I looked at the time on my laptop screen after I was done reviewing my paper.

"Shit!" I needed to hurry up and make it home in order to make the game on time.

I rushed out of the library and across campus to the parking lot. I slid into my car and punched it all the way to the penthouse.

I greeted the doorman and the person working the front desk before I flashed my card to the private elevator. It came down a few seconds later and took me up to the top floor.

"We're going to be late."Sade sang as she unwrapped a towel around her hair. Looks like I wasn't the only not ready.

"No, we won't!" I shout as I ran past her and straight into my bathroom. I quickly stripped out of my jeans and top and took a shower.

After I was done applying lotion to my now dry body, I raced to my closet and picked out a pair of distressed baggy jeans, a white sleeveless top, and my jordan 1's alternate swooshes.

I refreshed my pony tail, parting it down the middle before I redid it. I didn't have time for a full face of makeup so I did mascara, lip liner and gloss.I grabbed my phone, money, and extra necessities and threw them in my purse.

I quickly spritzed on some coco and dashed out of my room.

"Shots really quick," Sky pulled my hand as she passed by. I got a nice whiff of her chloé perfume.

Elizabeth poured out the shots and we all quickly drowned them before filing into the elevator. We all finally had time to assess each other's outfit once inside.

"You bitches," Sade gasped once we all noticed that we were color coordinated. All of us wore white tops, different bottoms and shoes.

"That's that best friend intuition right here." Jora mumbled as she stared into the mirrored elevator walls and applied her rose colored lip liner and lipstick.

"I couldn't agree more," Elizabeth said as she played with the loose curls she did. The elevator opened and we rushed out and got into the SUV.

We got to the game and spotted my mom and Jax in the seats next to ours. They waved and we quickly made our way to our seats.

I introduced the girls to Jax, they hugged and chatted with my mom before the boys came out of the tunnels.

"Hey shitface," Skylar called out to Kyler as he passed by. He turned around with a goofy grin on his face. "What disappointment?"

"Well I was going to say have a good game but fuck you." Skylar shooed him away as Marcus flashed her cocky smile. "You're not going to wish me luck."He pouted slightly.

"Kiss my fat ass King." He sent her a wink before he ran off to the court behind his best friend.

I hope and pray that it won't be a shit show when Kyler finds out about their relationship.

Dominic ran by next and flashed his charming smile. Rhegan pretended like she didn't see him but I caught her side eyeing him.

Carson ran out last and stepped on the railing of the stadium seats. "Good luck kiss, please." He puckered up and clenched his eyes shut. I leaned over and connected our lips quickly.

"Good luck." I whispered when he hopped down.

"I don't need luck." A child-like grin spread on his face. "I just needed an excuse to get a kiss."

My mouth dropped as he ran onto the court. When I sat back down I turned to see Jax and my mom with big cheesy smiles on their faces.

"Stop that." They chuckled as I hissed at them and turned to pay attention to the game.

The game started a few minutes later.

We were playing against the Washington State Cougars today. They were a good team but I didn't see them giving us a run for our money.

Dominic made a shot from the half court and our side of the stadium went wild.

"That's my boy." Jax stood up and shouted as he clapped his hands. My mom stared up at him with such love and admiration for him.

They were so cute and adorable.

I just hoped that my sperm donor won't try to fuck that up for her. He has the tendency to come in and fuck up our lives whenever he pleases.

Dominic patted his chest and pointed to Jax with his pointer finger. The cameras caught his smile as he pointed to Jax and panned to our section. The stadium went into cheers as they realized an NBA legend was watching.

The second half started with Kyler stealing the ball.

"Good job, Ky!" Skylar cheered on her brother as he ran down the court. He passed it to Rookie who stood at the three point line.

Rookie caught the ball but as he went up to shoot a player from Washington pushed him down, earning his team a foul. The crowd erupted into boos as Carson and Xander helped up Haze.

The commentator announced that Rookie would be receiving three free throws as a result. Marcus patted Haze's back as he walked towards the free throw line.

Rookie bounced the ball before semi-squatting and shooting the ball. It bounced of the back board and dropped into the net. A player on the opposing team passed him the ball and Rookie repeated his actions.

The second time he missed. He shook it off, bounced the ball again and aimed for the backboard.

"You got this Haze." We cheered for him as he threw his last shot. It went into the net earning us two points in total. The guys all congratulated Rookie as he ran down the court.

The last half of the game Carson and Kyler were on fire as the made bucket after bucket, only missing a small percentage of their shots.

We won the game with a score of 102-83, Carson making the winning shot.

When the other team exited the court we rushed down to congratulate the guys.

My mom and Jax congratulated Dominic on a good game as we congratulated everyone else.

Kyler had Sky in a head lock as he kissed her forehead. She made a playful face of disgust before kissing his cheek.

Elizabeth had jumped on Abel as soon as she ran onto the court. He held her in his arms as they shared a short little kiss.

Sade, Rhegan, and Jora showered kisses over Haze and Xander's face. I laughed as the two boys looked as if they had died and gone to heaven.

I let out a squeal as Carson came behind me, picked me up and spun me around. When he sat me down I was little dizzy but I held onto his shoulders.

"Good game." Carson grinned as he looked down at me." Thanks," He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my lips."I had my lucky charm today."

I furrowed my brows in confusion as he chuckled at my reaction. I thought he didn't need any luck.

"Come on." Carson walked us towards the rest of the group.

"You guys free for dinner?" Jax asked as we squeezed our way into the group. " My treat."

"Our treat." My mom corrected as she glared up at him. Jax sent her a smile but when she turned her attention back to us he mouthed, don't listen to her, and pointed towards himself.

We all stifled a laugh as my mom shot him a warning glare. Jax held his hands up in defense as if he wasn't doing anything.

"... and over here are our star players." Coach Z's voice was heard close behind. We all turned around to see him and ...

My father... in the fucking flesh.

"Guys this is—" I cut coach off. " Everyone this is Xion Bartley, a great assistant coach and the winner of the deadbeat father award for the past two decades."

Coach Z stood with a look of shock as his eyes flicked between me and my father.

Oh! Did he not know?

"Let's give him a round of applause shall we." The girls clapped their hands together and flashed fake smiles. I felt my own smile spread across my face, knowing that he was trying his best to keep his cool.

"Ayanna." His eyes flashed to my mom and Jax. A grin formed on his face as he studied her.

"Raven."

"You don't get to speak to her." I gritted out as he turned to me. "We'll meet you guys outside." Jax said, ignoring my dad's glare as he took my moms hand in his.

" You come here and you do your fucking job," I stepped into his personal space." Don't even think about trying to meddle into my life or hers. We're happy without you. We don't need you coming back and fucking us over like you have in the past."

"Ya—" " No."

"You don't get to call me that." The corners of his lips curved downward. "Not anymore."

"Send my love to Carla."

He'd better not mention me to that home wrecking bitch.

I gave him one last glance over before turning around, the girls followed close behind me. The guys and coach had fell back a long time ago but stayed close by.

Carson, Dominic, and Kyler were quick to come up to me as Coach ushered the other guys to greet their new assistant coach.

"Are you ok?" Dominic asked as they stepped in front of us. " I'm fine," I swallow the lump in my throat. "But if he treats you unfairly or tries anything because your dad is with my mom, you tell me, alright." I give him a pointed stare.

"And me," Rhegan pointed out.

Dominic passed her an appreciative smile as she stared at him, a soft smile playing in her lips.

"Awww!" Here we go.

"You care." He grinned down at her as she rolled her eyes. "No I don't." She scoffed as he pulled her into his side.

"Yes you do," He squeezed her waist tightly as she tried to swat him away from her. She gave up after a few more seconds and melted into his side.

They were too cute.

"Get together already." Sade groaned as we nodded our heads in agreement. "Shut it."

She flicked us off as Dominic let her waist go.

I nodded my head to Carson and Kyler and motioned for them to join the others. Dominic gave me a hug that lasted only two seconds.

"Ok eww."I said as we pushed away from each other. "Shut up," His deep chuckle came." You loved it." I rolled my eyes as we walked away from each other.

"And the sibling bond begins to form." Jora mused as she wrapped her arms around my neck.

"I can already see the sibling squabbles." She waved her hand in the air as if she was painting a picture.

"You're so stupid." I joke as we walk out of the stadium. I grab her hand and we catch up to the rest of the girls.

I spotted my mom and Jax in front of his black BMW 2021 M850. We walked over to them to hear them talking in hushed tones.

"We're going to be okay," Jax soothed her, gripping the sides of his space. You could hear hints of his accent peaking through as he talked to her. "I promise his presence is not affecting me as long as he doesn't fuck with my son's future."

Jax Steele was born to a Swedish father and a Armenian mother. He was raised in Sweden and immigrated to America when he was fifteen. He was a beast at high school basketball which landed him as the 1st round pick for college drafts.

Jax went to Duke and from there he got better and better, securing his spot in the drafts for the NBA. He was drafted to the Orlando Magic, but during his fourth season he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers where he finished off his career.

"Ok." My mom whispered. Jax kissed the tip of her nose as he rubbed her cheeks."Good."

He looked up to see me and the girls staring at them. I'm pretty sure their faces mirrored mine as we observed my mom and her boyfriend.

"So i'm thinking a fall wedding." Lizzie looked off into space as if she could picture the scenery already. "Elizabeth!" My mom pinched her playfully as Lizzie laughed.

"Oh! Don't tell me you want to be a June bride." Lizzie joked as my mom shook her off.

My mom adored my friends.

I could tell that Lizzie was trying to steer my mom away from the tornado that was my father.

My father was a liar— always has been, always will be.

He and my mom broke up when I was two. A month later he proposed to the woman he told her not to worry about.

While he was married to her he neglected his role as a father. He never once reached out to us and when he did it was to call and say happy birthday to me.

Which was rare.

Lying was his favorite game. He loved to fill my head with him coming to visit or flying me out to visit him when we did talk. He'd promise to send gifts and take me on vacations. All the shit a seven year old child would get their hopes up for.

None of that ended up happening.

When they got divorced he decided to come running back for forgiveness— only to repeat the same actions of breaking my mother's heart all over again.

The last time I had any sort of communication with him was when he texted me happy birthday for my 18th.

It was 12 a.m the next day where he was.

After that I completely disowned him as my father. I had already had my last name legally changed to my mom's. All he is to me now is a sperm donor.

I have zero respect for him and his existence. So if I have to embarrass him in front of his boss, i'll take pleasure in doing so.

Rhegan and I took joy in making our deadbeat parents feel like shit. It was our favorite pastime.

"Well i'm starved." The voice of Abel came up behind us. "Of course you are." Elizabeth teased when he buried his head in her neck.

I playfully gagged at their affection.

Carson and I weren't official yet, but hopefully we would be soon. I wanted to do all the relationship things with him. I know he wants to make sure i'm ready and I appreciated that.

What we had right now was good but I would eventually be ready to move forward with him.

"Your ass is always hungry." Dominic slapped him upside the neck. " I know your hungry hippo ass isn't talking, Dominic." A round of ooh's went around at Jax's roast.

"C'mon Pops." Dominic screeched as he flayed his arms around like a five- year old. "You didn't have to do me like that." He mumbled as Jax tossed him the keys.

"Yes I did,"Jax pushed his head lightly." You're my son. That's the job description, buddy."

Dominic continued his whining as I told the girls I would be driving with them. They nodded their heads and walked to the driver.

Carson came up beside me and wrapped his arms around my shoulder.

"You're coming with us?" I asked as he opens the back door. "No," Carson paused." I'm going to walk."

"Quit being a smart ass."

"Ughh." Rookie groaned as we finished our last lap.

"I told your ass not to eat that extra slice of chocolate cake last night." Kyler patted his back as he dry-heaved. "It was too good." Rookie grunted."I swear that cake had crack in it."

Last night after dinner we went back to the girl's place. The girls and Raven baked the best chocolate cake that we had ever had. Rookie here ate one too many slices and is now dealing with a stomach ache.

"I couldn't resist." He straightened up as the rest of the team began to huddle up. "C'mon shitty pants." I wrapped my arm around Rookie's neck.

"You said you wouldn't say anything." He whined as we made our way to the circle. "I did, didn't I."

"Asshole." Rookie nudged my rib cage.

He didn't shit his pants, he just was up every hour visiting the toilet. Rookie didn't heed the warning so he laid the consequences.

Huddle was quick and boring.

Bartley said a few words about teamwork and working as a unit. The guys and I shared looks the entire time he talked.

We didn't need a talk about teamwork or being one unit. We already worked as one, we were a family and tight knit at that. Bartley would have to do a lot more than a fucking pep talk to get in our good graces.

Not that he ever would.

We would respect him as our assistant coach.

But outside of the game and this stadium, he wouldn't so much as get a glance or any type of acknowledgment from any of us.

"Are we eating out tonight?" Marcus asked as we walked down the corridor." Or are we cooking?"

"Because if we're cooking then we should order groceries."

Just as I was about to answer a voice called out my name. "Addams."

I turned around to see Bartley running up behind us. He paused and acknowledged the guys before looking at me.

"Can we uhh," he looked behind me." Can we talk in private for a minute?"

I thought about for a second before turning around and motioning for the guys to go ahead. "I'll catch up." Dominic raised his brows before turning around and walking with the others.

We stood in awkward silence as I waited for him to speak.

"So I uh—" He starts." I hear you're dating my daughter." I let out a huff of air as I crossed my arms.

"With all due respect coach." The word came out mockingly as I stared him down.

" I would appreciate it if we kept this relationship strictly professional. I'm sure Ayanna wouldn't want you to start practicing your fatherly duties this late in her life. She made that pretty clear yesterday."

"Carson, you don't understand Ayanna." I arched an eyebrow at this mans audacity.

Did he even know the first thing about Ayanna?

"Her mother filled her head with all these lies when she was younger," He pressed his fingers to his forehead as he sighed."I- it ruined our relationship."

I had to fight the urge to laugh in this mans face. No wonder Ayanna didn't fuck with him. He was a grade-A manipulator.

I knew a manipulative bitch when I saw one.

"Aht!" I tutted." Strictly professional." I turned and walked away from him before pausing and turning around. "Also," I walked back towards him, getting in his personal space.