Chapter 13
Kenna’s laugh made his smile damn near break his face every time he heard it.
She giggled as he walked behind her, bending to hug her waist and kiss her neck.
It had been a long ass day of attending meetings and going to practice, and it was still only early evening.
That didn’t matter to him though. He was more than ready to order some food and crash with his baby.
It had been one blissful month since they met, and they spent as much time together as they could.
He had been really careful about keeping her and Skylar separate for the time being.
He was honestly a little nervous to bring the two together again because he knew Skylar had the ability to throw a monkey wrench in this newfound relationship.
He had yet to make things official with Kenna, and he wouldn’t until he had Skylar’s full blessing.
The issue was that he found himself comfortable in ignorant bliss and ignoring the issue entirely.
After Kenna admitted that she feared falling for him and then losing him, he did everything he could to reassure her, which apparently meant turning a blind eye to a few things.
In the back of his mind, he knew that wasn’t the best plan of action.
He just wanted to make it to the end of the season, so he had time to focus on the two most important people to him.
“What you want to eat tonight?” he asked as he unlocked the door.
Kenna looked up at him with adoration written all over her face. “You decide.”
Their conversation halted as they rounded the corner into the living room and saw Jendaya and Skylar lounging on the couch.
Skylar turned with a smile on her face that quickly faded when she saw Kenna. She turned back to the show on the TV. “Hey, Daddy.”
Her voice was dry, but when Jendaya spoke, she sounded the complete opposite.
“Hey, Kenna! I was wondering when I would see you again.” Jendaya hopped off the couch and hugged Kenna while Damien stood back and observed in amusement.
Jendaya had never changed up. Since they were young, she was always the most positive person in the room with the brightest light. Everyone liked her, and there weren’t many people she disliked. She was the truest version of a people person.
“You ain’t got no love for me, Zendaya?” Damien joked, knowing it would piss her off.
Immediately, she stepped away from Kenna and her eyes narrowed. “Boy, I will cut you.”
“Believe her, Daddy. She’s in a bad mood today,” Skylar said, without turning to look at him.
Jendaya lightly slapped the back of Skylar’s head while Damien asked, “What are you guys doing here anyway? I thought I told you to call if you were going to stop by.”
“I did call. Your spoiled brat over there wanted to come a day early. I hope that’s okay.” Jendaya glanced over at Kenna, who had become extremely quiet since stepping into the living room. “Please say yes. Grayson actually has some time off and wants to take me on a date.”
Damien released a breath and looked at Kenna, who immediately nodded. He could tell she was frazzled and probably a little uncomfortable. He was a bit frazzled as well, but he should have known something like this was bound to happen eventually.
“Of course. I have a game tomorrow, so we’ll have to coordinate that.”
Jendaya sucked her teeth. “You act like I don’t keep up with your schedule. I’ll be at the game, thank you very much. My mom can hang out with Sky while we’re kicking the Celtics’s ass.”
Damien chuckled. “Bet.”
They did their handshake before Jendaya walked toward the back of the couch and grabbed Skylar by the forehead, pulling her head back. “I love you,” she said before kissing her daughter’s head.
“Love you too, Mama,” Skylar replied, tilting her head forward again so her eyes could land on the TV.
Jendaya walked past Kenna and gave her hand a quick squeeze before disappearing from the room. A few seconds later, the front door opened and closed, leaving the three of them alone.
Before either of the adults could say a word, Skylar jumped up and announced, “I want to go see a movie, Dad.”
Damien sighed. “Baby, I’ve had a long day. Can we go in a couple of days?”
Skylar pouted. “I want to go see Wicked . Please? You probably won’t feel like it in a couple of days either.”
Damien really really didn’t want to go, but he felt himself about to cave. Before he could, Kenna spoke up.
“I can take you,” she offered. “Alanzo told me the other day that he wanted to see it too. Maybe I can call Annalise and see if I can pick him up.”
While Skylar’s eyes turned to slits as she looked at Kenna, Damien felt a sense of relief. Not only was Kenna taking the initiative to spend some one on one time with Skylar, it would give him a moment alone to simply rest. The past month had been great for him, but he felt himself stretching thin.
Skylar finally stomped her foot and looked at him. “Daddy?”
“Sky, if you want to see the movie, going with Kenna is your best bet. I ain’t really in the mood to sit through a three hour musical right now.”
Skylar sighed and rolled her eyes to Kenna. “Do you even know what Wicked is?”
Kenna cracked a slow grin. “When I was young, my mom took me and… my brother to the play. I played Elphaba in my third grade play after that. I’ve been wanting to see the movie too. I normally just wait to stream new movies, but I could conquer a movie theater this once, I think.”
Skylar’s face screwed up. “Conquer the movie theater? Is you cool?”
“Skylar,” Damien warned, “you wanna go or not?”
Her bottom lip poked out. “Fine. I’ll go get my things. There’s a movie starting in thirty minutes. I’ll get the tickets.”
Skylar stomped out of the room, tapping away on her phone, and Damien walked toward Kenna and hugged her into him. “You sure you’re up for this?”
He felt her shrug against him. “I don’t really do movie theaters.”
“You don’t really do teenaged girls in the form of my daughter either,” he reminded with amusement dancing in his tone.
She pulled away from him and put her hands up to her face. He noticed they were shaking slightly. “You’re right. What was I thinking?”
“I can tell Skylar we can go another day.”
“No.” Kenna sighed. “It’s okay. I’ll call Cam and see if he can come, maybe.
Besides, you’ve been doing well with getting me out of my shell.
Maybe it’s time I fly solo and try something new on my own.
” Damien had been getting her out of the house a lot over the past month.
They’d gone to dinner, picnics, the aquarium, and even laser tag, which had been hard for her, but she actually ended up having fun.
He worried about her now, though, and wondered if he should go along with her.
Kenna must have sensed it because she offered him a small smile and placed a hand on his chest. “It’s okay. I got this.”
He grabbed her hand and kissed it before a sly grin covered her face. “Good, because I really want to get right into bed.”
She giggled. “You do that. I’ll make sure I get Skylar back here in one piece. Maybe I can come back over tomorrow after your game?”
Damien thought about it. They had been really careful about not having sleepovers while Skylar was here. Damien wasn’t really opposed to it, but he wanted to make sure Kenna and Skylar were comfortable.
“How about we play it by ear? Maybe you can come back after the movie,” he suggested.
She raised a brow up at him. “Depending on?”
“Depending on how things go.” He pecked her forehead.
“Okay,” she muttered. “Let me call Cam real quick.”
He sat down on the couch and got comfortable while he watched her pull her phone out and call her best friend.
He heard the phone ringing and realized she put it on speaker while she paced the length of the floor.
She was nervous, but he watched her carefully.
She didn’t seem to have much anxiety. Just some healthy nerves, which he could live with.
It was when she started fidgeting and looking jumpy that made him hover.
“Yes, Kenna?” Cam answered.
“Hi to you too, Cam. Do you want to go to the movies with me and Skylar? Possibly Alanzo?”
“What in the actual fuck makes you think I would want to go to the movies with those two crumb snatchers? They hate me, and the feeling is mutual.”
“Cam!” Kenna screeched, fumbling with her phone.
Damien chuckled. “It’s all good, love. You didn’t see them fighting over Annalise’s cookies when they first met. I know it ain’t no love lost between him and my baby. Long as he keeps shit cool, I’m cool.”
Damien honestly found Cam comical. He had an uncle like him growing up, always bickering with him and picking fights, but that man loved him and would protect him more than anyone he knew. It was devastating to Damien when he passed a few years ago.
Damien was willing to bet his last dollar that as much as Cam claimed he disliked Skylar and Alanzo, he absolutely loved them.
Kenna cleared her throat and hissed her words toward the phone. “Seriously, Cam. I could use some back up.”
Cam’s voice instantly softened. “I wish I could, Kenny, but I have a big dick to hop on toni?—”
His voice suddenly cut off, and while Damien laughed, he noticed Kenna had hung up. She sighed. “Remind me not to put him on speaker ever again.”
“Y’all been friends for how long? And you didn’t know not to put him on speakerphone?”
“You’re right. I should have known better. I blame it on the nerves.”
He held his arms out for her. When she sat down next to him and leaned into his chest, he asked, “Do you want me to see if Rock or one of my security can come with you? I’m not sure who’s available, but I can definitely find out.”
Kenna shook her head. “No, I think I should do this alone. It’s fine.” She looked up at him. “Besides, I really have been wanting to see Wicked. I played the hell out of Elphaba in my third grade play, you know?”
Damien looked down at her in surprise. They had talked about her childhood a lot, so it surprised him that he didn’t know she had been in a play.
“Who the hell is Elphaba, anyway?”
Kenna grinned. “The Wicked Witch of the West. I was the lead.”
“In a musical?” he asked.
She nodded. “Yep.”
“You got pipes?”
She giggled. “I can’t hold a note to save my life. I think they chose me because I was so excited about it. It was only a third grade play, not Broadway.”
He hugged her to him. “Who cares? My baby is a star.”
She waved him off again with a shy smile. “I should call Annalise and see if Alanzo can come.”
He looked at her while she tapped on her phone, admiring her beauty. Skylar came back into the room at that moment, wearing lip gloss with a mini purse on her arm. Her expression looked smug, and Damien narrowed his eyes at her.
“You ready?” he asked suspiciously.
“I guess.”
Damien stood while Kenna talked on the phone. He walked around the couch and placed his hand on Skylar’s cheek. “Be nice, Sky. Kenna doesn’t have to do this, you know?”
She sighed. “I know. I’ll do my best.” She glanced behind him at Kenna, who was still occupied on the phone. “Are you guys, like, together?”
“Would it be okay with you if we were?” Damien asked.
Skylar shifted her stance and looked at the ground. “Will you spend all your time with her now?”
He heard the sadness in her tone and immediately moved to comfort her. Pressing her to his chest, he held her tightly as he responded. “Is that what your bad attitude has been about? You’re worried I won’t have any time for you?”
She pulled away so she could look up at him. “You don’t have any time for me, Daddy. I was looking forward to you retiring because I knew we would get to spend a lot more time together, but if you have a girlfriend, I can’t do that.”
Damien shook his head and grabbed Skylar’s hands, giving them a gentle squeeze.
“Nobody could ever take me away from you. Do you understand me?” Skylar hesitantly nodded, as if she wasn’t fully convinced.
He glanced at Kenna before focusing back on his daughter.
“I promise you that’s the last thing Kenna wants to do. You trust me?”
He let go of her hand and pinched her cheek. She cracked a small smile. “Yeah, I guess.”
“Aye, don’t just guess. Say that shit with your chest.”
Skylar playfully rolled her eyes. “Yes, Daddy. I trust you.”
“That’s my girl.”
Kenna cleared her throat from across the room, drawing their attention. He could tell she had been watching their interaction but didn’t want to interrupt. She held her phone up. “Alanzo is in. We should go pick him up if you want to get there on time.”
Skylar nodded before looking back up at Damien, who nudged her in the direction of the front door in encouragement. He smiled when he watched his two favorite ladies walk ahead of him.
After seeing them off, he walked straight up to his room and fell onto his bed, praying that the night went well while also thanking God for the peace and quiet.