Met by Coincidence...Separated by Destiny...

Can we talk?

Hero's point of view...

"OK..listen I know we are up by 6 points but Stanford is playing a good game..we should be up 16 not 6..so go and play to win this match"

Coach Dumfrey shouts at us while we end the circle to play the second half of the match. I am done though. I got my playing time and as much as I wanted to shoot the winning basket, I rather sit and admire the blonde who is currently looking as beautiful as she looked the first time I saw her in her work uniform.

I finally know the truth. I was an idiot who believed that Jo moved on. From me. From us. But she never had. It was me who somehow betrayed her trust by starting things with Casey. I know Jo and I were not together when I started having sex with Casey but I love Jo, I should have tried harder. I never did that. It was easy for me to believe that she moved on so that I could have moved on too. And that's what I did.

Last night, I ended my arrangement with Casey. Somehow at the back of my mind, I knew we had to end things. I think Casey was getting attached to me and I kind of understand that. That's what happens when you have sex with the same person for 3 months. I should have known better. All these "No strings attached" relationships start with the "Only sex" tagline but down the line, either one of the people involved starts to develop romantic feelings for the other person. And that's when it becomes complicated. No matter what Casey was telling me but every time we had sex, I used to see her falling for me.

I am glad I finally came to my senses and ended things with Casey before they became complicated. We did agree to remain friends but I don't know how we can go there knowing what we were doing with each other just a day before.

But I have bigger things to worry about. The first one is to talk to Jo and to tell her the truth. The second one is to beg Jo for a second chance and if that would mean I had to transfer to Stanford, I would do that in a heartbeat. Yes, I am ready to sacrifice my dream for the girl I love. I just want a second chance, no matter what.

Last night after returning to my apartment from Casey's, I had myself thinking. Jo is happy where she is currently. And I don't want to interrupt her life just because now I dare to fight for our relationship. That's when I made up my mind that if Jo agrees to give me a second chance, I will transfer to Stanford. I would give her the space and time she would need to forgive me and once she does, we will get an apartment together, like we always discussed. I want to live with her. Share the same bed with her daily. Go to sleep with her by my side and wake up every morning, looking into her beautiful grey-blue eyes. I want to hold her in my arms while we sleep. I want to feel the warmth of her naked skin on my body, again. Come back home from practice and watch her cooking. Help her with household chores and massage her body every night before going to bed. I want to do everything with her that she wished for us to have three months ago.

The Buzzer goes off indicating that the match is over. Duke has won over Stanford by 56-48. I see Jo hugging Lucas and him hugging her tightly, wrapping his hands firmly around Jo's small body. I hope we can have that in the future. I hope to see Jo cheering from the stands but not for Lucas, for me. She has my heart and it's about time to show her how much I want our relationship and us back as a couple.

I greet all the players from our team as we get ready to shake hands with the team of Stanford. It's been a long time since the last time I spoke to Lucas. When I ended things with Jo, I stopped replying to Lucas's messages and his phone calls. He wanted answers to questions I have no idea what to say. He wanted me to tell him why I broke Jo's heart. I at that time had no idea what to say or how to face Jo or Lucas. I see players from Stanford approach our side of the field and I get myself ready to greet every one of them. With one more player standing in between Lucas and me, seconds pass and I finally have my brother in front of me.