Once they had finally pulled apart, both Aaron and Hannah listened to the two women as they continued to murmur between themselves, whispering about how to properly manage teenage hormones and lamenting that today's generation is completely beyond saving.
"And just where is my little princess?" Paola asked suddenly, her eyes scanning the room upon realizing that Mia was nowhere to be seen at that particular moment.
"She fell asleep," Aaron said, gesturing with his hand toward his bedroom. Through the doorway, they could just make out a section of the crib where Mia was currently found, deeply asleep and blissfully unaware of anything occurring out in the living room.
"So, would the two of you care to tell us exactly what it was you were doing?" Melissa asked, standing with her arms tightly crossed as she looked directly at the two young people standing before her.
"Uh, don't you think it's pretty obvious?" was the question Aaron shot straight back at his mother. Meanwhile, Hannah's face remained a brilliant shade of crimson from the sheer embarrassment; she found herself unable to utter a single word without stuttering in the attempt.
"Don't you dare get smart with me, young man," Melissa snapped, clearly in no mood to endure another one of her son's jokes regarding this particular matter. "You knew full well that you were grounded," she continued, making sure to emphasize the point.
"Technically, I didn't actually break my punishment," Aaron countered, trying to make her see that he had never truly violated the terms since he was still inside the house and hadn't stepped foot outside at any moment, save for going to school.
"Even so..." Melissa began, searching her mind for any specific rule she could claim he had broken. However, the more she thought about it, the more she realized that, effectively, Aaron had not actually breached his punishment at any point, given that he was situated inside the home.
"Regardless, I still believe he deserves a further punishment," said Paola, who had just returned from the bedroom with Mia cradled in her arms. The baby was looking on with wide-eyed curiosity at the entire scene unfolding before her tiny eyes.
"But Auntie..." Aaron started to protest, but he quickly cut himself off when he saw the death glare his aunt launched in his direction. He decided the best course of action in that situation was to stay silent without saying another word.
"Hannah, dear, it has been quite a while since I've seen you," Paola said, offering a smile toward Hannah, who was gradually returning to normal after the two of them had been caught in such a scandalous position.
"Hello, Mrs. Hernandez," Hannah replied with a slightly awkward smile, which Paola immediately brushed off with a wave.
"I've already told you not to call me 'Mrs.', sweetheart; it only makes me feel old," Paola told her, dismissively moving her hand while keeping Mia firmly perched against her hip.
"Well, technically..." The words Aaron was about to utter died in his throat the moment Paola shot him another look that promised certain death.
"What was that?" Paola asked him in a low, dangerous voice. Aaron knew that tone signified an even harsher punishment was looming. "Nothing, nothing at all," Aaron said quickly, having no desire to provoke his aunt any further.
Paola nodded, satisfied with his silence, before returning to the topic at hand. "As I was saying, I think our boy here needs a much more severe punishment, don't you agree, Mel?" Paola asked, turning her attention to her friend and Aaron's mother, who had remained uncharacteristically quiet while watching the situation play out.
"I'm thinking the exact same thing," was the simple phrase Melissa uttered. she brought a hand to her chin, deep in thought as she began to contemplate what would be a fitting addition to the punishment she already had in mind for Aaron.
Suddenly, a truly sinister smile spread across Paola's face—the kind of look that gave Aaron a very bad feeling in his gut. "I've got it," she said. "Hector and I haven't had a single moment of time alone since Mia arrived," Paola began, her eyes fixing themselves steadily on her nephew.
"Coincidentally, we happened to see an offer for a weekend getaway in Cold Springs," she said. As the realization of what Paola was about to ask began to dawn on him, Aaron started shaking his head frantically, silently pleading with his aunt not to say what she was about to say.
"So, I don't imagine Aaron would mind looking after her for the entire weekend, right?" she said it with a sugary, false smile, while Aaron felt as though his entire world was crashing down around him.
It wasn't that he didn't love his little cousin; on the contrary, he adored her and treated her almost like a younger sister. But the mere thought of spending two entire days solely responsible for her care—plus a night in which he highly doubted he'd be able to close his eyes for a second—was not the kind of plan he was going to agree with easily.
"I..." Aaron started, clearly scrambling to find some sort of loophole or way out, but before he could even get a word out, his mother was much faster to jump in.
"He'll do it," Melissa stated categorically. She gave her son a smile that clearly signaled he had no other option but to obey. Aaron lowered his shoulders in defeat, resigned to his inevitable destiny.
Downcast and defeated, Aaron felt Hannah give him a few soft, sympathetic pats on the back as a clear sign of support.
"Well then, it's all decided," Paola said with an excited grin, already imagining a relaxing weekend. "It looks like you'll be getting to spend some quality time with your big brother, my little princess," Paola cooed to Mia in a high-pitched voice. The baby didn't understand the situation at all, but hearing her mother's happy tone, she began to coo and babble in response.
"In that case, let's eat," Melissa said, consider the matter closed as she headed straight for the kitchen to finish preparing the meal. "I should probably head out then," Hannah said, pushing herself to her feet as she straightened her clothes and grabbed the bag she had brought with her.
"Aren't you staying for dinner?" Melissa asked from her spot in front of the stove. "I really don't want to be an inconvenience," Hannah started to say. "Nonsense, stay and join us," Paola insisted with a warm smile.
Knowing it would be incredibly discourteous to leave after such a direct invitation, Hannah sat back down on the sofa next to Aaron, who was still busy trying to process the news of his new babysitting duties.
"Dinner will be ready in just a moment," Melissa called out with a smile as her attention went back to the kitchen.
30 Minutes Later
"Everything was absolutely delicious, Mel," Hannah said with a sincere smile as she wiped her mouth with a napkin.
"I'm so glad you enjoyed it," Melissa responded, while she and the rest of the group finished up their meals.
"Now, I really think I ought to be going," Hannah said, checking the time and realizing that her curfew would be starting very soon.
Before Hannah or anyone else could stand up, they heard a firm knock at the door. Curious, Paola—being the person closest to the entrance—went to open it. "Yes? Can I help you?" she asked the person standing on the other side.
"Good afternoon, is this the Reed residence?" the man asked with practiced courtesy.
Opening the door wider, Paola saw a man standing there dressed in a sharp gray suit paired with a blue tie. His hair was neatly styled with gel, giving him the unmistakable aura of a high-level businessman.
"And may I ask who you are?" Paola asked, her voice tinged with suspicion. she had no idea who this man was or how he knew where the Reeds lived.
"Oh, please forgive my manners," the man said, extending a hand toward Paola. "I am John Calipari," he introduced himself. Paola shook his hand, though her mind was still racing, trying to figure out where exactly she had heard that name before.
On the other side of the room, as soon as Aaron heard the name, he shot up and headed toward the door. He stood right behind Paola, looking intently at the famous head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats, a man he had seen discussed countless times on television.
"Ah, Aaron Reed, the very young man I was hoping to speak with," Coach Calipari said, a courteous smile on his face. "May I come in?" he asked, gesturing toward the interior of the apartment.
After glancing at her aunt, Paola opened the door fully and stepped aside to let Coach Calipari pass. He nodded in gratitude as he walked straight into the kitchen area.
Fixing his gaze on Melissa, Coach Calipari wasted no time. He approached her directly, pulling a business card from his pocket and extending it toward her.
"I am John Calipari, head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats," he said. Melissa reached out and took the card, noting his name, phone number, and official details printed in the corner.
As she took the card and realized the identity of the person standing in her kitchen, a look of serious focus settled on Melissa's face. She could already intuit exactly what Coach Calipari's intentions were.
"Judging by your reaction, I think you already know exactly why I'm here," Coach Calipari said, his smile confirming everything she suspected.
"I think it's best if I head out now," Hannah said suddenly, grabbing her bag from the rack and preparing to leave. "Do you want me to walk you to the station?" Aaron asked his girlfriend, but she simply shook her head.
"I think you have much more important matters to attend to right now," Hannah told him. She glanced at Coach Calipari and gave him an apologetic smile. "Text me when you get home," was the last thing Aaron said before leaning in to give her a chaste goodbye kiss before she disappeared down the building's stairs.
"Your girlfriend?" Coach Calipari asked curiously, to which Aaron simply nodded. "You make a very charming couple," the coach added as a polite compliment.
"What brings you here, sir?" Aaron asked once he had taken a seat along with everyone else at the table. Three pairs of eyes were now locked onto the man sitting before them.
"I believe the motive is fairly obvious," Coach Calipari said with a confident smile. "I came because I sincerely hope that you will choose to join my team," he said bluntly, letting the statement hang in the air to give the three of them a moment to process it.
"If you've been following the news, you'll know what I've been assembling over these past few months," he said. Aaron's mind immediately flashed to the elite players who had already committed to the Wildcats, and he recalled the team's impressive run earlier that season.
"I am putting together a starting five composed exclusively of freshman players, and you are quite literally the missing piece of the puzzle," Coach Calipari said without hesitation, laying out the ambitious plan he had for the upcoming season.
"A seven-foot center who can facilitate the offense and knock down shots from long range is something completely unheard of—we simply haven't seen anything like it yet," he began his pitch, making sure to weave in plenty of praise for Aaron's unique skill set.
"My plan is to build a dual-playmaking core around you and Andrew Harrison," Coach Calipari continued, diving into more technical specifics. "And if we combine that with your elite rim protection alongside Julius Randle, we would be building a squad that would revolutionize both the SEC and March Madness," he finished, catching his breath after detailing his grand vision.
As he listened, Aaron's mind immediately drifted to a very specific word: "Tweakables." That was the nickname the Wildcats had earned that season after an interview where Calipari mentioned the team just needed to "tweak" their approach to finally win it all.
Despite a rocky season due to their youth, the team had shocked everyone by making it all the way to the March Madness final against UConn. Even though they lost, it was by a razor-thin margin of only 6 points.
Aaron couldn't help but wonder what might happen if he joined that group. Could they finally secure the championship next season with him in the lineup?
The idea was undeniably tempting. Aaron intended to play only one year in the NCAA before entering the draft, and heading into lottery night as an NCAA champion would skyrocket his draft stock, potentially securing him the number one overall pick.
Seeing that Aaron was lost in thought, Coach Calipari knew better than to push any further. He stood up. "I truly hope you give our offer serious consideration," he said, extending his hand to the young man. Aaron didn't hesitate to shake it.
The coach gave a quick nod of goodbye to the two women and exited the apartment. "So, what are you thinking?" Melissa asked, seeing that her son was still deep in reflection after the coach had departed.
"Well, to be honest, I think I've already decided where I'm going," Aaron said once he had finished weighing the pros and cons of the program.
"In that case, you'd better start getting used to Kentucky Fried Chicken," Melissa couldn't help but tease.
Authors thought's
What did you think of today's chapter? Give me your opinions and thoughts.
Don't forget to check out my other fic on my profile
Don't forget to subscribe to my Patreon to get more than 10 chapters in advance! https://www.patreon.com/c/merchant17
I created a Discord server! For those who want to join, the link will be here and on my profile https://discord.gg/fWZudwMkR
For everyone subscribing to my Patreon: if you're using an Apple device, avoid doing it through the app! Apple charges a commission, and you'll end up paying more. It's better to subscribe through the website instead.
For those who are fans of The Golden Standard, I'm sorry for not uploading a chapter yesterday. There were some complications at work. However, if you want to read more chapters, feel free to join my Patreon! Also, I just created a Discord server so I can hear all of your opinions.
I would also love to hear your thoughts on both stories so far, and if you have any suggestions!