Page 60 of Hood Legacy

“Bye, Aceyn.” I stepped around him and continued toward the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I walked out of the lounge and, yet again, stopped walking. His truck was parked outside the door, less than ten feet from me, on the sidewalk as if it belonged there. I walked to the truck, opened the door, and got in. After I started it, I adjusted the seat and pulled off just as he came out of the lounge.

As I drove home, I thought back to how he acted in the lounge; again, I wasn’t surprised. Aceyn was a crash out; hell, all the men he surrounded himself with were, too, so his behavior wasn’t abnormal to them. I would have to get used to it because I knew that even though I was upset and annoyed, I wasn’t going anywhere because I loved him.

* * *

“Hello?” I answered my phone a few hours later. I’d just been able to close my eyes after tossing and turning all night, trying to get comfortable. Not sleeping next to Aceyn wasn’t something I was used to.

“Hey,” a deep voice replied. “I was just checking in on you; I haven’t heard from you in a while.”

I moved the phone from my ear to look at the screen and sighed at seeing Michael’s name. As the director of team and player public development for the league, we saw a lot of each other right before the season started, and then it dwindled to him showing up to a game or two with his wife. Every few months, he would call or text to check in.

“Hey, Mike,” I sighed as I put the phone on speaker, set it on my pillow, and laid back down. “How are you?”

“I can’t complain,” he replied. “The season is about to start, and I’ll be busy, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Same,” I agreed as I closed my eyes. I adjusted the bonnet on my head and pulled the covers to my neck. The smell of Aceyn’s cologne floated in the air, and I ruffed in annoyance because I knew it was just my brain messing with me. “I’ll see you later today, right?”

“Absolutely, and it was the reason I was calling. Are you free to have dinner tonight?” he asked. “Just me and you. We can catch up.”

“I can’t do tonight, I have plans with Aceyn,” I declined. I didn’t have plans, but he didn’t know that. Michael was cool to be around, but he was married, and even though his wife didn’t seem to care that he and I were friends, I never accepted a dinner invite until I knew she would be there.

“Aceyn?” he questioned with a slight attitude. “As in Aceyn Bowlin?”

“Yeah,” I answered, then yawned. “We are dating.”

“Dating?” The anger in his voice was evident, which made me sit up and look at the screen. “You’re dating him?”

“Yes,” I answered slowly. “Why?”

“Legacy, he is a fucking thug–”

“Mike, chill,” I laughed to keep from sounding angry, which was starting to happen. I didn’t like his tone or how he was trying to downgrade Aceyn’s character. I had no idea that Aceyn and Mike knew each other, but I wasn’t surprised since they both worked with the W. But one thing I was not about to do was let Mike disrespect Aceyn. He was a lot of things and maybe a little bit crazy, but he was my fucking man, and I’d go to hell and back for him.

“No, I will not chill out,” he quickly replied. “Aceyn is ghetto trash. The entire team is, if you want to be honest. Pyrite Stone allows him to do whatever he wants, and he’s just the team doctor. And if you want to be honest, I even question that!”

“What the fuck is your problem, Mike?” I asked with an attitude. “You know what? Don’t answer that because if you do and I don’t like what you say, I’m going to tell Aceyn, and that ghetto trash that you have such a big fucking issue with will show up and fuck you up.”

“You’re defending him?” he scoffed as if the thought disgusted him. “You’ve stooped so low for no reason, Legacy. You’re a beautiful and talented woman. You could have any man you want.”

“And I do,” I laughed. “I have the one fucking man I want. Now get off my phone, Mike, because the more you talk, the more I realize how much I don’t like the words coming from your mouth.”

“Now, wait a minute, Legacy–”

“Goodbye, Mike,” I said, shaking my head. I pressed the end button, fell back into bed, and covered my face with my arm. That wasn’t the conversation I expected to have, but I wasn’t going to let it fuck up my mood.

“Aye, who was you in here arguing with?” Aceyn said, walking into my bedroom. I lifted my arm and watched as he strolled into the room, holding a bottle of water and his phone. He looked good in black slacks, a blue button-down shirt, and a pair of black loafers on his feet. His hair and goatee were freshly cut and lined. He wore his signature iced-out black diamond watch and studs in his ears, but the blue diamond L around his neck was new. “Point Guard, you heard me.”

“When did you get here?” I asked as I sat up. “And, how did you get in?”

“I got here last night after you went to sleep, and I used Mercy’s key.” He sat in the chair across from my bed and mugged me. “Now, answer my question, who the fuck were you arguing with?”

“That’s breaking and entering,” I sighed as I shook my head. “That’s illegal.”

“Call the police, then,” he challenged, then sat back and crossed his ankles. “And just so you know, I don’t give a fuck what it is because I told you last night that we don’t sleep apart. I meant that shit. If you’re here, then so am I.”

“You can’t just break into my house, Aceyn.” I got out of bed and went to the bathroom to pee and handle my hygiene. “Women might like that shit in books, but this is real life. I don’t.”

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