Page 67 of Unexpected Pass

“There’s no such thing as too much when it comes to you, Phee.”

She looked at herself in the mirror again. Her fingers brushed the pendant and the soft leather of the bag in her other hand.

“Thank you again. I love them.”

“Good,” I said, kissing her shoulder one more time. “Picture?”

I took out my phone, but she held up her hand to stop me.

“I got you something too.”

She ran to the closet and back, smiling big when she returned.

“Here.” She handed me a bag. “I don’t have your pockets, but I think you may like it,” she said shyly as I opened the black and white shopping bag.

I recognized the bag from the bags my mother had brought here earlier, claiming they were clothes from some custom order Phileigh had gotten from a boutique. Those two had been plotting on me. My mouth dropped the moment I pulled the jersey out of the bag.

“Phee.” I gasped at the custom jersey, which had my Warhawks jersey on one side and my brother’s 49ers jersey on the other.

“I hope you like it,” she said shyly.

I pulled her into a hug. I could buy myself anything I wanted in this world, but this was thoughtful. This said she got it. She knew what I needed.

“I fucking love it.” I kissed her lips. “I’m going to frame it,” I told her, pulling back to fold it up nicely and put it back in the bag.

“Come here. I want to remember this moment.” I grabbed her close and snapped a few selfies of us. “Those are perfect. Let’s get outta here.”

“Oh, wait, let me just spray some more perfume.” She ran toward the dresser where she’d unloaded all her girl shit.

“I’ll be at the door,” I said, heading toward the living room as I swiped through the pictures of me and Phileigh. Damn, she looked good as hell on my arm. Being spontaneous, I opened the Picsgram app, and with a deep breath and a grin, I typeda simple caption and posted the photo. We’d planned a post already, but this one seemed better. Phileigh was killing this dress, her locs were styled perfectly, she’d just given me a fresh cut, and I looked like the happiest nigga on the planet, grinning like a man who knew exactly what he had.

@KellonBarnes:Mine. No questions. @Phileighthebarber #ValentinesDay #someonespecial #softlaunch

“Done,” I said as Phileigh walked into the front room.

“What did you do?”

“You’ll see in three… two…”

Her phone buzzed. She checked it slowly. Her eyes grew big.

“Kellon… this was not what your mother approved.”

“I’m a grown man, baby, and it’s time the people know.” I shrugged. “Let’s go.”

I grabbed her hand and led her down the elevator and into the parking garage where I kept my cars.

“Wait. You’re driving?” She looked confused as I opened the door to my black-on-black Rolls Royce Phantom.

“Yeah. Is that a problem?”

“No. I just assumed you didn’t like it or something.”

“I don’t, but Monte and Doug have the night off for the holiday. So, here we are.” I rounded the car and got into the driver’s side, smirking a little when she pulled her seat belt a little tighter. She really didn’t think I could drive.

“I got you,” I said as I pulled out of the garage and headed toward the restaurant, which was luckily only a few minutes away. The ride was quiet as we both vibed out to the sounds of Coco Jones. We didn’t need words—just her hand in mine and a few stolen glances at each other. The silence said everything we were both thinking. We had each other. Whatever the night had for us, we were going to face that shit together, make the best of it, and fuck each other senseless when we got home.

We arrived at the private Valentine’s Day dinner spot a few minutes later, despite the traffic. I valeted my whip and then escorted Phileigh inside like the beautiful trophy she was. The dinner was being hosted at a luxury rooftop restaurant. The vibes were cool. The place was decked out with velvet, candles, and expensive-looking glass furniture. Phileigh seemed impressed as we made our way up the elevator to where the rest of the team was. The elevator doors opened, revealing a few of my teammates and their spouses. Their eyes immediately gravitated to us.

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