Desire

Superman- Giannis Antetokounmpo

July 2023

"Did you land yet?"
"I miss you so much, G."
"I'm at home; you have my address. I can pick you up if need be."

I listened to the last of what seemed like 100 voicemails from my best friend, Mariah. She was in graduate school in California while I was in Milwaukee playing for the Bucks. Every chance I got to fly her out or fly to her, we did it. I missed my best friend, but this time the trip seemed different. I hope she's ok. I grabbed my bags from baggage claim and went outside looking for Mariah.

"Is that my bestie?!" Mariah said, making me look up from my phone

"Hey, Riah!" I bent down to hug her

My 6'11 frame stood over her, and it was the cutest thing. We broke the hug, and I looked deep into her eyes. Even the hug she gave me was different, and it wasn't an "I miss you hug" but an "I needed you here hug." To top it off, she was crying. I know she misses me, but I didn't think it was that bad.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, chump. I can't miss my best friend?" Mariah tried to laugh it off

Not wanting to make a scene at the airport, I threw my bags into her tesla and let her be a passenger princess like I always did with her. Twenty minutes later, we were pulling up to her apartment, and she was knocked out sleep. "Riah, wake up" I shook her. She woke up and then walked me into the house.

"Everything is where you remember," Mariah told me

I nodded, went into the bathroom, and turned the shower on. I stripped out of my clothes and stepped in, letting the hot water relax my body. Giannis washed his body and stepped out, only wrapping a towel around his waist.

"Yo, Riah, you got some cocoa butter? A nigga lips looking a little ashy," I laughed.

"A little?! It's in the cabinet," She yelled back.

Giannis looked into the cabinet and found empty mini bottles of alcohol. At this point, I had forgotten about the cocoa butter. He looked under the sink and saw exactly what he expected.

...

Mariah

My best friend Giannis was finally in town, and I needed him here severely. See, I'm in graduate school in California, and well... he's off living his best life in Milwaukee with the Bucks. I had showered in the upstairs bathroom while Giannis showered in my bathroom. Now I was preparing for us to have a movie night.

"Mariah?" I heard him call

"Yes?" I turned around. When she turned around, he stood in nothing but grey sweatpants and a durag looking fine. I was staring so hard I didn't hear him calling my name or even that he was hiding something behind his back.

"Huh? I'm sorry."

"Can you explain something to me?"

"G, I already told you I didn't steal your favorite jersey. I borrowed it, and I might not have given it back."

"No, that's--- wait a minute, which jersey?" "Nothing. .. continue," Mariah added

Giannis sat the big bottle of Ciroc and the mini bottles I hid before me. My heart dropped, and I couldn't believe he was going through my things. "You were going through my things?"

"No, I was looking for cocoa butter and found your stash. Mariah, I thought we were past this"

"Don't start, Giannis, I'm fine."

"No, you aren't. You hugged me like you needed me here, and you were crying. You've missed me before but never cried."

"G, I'm not addicted, and I'm not who I used to be as an undergraduate."

"So why is there liquor here?!"

"You left me, Giannis! When I fucking needed you the most, you left me."

When Giannis got drafted, we always promised to see each other and be there whenever possible. But my classes got tough, and he was on his way to being the best of the best in his rookie class; we fell off a bit. As an undergraduate, I also promised him and my grandmother that I wouldn't start drinking, follow in my parent's footsteps, and become an alcoholic. Still, the pressure of college, untreated mental illness, and fitting in got to me, and I started drinking until one night, I got blackout drunk, and it took 911 to wake me up. After that, Giannis and my grandmother got me help.

"You promised when things got tough you wouldn't go drinking! You would call me; you could have called me!"

"I did! 38 times to be exact, but you were busy living your best life, and I didn't want to ruin that."

"How would you have ruined that, Mariah?"

"How does a headline saying you have an alcoholic and mentally ill best friend sound? And you know your girlfriend don't like me"

"Fuck those headlines and her. We broke up but I love you Mariah! I would've put it all to the side if that meant helping you." Giannis said and grabbed his duffel bag

"Where are you going?" I yelled

"I'm going to my moms. I'll be back later, I can't deal with this right now" he walked out

"Fuck!" Mariah yelled

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