Now
VIOLET
I pull into a parking spot at Tidal Wave Arena. I’m still not used to how big the arena is. It’s larger than life.
The exterior is coated in a color similar to the sea with the arena’s logo placed in the middle of the building in white towards the top. The fact that I can see these things is amazing because it feels like I’m parked miles away.
Turning the engine off, I take my keys out of the ignition and put them in my purse.
Pulling out my phone, I text Dani.
Me
I’m here. Where are you?
Dani
i’m inside, hiding behind the bleachers so he doesn’t see me. it’s like the fucking arctic in here
Me
Yeah, it’s always cold in the arena
Why did I choose to wear a sports bra and shorts?
Yeah, I didn’t think this one through.
It takes me around ten minutes to make it inside the arena. There are tens of thousands of seats surrounding me and a basketball court with two tall hoops.
Blinking my eyes rapidly, my heart beat pounds inside of my chest. I bet the people in the building next to us can hear it. All I want to do is scream out all the nerves, but I don’t have time for that.
Dani waves her hands all over the place to get my attention. “Violet, I’m over here,” she whispers.
“Is he here?” I look around at the court from a distance.
“Yeah, he’s here.”
“And he doesn’t know you’re here?”
“No. He didn’t see me come inside either.”
Peaking my head out from the bleachers, I try to ground myself, but the view is getting blurry. My chest is heaving, and my eyes gloss over.
“Breathe,” Dani says as she grabs my hand.
I do some breathing exercises to help calm myself down.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Repeat.
Dani is focusing on me and making sure I’m breathing like a normal human being.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Yeah,” she says.
I breathe out. “If you were in my shoes, would you be standing where I am right now and seeing a man you haven’t seen in six years?”
“It’s hard to say because I’m not you. We’re not here to talk about what I’d do. We’re here because I believe you want to be here. If you don’t, we can walk out those double doors and never look back.”
Six years may not seem like a long time to some people, but it is to me. I’ve waited all these years to explain myself to him, to tell him why everything spectacularly fell apart.
“No, I need to do this.”
“I’ll be right here unless I see that you two need to be alone. Okay?” She smiles.
“Okay.” I take a deep breath, feeling my heart beat slow down just a touch as I make my way closer to the basketball court. When I reach the front row, I crouch down, so Grayson doesn’t see me.
I can see him though.
He’s practicing layups, free throws, and three-pointers.
When Noah told me he was going to continue his path towards a basketball career in college, I wasn’t surprised.
He’s always had a gift for this sport. The way he’d lose himself during a game was indescribable.
He was the happiest with a basketball in his hands.
From the looks of it, I don’t think that has changed.
I hop closer to the court like a frog chasing a fly.
My quads are going to hate me tomorrow.
I have a better view of him now.
His hair is dark brown like it always has been. His face looks the same, but his features have matured.
One thing for sure is he’s not the same lanky boy I met when we were twelve years old. He’s a lot more muscular than I remember.
He’s wearing his Sunset Cove University basketball jersey with his lucky number twenty-two stitched on the front and back.
My thighs feel heavy, so I stand up and muster up the courage to walk over to him. My feet feel heavier with every step I take. He’s intimidating up close like this.
You got this, Violet.
I stand in the middle of the basketball court.
His back is facing me as he prepares to shoot his three-pointer.
I lick my lips. “Hey, Gray.”
Grayson airballs the shot, turning around to face me.
I awkwardly smile at him.
He stands there, staring at me in disbelief.
I knew this was a mistake. I shouldn’t have come here.