I knew we didn’t have long, so I wanted to take advantage of the moment while I could.
“They would love that. How about I take the tickets but don’t tell them.” She giggled. “I may not always want to come.”
“I feel you. I would love to see you in the stands, though.”
The boys came back, and they sounded even more excited than when they left. They stayed a little longer until Sloan said it was time for them to go.
“Thanks, Coop. I hope we get to see you play again,” Brooks stated as he hugged me.
“For sure.”
Blake only shook my hand, but that was okay. He was older, so he probably thought it wasn’t cool to hug me. I walked them out of the locker room and to the exit. The boys walked ahead of Sloan and me.
“Did you enjoy yourself?” I asked.
“I did, and thanks again.”
“I got you. Call or text me when you get in and get settled.”
“I will.”
I said goodbye to the three of them and headed back into the locker room. I wanted to be home when Sloan called. I had my highest scoring game all in front of my future wife, so the day turned out to be a great one.