Just Good Friends

Chapter 75

SAM's POV

~One Week Later~

Time passes so quickly, doesn't it? I just graduated from high school and in less than a month, I'll be kickin' it in Los Angeles, shooting hoops, scrimmaging, and laying it up at UCLA's basketball training sessions for entering Freshman. I'm super excited to get into training and conditioning again and to attend one of the best schools in the country. I feel so grateful to play the sport that I love at a college level - and even more grateful that my friends will be by my side. Even if one of them recently confessed their feelings to me. Yeah, still haven't moved past that.

Outside of my own personal achievements, my mom and Antonio are going strong since their wedding back in February. It's been three months since they became Mr. and Mrs. Martinez, but they treat each other like lifelong soulmates; like they've known each other since birth. It's kinda shocking but assuring to watch them be all lovey-dovey and affectionate with each other. Even though they playfully joke around with each other, they do it in a respectful way that doesn't cross the line. My mom seems a lot happier and she doesn't argue with me as much these days, which I can appreciate! And Antonio is a huge ball of positivity. We hosted a dinner with his brother, Javier, his wife, and Julie at our house and he was nothing but supportive of everyone's situation. He was like a life coach rooting for everyone and quoting the Bible every now and then. It's nice to have a father figure who knows how to make others feel heard and worthy of love, and even better that he treats my mom like a queen.

I've never seen two people seem to get along so well. Seeing their relationship on a daily basis reminds me of what Jake and I had...

It's been two weeks, but I don't get as teary-eyed when thinking about our breakup. I think I did all the crying that I could do. Now it's time to face the future. Jake still texts me to chat about his family, and how I'm doing, and he tells me how much he cares about me. I answer his texts because I don't feel right ignoring them, but I do find myself putting up a wall. I'm not as silly or flirty like I used to be for obvious reasons, and I'm not sure how long it'll take for me to get back to a comfortable friend zone with him. Guess time will tell. Distance helps too, or at least that's what they say, right? Being a thousand miles apart from a loved one can make you appreciate them much more, so I'm hoping that'll happen with us when I move.

Speaking of moving, everything is set for when we return from our cruise vacation. I got all my stuff packed, we contacted the moving company, and we paid the on-campus housing tuition for UCLA which covers my early move-in starting next month. Me, Khalil, and Diggy's parents planned it so we could take the same plane ride into Los Angeles together and take a shuttle onto the campus to move into our dorms. My mom constantly reminds me not to worry and enjoy our vacation, because everything is taken care of. Just this morning on our drive to the pier, she told me to use these next two weeks to relax and forget about all my problems. Heh... we'll see how well that goes.

***

We step onto the pier near downtown NYC, my mom and Antonio holding hands a couple of steps in front of me with their rolling suitcases. They're dressed for warm weather and a lot of sunshine. I follow them, tugging my own suitcase as we approach a Titanic-sized cruise ship with multiple floors and staircases leading into the ship.

"Woah..." I say.

I follow them to the stairs where an employee is checking tickets and IDs. I feel the ocean breeze blowing through my hair and feel refreshed for the first time in a while. Another employee takes our luggage and we casually walk up the long staircase leading to the ship. And that's when I hear my name being called. I wrinkle my eyebrows and look back towards the deck.