Page 34 of Guarding Our Love
I laughed at his audacity in questioning me. The tone of his voice let me know he wasn’t thrilled about us going to that game. Well, at least being around Calil.
“Coop, as y’all call him, gave me tickets, and he took the boys inside the locker room to meet the other players.”
“Hold the fuck up! What do you mean Coop gave you tickets? And he was with my kids?” Roy’s voice rose a little too much for my liking.
“First of all, lower your got damn voice. Secondly, I’ve known Calil since high school. He had a family member in the hospital, and we ran into each other. He gave me the tickets. End of story.”
Roy looked at me like I had grown an extra head.
“You fucking him? Or fucked him before? Because nobody just does that for anybody. And how come I didn’t know that you knew him?”
“You’re asking a lot of questions to be myex-husband,” I emphasized, smirking. “What I do is no longer any of your business. As long as your sons are good, that’s all you need to worry about. Now, I would like to get myself ready to spend time with our sons, so I need you to leave. They will see you tomorrow when you pick them up from school because I have plans.”
I wasn’t going to add that last part in there but fuck Roy and his feelings. He didn’t care about mine, so I refused to tiptoe around his.
“That’s some bullshit, Sloan, and you know it.”
I stood from the couch and got in his face. “No! What’s bullshit is you doing what you did to cause the ending of ourmarriage. This shit is over, and that’s on you. Good fucking night, Roy,” I finished, walking to the front door and holding it open.
He hesitated for a second, but once I saw I wasn’t budging, he got up. When he got to the door, he looked me up and down like he was disappointed in me. The nerve.
“You’re right, Sloan. This is on me, but don’t let yourself get played by Coop. Bitches come a dime a dozen in his world.”
“That’s great. Bye.”
Roy gave me one last glance before walking out. I closed and locked the door. I went into the living room and cleaned up the leftover mess. Once I was done, I went upstairs to take a much-needed hot shower.
Roy told me about Calil like I didn’t already know that. He didn’t need to know that shit already crossed my mind, and he would never know. I knew Calil wanted me to let him know how it went, and I would, but it would have to wait. I needed to decompress. I had a feeling that things would be rocky in the upcoming weeks, but I was prepared for it. I had to do what made Sloan happy, and I was confident that things would work out for all of us in the end.
“Get on your man, D!”I yelled as I ran down the court.
“I got ‘em. I got ‘em,” D responded as he guarded Oreo.
We called him Oreo because he was the only white dude on the team, so he picked up some of our black habits.
I needed this practice to be over because I was anxious about my date with Sloan. I was happy to spend time with her for more than a couple of hours, and I wanted her to be able to relax. I had a special night planned for us.
She called me the night she and her husband talked to the boys about their divorce and how hard Brooks had taken it. She wasn’t sure how Blake felt because he hadn’t said much. I didn’t get to talk to her this morning, but I sent her my usual goodmorning text. I had practice early as hell, but I wanted her to wake up and know I thought about her.
“Let’s go!” I shouted as Julian shot a three-pointer, and our team was up by three.
It didn’t matter that this was just practice. We still played like it was an actual game. Our next game was a few days away, and thank goodness, Coach gave us off for a couple of days. I talked about Sloan needing to relax, but I needed the same thing. I’d been working hard as hell.
Just as my shot went into the basket, Coach blew his whistle. “All right, guys. Let’s bring it in.”
Someone tossed the ball to the side as we all huddled up in the middle of the court.
“Y’all know we only have a few games left in the season. Let’s make sure we stay on our shit. I don’t want any excuses from any of you.” He looked around at all of us.
“Yes, Coach!” we responded in unison.
“Good. Make sure y’all rest these next two days, and don’t get into any bullshit. I don’t want any calls from the police station for me to pick any of y’all up. Spend time with your families and rest up. I’ll see y’all in two days.”
Everyone dispersed, and I walked over to the bench to grab my towel and water bottle.
“So, what do you plan on doing with your two days?” Julian asked with a smirk.
“I have a date tonight with Sloan. I rented a boat for the day, and we are going to chill. I’m even having a chef cook for us. You know? Some chill shit.”
