NBA Alphabet One-Shots

goodbye - stephen curry (part 2)

A dark cloud remained over Stephen Curry long after the Golden State Warriors lost in the NBA Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers. While the rest of his team gradually recovered from the sting of failing to cap off a historic season, Steph's moodiness extended far beyond the championship.

With no games to prepare for, he no longer had basketball to distract him from his biggest cause of turmoil-being without his love, Claire.

"You know, this was all on you." Klay Thompson spoke, snapping the point guard out of thoughts of his ex-fiancée. Stephen looked up at the TV screen and saw that the score for the game of NBA 2K16 was already 32-0, advantage Klay.

Steph had dropped by his friend's house earlier that afternoon. He claimed it was because he wanted to come over and play some games on Klay's Xbox, but it was really because he felt too lonely staying at his own house.

"What are you talking about?" Stephen mumbled, staring down blankly at the video game controller.

Klay rolled his eyes. "I'm talking about how Claire rightfully ended her engagement with you."

Stephen seethed but remained silent. Although he was humiliated when she exposed him at the Warriors' practice for cheating, Stephen refused to bring it up with his teammates; in turn, no one spoke about their breakup. Today was the first time someone confronted Curry about his actions.

"If you really want to win her back, nothing will happen if you don't change." Klay stuck his tongue out in concentration while playing the video game.

Stephen tossed his game controller in defeat, knowing he was bound to lose to his competitive friend. It didn't matter to Klay that Stephen was having the biggest crisis of his young life; Klay Thompson was still out to beat his ass in 2K.

Stephen pouted. "I have changed."

Klay didn't blink an eye as he continued playing. He didn't seem to notice his friend hurl his Xbox controller across the room. "She won't believe you changed unless you show her."

His words rang undoubtedly true. Stephen simply had found no opportunity to show the woman he loved that he had changed his player ways for the better.

It had been weeks since Claire broke off her engagement with Stephen. While she had been perfectly fine, Stephen was a total train wreck and moped around everywhere. He saw how happy she was without him-her smile shone brighter, her laugh rang more heartily in videos she posted on social media-and was tempted to give up.

But he remembered the promise he made to himself the moment she walked out of their house, her belongings in hand. And he remained patient, reminding himself that he was not a man who let up easily.

He knew that real lovers had a way of always coming back together, so he waited for the time to come.

_____

Claire hated grocery shopping alone. While she didn't mind taking time to go to the store, it was getting the items on her parents' grocery list that irked her. She was convinced that the employees were determined to make her shopping experience as hellish as possible; for every single item she needed to buy, it was always on the top shelf and out of her reach.

She scanned the grocery list again after asking another employee to grab some cake mix that was out of her reach. She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Raisins? Really, ma?"

Claire got to the aisle with raisins and sighed. Her mom was picky about the specific brand of raisins she ate. The ones her mom wanted were a row too high. Claire searched around for an employee to assist her.

At the end of the otherwise empty aisle stood a tall man with the employee uniform of a red polo. "Sir, can you please help me?" Claire asked. The employee began turning towards her. "I can't seem to reach the raisins." She paused, startled. Her shoulders tensed when she realized the man was not an employee. Instead, she stared at the face of the man who broke her heart.

Stephen Curry gave her a shy smile. "Hey, Claire." His voice triggered conflicting emotions in her-some good, most bad.

"Stephen." She tried to remain civil and gave him a curt nod. She rubbed her palms on her shorts awkwardly, looking anywhere but at his stunning hazel eyes. "I'm going to find an employee. See you around, I guess."

She pivoted on her heel when he spoke up. "Wait!"

Stephen walked up beside her, close enough that she could smell his cologne. He absentmindedly placed a hand on her lower back for balance as he reached up to grab the pack of raisins.

Claire felt unwanted butterflies surge in her stomach, a feeling that nearly felt foreign since she left Stephen.

He wordlessly handed the raisins to her. The boyish smile he wore on his face felt deceitful to the young woman. For a grin as innocent and childish as Stephen's, the man behind the smile carried much more weight than he conveyed.

The young woman was becoming increasingly overwhelmed from the flood of sour memories with her former lover reappearing in her mind. She swallowed down the lump rising in her throat. "Thanks."

Claire stared down at floor. As she walked past him with her shopping cart, he lightly held her wrist and spoke in a whisper. "Hey, can we talk for a second?"

"Please, Stephen," she pleaded. She didn't want to rehash even more old memories.

"I won't force you into anything, I promise. I just want to talk."

Claire pursed her lips and reluctantly nodded.

Stephen sucked in a short breath before pouring out everything he had internalized over the past month. "First, I haven't even interacted with Ayesha since you left. I deleted her contact from my phone. I'm not talking to her on anything. I don't want anything to do with her, and I never should have.

"I'm sorry for breaking your heart and ruining your trust. You've been nothing but loving towards me. I don't deserve you, really. I was stupid to take you for granted, but these past weeks without you have been completely miserable for me. I've realized how important you are and how I can't live without you. I promised myself I'd change for you, and I swear I have. It killed me knowing how much I hurt you. The last thing I want to do is keep hurting the people I love most."

He thought back to Klay's advice. "I'm just asking for one more chance. I know you've already given me more chances than I deserve, but I want to start over and prove it to you. And I know that my words mean nothing if I don't back 'em up, so please give me a chance to show you. I'm not asking you to take me back now, just to think about it."

He brought Claire's hand to his lips and gave it a soft kiss. "I just need to tell you that I love you. I always will, no matter what happens. Even if you don't take me back or love me anymore, I'll still love you."

Stephen then walked down the aisle and disappeared, leaving Claire with a package of raisins and an image of his loving smile forever imprinted into her mind.

Claire and Stephen didn't share much at that moment, but they both had a common gut feeling: their meeting was far from the last time they would see each other in the near future.