Page 17 of Do You Right

She smiled shyly. “Already thinking about marriage, KC?”

“Hell yeah. When I commit, it’s with the intention of doing so for life.”

“You’re such a lover boy.”

“And proud as fuck about it. Come on and check out your whip.”

She sucked in a gasp and paused. “Wait, . . . the car is for me too?”

I pulled the keys from my pocket and held them up in front of her face. “It is. You ain’t see that big red bow on top? Don’t worry. It’s in your name, and it’s paid off. You can drive it anywhere except to leave me. Okay?”

My request had her doubled over, laughing. “I can’t make any promises,” she teased, twisting her lips to the side.

I frowned, folding my arms over my chest. After a second, I shrugged and dropped them only to snatch her to me. Staring deeply into her eyes, I confidently told her, “I won’t give you a reason to want to leave.” She opened her mouth to say more, but my lips crashing into hers silenced whatever she wanted to say next. As far as I was concerned, there was no leaving me.

Bodies continued to fill the seats of the stadium, and the anticipation for today’s game against the Philly Pirates could be felt. KC was especially nervous this morning before he left the house, because if his team won tonight’s game, they’d officially advance to the World Series. As the second seed for the drafts, this was the only team they had to defeat in their division.

To add to the pressure, KC was close to breaking a Solaire Sonics record for most home run hits. He would not only be the youngest to break a record, but the first African American man to do so. Even though he didn’t go around being overly arrogant, I knew he could hear the whispers and feel the weight of everyone’s expectations. I admired how well he carried it all and continued to press forward.

It was my first time coming to a game since we’d made things official, and I couldn’t wait to show up, rocking my man’s number seven jersey. It felt a little surreal to be in a relationship with a man who let me move into his spare bedroom out of the kindness of his heart. I heard a lot of women say no more good men existed, but all it took was to get hit by a car to find mine. I chuckled to myself but stopped when I felt a presence behind me.

Glancing over my shoulder, I spotted JoJo watching me with a menacing expression. I looked away quickly and knew I wouldn’t spend too much longer in the team suite. But I was cool with that because I wanted to sit in the seat KC reserved for me near the action. I was only interested in the view from here and the complimentary food. I’d already had two plates of Chick-fil-A nuggets and fruits to fill me, along with three glasses of champagne. I refused to let KC’s weird ass homeboy ruin my vibe.

“What are you doing here?” He finally decided to stop watching me like a creep and confront me head on.

I folded my arms over my chest to hide my shaky hands. Refusing to look at him, I kept my eyes on the stadium below. “I’m here to support my boyfriend.”

He chuckled, and I sucked in a sharp breath when he stepped up beside me, so close that our arms brushed against each other. “I hope you haven’t let your feelings get too deeply involved, because he’s definitely going back to Tycelyn. They are soulmates.”

I dared to glance his way to check if he was serious or not. His smirk proved he wholeheartedly believed every word out of his mouth. “Why do you keep trying to push them together knowing what the two of y’all do behind his back? It’s weird as fuck.”

“What do we do? You wanna do it with me too?” He turned with his question so quickly that I had no time to prepare myself for his chest to be pressed up against me. I stepped away, but a tight grip on my bicep kept me grounded in place. “KC loves to share with me. That’s why he doesn’t care about what me and Ty have going on, and the same will apply if you’re interested in blurring some lines.”

The thought alone made me gag. I snatched myself away and stumbled back two steps. I quickly straightened myself out as to not raise suspicion from the other guests in the suite. “Do me a favor and just stay away from me. I don’t trust you, and I don’t like you.” I looked him up and down and decided to make one thing clear before I walked away. “I would never fuck you, so please get that fantasy out of your mind. I’m with KC and KC only.”

I turned to walk away only for him to jog and catch up. When I got ready to pull the door open, he pressed his hand firmly against it to keep me trapped in the room. “What are you doing?” I asked in a panic.

He chuckled lowly before pressing himself into me. Disgust rocked the bottom of my stomach like a storm. I used my elbow to push against him. Thankfully, he released his grip on the door. I rushed out wanting to get as far away from him as possible. I did not get good vibes from JoJo, and I was tired of keeping it to myself. Tonight, I would tell KC the truth and let the cards fall how they were supposed to.

“You’re mighty quiet tonight,” KC noted on our way to our cars.

I pretended to not be lost in my thoughts as I tightened my grip on his arm. “Really? I don’t think so. How does it feel to be so close to your first championship?” I was quick to change the subject lest he grow even more suspicious about what was distracting me.

Tonight’s game had been a success, and KC was on fire from start to finish. I couldn’t take my eyes off him when he was on the field. I finally understood his deep love for the game. I was excited for him because he had been working for this all his life. But it also made me sad, thinking about my own career that was currently on pause. Like KC, I’d poured thousands of hours into my craft but had yet to yield the results I desired. And somewhere deep down inside, I was afraid of never being able to.

He sighed with a grin before he ran a hand down his face. He’d gotten his hair braided a few days ago, and I loved the look on him, especially with his sharp and fresh lineup. He went to a female barber named Rockel, and she never played in his head.

“I’m not going to lie; it feels good as fuck. I always knew the day would come if I refused to give up, and no matter how many curveballs came my way, I stayed focused. I kept my faith. This is just the natural process of planting a seed that you tend to and nurture, no matter how long it takes to produce fruit.”

His words made me stumble a little on the rubble beneath our feet. He held me up, and I used the momentum to wrap my arms around his waist. I held him tightly without feeling the need to say more. I wanted KC to achieve every goal he’d set for himself. He worked hard, and like he said, he never gave up.

“What do you want to do tonight?” he questioned when I finally released him.

“I should be asking you that.” I chuckled softly.

“JoJo wants to hit the streets, but I don’t know. I kinda just want to lay up with you and forget the world for a little while.” Just hearing his name made my body tense up. He gripped my chin, forcing me to glance up at him, and what I wanted to say melted away. Thankfully, he didn’t have the desire to hang with him tonight, because Lord knew what trouble that man had up his sleeve. “I’m back on the road tomorrow, so I need every second of your time I can have until it’s time for me to leave.”

His words nearly brought tears to my eyes because I genuinely wished I wouldn’t have to be the one to break his heart about JoJo. To keep myself from ruining the current mood, I quickly answered him. “Okay, we can do that, baby.”