Page 72 of Love & Streetball

“Look at me,” I said softly, between our lips.

Slim opened her eyes.

“You good?”

She nodded.

“Nah, I need you to say it.”

“I’m good, Kane.”

“You sure?”

“Yes.” Her voice came out stronger that time. “I’m nervous, but I’m sure. I want to.”

I searched her face, making sure she wasn’t telling me what she thought I wanted to hear. Slim could talk big all day, but I knew her. I knew when she was scared, when she was holding something back, and when that attitude was just armor.

“If you change your mind, say that,” I told her. “I don’t care if we already started. I don’t care how far it goes. You tell me to stop, and I’m stopping.”

“I know.”

“I’m serious.”

“Kane, I know you would never hurt me intentionally,” Slim said. “I want this.”

Stepping back away from me, Slim lifted the shirt she wore. She was braless. My eyes roamed over her small breasts. I swallowed hard. Shit was harder than I thought it would be. One side of my brain wanted to do this because it’s been so long. While the other side, didn’t want to break Slim in. If she wasn’t already obsessed and in love with me now, she would be after this. I wasn’t being cocky about it, but the way Kayla acted, I knew for sure I was some pressure in the bedroom even at a young age.

“Now, I didn’t shave…you know. I might need to start going to get waxes,” she told me through a nervous chuckle.

“I’m not worried ‘bout that. C’mere.”

Slim took two steps to me. I picked her up, her legs wrapping around me. I lips connected again. I wanted Slim to remember this night. I had no doubt she wouldn’t, but I wanted it to be perfect for her.

I took Slim to the bed and placed her down on it. I took my time with her. Whenever she tensed, I slowed down. Whenever doubt flickered across her face, I reminded her that we could stop, but Slim kept pulling me closer.

Her fingers intertwined with mine, and I held on as the rest of the room disappeared around us. The night wasn’t about the hotel, the expensive gifts, or the plans I had spent weeks putting together. It was about us, love, and where we would go from here.

19

Kane’s college graduation…

I woke up in Kane’s apartment in Louisiana. Naked and buried under the sheets. Ever since our first time together in that hotel, and how Kane made my body feel, I couldn’t get enough of him. It was painful at first, but Kane talked me though it the whole time. He stopped when he felt I needed it, but the second round the next morning before checkout was…amazing.

Kane was already up. He was graduating from LSU in two hours and then the NBA draft was next week. Instead of declaring for the draft during college, he chose to finish all four years and then declare. Then in two months, the WNBA draft would be held, and my agent was getting me prepared for it.

My life felt like it was moving at a speed I could barely keep up with. Kane was about to become an NBA player. I was preparing to enter the WNBA. We had agents, interviews, workouts, endorsement meetings, and people suddenly pretending they had believed in us from the beginning.

I reached across the bed and grabbed Kane’s T-shirt from the floor. After pulling it over my head, I slid from beneath the covers and went searching for him.

Music played low from the living room. I followed the sound and found Kane doing pushups. I stood watching the muscles in his back flex. My core throbbed as if we didn’t go at it all night already. As if he sensed me behind him, Kane hopped up and turned around to face me.

“Ready to eat?” he asked through hard breaths.

Eyeing him from head to toe, I nodded slowly. A smile tugged at my lips. Kane guffawed.

“Maaaan, I done turned you into a freak. Chill. We can do allat later on, baby. Let’s get some food and then shower. I have to be at Assembly Center on time. You and your pussy trying to hold me back.”

I tugged at the bottom of his shirt I wore and laughed. My locs fell over my face. Moving them back, I told Kane that I would order us Dennys and then go pick it up while he go ahead and get his shower out of the way. If we end up in there together, we he would definitely be late to the ceremony.