Page 79 of Raising Love
“No,” Ivy cut in with a polite smile, glancing at me. “I was just leaving.”
I held her gaze, not wanting her to go.
She stepped closer to me, balancing on her toes to plant a kiss on my cheek. Instinctively, I wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her tighter against me. She let out a soft sound that nearly undid me.
“I’ll call you,” she whispered against my ear.
“Ivy, we need to talk,” I said quickly, keeping her close.
With a little more effort, she slipped out of my hold, brushing her thumb along my cheek to clear away the faint red mark her lipstick had left. “I’ll call you,” she repeated, her voice firm but gentle.
Before I could say anything else, she turned toward Simeon, giving him a quick air kiss and hug before continuing toward the exit.
My eyes stayed on her as she moved through the room, stopping to exchange farewells with colleagues and familiar faces along the way.
“Shit,” Simeon said as my attention lingered on Ivy’s retreating figure. “Did I interrupt… whatever was happening just now?”
“Nah,” I exhaled, forcing my focus back on him. “She was leaving already.”
Simeon’s eyes scanned my face briefly before I playfully tapped his chest.
“You good?” he asked, tilting his head slightly as if to read me better. “Like, honestly, are you good?”
“I’m great, man. I promise,” I lied, gesturing toward the award sitting a few tables away. “Don’t I have every reason to be?”
Simeon nodded slowly, though his gaze didn’t waver. “Yes, you sure do.” He then turned to gesture toward the front of the room. “I’ve got someone I want you to meet.” He gave me a quick pat on the back. “Let’s go.”
As we started walking, I glanced back one last time, half expecting Ivy to be gone from sight. But just as I did, she turned the corner near the exit and glanced back, catching me looking at her.
She smiled—one of those soft, knowing smiles that hit me square in the chest—and giggled before disappearing around the corner.
That smile stayed with me, and I couldn’t ignore the clarity that hit me in that moment. We couldn’t just be friends, or co-guardians, or anything as simple as that. There was more between us. There had to be.
The sound of basketballs bouncing unevenly across the hardwood echoed in the vast space of the training facility.
Though the Bronx Ballers were out of the playoffs, a few of us had gathered at the team’s facility to keep up with practice and training during the off-season. This routine had been my focus every year, and it was the reason I’d earned the award I accepted last night.
Still, my mind kept drifting back to that award ceremony, to Ivy.
I thought about calling her when I got back to my loft but decided against it. Things between us had been left on a decent note, and I didn’t want to risk ruining the vibe. It had felt so natural talking to her again, just the two of us, like old times before life changed everything.
The indoor court was calm despite the occasional bounce of balls or the swish of a net. I was sharing a hoop with Jaleel Gordon, our shooting guard and one of the most disciplined players on the team.
“Got any plans after this?” I asked as I chased down the ball I’d just shot.
“Rest,” Jaleel replied with a grin before launching a clean shot into the hoop. “Promised my wife we’d spend some time together since our kids are with their grandma for the weekend.”
“Dope,” I said, nodding as I lined up my next shot.
“How about you?”
“I’m heading back to the loft,” I said, dribbling the ball lightly. “Gonna clean up a little before driving out to Greene Gardens to pick up the baby.” I smiled as I thought about it. “He’s spending the weekend with me.”
“Love to hear it,” Jaleel said with an approving nod.
For a moment, only the rhythmic sound of basketballs bouncing filled the space.
“You think you’re gonna move back out there?” Jaleel asked, glancing at me as he lined up another shot.
