Kindred Spirits | Juan Toscano-Anderson

50.2 x Moments in Miami

First stop was Miami and the weather felt good. Juan dragged Damion and Jordan to get some food after practice before they needed to be back in the hotel for curfew.

"Man I'm hungry as shit. I haven't eaten the way I normally do since finding out Cyn—." Juan realized he didn't tell the team yet and that they had planned a big surprise to share the news.

"Since Cyn what?"
"Changed my diet plan. She's turned into the trainer now." He joked.

"Good cause you eat like a pig." Damion laughed, "I don't know how y'all actually have groceries."

Juan waved them off, making sure he got everything he wanted. "Juan is that you?"

He turned around to see Shalissa smiling at him. "Hey what's up?" She gave him a tight hug. "Wow it's really been so long. How are you?"

"I'm good, great actually. How are you?"

"I'm doing good. I tried catching up with you in Vegas but I only saw Cynatra."

Juan had no idea that they ran into each other. He didn't care though, one way or another. "Well it was cool seeing you. Be safe." Juan tried walking away but she stopped him, "Listen I understand you hating me for what I did to you. I'm happy that you're doing well. And I'm sorry."

"I don't hate you Shalissa. We were kids. We ain't know shit about love. Everyone gotta work through their trauma to get to the other side."

Juan had no bad blood with the woman. What happened happened and it was the past.

When Juan and Jordan returned to their room, they planned to have a heart to heart.

"I gotta ask. Why did you and that girl break up in the first place?"

"It was toxic. She wanted things I didn't and at our age it didn't make sense. She wanted me to be someone I wasn't, I wasn't about to search high and low for money to buy a $500 bag and I wasn't trying to skip class to go to her house to have sex. I spent more time in school or with the crew than I did her. Cause after awhile nothing was going out of it. And she just kept cheating on me, that shit hurt like a bitch."

"Damn man." Jordan shook his head. "So you ended things?"

"Yeah, a few weeks before prom, I told her I was over that shot cause she was hooking up with some football player at school and when she got caught, she was stuck in the principal office all day. She snuck out to talk to me and I told her I just wasn't doing this shit anymore." The memory was bittersweet, his actions led him to taking Cynatra to prom. Which was something he should've planned to do in the first place.

"Enough about that shit, when we get back, Ricki is insisting on doing a double date. You know I'm not about to debate with her about it."

Juan didn't mind that at all, it would be Jordan and Ricki's first outing as a couple and why not do a double date with their closest friends. "Sounds good to me. Let's get this Win man."

The next day the Warriors went on to win against the Heat, by 20 points. Of course Shalissa was at the game and approached Juan. "Good game Toscano. Still going above and beyond I see."

"Did what I could. Thank you." He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. Damion came over to save him which he was grateful for.

"I'll say it now, that lady has one more time to show up and it's not a coincidence."

Juan didn't think anything of it. He had three more cities to hit and every game was important. It didn't make sense to harp on Shalissa being a basketball groupie, she's been that way. Another reason he held nothing against her is because he knew she was always going to be who she was. He couldn't do anything to change that so why feel away about someone who didn't matter to him anymore.