At the Right Time

Chapter Thirty

Maxwell ~ Present 

"What was so important that you had to fly out here?" I greet my manager at the Atlanta airport and hand him the coffee he requested.

"Do you want to do this here?"

"Absolutely." I gesture to a seating area and walk that way.

I'm hoping this is good news. Best case scenario I'm getting traded to the Atlanta Hawks. Worst case, they're sending me somewhere I don't want to go.

"I've been vouching for you, but there is only so much I can do." He runs his hand through his salt-and-pepper hair. "The Hawks didn't want you."

"Dammit." I grip my paper coffee cup hard and some of the hot liquid spills over. I shake it off and reach for the napkins. "Am I staying in New Orleans?"

"No." He sighs, "You're going to be traded to the Charlotte Hornets."

I sit back in my chair and let the information process. Charlotte is four hours away from Atlanta, but I guess that's better than New Orleans, which is almost seven hours away.

"It's better than nothing. Maybe I can finally win a championship with the Hornets."

"That's the spirit. I know Atlanta is your home, but Charlotte is still a part of the south and it's just a trip down I-85."

I nod at him, not telling him that it isn't Atlanta that's my home. It's Rylie.

Having to move to Charlotte in a few short weeks will make winning her over more difficult.

I haven't seen her in two weeks. Not since I told her what really happened.

I thought she would have more questions. The shit I said to her back then was awful, and it's been eating away at me for years.

I didn't cheat on Rylie. I asked that girl to take a video of me and post it, knowing Rylie would see it. I didn't want to hurt her, but I was also selfish. I wasn't going to be able to let Rylie go if she didn't absolutely hate me.

She had to hate me. In my eighteen-year-old mind, that was overwhelmed and potentially facing a murder charge if things didn't go my way, I needed Rylie to hate me.

Because I loved her so much. I never quit loving her, but I thought she was better off without me. I thought if I told her I'd done something as heinous as sleeping with another girl, she'd hate me forever.

My plan worked, but fuck, I wish I could take it all back.

If I would've known that everything would end up working out, I wouldn't have ever sabotaged us. But I had no way of knowing then, and what-ifs can go good or bad. If they wouldn't have gone in my favor, I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself for dragging her down with me. She didn't deserve to come to visitations while I was behind bars, but I know she would've. Instead of taking that chance, I let her go.

As the years went by and I'd hear how she was doing through my family, I always ached at the thought of her moving on with her life. To her, it seemed like I moved on, too. I even changed back my number, but not because I didn't love her. I changed my number because it hurt knowing that was our little secret and that she could've been creating more secrets with someone new.

To Rylie, I committed the ultimate crime. I cheated. The truth is, I haven't even slept with anyone else since her.

It's pathetic. I'm in the NBA. I'm richer than I know what to do with. Women throw themselves at me. I won't lie, when I found out Rylie had a boyfriend, I tried. I went out several times in search of someone who would pique my interest.