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One
Malik
“And now, kids and families, please give a warm round of applause for Mister Malik Ford, The King!” the emcee announces me. “He’s one of the greatest basketball players of all times. Five times championship winner, eighteen times all-star, twice MVP, three times Olympic gold medalist. And I won’t even get into his shooting records.”
The crowd laughs, cheers, hoots and applauds as I walk on stage to shake the guy’s hand. It never gets old. Meeting the fans. Speaking in front of people who supported me when I played and still admire me now that I’m retired. And this audience is the best possible one. Young minds filled with hopes and dreams, with hopefully the time and right circumstances to achieve their goals. Kids growing up in the same neighborhoods we did.
A former professional football player, a tech genius, a finance wiz, and myself, are speaking at theBoys & Girls Clubof our hometown. Hoping to inspire the youth and communicate that perseverance and hard work are the true keys to success.
I settle into one of the seats set on the stage in a semi-circle and let my eyes roam over the crowd while the emcee introduces the other speakers. Most of the kids are elementary school age. They were each allowed to be accompanied by one adult. So the crowd is mostly made up of young boys and men.
And that’s the first thing that brings my attention to the pair sitting in the second row. It’s a little girl and a woman. The girl is cute as a button. Her wide smile reveals missing teeth, and she talks animatedly. The woman… the woman is abso-fucking-lutely gorgeous. They have the same long, curly hair, beautiful eyes and caramel complexion. The kid is maybe eight. The beauty talking and smiling back at her, probably a few years younger than my thirty-three. I wonder if they’re mother and daughter, or maybe sisters… Yeah that would definitely work better for me. Because just the thought of another man’s hands on her makes me see red.
The more I stare, the more captivated I become. Strange images of the three of us together flash through my mind. I have an arm wrapped around my woman’s shoulders and she’s holding our girl’s hand.What the fuck?I barely shake myself out of that insane reverie that the vision of my woman round and glowing comes to me.Okay, slow down, Ford. My heart squeezes in my chest, a strange sensation spreads inside me and the absolute certitude this is the one for me settles in my soul.
I mean, fucking look at her. Those long-lashed eyes, that full, sensual mouth. That creamy skin. Her smile is blinding, the energy she projects radiant. I’m fucking done for and I haven’t even fully seen her.
Me, Malik Ford, the bad boy of basketball. Always highly focused on the court and now in business, but an absolute rascal with women.
I don’t cheat, don’t lie, don’t make promises I won’t keep. But I also never wanted to wife anyone. Till now.
And this one? I don’t just want to make her mine. I want to make her heavy with my child. Bury myself so deep inside her, she becomes pregnant the first time I shoot my seed in her tight, wet channel. I want to love her, fuck her, grow old with her. Hear her laugh, know her stories. I fucking need this woman in my life.
* * *
The rest of the panel is a blur. I keep fidgeting and rearranging myself in my seat to hide my hard-on. I try keeping my eyes away from my woman, but every time her musical laughter hits my ears, my gaze is drawn back in their direction against my will.Fuck.
All my mental strength is used to push through the hour-long conversation. I can barely believe it when the emcee announces it’s time for us to go mingle with the kids. I step off the stage on stiff legs and stand on the spot showed to me.
Despite my impatience to collect my woman and get the fuck out of here, I’m really loving the positive energy filling the vast room.
The crowd divides itself in lines between myself and the other members of the panel. We chat with the kids and their families, sign autographs, take selfies.
Every so often, I look up to locate my girls. They’re in my line, chatting among themselves. Huge grins on their faces. Excited, happy. I notice the little girl is wearing a jersey. The colors of my team. The side of my mouth hooks up. But by the time she makes her way to me, someone has hijacked my woman. She’s caught in an animated discussion with another lady.Shit.
I turn my attention to the little girl and give her a big smile.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“Hey yourself, big guy.”
I chuckle. Of course she’s a smart-ass.
“Did you have a good time?”
She nods, her wide grin unashamedly exposing the gaps between her teeth.
“What’s your name?” I ask.
“Ana. It’s really nice to meet you, Mister Ford.”
She looks up at me, craning her neck. The joy in her eyes making me feel like I’m a dream come true. But her confidence doesn’t falter. This kid is something else.
“Same here, Miss Ana.”
I wink and she giggles. I’m totally smitten with both of these ladies.
“Listen, I don’t wanna hold the line, but there’s something I want to ask you?”
