Page 24 of The Only Shot that Mattered

When they landed, he gently woke Kenna, only for her to fall right back asleep when they got into the car.

On the way to the hotel, Cam explained that when she was anxious, Kenna slept a lot. That only made Damien feel bad. He didn’t want her feeling anxious in his presence, and now he made it his mission to figure out how to prevent that. He figured it had a lot to do with traveling and being in the public eye. It didn’t help that when they arrived at the hotel, paparazzi waited for them. The problem was that, at least for the next few months, this was his life. Because he was considered such a legend in the NBA, there were some aspects of this lifestyle that would follow him, like the paparazzi or fans, whenever he stepped foot outside.

“Aight, wrap it up,” Coach Lexington shouted, much to Damien’s relief. They had been at it for almost two hours, and he was more than ready to get back to the hotel and ask Kenna to dinner. He would invite Cam, too, but his focus was solely on thepretty eyed, shy beauty who felt like a mystery yet so comfortable to him.

His teammates stopped their drills and tossed balls to the ball boys scattered around the court before heading toward the locker room. Since this was an away game, Damien would opt to take a shower at the hotel instead of in the locker room. Back in Ellwood, they had private showers at their arena for their team, and Damien didn’t mind using those, but he never used the guest showers when they were away.

“What you on for the night, my guy?” Dax asked as he jogged up to Damien while wiping sweat from his forehead.

Damien hadn’t told anyone he invited Kenna and Cam to Atlanta. Normally, he and a few teammates would go grab some dinner and shoot the shit before curfew, but tonight, he had plans far better than that.

With a crooked grin, Damien entered the locker room with Dax by his side as he dapped up a couple of his teammates before making a beeline to the locker he was using. “I’m tryna secure a date.”

When he finally spoke, Dax had to do a double take, making him mess up his combination to the lock on his locker. “Say what now?”

Damien chuckled as he pulled his duffel bag out and reached for his phone. “I invited Kenna here. She’s at the hotel.”

Dax’s eyes widened and a smile spread across his face. “I ain’t think you had it in you, my boy.”

Damien waved him off as he sent Skylar a response to the Tik Tok she sent him. When he finished, he looked his friend in the eye with a grin and then moved past him, patting him on the shoulder. “I’ll see you on the court tomorrow.”

“Hell nah,” Dax shouted from behind Damien. “Be here early so we can talk about your date with Ms. Pretty.”

Damien turned and mugged Dax before sticking his middle finger up and rushing out of the locker room. He knew Dax was all talk and harmless, but he didn’t like him referring to Kenna as pretty, even though she was. Actually, she was much more than that. She was breathtaking, and that thought only pushed him to get back to the hotel quicker so he could take a shower and then go see about the new woman in his life who had stolen all his focus.

The hotelthey were staying in was fancy as hell. Kenna thought the decor was beautiful with the high ceilings and shiny floors. The fountain in the middle of the lobby sounded soothing, which she appreciated because it calmed her nerves.

As soon as they landed, Damien had to go straight to practice. He made sure they got to the hotel and had their room keys though. When he got back, he knocked on her door while she and Cam were lounging around and asked them to have dinner with him.

Kenna thought it was suspicious that Cam pulled out of the dinner plans last minute, claiming to be too drunk from all the tequila he had on the plane, even though that had been hours ago. Although Cam was her security blanket, she found herself happy that she could get some time alone with Damien.

She sat by the fountain, where Damien asked her to wait for him, and wondered if she dressed okay for the occasion. She didn’t want to dress too sexy, but she definitely wanted Damiento notice her. Her pink patterned maxi dress had a long slit up the thigh and showed off her cleavage. She thanked God for allowing Cam to talk her into bringing something cute to wear in case they went to a nice dinner or something. She made a mental note to get Cam’s help with packing next time too.

Next time? Look at you, girl, already planning for the future.

She shook the thought away with a slight smile. She couldn’t deny that Damien had her acting differently. Deep down, she always yearned for companionship in a romantic way. The issue was, she would never step out of her comfort zone to go find it. It seemed things were changing quickly for her. Here she was in Atlanta with the finest man she had ever laid eyes on, who also happened to be a famous NBA player. She had to be living inside someone else’s dream.

Chatter picked up behind her, and she turned instinctively. Kenna always made it her business to be as nosy as possible when in public. It made her feel like she had a handle on her surroundings. She should have known Damien had made an appearance. It wasn’t lost on her how his fans fawned over him. When they got to the hotel earlier, she peeped how start struck everyone was over him.

She didn’t get it. Not that she wasn’t drawn to him, too, because she definitely was, but for different reasons. It wasn’t because he was Damien Blaze. It was because of his kind nature and the way he looked at her, like he wanted to know every part of her soul from the surface down into the smallest crevices within her being. She felt safe with him, like she could tell him her life story, and after, he would help carry the burdens that pressed down on her.

When he finally spotted her, the grin he gave his fans melted into a genuine smile for her. She chose to play the background and watch while he signed a few autographs and took photoswith his fans. Eventually, though, she noticed Rock break up the crowd. Kenna hadn’t even seen him there, but she realized Damien rarely moved without his security by his side, Rock being the main one.

Damien swaggered toward her, his eyes locked on her. As soon as he reached her, he grabbed her hand and caressed her knuckles, causing goosebumps to cover her arms.

They stared at each other for several long seconds before Damien broke the silence.

“You’re beautiful.”

Kenna’s blush spread across her cheeks as she avoided his gaze with an unstoppable smile dancing on her lips.

“Thank you,” she finally whispered.

She noticed Damien looking around at all the attention they had on them. Kenna’s focus expanded from being solely on Damien, and she realized how uncomfortable it made her. A camera flashed, nearly blinding her, and anxiety filled her to the brim.

As if he was completely in tune with her, Damien gently pulled her into him, shielding her from the nosy people standing around the lobby. They briskly walked toward the restaurant, which was tucked behind the lobby of the hotel. That surprised Kenna. She assumed they would go somewhere else to eat. For some reason, staying in the hotel filled her with disappointment, not because she really wanted to leave, but because she didn’t feel like being bothered with his fans. Then she had to rationalize that Damien was a big deal, so it really didn’t matter where they went. Her thoughts were quickly sending her down a spiral as they made their way into the restaurant.

“Mr. Blaze, right this way,” the hostess said before Damien could utter a word.

---