Basketball is Not Life

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Parker was with me any chance he had off of the court. He woke up at five a.m. and dragged my butt to the practice gyms with him so I could rebound for him. I knew he didn't really need me there, but I went wherever Parker went. It seemed to make him feel better when I was around. He hugged and kissed me frequently. No matter where we were. His father had flown in and would be working remotely from San Antonio. He took us to dinner; after the hotel room confession, Coach had let Parker slip away and make dinner with his family and me more often.

We were at a steakhouse when Parker had to use the restroom. He left my hand on the table when he got up.

"He looks happy," his father said to me. It was the most I had been around his father since the cabin at Christmas.

"Yeah, he is." I smiled. Even though there was a pit in my stomach about what I would do when we got home.

"I'm sorry about what I had said at Christmas."

"Christmas?" I acted as if I didn't know what his dad had said about me.

"I may have been wrong." He kept talking, knowing that I knew what he had said. "I think you are good for him."

"And if we wouldn't have made it to the elite eight, would you be saying the same thing?" Parker had asked coming back sooner than we had expected.

Parker had asked the question that I had been thinking as well.

"Son," he said. "I was worried you would be distracted."

Parker smirked. "Do not be confused, dad; I am very distracted. You have no clue." He kissed my cheek when he sat down. And that was the end of the conversation.

"Thank you," Parker said as we got back to my hotel room.

"For what?" I asked.

He dragged me into my room. "For putting up with my father and me. For giving me another chance."

Was that what Parker thought this was? That I had changed my mind. I smiled so he wouldn't ask any follow-up questions.

"I love you, Ren" He brought me to his chest and then kissed my lips gently. "I love you." Instead of responding, I kiss him back, giving him everything I can at this moment in time. Michigan State wins the next game to Illinois. They were not a match-up, and the news is talking about if Michigan State was seeded correctly. They looked like they were playing like a one seed instead of a ten seed.

"Final Four" Larry yells in the locker room after we enter it. "Final Four Ringer." He says, throwing me over his shoulder and spinning around in circles.

"Final Four," I yell back, and the locker room is a chaotic mess. Parker walks in since he had an interview to do. He bee lines to the middle of the locker room and jumps up and down throwing his arms in the air.

"Final Four!" He yells, his eyes landing on mine.

He came and knocked on my hotel room, I knew he would eventually get caught, but he knew that there was no way they were benching him for the Final Four game.

"Where were you tonight?" He asked when I opened the door for him.

"You know what most college students do throughout the day. Homework." He kissed my lips; every time he kissed me, my heart broke a little more with each one.

"You were amazing tonight," I had said to him in between kisses.

"It is all thanks to you." He kissed me again. I was going to break his happiness when we got home.

Michigan State did it, and they made it to the Championship game. My father and mother had flown back in to watch it. I had yet to tell Parker that when the tournament was over, my parents and I were going on a week-long vacation, my father was taking me to an island off of Florida from Thursday to Wednesday.

My father had texted me.
Dad: I think he has the W.Me: Fingers crossed. Dad: He has got it. They really clicked at the right time. Me: He is amazing.

Michigan State won by five points. It came down to free throws at the end of the game, but they took the win. It was crazy, I had been around college basketball my whole life, but I had never felt this amazing after winning.

Parker ran over to me. "We won!!!" He had picked me up and spun me around in the gym. "You won!!" I yelled back at him, smiling up at him. Cameras were on us, and I noticed trying to pull away. But the team kept me in the mix. Me with my black pants, Michigan State polo on, the official Spartan manager attire. The press pulled Parker, and he did his interview.

"Where did the last couple of weeks come from?" The first reporter asked him.

He looked over at me. "A friend," he said to them, smiling. "I had a lot riding on the last few weeks and did not want the fun to end. I just held onto that feeling. It's been the best feeling for the last few weeks."

The team stayed that night, and the school paid for a very well-deserved dinner. The whole team wore their t-shirts that were made after they won. Pictures were taken and posted all over social media. By the next morning, a picture of Parker and I was painted all over. Coach R's Daughter Caught Trading Sides. Renee Renner turned in Light Blue for Michigan Green; Coach Renner's Daughter is an item with Parker Hayes. We were on the plane when Larry showed it to Parker and me. I groaned. Parker looked at it and said, "you look cute," flipping through the pictures of us.

"I look like a dork," I said to Larry and Parker. "They couldn't use a picture of me not in the Michigan State polo?" I looked like I was going to a job interview.

I tried to stay off of social media, but it was a little tricky. Thankfully my Instagram was set to private, but that still did not mean that some news outlets had found out that I had dated Ryan. A couple places had run that story. But they did not gain any attraction. I was still unsure of what would have happened if they found out that my dad and Coach Rizzo knew that Parker had physically assaulted Ryan during the tournament.