Basketball is Not Life

Chapter Thirty

Christmas comes too fast. We would be arriving back to Michigan State early morning due to Parker's and my practice I would have to attend. My mother's gifts had come, and even the gift I had purchased for Parker was inside with it all. Most of my presents from my mom had to deal with staying warm.

"I'm sensing a theme here," Melissa giggled as I opened yet another sweater.

"Don't worry. There's one in here for you, Melissa" her eyes shine bright.

"I didn't get her anything" she looks excited by the box in front of me.

I toss it to her, and she pulls out a hideous bright green Christmas sweater. The thing in front of her screams drunk at night at the bar. She laughs. "If you could have told me, I would be getting a Christmas sweater from Coach Renner's wife. I would have told you, you were loco." I walk over, leaning on the chair giving her a side hug. "It means you are part of her inner circle."

I drop Parker's gift off in front of him. He looks down at the medium-sized box. "I thought you said you didn't get me a gift."

"I lied." I smiled at him. "It's really nothing." If I would have known how much closer Parker and I would have gotten in the past few weeks. I would have switched his gift for something more meaningful. For now, he was stuck with a gift from Ren from Christmas past.

He pulls out the fully stocked remote control Range Rover in front of him. His family looks at it and then back to me.

"Now you can quit borrowing mine all the time." I grin over at him.

"You like it," Parker said and grabs my ankle to pull me over to him. I am practically on his lap as he gives me a hug in front of his family. "I love it," he said in my ear before releasing me. I scoot a couple feet away and look up at his family. They look as if something very abnormal occurred and Parker does not seem fazed by it.

"I'll be right back." He jumps up and runs back downstairs.

He is back faster than I had hoped as I avoided making eye contact with Melissa. She was telepathically trying to ask me what was going on.

He puts a gift on my lap.

I tear the wrapper away as a Michigan State color sweatshirt and shirt fall in my lap.

"More Michigan State apparel" I smile over at him. "Thanks!"

He holds his finger up, pointing at them. "Hold them up."

On both fronts, I was so used to seeing growing up with two words in the blue. "Beat Duke." My eyes start tearing up, and the laughter begins coming.

"This is amazing."

"Really? You like them?" Parker asks, a shade of red falling over his face.

"Like is an understatement." I pause, throwing the sweatshirt over my shirt. "Every time I'm back home, I'm wearing these bad boys."

I take my phone out and snap a picture of myself and send it to my parents. Ten seconds later, my phone is lit up with the facetime notification.

"Uh, it's my dad." I stand up, getting ready to leave the room. "Hi, Dad," I say.

"Where is he?" His gruff playful voice is on the screen.

"Who?" I ask, playing coy. And Parker is behind me, grabbing the phone out of my hand.

"Coach R," he nods at my father.

"I can presume you gave my daughter those gifts."

Parker smiles brilliantly at him.