Big Baller : A Hero Club Novel

by Katrina Marie

  “Yeah, probably.” I grab a towel from the shelf and wipe off my foot before heading back into the bedroom to mop up the rest of the mess.

  “So, are you going to tell me?” His voice doesn’t hold any frustration. “I can always FaceTime you and try to figure it out.”

  I glance down at the threadbare t-shirt I’m wearing with bleach spots all over it after a laundry incident. My hands go up to my hair, and I can feel the tangles as I try to run my fingers through it. “That’s going to be a negative. On the video call, not the other part. I live in Missouri.”

  “Hm.” That’s his only response.

  “What does that mean?” That makes me a little self-conscious. I’m not from here, but I didn’t think it was a horrible place to live.

  “Oh, nothing. It’s just not where I pictured you’d be living.”

  “Where did you think I live?” I’m kind of offended. Does my accent give off a certain vibe? I’ve tried to mask the small country sound I carried over after I left Wyoming.

  “I don’t know, somewhere over on the west coast.” He pauses for a second. “You know you’re only like two states away from me.”

  “I’m aware of that,” I nod my head even though he can’t see me. “But that doesn’t solve the problem of the date.”

  “I told you I can get creative.”

  I throw the towel in the hamper beside my nightstand and lie back down on my bed. I yawn and cover my mouth, hoping he doesn’t hear. “How does this creativity fit in?”

  I hear a door open and close on his end of the phone. Is he home, or did he just walk out of the gym? This is the problem with long-distance dating. You don’t know what the other person is doing, and you can’t physically see them. I mean, I guess you can with video calling, but it’s not the same.

  “Well, I figure we grab food from the same burger place and watch a movie on Netflix while FaceTiming.”

  A burger does sound good. “Wait, I thought you said you eat healthy during the season.”

  “Normally, yes. A date, though…that calls for a cheat day. I’ll just push harder at the gym tomorrow.”

  “We’re doing it tonight?” My voice is high, and a jolt of panic rushes through me. My hair is a mess and my face is horrible.

  “You don’t have to get all dolled up,” he says. “It’s a simple movie night. If we were in the same place, I wouldn’t be offended if you didn’t dress up. I don’t need all the glitz and glam. I’m actually a simple guy, despite what they portrayed in the media.”

  Does he know I looked him up? It’s a natural assumption. I don’t know anyone who goes on random dates without checking out the person’s social media. You have to make sure you aren’t dating a sociopath. “Okay,” I drawl. “What burger place are we getting food from?”

  “Whataburger, naturally.” He’s so confident in his answer, but…

  “What is that?”

  “Please tell me you’re joking.” He actually sounds pained that I have no clue what he’s talking about. “They have some of the best burgers and amazing ketchup.”

  I wince, “Sorry, we don’t have those here.”

  “Fine,” he whines. “I guess any burger place will do. Just know the next time you’re in Texas, we are going to Whataburger. You’ll be ruined for all future burger joints.”

  “I’ll take your word for it.” Staring at my ceiling, I mentally go through the list of everything I need to get done while I’m home. So much has to be crammed into such a short amount of time, and if I want to get any of it accomplished before this date, I need to get off the phone. “Hey, Bentley?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Can I talk to you later? Since I’m awake now, I need to get some errands done before tonight. Just text me what time you want to do this thing.” It’s been four days since I’ve talked to him, and while I think I could talk to him for hours, I can’t. Adulting has to take precedence sometimes.

  “Sure. I’ll text you later.” I’m about to hang up, but he speaks again. “I hope your day gets better and doesn’t include any more water spills.”

  “Bye, Bentley,” I smile and press the end icon.

  There’s no telling how this whole distance dating will go, and honestly, I’m a little worried he won’t be faithful. But I have to do what I said. Take a chance and see what happens. At least he makes me laugh. Even if he calls at horrible hours of the morning.

  What does one wear to a video date? I feel like if I dress in comfortable clothes… it’s not enough. But, if I put on dressy clothes, I’m going to be uncomfortable. I know he said he didn’t care if I was wearing pajamas, but that feels like I’ll be copping out. This is why I stopped dating after Carter. Questioning everything from the wardrobe to the makeup and everything after that is exhausting.

  A part of me wants to call and cancel. To text him and say I got food poisoning or something. There’s no way he’d want to hang out on FaceTime if I’m “sick”. Scratch that. He’d probably pry my address out of me and send someone with soup and crackers. He may give off this cocky persona, but I know there’s a soft side to him. If I call off the date, I’ll never find out and it’ll eat at me until I can’t take it anymore.

  Screw it, I’m going to take his advice and be comfortable. Who the hell dresses up to hang out on their sofa all night? Not this gal. I rummage through the shelf in my closet until I find the perfect pair of yoga pants. Honestly, I should just call them comfy pants because they have never seen a yoga pose. Those paired with an oversize sweater should be good enough. If not, he can get over it.

  I slide the sweater over my head, not bothering with a bra. One, I’m at home, there’s no need to wear one. Two, he’ll be looking at my face and this sweater is thick enough that if the phone drops, he won’t see anything. I wasn’t always this modest. Those nights going out with Lana, I was the life of the party. Heartbreak has a funny way of making you change. Time will tell if it’s for the worse, or for the better. Bentley will either let me down, like every other person in my life aside from Lana. Or he’ll be amazing. I’m really hoping for the latter. I don’t think I can handle heartache twice in such a short amount of time.

  My phone goes off as I’m shoving one of my legs into my yoga pants, and I almost trip as I scramble to the bed to grab it. I’m hoping it’s Lana giving me a last-minute confidence boost, but the name on the screen is Bentley.

  Bentley: Are you almost ready?

  Jolene: Yeah. Give me a few minutes. I’m waiting for my food to get here.

  Bentley: Okay. I’ll call you in ten minutes.

  Jolene: Sounds good.

  Crap. I hope the food gets here in time. I’m not a huge fan of burgers, but that’s what he wanted, so I searched around for a decent-looking burger joint to order from. I hope it’s good. I added avocados to it hoping it will make it taste better.

  Rather than struggle to put my pants on while standing, I lean back on the bed and pull them up. This is so much easier, and it minimizes my chances of falling. All I need are some cozy socks and to stalk to my door for the food.

  Grabbing my charger from the nightstand, I hurry to the living room. The delivery driver should be here in less than five minutes. That gives me enough time to get Netflix, grab something to drink, and pull out my favorite blanket. This date will be comfortable all the way around. Even though Bentley is getting creative, I’m not sure how I feel about dating when I can’t physically be around the person. The whole point of watching a movie together is cuddling, and I’m not about to cuddle with my phone. That’s just weird.

  A knock sounds at the door as I’m putting my bottle of water on the coffee table. Thank God. There’s only a few minutes until Bentley is supposed to call me back. I open the door without bothering to look through the peephole. A young guy in a cap is standing in my doorway, a bag of food in his outstretched hand. “Are you Jolene?”

  “Yes,” I say louder than needed. “Sorry, yes.”

  “Awesome,” he sighs. “I went to t
he wrong floor and was yelled at by some old dude. Anyway, here’s your food.”

  “Thank you.” I grab the cash I keep on the table beside my door and give him a tip. “Good luck on the rest of your deliveries. Hopefully, you don’t get yelled at again.”

  “Thanks ma’am. Have a good night.” He leaves as I shut the door, and the food smells delicious. I swear, if burgers smelled like this all the time, I’d probably eat them more often.

  I hurry to the kitchen, grab a plate, and bring it to the living room. The ten minutes is almost up, and I’m setting my food out. I don’t want the sound of a crinkling bag to ruin whatever plans Bentley has. In all of my rushing today to get my errands run, I didn’t even ask him what movie we’re watching. I guess I’m about to find out soon enough.

  Grabbing my plate, I sit on the sofa, crossing my legs in front of me, and wait. My phone should be ringing any second now. A couple of minutes pass and he still hasn’t called. Is he standing me up? He told me he’d call, and while I could call him, I’m not going to. He’s the one that pushed for this date, and he should be the one that calls me.

  I pick up my phone, checking to make sure it’s not on silent. Nope, the little button is up, and there aren’t any new messages from him. Something might have happened in the past fifteen minutes. He’s just running late. A heads up would be nice. I didn’t have any other plans tonight, but I don’t want to stay up all night waiting for a call that might never come.

  Another five minutes go by, and still nothing. My only company is my TV screen and Netflix showing me suggestions for what I should watch. Well, I guess I might as well start a new show and see if he ends up calling. Hopefully, my gut is wrong and the phone will ring soon.

  Fifteen

  Bentley

  Hopefully Jolene is all set. I’ve got my bag from Whataburger and my TV queued up. This is definitely the most unique date I have ever had. The upside is there isn’t any weird sending her home afterward, not that I would do that to her. I don’t think, anyway. It’s been years since a woman has gotten past date one. That’s usually my limit. No further dates mean they don’t walk out on me later. It’s also the reason I usually dismiss the women I’m with. No attachments. Jolene is different, though. Something about her calls to me.

  I grab my phone off the end table and hover above her name, but my screen flashes with an incoming call. Derrick’s name pops up, and he has the worst timing ever. I haven’t heard from him in weeks, and this is the time he calls. I could always reject it and act like I didn’t hear the phone. He’s persistent, though. He has been since the day I met him and he wanted me to help him get ready for basketball tryouts at Hilltown University. He badgered every senior on the team until I finally agreed. Other than that short amount of time he let an old flame get in his head, he was dedicated.

  The urge to press the red button is strong, but he’ll just keep calling until I answer. He knows I’m usually free, and wouldn’t think I might have plans. Sighing, I press the button to accept the call. “Hey, Derrick.”

  “Hey, man. How are things?” There’s no pause for me to answer before he’s charging into the next question. “Dude, we’re struggling as a team. I have no idea what to do. It’s like when you left, the rest of the team just kind of gave up. It’s hurting our chances for playoffs.”

  I pull the phone away from my ear and check the time. Shit, it’s a few minutes past the time I was supposed to call Jolene. “Look D, now isn’t really—”

  He cuts me off. “Please, Bentley. We have a game tomorrow and the guys are acting like we’ve already lost. We need your help.”

  “I’m not sure what you expect me to do. It’s not like I can come play for y’all.”

  “I know that.” He sounds frustrated. I know playing for Hilltown is one of his greatest accomplishments, and he wants the team to get another winning title. “Is there any way you can come talk to the team? Anything for these guys to get their heads out of their asses.”

  “You sound desperate,” I hear in the background. It must be his roommate. “Maybe you should lead with a question instead of demanding time from him. He’s busy, too.”

  I can’t remember the guy’s name, but I like the way he thinks. The few times I was around him, he seemed to have his head on straight. Even when he got with that party girl. Well, former party girl. She’s mellowed out a lot since they got together. Now if only Derrick would take some of those cues.

  “Shut up, Travis. You stick to your books and let us talk ball.” As dedicated as Derrick is to the game, he lets it consume him. If I don’t put an end to this, he’ll keep me on the phone all night.

  “Derrick, this really isn’t a good time. I’m late for a date. Text me with the info about your game. If I’m out of practice in time, I’ll swing by the university and talk to the guys.” Hopefully that’s enough to placate him.

  “Oh shit, I’m sorry.” He pauses for a second. “I’ll text that to you in just a few. Have fun on your date. I hope she’s hot.” I hear something smack him, and he says, “Ow.”

  “That’s not funny, Derrick.” His girlfriend’s voice is really loud, and I know she must be right there. “You better not be thinking about hot girls.”

  They will be at this for a while. “Bye, Derrick,” I yell louder than necessary and hang up the phone. Talking to him can be draining at times. He’s almost never alone, and the conversations are always competing.

  I look at the time and groan. I’m almost twenty minutes late for my date. I press Jolene’s number and listen to the ring. Please pick up. Pick up. Pick up. Pick up. The phone rings so long, I think it’s going to rollover to voicemail. Luckily, Jolene has mercy on me. “Hello?”

  Damn, not good. Her voice is clipped. “Sorry, I’m late. One of my old teammates called and wouldn’t shut up.”

  “It’s fine.” Those two words are not in fact fine. I’ve heard my mom and sister mutter them on more than one occasion. They weren’t happy any of those times.

  “Really, Jolene.” I hope she can hear the sincerity in my voice. “I’m sorry. Please tell me you at least already ate your food. There’s no use letting it get cold.”

  “I’m not a dumbass,” she scoffs. “But yes, I already ate. Do you still want to try this whole date thing?”

  “Yeah. Maybe we can talk instead. It’s getting kind of late for a movie.” I wait for a rebuttal, but it doesn’t come. “Unless, you’re ready to go to bed. In that case, you could take me with you.”

  “Men,” she grumbles. “I swear that’s all you think about.”

  “Not true,” I grin. “I also think about food, working out, basketball…”

  “So, it’s in the top five.” She laughs, and I think I’ve gotten her in a better mood. “I thought you were going to FaceTime me?”

  I don’t respond. Instead, I press the icon for FaceTime and she switches over to video. Her hair is up in a messy ponytail thing and she looks like she’s ready for bed. “You just couldn’t go without looking at this handsome face, could you?”

  She rolls her eyes, but the corner of her mouth quirks up. “Shut up. I’m just making sure we’re sticking to our date agreement. You’re the one who pushed for us to have the date over the phone.”

  “That’s because I know it won’t happen otherwise. At least, not until we’re in the same town again.” I lean into the corner of my couch. “And I’m not sure when that will happen. I need to look on my schedule.”

  “Why would you have to look at your schedule?”

  Shit, Lana never told her she gave me her schedule. Do I tell her and risk pissing her off, or do I act like its pure coincidence? “Um, because that has my out-of-town dates on it?”

  “You framed that as a question.” She stands up and I see the kitchen cabinets behind her. They are an off-white color and look old. Does she live in an older unit? Maybe it’s one of those that has the country feel to it like a lot of the houses here in Texas. I swear after that couple down in Waco got that decorat
ing show, people have been redecorating their homes to match their style.

  Jolene raises an eyebrow and I know she’s still waiting on a response. Damn it, I’m going to have to tell her. “So, you know how you refused to go out on a date with me after that first flight?”

  “Yes, but I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”

  Please don’t be pissed, is all I chant to myself before I tell her the next part. “Well, I ran into Lana at the hotel, and she kinda, sorta gave me your flight schedule so I could book my flights to correspond with yours.”

  “She did WHAT?” Her voice is definitely on the screeching side, and I think I may have just fucked up. “I can’t believe the nerve of her. No wonder she’s been pushing so hard for us to date. And you,” she looks me square in the eyes through the screen. “You went along with it? You didn’t think it was overstepping any boundaries?”

  “I wanted to go on a date with you,” I shrug my shoulders, indifferent. “And she was willing to make that happen. The more chances you had to be around me, the more chances I had of you saying yes.”

  Her face is turning red, and I don’t know if it’s from anger or something else. “You realize that’s creepy, right? That would be the equivalent of one of your little fans following you home and waiting outside your house.”

  “Believe it or not, that’s happened before.”

  “So, you think it’s okay for you to do it?” Yep, anger is the reason she’s turning colors. But she sits back down and takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

  “Would you have gone on a date with me otherwise?”

  She taps her finger against her chin, thinking, and quiet for way too long. “I don’t know. I kind of wrote you off after that first meeting. You’re way too sure of yourself and not really my type.”