Half Court Press [Crash the Boards Sequel]

Oh, Baby!

Zaria

I glanced out at the sweeping view, watching the never-ending whiteness falling from above, at the mountains of snow that lined the grass, popped my knuckles and went back to my work.

My last sentence read— Pain lessened with time but time never erased all pain. For that to happen, time would have to be able to give a woman amnesia.

For the most part, my writing has become a serious matter for me within the last few weeks. So serious that I've been doing an extensive amount of research just so I'll know how to properly go about publishing once the book is completed. Despite my circumstances, Allen has made it clear that I could still follow my dreams so that's exactly what I'm doing.

My cell phone rang so I reached over and grabbed it, seeing that it's Tisean calling.

"Hello." I answer.

"Wassup phat mama! What you up to?"

A small smile graces my lips after hearing her light but soulful voice.

"Laying around, working on my book until the game starts."

The Sixers were now in North Carolina preparing to go against the Hornets.

"Is it still snowing back that way?" Tisean asks.

I glance out the window again, watching the snow fall at a steady pace.

"It's more like a blizzard right now. As soon as the trucks plow it away, it comes right back."

"How cold?"

I told her that it was about ten degrees out. So cold that the snow looked like it had been crystallized and was as hard as ice. Earlier this morning, I'd gone outside to touch it and damn near slipped and fell down the steps.

Allen will kill me if he ever finds out.

"So you been in the house all day?" She asks in a judging tone.

"Where imma go Titi? My whole body is killing me and you know I can't function in this type of weather." I say with attitude.

After dealing with the winter seasons in Virginia, I knew it wasn't for me since I was accustomed to the year round sunshine and warmth back in LA.

"Besides, one of Allen's little sisters is here keeping me company."

Allen introduced me to his father's side of the family the weekend after his second game of the season. They were all nice people, including his aunts and cousins. The best part was meeting his two sisters Paris and Yasmin.

They're truly amazing.

Paris is eighteen, attending Temple University which is in the heart of Philly. Her winter break has officially started and instead of going back to Maryland for the holidays, she decided to stay here and keep me company. It warmed my heart when she called to ask if she could join me just in case I needed help with anything.

"Well make sure you don't run her out the house with your nasty ass attitude." Tisean responds.

She was talking and I was back at my laptop looking through some holiday sale emails, every now and then punctuating the conversation with "uh huh" or "okay" or "right."