Page 80 of So This Is Love

“My father coached football for years and when I was little I was always out on the field with him. I was like his shadow and all the guys embraced me as a part of the team but no one ever called me Bryce, my real name. They always said ‘Coach’s son’ and then that got shortened to ‘son’ and then just ‘Sonny’ and ‘Sonny’ stuck as a nickname for me ever since.”

“Thank you for sharing that with us,” Danika says with a soft smile.

The interview continues on with Danika asking other personal and professional questions, most of them being things thatMorgan and I prepped for. Until the one topic that I hoped she wouldn’t ask me about.

“Notably, you are rarely seen publicly linked to a woman. Until recently, the closest had been your rumored relationship with artist, Essence. What can you tell us about your new boo?”

I look over at Morgan who’s standing on the sidelines of the set, questioning with my eyes whether she knew this topic would be discussed or not. She shakes her head, fury in her eyes on my behalf. Morgan and I had extensive conversations about how I didn’t want to use my relationship with Laila as a marketing tactic.

The show isn’t live so I know this part will be edited out post production.

“Essence is a great person to work with but it has only ever been that, nothing more. As for my current relationship, that isn’t something that I really want to speak on.”

“Hmmm, so this is just going to stay your little secret.”

“No, not at all,” I say. “A secret implies something to hide and nothing about my relationship is a secret but we do want to be private. She didn’t ask to be thrust into the spotlight, she isn’t seeking fame, and that shouldn’t have to change simply because she chooses to be with me. Everyone deserves their privacy.”

Danika turns to the camera for a dramatic effect. “Oh he’s serious serious y’all”

With that, Danika takes the hint and moves on to another topic.

30

Sonny

I fake left onmy defender and then step back, bring the ball up and take my shot. The ball bounces off the rim and Malik rebounds it, passing it to one of his teammates before it gets passed back to him for an easy layup.

Game point.

I make my way over to the sideline, grabbing my towel and wiping the sweat off my face.

“You aight, man? I don’t think I’ve seen you play that bad since the fifth grade,” Chris says chuckling, his tone light.

I send a glare in his direction as I grab my duffel bag and start packing my things up to leave.

He raises his hands in mock surrender. “I’m just telling it how I see it.”

He wasn’t wrong, Ihadplayed like shit today, missing nearly all my shots and slow on getting rebounds.

“I’m good,” I say, ignoring his comment.

Chris reached out the day the pictures surfaced of me and Laila. He congratulated me on the release of my single and also told me that he was always available if I needed to talk.

“I meant what I said before,” he says, the humor gone from his voice. “I’m here if you need me.”

“Appreciate it,” I say, dapping him up.

I toss a hand in goodbye to the rest of the group before I leave the gym.

Xavier has already brought the car up to the door of the building so I easily slide into the passenger seat and he drives me back to my place. After the photo leak, I've been keeping security around me more than I used to.

I drop my duffel bag by the door, and toe out of my shoes. I make it a few steps into the living room before I stop mid step.

Laila is curled up on my couch, a blanket wrapped tightly around her as she sleeps. I’m shocked at her presence, especially since our communication has been nonexistent except one text telling me that she needed space.

I walk over to the couch and smile when I hear her soft snores. I gently run a finger down her cheek and she doesn’t stir.

Seeing her again in my space reminds me just how much I’ve missed her. I respected that she needed space but I would be lying if I said that it was easy to keep my distance from her. No good would have come from me putting my own feelings over hers, so like I told her I would before, I followed her lead.

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