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Shakira
Kendall had been right.
Once it was confirmed that Hunter would be out for the remainder of the season, the bookmakers hadn’t wasted a second making the Skyhawks the underdogs going into their divisional round playoff matchup against Tennessee. And even though I honestly found that shit a little disrespectful since they were still the top team in their conference and had already beat the same team once before, I couldn’t really be too mad since it brought forth the exact scenario Kendall had in mind when he’d suggested he had a way to help my dad. A scenario where instead of having to lose a game,which wasn’t even an option, Snoop would be tasked with completing the same goal he’d been focused on all year.
Winning in the playoffs.
For as much as I’d been looking forward to this moment since learning the devastating details of how Kendall’s last trip to the postseason had ended, it was crazy how sick to my stomach I was now that the day was actually here. But obviously, I had my reasons, the fact that my dad was currently hiding out at my Auntie Iris’s house after taking a quick trip back to Las Vegas to place his bet on the game making this whole thing feel surreal as I watched Kendall run through his pregame warmup drills like everything was normal.
Things weren’t normal, though.
We both knew that.
But for the sake of mixed company, Kendall and I still acted like it was when he approached where I was standing with his sisters on the sidelines, his dimpled grin on full display when he said, “Whassup, Shaky?”
“Hi, Snoopy,” I smiled, slipping into his extended arms for a hug and pressing a quick kiss against his lips before I asked, “You ready to ball?”
“I was born ready,” Kendall answered, his confidence calming my nerves just slightly as Anastasia came over and started hyping him up.
“That’s right, bro. It’s already in you. This shit is light work.”
“Yeah, what she said,” Kimberly tagged on with a smirk. And while it was nice to hear her coming with a little positivity for a change, it was unfortunate that the moment almost instantly got ruined once a familiar face strolled past us, the sight of Enzo making me scowl hard when he said, “Well, well, well. If it ain’t my old B and her new one.”
Only because Kendall’s arm was still around my shoulder did I feel the way his body tensed up. But other than that, he didn’t outwardly respond, not even after Enzo said, “Good luck today, Lil’ Doggie.I mean… woof, woof.”
“What did I ever see in that corny ass nigga?”I thought, rolling my eyes at both him and myself when he finally walked away. And I wasn’t the only one irritated, Kimberly waiting until Enzo was out of earshot before she groaned, “I’ve never even met that dude, but I hate him so fuckin’ much.”
“Yeah, I don’t see how you did it, Kiki,” Anastasia chimed in, only to backtrack a few seconds later when she said, “Wait. Let me not lie, cause he is fine or whatever. But other than that…”
“A lesson learned,” I told her. “That’s all I’ll ever have to say about him.”
“And that’s more than you ever need to say about him,” Kendall added, pulling me back in tightly when he grumbled, “Fuck that nigga.”
“You’re absolutely right,” I agreed before pressing him with another kiss. And I suppose it was the way he smiled down at me adoringly after the fact that made his little sister coo, “Ugh, I just love y’all.”
While Kendall and I both started to chuckle in response, Anastasia urged, “Okay, now do the secret handshake.” And even though I knew he thought the shit was silly, I was happy that Kendall obliged, the way we hit it perfectly on the first try feeling like a good sign of things to come as he pressed a lingering kiss against my forehead and then found my eyes to say, “Love you, Shake.”
“Love you more, Snoopy. No matter what.”
It wasn’t out of the ordinary for me to be wholeheartedly supportive of Kendall win, lose, draw, or ejection. But considering just how much was riding on this particular game, it felt even more important for me to let him know that no matter what the outcome was today, I’d still be here regardless. And from the content look he responded with, I could tell he really appreciated hearing that, Kendall using the moment to also speak confidence into the situation when he said, “See you after we win.”
I fully believed him.
Fully believedinhim.
But when the game finally got underway, Hunter’s absence was felt almost immediately, the rookie wide receiver making Enzo look like a damn Hall of Famer as he knocked down every ball that came his way and even got an early interception that I knew had Kendall pissed.
Thankfully though, he was able to bounce back on the next possession after the defense got a huge stop, Kendall taking matters into his own hands when he used his speed and athleticism to drive the ball down the field. And once the Skyhawks were in the red zone, they relied on Carmelo to power the ball in for a few yards on back-to-back plays, the assumption that they’d be going to him for a third time allowing Kendall to easily sneak around the pile of players for the first touchdown of the game.
“Hell yeah!” I shouted before dishing out high fives to everyone in the suite within reach. And in this case, that included Kimberly, who I couldn’t help but laugh at when our hands missed each other’s on the first try.
“That checks out,”I thought, shaking my head with an amused smirk once we got it right on our second attempt. And after watching the extra point kick successfully go through the goalpost, I felt myself relax a little for the first time all game; though it wasn’t long before I was right back tense after Tennessee returned the next kickoff for a touchdown and then made an extra point kick of their own to tie the score.
Shit.
The way the first half continued in a back-and-forth fashion had me spent by the time the two-minute warning finally rolled around. And when Tennessee was able to squeeze in another touchdown before the clock ran out that gave them both a seven-point lead and some great momentum going into halftime, I literally started to feel nauseous; so much so that when Anastasia noticed, she felt the need to lean over and ask, “Umm… is there something you need to tell me, Kiki?”
“What?No,” I answered with a frown. “The intensity of this game is just…reallygetting to me.”
