A week had passed since I'd been hit by what I call "The April Flu." It was no joke, it really had knocked me flat on my back. April, with her endless energy and caring nature, had taken care of me. She made sure I ate and prepared her little secret cough syrup that seemed like a miracle worker. I swear she needs to put that shit in stores. My baby kept me company when I felt like complete shit. I had to admit, I was loving every moment of her attention, even though Chubbs kept shitting on me, saying I'm being babied.
Now, I was on the mend, probably around 85 percent better, and I was gearing up for March Madness, which was just around the corner. My boys had been working hard and putting in that work at practice. I definitely have high hopes for our upcoming games. As I walked into the gym, I noticed a couple of my star players, Isaiah and Xavier, acting a bit off.
"Okay, let's run that back. Isaiah and Xavier, I'm not liking what I'm seeing, what's going on between you two?" I asked addressing the two best players. They exchanged glances.
" Nothing Coach, everything is good." It didn't feel right, and I knew that something was up.
"It doesn't seem like it. Now is not the time to bring your personal problems with each other on my court. I've told you all countless times not to let your off-court issues affect your performance here," I emphasized.
" Coach I swear, everything is cool," Xavier says. Both assured me everything was fine, but it still didn't sit well with me.
"Alright, run those laps," I instructed, hoping the physical exertion might shake off whatever was bothering them. As they started their laps, I stepped aside with Steph
"I bet it's about a girl," Steph chuckled, nodding toward the two players running laps.
"It's always either that or money," I said. These sorts of conflicts among players were par for the course.
"So, what's the latest with Juanzo?" Steph asked, changing the subject. I sighed, my thoughts briefly shifting to Zo, who was dealing with a different set of issues.
"He's okay, but unfortunately, he's on house arrest. Court date's coming up on Friday. We'll see how it goes," I replied, hoping for a positive outcome.
"Any negative chatter about it?" Steph asked Surprisingly, there hadn't been any negative talk about Juanzo's situation within the school. Of course, it was on Social media but I think when I did that press conference and not bringing attention to the situation, that did some good.
"Surprisingly, no. No one's mentioned anything to me. And it's a good thing he hasn't officially committed here yet. So far, there's been no bad press focusing on the school, but I can guarantee that the higher-ups are watching." I explained but I was definitely relieved that things hadn't escalated in the media that bad.
After a few long hours of practice, I headed home, talking to April. I called her on FaceTime when I got in the car, but she was preoccupied with her girls.
"Hey, what are y'all doing over there? Look at all that liquor," I teased, glancing down at my phone while driving.
"It's girls' night!" she shrugged with a playful smile.
"So, I'm not invited?" I teased, grinning mischievously. April chuckled, playing along.
"I'd invite you, but these three might get mad," she joked. Her friends could be heard in the background, laughing.
"No, you better not end up here, Aubrey," Lo chimed in, drawing more laughter from the group.
"Y'all trippin'," I replied, not taking their protests too seriously.
" Girls night," April repeated.
"Well, I'm stopping by. I just want my hug and kiss," I said, my smile audible through the phone.
"No!! And then the next thing we know is y'all will be upstairs, fucking." Summer protested. They laughed again, clearly enjoying the banter.
" Oop," Somebody said. I laughed along with them while pulling up to April's house.
"I'm not listening to y'all. April, I'm outside, baby. Bring yo ass!" I hung up, waiting by my car.
As I stood there with a small bag in hand, I couldn't help but wonder if April was going to have me waiting outside. I'd been teasing her, but deep down, I was looking forward to seeing her. I hoped she wouldn't keep me waiting too long.
Just as I was about to call her, she emerged from her house, looking beautiful even in her casual sweats. I couldn't help but admire her as she approached me.
"You look beautiful, as always," I greeted her with a warm smile.
"Hi." She responded with a cheerfully. I pulled her close and stole a sweet kiss.
" Mmhm, your lips tasting like that Casamigos," I said. All she did was giggle again, making me grin even harder.
"Yeah, she's tipsy," I looked down at her.
."But not too much, I hope," I added, half-serious.
"I didn't have a lot, Aubrey." April laughed.
"Mm-hmm. You better not call me in the middle of the night talking about you're throwing up," I warned playfully before leaning in for another kiss. I pulled away a minute later, even though I didn't want to.
"Anyway, here, this is for you. I remember you saying you might buy them," I said, handing her the bag.
She looked surprised and delighted as she peeked inside before reaching into the bag and pulling out the small box
"Aubrey! Why? You didn't have to buy them? Oh my God!" Her joy was contagious, and it warmed my heart.
"Nah, baby, I wanted to. Don't say anything else about it," I reassured her. I cherished the smile on her face and how her gratitude made her eyes light up.
"Thank you," she said before wrapping her arms around me and kissing me deeply. For a moment, the world around us faded, and it was just April and me, lost in our own little word
Just as things were heating up, the door suddenly opened, and Zo walked out, his expression revealing that he was clearly oblivious to us being together. He slammed the door shut behind him, and I realized that April hadn't told him about us yet.
"I'm guessing you didn't tell him yet?" I muttered, hoping that April would talk to him soon. April turned back, her face wearing a small pout.
"Go talk to him. If you need me to talk to him, I will," I assured her.
" I will. And again, thank you for this," she said, holding up the bag.
"Anything for you, baby," I said with sincerity and I walked her to her door, leaning in for another kiss.
" Good night, Aub." She smiles.
" Good night Baby," my heart warming as she went back inside.
**
The next day, I couldn't help but feel a little worried because I hadn't heard from April. Despite my busy schedule, I managed to check in on her during my lunch break.
"Hey," she answered, her voice sounding tired.
"Rough night, Baby?" I asked with a smirk, imagining her dealing with the effects of her drinking, last night
She appeared on the screen, wearing a pout. "I should have left the Casamigos alone," she confessed.
"Mmhmm, I thought you didn't drink a lot," I teased.
"I didn't," she pouted again.
"Are you at work?" I inquired.
"Yeah, not working. I had to cancel two showings today. I never do that. I have three more in two hours," she explained.
"Well, how about this? I take you out to lunch, and I'll ride along with you to your next showings. If you need some help, I'll step in," I suggested, chuckling.
"Honestly, I'm fine with that. I'll send you the information," she agreed with a smile.
A few moments later, a notification from her appeared on my screen. I reviewed the details of the properties and nodded.
"I got you, baby. See, that's why I might bring you over to ADG," I playfully hinted.
"Here you go with that, nope!" she replied with a grin.
"I'll get you over with me one of these days."
" So, how did it go with Zo?" I changed the subject, asking about her conversation with Zo the previous night.
" Well, I don't think he's comfortable with us dating just yet. He said that he knew we were getting close but he didn't think we'd end up together this fast. He also stated that he's starting to think that you only want him on the team just to get with me. I told him that was not the case. I even told him that I even thought that, but the opposite. You only being with me to get closer to Zo so he'd play for you. I explained and he said it would just take time." April shared.
"Hey, everything will be okay. I'll call him up tomorrow and talk to him. Is that cool?" I offered.
"Yes, thanks." She nodded gratefully.
"Alright, get your pretty ass ready. I'll come through and pick you up. Have all your things," I shut down my computer, signaling the end of the workday. Snatching my iPad, I slipped it into my work bag, making sure my Mac found its place in there too. I set my phone up and stood, making my way over to my window, and making sure it wasn't raining.
"Well, you look handsome," April's words enveloped me in warmth, a compliment I never grew tired of, from her. My heart swelled with affection for her.
I walked a little closer, granting her a view of my entire form.
"Oh, thank you, beautiful. You know I can dress. I don't just wear Nike all day, every day," I quipped, chuckling at the playful exchange that had become our norm.
"I know, you act like I've never seen you in business casual." April's teasing tone rang out. Smirking, I fired back,
"Shit, you act like you've never seen me in business casual."
With that, I picked up my things, along with my phone, and headed out of the office. After locking up, I bid farewell to my employees, keeping the camaraderie alive. Settling into my car, I placed my phone on my lap, anticipating my continued conversation with April.
"You better be ready, Ms. Casamigos!" I warned playfully, her laughter filling the car as I navigated out of my parking space. Driving, I couldn't resist sneaking peeks at my phone. Her image on the screen made me chuckle; she had her head resting on her desk, her hair a playful disarray. My affection for her swelled, though I had no intention of giving her an ounce of sympathy.
" I told your pretty ass, to chill on that drink, baby!" I chuckled. Her middle finger made a brief appearance on the screen.
" I going to bite it when I see you," playfully promising.
When I arrived at her building, April was already waiting outside. As I got out of my car, I watched her intently. She opened the passenger door, got in, and closed the door. She looked at me from the inside, confused but then I walked over to her side and opened the door.
"What are you doing, April?" I questioned, my gaze locked with hers.
"Huh?" She looked confused.
"When you're with me, don't you ever let me see you opening any doors, you hear me?" I told her firmly.
She appeared baffled for a moment but then nodded.
"Okay, Mr. Graham, I'm sorry." She says. I raised an eyebrow, playing along.
"Yeah, you better be. Don't open any more doors around me, April."
After that, I closed her door, walked around to my side, and headed to the restaurant with her.
Once we were at the restaurant, April opted for a light meal due to her minor hangover, choosing a salad. Meanwhile, I was I was hungry as fuck and ordered a bit of everything.
"So, baby, I was wondering if you wanted to come to Ohio with me," I proposed.
"For the game?"April looked at me, her head tilted to the side.
"Yeah," I confirmed. She contemplated for a moment.
"Well, let's see how everything goes with Zo first," she replied cautiously.
"Okay, and you don't have to come if you don't want to. Don't feel pressured. I just thought it would be nice to have you by my side," I reassured her.
After lunch, I accompanied April to her showings, assisting her wherever I could. Eventually, I dropped April off at her office, I knew we wouldn't see each other until Friday. I had jokingly mentioned popping up just to run her a bath since she was so tired. I wanted to make sure she relaxed after her long day.
Arriving at practice, my two usual parking spots were occupied by an unfamiliar car in the middle of both spots. Both spots were mine, so I couldn't figure out who had decided to park here. It's probably one of the boys starting something, that's ok, they'll get theirs. I parked in the spot next to the car. The windows were heavily tinted, making it impossible for me to see inside. I got out and walked back to my trunk.
The car door opened and a man stepped out, he looked somewhat familiar, but I couldn't immediately place him.
"Coach Graham?" He addressed me.
"Yeah?" I grabbed my sneakers from my trunk and responded with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm Zo's father." He confirmed his identity with an intriguing revelation. I glanced at him.
"Is that right? Did you need anything?" I asked. What the hell does he want?
"Yeah, I'm just here to tell you to focus on coaching instead of my family, meaning April and Zo." He didn't hold back, expressing his clear intentions.
I chuckled, finding the audacity of his claim rather amusing.
"Your family? Oh... is that what they are to you? Aight, my brother, have a good one," I said dismissively, locking my car door and heading toward the coaching entrance.
Now, what the fuck did he come up here for. Focus on Coaching instead of his family, the fuck? His unexpected appearance had certainly stirred the pot. Inside the building, I exchanged greetings with my assistant coaches, but my mind was still on that weird encounter. Steph noticed something was off.
"You good, Aubrey?" he asked.
I was momentarily lost in thought but quickly snapped back to reality.
"Huh? Yeah, I'm good. I'll be out in like 10 minutes," I assured him, walking into my office. There, I changed into my practice attire and grabbed my phone. I considered calling April but decided against it, opting to leave things as they were for now.
Later, after the grueling three-hour practice, I returned home, feeling tired as fuck. It was past 11, and April had tried calling me while I was driving but I hadn't picked up. I wasn't sure why I avoided her call. Maybe Klay's words from earlier had affected me more than I'd thought. I couldn't shake off the feeling that something was up.
It was now a little after 1 am, April FaceTimed me again. This time, I answered, even though it was late. The room was dark as I turned on a lamp.
"Hey," I greeted her once the call connected.
"Hey, you," she replied with a smile. I could see the glow from her TV.
"What's wrong?" she asked immediately. April had sensed something was off with me. I hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to express my thoughts.
"Dammit, how can she tell something's up already?" I wondered silently. Instead of opening up, I deflected,
"I'm good, Baby. Just a lot on my mind with upcoming games." I said
"Aw, Aub, you guys got this, Baby! Nobody can touch y'all boys!"She tried to reassure me
I grinned, thankful for her unwavering support.
"Thank you, baby. How was the rest of your night?" I asked, trying to shift the conversation away from my insecurities.
April shared that she had relaxed, as I had advised, and I nodded, watching her on the screen. She could read me well, and I admired her intuition.
"Can I come lay with you? That's all I want to do," I admitted, smirking.
"Lay with me, huh? You know that's not all you want to do. We wouldn't be getting any sleep, and we both need it," she teased.
"Nah, we don't need no damn sleep," I retorted playfully.
"But I do need some..." I trailed off, leaving the rest unspoken.
"Then come over and get it, Daddy..."
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