Page 50 of Guarding Our Love
“Damn,” I said and shook my head. “Get it together, Coop.”
Calil stood and pulled me up with him. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me.
“I’m going to get it together. You want to do something special for me if I win the game?” He wiggled his eyebrows.
I looked up to the sky and thought about it.
“I will, but I won’t tell you what it is.” I smirked. I had no clue as to what I would do, but I would figure something out.
“Bet. Watch me score like sixty points. I’ll call you when I get home so that sexy ass voice can put me to sleep.”
“I like that idea.” I stood on my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his.
He opened his mouth when I swiped my tongue over his bottom lip. We kissed heavily before Calil pulled away.
“Don’t start no shit, Sloan. Get in the house.”
“I love you, Lil.”
“I love you, too, pretty girl.”
We kissed again, and Calil popped me on my ass when I turned around. I entered the house, looked out the window, and watched him walk to his car.
I wasn’t sure how everyone would react to me dating Calil, but I would be good as long as my boys were good. Life was too short to worry about others. My divorce was now final becauseRoy didn’t fight me on it, and we agreed on me keeping the house. As long as he had access to the boys, he was okay. He had gotten over his little attitude from the last time he was here. He didn’t have a choice anyway.
There was still a little nervousness about dating Calil, but not enough to stop me.
After I locked up the house, I went upstairs to prepare for bed. I wanted to be settled by the time my man called me. I smiled to myself as I stared in the mirror. I was happy and prayed it stayed that way.
“Coop for the three!”
“I don’t know what happened last month, Jim, but Coop is on fire tonight.”
I ran down the other end of the court when my shot went in. I made almost every shot I attempted since the start of the game, and I felt great. Sloan and her best friend sat courtside, so I had to show out. I scored twenty points in the first half and damn near thirty in the second. It had been a month since we made things official, and I couldn’t have been happier. I never would have thought I would be in a committed relationship, especially not with Sloan. At times, I was still in awe of the fact that we were in each other’s lives. I knew Sloan still had doubts becauseof my career, but I showed her every chance I got that none of that stuff fazed me.
People speculated about our relationship, but neither of us confirmed nor denied anything. It wasn’t their business, so we would tell when we were ready. The only people who knew for a fact about our status were our families and friends. Sloan did inform her ex-husband because of the kids, and she didn’t want to hide that I would be around them. He wasn’t happy about it, but that was his problem, not ours. The boys were okay with it, and that’s all that mattered to either of us.
We were down to the last minute of the game, and Oreo had just gotten the ball. He dribbled it down to our end of the court, wasting time. There was no need for us to do a bunch of extra shit. We just needed the clock to wind down. The crowd was on its feet, chanting and cheering. I glanced around the arena and felt the love from everyone. I knew they were disappointed we didn’t make it, but they still supported us. We had some ride-or-die fans, and I appreciated every one of them. I looked at Sloan, and I could see and feel the pride she had for me.
“Coop.”
I turned in Oreo’s direction when he called my name. I caught the ball when he tossed it in my direction. The shot clock was down to the final seconds, and I shot it.
“Nothing but net!” Julian shouted behind me.
The buzzer went off, and after we shook hands with the other team, we headed into the locker room.
Our season had come to a close, and even though we didn’t make it to the championship, I had been the happiest I’d been since I first got drafted. Our team had multiple rings to prove how good we were, and there was always next year. I was looking forward to not having to get up early every morning for a little bit. I wanted uninterrupted time with Sloan. The boys would be with their father for a week, so Sloan and I were going away. Iconvinced her to take a week off from work, and she agreed with no problem.
My parents would go to my house to check on my grandfather every other day, but I was confident with the nurses he had he would be okay. He had been doing a lot better and didn’t necessarily need the nurse, but I think he just enjoyed their company. Ms. Yvonne, the one he had been flirting with, had been coming to the house even when she wasn’t working. I was happy that he was happy. I wasn’t sure of her circumstances and why she was working at her age, but I respected her. If Grandpop wanted me to help her with something, I wouldn’t hesitate to step in.
The inboxes and groupies outside the hotel still happened, but I didn’t pay them any mind. They didn’t even tempt me. Of course, I encountered some lookers, but I was good where I was at. I had enough pussy to last me a lifetime. Now, I was content with Sloan. She wanted nothing from me but love, respect, and my time when I could give it. Still, she understood when I couldn’t. No matter what I had going on, I made sure to communicate with her. I didn’t want her having second thoughts about us because I didn’t have them.
“Listen,I won’t hold you guys up. I’ll just say thank you for a great season. I’m proud of you guys, and next year, we are going to win the championship. Get some rest and enjoy your time off. I’ll see you guys in a few months.”
I was ready to get to my girl, so I cleaned out my locker and said my goodbyes. Sloan and her friend were in the hallway when I left the locker room. I smiled when I spotted Sloan wearing my jersey with jeans that hugged her curves. My smile got even wider when I spotted my sneakers on her feet. I wasn’t sure how she had gotten a pair because they weren’t even outyet. This cat, Ace, who owned a sneaker store, designed the shoe specifically for me. They weren’t supposed to hit stores for another couple of months.
I walked up to Sloan and pulled her into my arms before planting a sloppy kiss on her lips.
