Page 30 of Shooting his Shot

"I already know why she doesn't want to trust me. It's because of her past and her birth mother walking out of her life. She thinks I'd do the same thing," I muttered.

"But you did..." Aisha said, lifting an eyebrow.

I did, but I had a good reason for doing what I did. "Yeah, I did, and that's not something I can change now."

Antonio jumped up from the seat. "Yes, you can. Make it right! Go get your girl. It'll do both of you some good."

I grunted, not knowing what else to say.

"Well, she is doing well. She finished cleaning up her childhood home," Aisha blurted.

I guess they were still communicating with each other. That was good. Avani needed more people in her life, and she needed to know how to let others in. I loved that she was letting my sister in.

I ran my hands down my face and groaned. "All I wanted her to do was trust me, and she didn't. That is her fault, not mine."

They were silent, and that was for the best. I gave my all to Avani, but she made me realize that someone can have everything they want but would still find a way to talk down about it or want more. I felt like I went out of my way to make her happy, but it seemed to never be enough. What more was I to do? That was something I'd never get the answer to, but I didn't care anymore.

All I needed to do was get it together on the court, which was my main focus from now on.

I couldn't believewhat I was about to do. It had been over a month since Akari and I broke up. It had been the hardest month of my life. Since he hadn't returned any of my calls and texts, I stopped reaching out to him. I couldn't look at anything he gifted me, nor could I drive the car. I missed him so much and wanted him back in my life. He had been playing much better than he had when we first broke up. He seemed to be back to himself, and for that, I was proud of him. I wanted to be the woman he shared his goals and dreams with. I didn't want to be apart from him any longer.

As I stared at myself in the mirror, I sighed deeply, seeing that I lost so much weight. I almost didn't look the same as I did before. I wore a two-piece peach short pants suit. My hair wasstyled in knotless braids with an updo bun. Lip gloss coated my lips. I was ready to go get my man back. I needed him in my life.

"Okay, girl. It's time to go get your man. Don't let anything stop you," I coached myself in the mirror.

Hell, the only thing that would try to stop me is security. I just hope they didn't get in the way of me getting to him.

Today, Akari and his team were at Skyeville Community Center. Every year during the summer, Skyeville had a Summer Blast. This year his team was giving back and helping out. I already knew a lot of people were going to be out there. It made me nervous to think about attending when it was going to be a crowd, but this couldn't be stopped. I couldn't take my heart breaking again. Every day without Akari, my heart shattered into a million pieces. Something must get done, and I had to do it.

After I finished getting ready, I headed out to my car, trying not to look at the Range Rover. It would kill me to do so.

Thirty minuteslater due to traffic, I was being instructed on where to park my car. Once I found a park, I got out of my car and walked around. Since many people were starting to know me since Akari and I used to date, I shield my appearance with sunglasses. I hoped that helped me.

His sister told me where he would be, and I almost turned back around. I walked around and loved to see all the activities that were going on. When I reached the venue where Akari was with his family, my heart hurt as I watched him. He still looked fine as hell, and the twinkle in his eyes as he laughed at something was so sexy. He didn't see me, so that was a good thing. Since he was signing autographs, I was going to stand inline to get autographed by him. It was a long line, but I would wait as long as I could. It didn't matter to me one bit.

When it was my turn, my heart throbbed in my chest. I thought it wanted to come out. Then I saw he had on the watch I gave him. That brought tears to my eyes. If I weren't thinking straight, I'd lift my shirt and tell him to sign his name on my heart. That was where his name was stamped by me.

His head lifted as he stared at me, and the smile on his face slid off.

"If I was crazy enough, I'd take off my shirt and let you autograph the skin close to my heart," I started, "but I don't want to give the people something that belongs to you and your eyes only. So, I guess I'll do the respectful thing by getting your autograph on my neck. The spot you love to kiss on." I smiled even though I wanted to cry. His facial expression hadn't changed. I didn't know how the hell I was going to press forward.

I had people behind me, but I wouldn't move, not until he said something to me. That was the least he could do...right?

He got up from his seat and whispered something to his brother. He then walked away. Not knowing what else to do, I followed behind him. I didn't want him to walk away from me again.

"Akari," I called out his name when he entered the trailer with his name on it.

He paused but didn't turn around, but then he kept walking inside. I followed until I was inside the trailer as well. I closed the door behind me and peered around. It looked good in here. It was all about him, from his favorite color to his style of decoration. It seemed as if it was his home away from home. He retrieved a bottle of water from the mini fridge, slammed it on the counter, and grabbed another one. I guess the one he slammed on the counter was mine.

"Akari..." I tried again.

He held his hand up. "You showed up. You actually showed up." He shook his head.

"I wouldn't have missed this," I softly stated.

He scoffed. "Yeah, but you missed other important things in my life, though, right?"

I bit down on my bottom lip, not knowing how I was going to answer that.

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