Page 14 of The Only Shot that Mattered

Cam’s watery eyes lifted to Annalise. “I just need to make sure Kenna is okay.”

Damien watched the exchange, perplexed, but something in him told him that right now was not the time to pry. Instead, he said, “How about I order some pizza for us? It’s the least I can do since I kidnapped y’all.”

Unable to contain his excitement any longer, Alanzo pumped his fist up into the air and cheered. “Yeah! Gigi, did you hear that? Pizza with Damien Blaze!”

“I heard, chile, now sit down and act like you got some sense.”

“It’s okay. If you don’t mind, I can actually show him to the playroom right around the corner. My daughter used to be in there for hours on end, but she thinks she’s too grown for it lately. What do you say, lil man?”

“Can I?” Alanzo asked, whirling around to face his grandmother.

“That’s fine. Just mind your manners, Zo.” She cut her eyes at him in the way only women who had given birth could do.

He nodded before rushing toward Damien and grabbing his large hand. Damien smiled down at the little boy, loving his energy. It made him realize how badly he wanted more kids. He had missed out on so much with Skylar, and that was something he always struggled with. He wanted more children to fill hishome, and he wanted to be there for it all. He just prayed Skylar didn’t resent him for it.

Damien saw Annalise move over to the end of the couch, so she was close to where Cam sat in the chair. He knew she would comfort him. It was clear he was trying to remain strong, but Damien had learned long ago that there was nothing wrong with leaning on people when he wasn’t at his best.

As soon as he opened the door for the playroom, Alanzo took off. There were all kinds of toys, tablets, and video games in the room, and Damien knew he would be content for quite some time.

“You good? You need anything?” Damien asked. Alanzo shook his head as he found an electronic train set and fiddled with the controls. Damien chuckled. “We’ll be just down the hall, okay? Someone will come get you when the pizza is here.”

Alanzo nodded once again but didn’t verbally respond as he fell into play mode.

Damien kept the door cracked before he pulled his phone out of his pocket to order pizza. The doorbell rang as he tapped away on his phone, and he absentmindedly walked toward it. Before he could even touch the doorknob, it opened, and his best friend of twenty years poked his head into the house.

Dax’s smile was wide as hell when his eyes landed on Damien. “Boy, I wondered where you ducked off to. Why you ain’t answer my texts?”

Damien’s brows pulled together as he swiped into his messages and realized he had a couple of texts from Dax. “My bad, man. Shit got kind of tense for a minute after the threat back at the game.”

Dax stepped fully into the house and walked toward the family room like he owned the place. That was just how they rocked though. If Damien had been at Dax’s house, he would have done the same thing.

They met at eighteen in college and had been locked in ever since. They were drafted to separate teams right out of college, but they remained friends and had a friendly competition throughout those years. Finally, they both found their home with their hometown team, The Infernos, and their contracts had them locked in ever since. While Damien had made his retirement official and announced it months ago, Dax felt like he still had another season or two in him.

“Tense how? That ain’t nothing new for us.”

“Right, but the meet and greet people I was with?—”

Dax stopped his stride when he made it to the living room, and Damien could easily see why. Jendaya and Kenna were back from the bathroom. Kenna had puffy eyes, but she was still as beautiful as ever.

Dax grinned at her and cleared his throat. “D, you ain’t tell me we had company.”

Damien slapped his friend on the back of the head. “I have company. You don’t. I was just about to order pizza. You staying?”

“I don’t know. Are you staying, pretty lady?” Dax asked, looking back at Kenna.

Still fresh from her meltdown, she simply stared at Dax like a deer caught in headlights.

“Dax, go on somewhere and leave that girl alone.” Jendaya spoke up as she glared at Dax, who sucked his teeth.

“Don’t be rude, big head. Someone introduce me to our new friends.” Dax looked around the room.

Damien was the only one present who knew how Dax and Jendaya bickered like siblings, and the last thing he wanted was to hear that shit at the moment, so he smoothly intervened.

“Dax, this is Ms. Annalise, Cam, and Kenna. Ms. Annalise’s grandson is also here playing in the playroom.”

“And where we meet them at? It ain’t like you to pick up strays.” He glanced at the guests. “No offense.”

Damien shook his head and clapped Dax on the shoulders. “Please excuse my best friend. He didn’t have any home training.”

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