Chapter 20
Cal
One Month Later
Thirty-four days had passed since I had heard Nia's voice. Not that I was counting. I absolutely was.
The last message in our conversation still sat near the top of my phone: Thank you for the bracelet.
Five words. That was all she gave me. I had typed out at least a dozen responses over the last month, but every one of them ended the same way.
Deleted. If Nia wanted space, then I was finally mature enough to give it to her. It didn't mean I had to enjoy it.
Life had been moving faster than ever over the last month.
J5's return had become one of the biggest stories heading into the NBA regular season, and somehow my name had become attached to it right alongside his.
The episode I recorded after his first preseason game became the most downloaded episode in the history of my podcast. Then another interview went viral.
Then another. National sports shows started calling.
Former players wanted to come on the show.
Current players started reaching out asking if they could stop by during the season.
My subscriber count climbed every single week.
Sponsors that had ignored my emails six months ago were suddenly asking my management team for meetings.
For the first time since launching the podcast, it finally felt like all the late nights, missed weekends, and years of grinding were paying off.
I should've been celebrating. Instead, I stayed busy.
Not because I couldn't handle success, but because staying busy gave my mind somewhere else to go.
Most days were filled with recording episodes, watching game film, researching storylines, scheduling guests, traveling between arenas, and interviewing players after practices and preseason games.
There was always another deadline. Another appearance.
Another opportunity. Another reason not to sit still.
The problem was that no matter how much I packed into my schedule, Nia still found her way into my thoughts.
Sometimes it happened when I interviewed a player coming back from a knee injury.
Other times it was something as simple as passing a coffee shop she'd dragged me into a hundred times because she swore nobody made caramel lattes like they did.
I'd hear a song she used to sing completely off-key just to get on my nerves, and before I knew it, I'd be smiling like an idiot in the middle of traffic.
She had a way of lingering. Not loudly. Quietly.
Like she had settled into the corners of my life years ago and forgotten to leave.
Mars never brought her up. I appreciated that.
She knew me well enough to recognize when something was bothering me, but she also knew I wasn't ready to talk about it.
Jalen wasn't nearly as easy to fool. Every now and then I'd call him under the excuse of checking in or asking about wedding plans, and somewhere in the conversation I'd casually work Nia's name into it.
"How's Nia doing?"
He always answered the exact same way. "She's good.
" Nothing more. Nothing less. I could tell he knew exactly what I was doing.
I could also tell he wasn't about to betray either one of them by giving me more than I asked for.
Eventually, I stopped fishing for information.
If Nia wanted me to know what was happening in her life, she'd tell me herself.
Tomorrow was Thanksgiving, which also meant tomorrow was Mars and Jalen's engagement celebration.
Leave it to the two of them to combine a holiday and an engagement party into one event.
I had considered bringing a date. Not because I wanted to, but because I figured David would be there with Nia.
It would've been easier to have someone on my arm than spend the entire evening pretending watching them together didn't bother me.
The problem was, I had no interest in entertaining another woman just to distract myself from the one I actually wanted. That wasn't fair to anybody.
I looked back down at my laptop as another contract filled the screen. A knock against my office door pulled my attention away. Aaron leaned against the frame with his jacket slung over one shoulder.
"What are you still doing here?" he asked. "Shouldn't you be taking off? Thanksgiving is tomorrow, bro."
"I know," I replied without looking up. "I'm trying to lock down this last sponsorship deal. I told Mars she didn't have to worry about work this week so she could actually enjoy her engagement party."
Aaron laughed, stepping inside my office and crossing his arms. "Brother, you've been working nonstop.
This sponsorship deal will still be here next week.
" He pointed at me, making an obnoxious electronic beat with his mouth like he was already imagining tomorrow night's party. "You're so damn corny."
"And you're so damn miserable," Aaron shot back, his smile fading just enough for me to know the next part was coming. "You can keep stacking meetings, interviews, and sponsorships all you want, Cal. It won't solve anything."
I leaned back in my chair. Neither of us said anything for a moment. He wasn't talking about work.
"I'm good," I finally said.
"Bull." Aaron studied me for another second before sighing and grabbing the door handle. "Alright. But don't spend another night hiding in this office pretending you're chasing success when you're really just running from your own thoughts."
With that, he ducked out of the room.
The office fell silent. I stared out the floor-to-ceiling windows as the last bit of sunlight disappeared behind the Houston skyline.
Cars crawled through downtown as people hurried home to their families.
Tomorrow, every one of them would probably be sitting around a table with the people they loved.
I let out a slow sigh and rubbed my beard.
Aaron wasn't wrong. I'd spent the last five minutes pretending to work anyway.
I pushed away from the desk and stretched before shutting my laptop.
The office was empty; everyone else had gone home hours ago.
I grabbed my keys, turned off the lights, and headed toward the parking garage.
The cool November air hit my face as I stepped outside.
My phone buzzed just as I reached my truck.
My heart skipped before I even looked. It had been doing that lately.
For one stupid second... I always hoped it was her.
It wasn't. It was Mars.
I smiled as I answered. "Sister."
"Brother."
"What are you up to?"
"I should be asking you that," Mars said. "Can you be at the venue by four tomorrow? I want us to take family pictures before everyone gets there."
"Yeah, I can do that."
"Oh, and Becky picked your suit up from the cleaners this morning. She dropped it off at your house."
I sighed. "Mars."
"What?"
"I told you I had it covered."
"I know, but I also knew you weren't going to pick it up, and the cleaners are closed tomorrow." She paused. "So I fixed it."
I smiled to myself. "Thank you."
"I don't know what I'd do without you."
"I do," she didn't miss a beat. "You'd be a disaster."
I laughed and rested my forehead against the steering wheel. "You're probably right."
A comfortable silence settled between us. Then she spoke again.
"Oh... and before I forget."
"What?"
"Nia's coming by herself tomorrow. David's spending Thanksgiving with his family in Connecticut."
My heart gave one hard thump against my chest. "Oh, yeah?" I tried to sound indifferent. It wasn't convincing. Not even a little.
"Oh, spare me," Mars said. "I know you better than that."
I laughed under my breath. "Aaron called, didn't he?"
"He may have mentioned you've practically been living at the office."
"Traitor."
"He cares about you," Mars said softly. "You can bury yourself in work all you want, Cal. It won't change how you feel about Nia."
I closed my eyes. "I know."
There was another pause on the line.
"I think she misses you, too."
My eyes opened immediately. "What makes you say that?" The question came out faster than I intended. So much for pretending I didn't care.
"I just know my girl," Mars murmured. "She hasn't quite been herself lately."
Before I could ask another question, she cut me off.
"Get some sleep."
"I'll see you tomorrow."
The line went dead.
I sat there for another minute with my phone resting in my hand.
My thumb drifted toward Nia's name before stopping.
I stared at it.
Locked my phone.
Dropped it into the cupholder.
Then I pulled out of the garage and pointed my truck toward home.