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Epilogue
Three Months Later
Shakira
My poor Snoopyhadn’t been able to hang with the big dogs.
As someone who chose not to drink alcohol during the season,and really hadn’t had much since it ended, it shouldn’t have surprised anybody that Kendall was a damn lightweight. But apparently, my man called himself trying to be ambitious by keeping up with Hawk and their crew at his bachelor party, leading to a rough night that had him getting dropped off at home early and the rough morning that I was sure to come next which was why I was letting him sleep in.
Usually, we’d both already be down in his home gym by now, with him lifting weights and me on the Peloton bike he’d fallen in love with to the point of needing his own after using the one at my house a few times. But since Kendall was sleeping in, I was taking my time getting up too, finding rest more necessary than ever these days because…well…
The thought alone was enough to make me nauseous, sending me to the bathroom to rid my stomach of the pineapple upside down cake I’d eaten as a midnight snack right after Kendall got home. And now that I was already up and out of bed, I figured I’d might as well go ahead and replenish with something a little more nutritious, leading me towards the kitchen to check out my options until I saw a set of headlights flash through the living room window like somebody had just pulled into the driveway.
At this hour, though?
Moving towards the glass, I watched as Anastasia very quickly hopped out of the passenger seat of a car that looked strangely familiar. And when the driver started to pull off, I realized exactly who it belonged to, the custom “GOINLNG” license plates making my eyebrows raise as I heard the front door being unlocked and then watched as Anastasia rushed inside and headed straight upstairs to her room.
“Yeah, she was definitely on some hot girl shit,”I thought, smirking as I finally made my way to the kitchen. And when Anastasia had the nerve to come back downstairs in her pajamas yawning like she’d just gotten up when I knew good and well that wasn’t the case, I couldn’t help but tease, “So… are we gonna talk about whose car I just saw you getting out of at the ass crack of dawn?”
Since she hadn’t noticed me standing in the living room when she’d snuck upstairs, my question made her go stiff. But then she smirked, moving closer towards where I was standing to challenge, “Only if you wanna talk about the multiple positive pregnancy tests I saw in your bathroom trash can when we were over at your crib a few days ago.”
Oh shit.
Because I’d been spending so much more time at Kendall’s since the season ended, I hadn’t really even thought about doing the usual house prep like emptying the trash before I’d invited all of the usuals over to my house for an impromptu dinner. But now, I was wondering who else might’ve seen the tests and just hadn’t said shit or assumed they weren’t mine, the thought of Kendall being on that list leading me to beg, “Promise me you won’t say anything to your brother.”
Of course, I was going to tell him sooner than later.
I just wanted to tell him in my own way.
And I was grateful that Anastasia was choosing to,somewhat, respect that when she bargained, “As long as you,too,promise you won’t say anything to my brother.”
Since who she chose to late-night creep with wasn’t at all my business to tell, it was nothing for me to agree to her terms, the two of us sealing our deal with a pinky promise just as her brother strolled into the kitchen looking…a hot mess.
Still fine.
But also like he’d had a long night, the fact that his evening had actually been cut short and the reason behind it making it easy for me to tease, “Good morning, party animal.”
“Man, I’m never drinking again,” Kendall groaned as he plopped down onto one of the bar stools. Then he rested his head against the island countertop like he just couldn’t stand to keep it upright, the way the hangover was so clearly whooping his ass making his sister laugh when she said, “Damn, Snoop. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you down this bad.”
“Two words,” he grunted. “Casa. Migos.”
“I’m pretty sure it’s actually just one word,” I giggled. “But anyway.Here.Drink this.”
Once I slid a bottle of the Pedialyte Sport he usually drank during his workouts to him from across the island, I couldn’t help but laugh at how quickly he snatched it up and downed it like he was desperate for any relief. But knowing hydration alone wasn’t going to be an instant cure, I made him some toast and then sent him back to bed where he stayed until it was time for us to get ready to go to Hawk and Briyana’s wedding.
Or rather, until I had tomakehim get up to get ready for Hawk and Briyana’s wedding after I was already dressed.
Yeah, my man was on the struggle bus big time.But for his teammate and brother, he was pushing through, using the long shower to aid in his recovery and coming out of the steamy bathroom looking like a wet dream that had me wanting to get back undressed until I saw I had an incoming call from my father.
Shaking off the lusty trance I was in, I answered the call on speakerphone with a cheery, “Hi, Daddy. How are you? How is everything?”
“Everything is good, baby girl,” he replied, the joy in his voice making my smile grow wider since I knew the last few months hadn’t exactly been easy on him.
He’d tried an outpatient treatment that hadn’t been effective.
He’d moved back to Houston and still found himself enticed by all the gambling options on his phone.
And now, he was in a more intensive, inpatient treatment program located in another state.
