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“A run for the championship is always the goal.”
“Thank you, Nate. Back to you, Jody.”
I walked away with a smile on my face. Kenya Zenith was definitely my driving force. Talking to her earlier sparked my heart again. Sometimes I hated that I was so passionate. It didn’t take much for a woman I was interested in to infiltrate my entire being. That was what had me getting hurt. Although I knew she said she was done with her relationship, I knew she was still speaking from a place of hurt and anger. She could very well choose to work things out with him.
After taking my shower and getting dressed, I was ready to get home and relax. When my phone rang, I looked at it and smiled. It was Jakari. I was pretty sure he’d seen the game tonight. “What’s up?” I said as soon as I answered the phone.
“Nigga! You know what’s up! You played a hell of a game tonight. You was firing at all cylinders and converting every shot you took! I’m glad your teammates kept feeding you when they saw that shit you was on!”
“Yeah, me too. Thanks, man.”
“Don’t be trying to sound all nonchalant and shit! I know you about to burst at the seams.”
“I’m excited! You know that!”
“So where you going to celebrate?”
“My house. I’m tired as hell.”
“Mm hmm. What shot you done took in your personal life? I heard that interview.”
“TAZ’s sister, Kenya.”
“Ahhh, you said you was gon’ holla eventually. That’s what’s up. Well, Jess went into labor yesterday. She had a little girl.”
“Congratulations. Pass that to her for me.”
“Yep. I will. See, I should’ve been at the game so we could have gone out tonight to celebrate.”
I wasn’t even focused on what he was saying now. I was thinking about Jess. She should have been mine, having my baby. Taking my thoughts back to Kenya, I smiled. I could imagine her being pregnant with a little Nate. Jakari had my ass jumping the gun though. I could easily move fast when I was for sure about my feelings for a woman, but I knew it was in my best interest to take my time this go ’round.
“You should’ve been, but I know your lady is pregnant. How’s Yendi doing?”
“She’s good. She’s fourteen weeks along. I can’t wait to see what she’s having.”
“I’m excited for you, man.”
“A’ight. I’ma let you go. We gotta hook up whenever you come back to Houston.”
“I’ll be back in a couple of months. So I’ll hit you up.”
“That’s what’s up. Congratulations again!”
“Thanks, bruh.”
Everyone else seemed to get more excited than I did. My emotions were running high for sure, but I expressed them in the moment. When the buzzer sounded, I expressed them on the court. Once my adrenaline slowed down, that was it. As I got to the caution light, my phone chimed. It was a message from my mama.Congratulations, baby!
I smiled slightly. My mind journeyed back to Jessica though. I still couldn’t believe she’d had a baby. Letting go of her was hard, but after she finally told me to let go, I didn’t have a choice but to honor her wishes. I supposed somewhere in the back of my mind, I was hoping she would see she made a mistake. Just by her giving me permission to be wherever she was had my hopes up. I would take her with the quickness… baby and all.
When I met her, she stole my breath away, and I was just starting to get that shit back. When I got to the caution light, I checked my phone again to see the text messages I’d missed. There were a few from my grandparents and a couple of relatives, but none from Kenya. I just knew she would have sent a congratulations or at least something acknowledging what I’d said in the interview, but there was nothing.
This loner life wasn’t for me. I should have gone out with my teammates. Maybe it wasn’t too late. I needed to go home first though.
Once I got home and had gone inside, my phone started ringing. When I saw Noah’s name, I smiled. “What’s up, bruh?”
“Shiiid, you tell me, superstar! Great game tonight!”
“Thanks, bruh.”
