“I’m going to have to run laps for being late, but I don’t care, because getting to spend this time with you is well worth it,” I admit. “Do you have any plans for today?”
She shrugs. “I might just lounge around the house for a while before I get up to do some cleaning. Those clothes are starting to pile up,” she replies.
“Isn’t Keni in town?” I ask, and she nods. “Well, why don’t you go chill with her and Whitney today? I know they both need a break from the kids and wouldn’t mind catching up.”
“You know, that’s actually a great idea,” she nods.
I gently removed her arms from around me before sliding out of the bed. I walk over to the vanity where I’d placed my wallet, pull out one of my cards, and walk back over to give it to her. She takes it with no hesitation because she knows I don’t play that arguing back and forth stuff. She knows that when it comes to my money, it’s hers just as much as it is mine. I need to get her a card for my account, if I’m being honest.
“Go out, have fun with your girls, and when I get done with practice, I’ll come home and start the cleaning, okay?” She nods. I lean down to kiss her lips. “That’s my girl. Now, get some rest, because I know I wore you out. Imma jump in the shower and then head out within the next hour. I love you.”
“I love you too, Kay,” she smiled before getting comfy in the bed once more.
I spend the next half hour freshening up, then run her a bath and help her relax. Before I left the house, I fixed her a quick breakfast and set it aside before finally saying goodbye for the day. It didn’t take me long to reach the practice facility, and as expected, I was late as hell. So, I immediately hit the track upon my arrival. Ten laps later, I joined the rest of the team for practice.
Since we didn’t have a game today, we spent most of our time running plays, then played a quick scrimmage. One thing I loved about football was how much cardio we got in. It was very helpful for someone like me who was always on the go during the week. The increase in stamina was also very much welcome when it came time to put Zseyah through the mattress. Yeah, I think that might be my favorite perk of it all, not gonna lie.
“You were late as hell today,” Yari says as we make our way to the locker room once practice is over. “But what’s new, right?”
“Chill out,” I chuckled, shaking my head. “I was a little…busy this morning.”
“Right, right,” Peanut adds. “And by busy, you mean giving a certain someone a wake-up call, huh?”
“See, now y’all are inmybusiness,” I smirked, and they laughed. “So what if I wanted to spend a little extra time with my future wife. Athletes need breakfast, too.”
“Oooh, okay, I see you, Kayla,” Ash nodded. “Respect.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” I chuckled. “Now, stay outta my business. I just…”
I stop dead in my tracks when my eyes land on Sashastanding outside the locker room with her arms crossed over her chest. We exchange looks, and I can already feel the headache building the closer we get to where she was. I assumed that she wanted to talk to me, but I really wasn’t in the mood. But I also knew that if I ignored her, she’d only get more annoying and bothersome. So, I told the others to go ahead, and after confirming that I was sure, they nodded and entered the locker room, leaving me alone with Sasha.
“You got two minutes to say whatever you wanna say, and then I'm going to take my shower so I can head home to mygirlfriend,” I tell her, crossing my arms and leaning against the wall. She rolls her eyes. “Roll your eyes all you want, Sasha. YouknowI don’t fuck with you, so I don’t know why you’re always trying to hold a conversation with me.”
“This isn’t about you,Jakayla,” she snaps, saying my name like it was a curse. “Trust and believe, I wouldn’t even be entertaining your bitter ass if it weren’t for Zseyah.”
“Bitter, huh?” I chuckle, nodding. “Shit, if anyone is bitter, it’s you, not me. As I said, you don’thaveto be all up in my face. I’m not the one begging for attention.”
“And what the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Exactly what you think,” I retort, pushing off the wall to stand at my full height once again. “Cut the shit, Sasha. Why are youreallygiving Zee the run around? We both know that you don’t care about Serenity, so what’s your play?”
“My play is that I want to see my daughter,” she argues, and I smack my lips because she can’t be serious.
“Bullshit,” I scoff. “You’re not fooling me, Sasha. If that were the case, you would’ve asked to see her already. Youwould’ve shown up to court instead of constantly pushing it back. Admit it. You don’t care about Serenity. You’re only doing this to try to create a rift between Zee and me, but I have news for you, sweetheart: It’s not going to work.” She doesn’t reply. “You can throw a million rocks at the house we built, but Ipromiseyou, you’ll never shatter it.”
“You know what, think whatever you want about me, but just know that when I get custody of my daughter back, I’m going to make sure that youneverget to see her again.”
I step closer to her, towering over her by a couple of inches. “Sasha, you don’t want these problems, I can guarantee you that,” I inform her. “You actin’ real bold because for some delusional reason, you think you have the upper hand, when you barely have a horse in this race. But I promise you, as I stand here and breathe, if youeverthreaten to takemydaughter from me again, Imma show you just how much I don’t play about that little girl.I’vebeen the one helping raise her while you were out there doing god knows what. She doesn’t deserve someone like you as a parent anyway, and I’m not about to let you think that you deserve the chance to be in her life.”
“Well, good thing it’s not up to you then, right?”
“You know what, I don’t have the energy to keep entertaining your nonsense,” I sigh. “I don’t know what you thought you’d accomplish by seeking me out today, but I’m done with this conversation. If you have anything else you wanna say, run it by your lawyer. Don’t eventhinkabout reaching out to Zee. You understand?”
“And who the fu-”
“Aye,” I say, cutting her off. “Watch your mouth before you saysome shit you regret.”
“Have I ever told you how much I’ve always hated your ass?” She says, seething.
