Page 1 of Full Court Press

College—Senior Year

Ten Years Ago

“There goes my baabyy, ooo, girl, look at you. You don’t know how good it feels to call you my baby. Loving everything you do, ooo, girl, look at youuu.”

I stood in the living room of my six-bedroom home, cradling my baby girl, Kiyanne Imani, while her bright eyes looked up at me. A soft smile graced her little lips, and even at only three months old, I could see the admiration in her eyes. My heart expanded to its fullest capacity every time I held her in my arms or looked into her pretty face, knowing that this beautiful being in my arms admired me.

I didn’t think I could ever love something as much as I loved ball, but Kiyanne had been at the top of the list in my world. She may not have been planned, but the moment she entered this world, I knew I had to do everything I could to give her all of that and much more.

Nia, her mother, and I were at the stage in our lives where being in a relationship was way too complicated, so we opted to just remain friends and co-parent.

Things were good since my nana, Persia, and Nia’s grandmother, Mena, had been here helping us, but I still struggled with Nia’s mental health around our daughter.

So much had happened to her since the moment I met her, and I knew after giving birth to Kiyanne, it would be more stress on her than she could handle. So the only thing she did for our daughter was pump and send bags of breast milk for Kiyanne.

I asked her to get an abortion.

Not because I was some fuck boy and didn’t want the responsibility, but because we were still young, and neither of us asked to be young parents. We just weren’t ready to take on this type of task, but she was here now. And I, for one, loved the fuck out of my baby.

“I told you about spoiling her, Khalil. Every time you leave here, she fusses. It’s like she knows when you’re not here,” my nana said, coming from the kitchen.

“I can’t help it. I love her,” I said, smiling down at my baby.

Nana smiled at me. “I know you do. You’re doing an amazing job, and I’m proud of you.”

“Thank you, Nana. I have you and Moms to thank for that.”

Nana smiled and held her arms out. “Okay, give her to me, and get on out of here before you’re late.”

I kissed my baby’s cheeks and held her close for a few more seconds, then handed her over. As soon as she left my arms, she whimpered. The little pout on her face had me about to cancel practice.

“Go, Lilo.”

I laughed and kissed her cheek then Kiyanne’s. “Daddy will be right back, baby girl. I promise,” I said, grabbing my gym bag and leaving the house.

It was my last year at True State University, and throughout all the struggles, I had come out on top. I was a point guard for the varsity basketball team and an honor-roll student. Different scouts had come out to try to recruit me to play at their schools, but I refused to leave Texas.

One: I wanted my daughter to be near her mother, and two: I loved playing for TSU. I was already set to participate in the NBA Combine in January to see if I was eligible to play for the big leagues.

I’d always strived to be the best at anything I set my mind to. Basketball had become an escape for me during my childhood. Not having my father, and watching my moms struggle, made me want to try any and do everything to get us out of the hood.

I hated seeing my moms struggle.

She was my best friend, and I would move mountains to make her happy. She didn’t know it, but growing up, anytime I felt she needed something, I would lie and tell her I was at practice, but I was really around the neighborhood cutting grass all day. My best friend, Lamar, would come with me, and we’d make a good five to six hundred dollars in a day.

Whatever we split, I’d slip my portion in my moms’ purse, and she’d always be confused as to where the money came from. I knew she didn’t want me overextending myself, but I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t keep watching her try to make ends meet to feed my little sister and me. She was too prideful to ask her moms or pops for money at the time, so I took it upon myself to make sure she had a few dollars in her purse whenever I could.

Now, she was rolling in dough, happy, and married to my idol. I used to watch Drew Stanford, who played for the Detroit Vipers, on big screens, but now I see him on FaceTime almost every other day.

It was crazy how life worked.

I used to pray for better days for my moms. Being the oldest, I saw everything and felt everything. My and Kyani’s biological father was really a ho-ass nigga, and if I ever saw him again, I was fucking him up for all of the times he made my moms cry when I couldn’t do shit about it.

The relationship with my pops was dead. It took a minute, but I finally realized his ass wasn’t shit and wasn’t ever going to be shit.

I got inside my Benz truck and hurried across town to get to school before I was late.

My cell rang, displaying Nia’s name across the screen on my radio. I sighed heavily, trying my best to stay as calm as I could when I answered. With her, I never knew what type of time she was going to be on, so I had to stay ready for whatever person she was going to be that day.