Chapter 13
When I realize Teaira is asleep, I ease off the bed, trek into her bathroom, and wash my hands. She’s really knocked out too. She doesn’t even move or make a sound when I move and lift her to get her under the covers. She needs to rest, especially now that she’s carrying my child.
Teaira is pregnant!
Because sleep is the last thing on my mind, I don’t slide into bed with her.
Instead, I go downstairs and raid her fridge.
That lasagna I had last night was bussin’ so I warm a plate of it in the microwave.
While it heats up, I taste some of the salad in the fridge.
It’s got lobster, avocado, tomatoes, and some other shit in it, but it’s bussin’ too.
I get a small bowl and pour more Black Ops Bourdon.
As I grub and down my drink, all types of shit goes through my mind: school, my commitments, the draft, and her. Between my last three weeks of the semester, my four final exams, tutoring schedule, my sponsorships, the draft, and the shit with my family, I was stretched thin.
Despite my bullshit and ejection from the championship game, everything is still on track and it’s looking like I’ll be picked in the first round of the draft.
But, now more than ever, I need the Royals to pick me up.
They have always been my dream team but now it’s the only option.
I can’t be away from her and my child. That absentee father shit ain’t for me; I refuse to be like the nigga who let my momma basically raise me on her own.
That’s not an option and neither is her not having my child.
I don’t know where her head is. She hasn’t smiled since she told me.
She was talking that her body bullshit and she didn’t want to have a real conversation.
That’s the shit that has me stressed now.
I can deal with anything else but her saying she’s going to some fucking clinic.
As my food digests, I try to push the negative shit out of my mind.
I also wash the dishes and wipe the sink and counter down, then trek back upstairs.
The Black Ops chilled me out a little so I join her in bed.
I power on the TV but turn the volume down.
I skirt all sports and land on one of the John Wick movies. I’ll watch it until I tap out.
When I slip under the covers, she rolls her soft body onto my chest and I wrap my arm around her back. My hand caresses her ass, hip, and back as I watch the movie. Before it ends, I’m knocked out too and I don’t open my eyes until I feel her body moving off mine.
“Where you going?” I ask with closed eyes.
“To the bathroom,” she utters. “I have to pee.”
My hand falls from her body and she slides out of the bed.
My eyes gladly open so I can watch her walk into the bathroom.
When she’s inside, I get up too and head downstairs to take my morning leak.
Before heading back upstairs, I grab two bottles of water from the fridge.
She’s out of the bathroom, sitting, she’s put her little pajama thing on.
“You didn’t have to put that on?” I tell her.
“You have on clothes,” she says.
“Boxers but I can take these joints off,” I tell her as I hand her a bottle.
“Um. That’s how we got here,” she says with a smile.
I exhale loud as hell when I see her pretty ass smile because I haven’t seen it since she told me that she was pregnant.
That shit was fucking with me heavy all night.
Her smile gives me hope though. “Besides, we can’t talk if we’re both naked,” she adds when I sit.
Once on the bed, I slip my arm around her and pull her closer to me. “You smell like peaches and lavender?” I comment.
“In a good or bad way?”
“Good.” I inhale her again. “Real good.”
“Oh okay. Thanks for my massage last night. You put me right to sleep.”
“I’ll massage you whenever you want.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, because after working a long ass shift, I might take you up on that.”
It’s obvious she’s trying to stall our talk and I just go with it until she says this job shit. That jumps us right into the talk.
“You not gon’ keep working now, are you?” I ask.
“Now what?”
“Now that you’re pregnant. All the germs and shit in there.”
“In a hospital? The very place people go when they are sick? Yes. I most certainly will keep working. Pregnancy is not a debilitating illness. There are a number of pregnant nurses and doctors all through Highland. I’m definitely working and going in tomorrow for my regular shift,” she says with a slight attitude.
“But they are not carrying my child.”
“Our child, remember? We. Your word. And again, with our child in my stomach, I’m taking my ass back to work. That’s my job, my career, and my means to pay my bills.”
“Man, fuck them bills. I’ll pay them shits,” I grit.
“It’s not about that,” she says in an elevated tone. Then she pulls back from me but I grab her. “Stop, Tyriq.”
“Stop trying to run then.”
“When you stop trying to fucking control me!” she spits.
“Ay. I’m not trying to control you. I just want to make sure you and the baby are safe.”
“And what about fuck them bills?”
“Same thing. I just want to take care of you two.”
“I don’t need that.”
“But I need that. I’ve been wanting you to stop working at that damn hospital. You have been talking about leaving the ER for months. You hate the shit.”
“I hate the long, exhausting hours but I love my job. I love being a nurse. I don’t want to leave the hospital, just that department. That’s like me asking you to stop playing basketball. You won’t do that and I won’t stop being a nurse, so let’s stop talking about that.”
She sounds so passionate, and while I don’t want her at the hospital at all, I don’t push it because I get it. I don’t like the shit but I get it. So I pivot.
“Do you know how far along you are?”
“I mean not really but I can guess. After my blood test came back positive, I sat my ass down and counted back my periods. My last one was—”
“February,” I utter and she shifts.
“You track my period?” she asks, sounding shocked as hell.
“Nah. It’s just that it was the week of the BU game. I came over and you were cramping. I just remembered.”
“Yeah. It was February but I’ll know for sure soon. I’m going to call my doctor tomorrow and make an appointment. I’ll let you know when I go.”
“Just let me know when the appointment is, I’m going to.”
“You don’t have to,” she insists.
“But I am. I’m with you through all this shit. You might not want me to be but I need to take care of you and our baby, so let me. Matter of fact, get dressed.”
“For what?” she says with a slight frown and raised eyebrows.
“I’m hungry and you need to eat,” I say but she doesn’t move. “You didn’t eat shit yesterday. You have to eat.”
“But we don’t do that.”
“What, eat?”
“You know what I mean. We’re friends. You know friends who just happen to fuck around.”
“Man, you can kill that noise now. Shit, we could’ve killed that weeks ago but you were scared to give in to me.”
“I wasn’t scared. I just knew we had a plan.”
“We did but I didn’t fuck with no other chicks and I know you ain’t been with no other niggas.”
“How do you know that?” She smirks and I just tilt my head. I don’t have to say shit because she knows I’m speaking facts. The way her pussy molds to my dick says it all. “Boy, I swear you think you know every damn thing.”
“I know that fo’ sho’. But it doesn’t matter what we had, we got this now,” I tell her, then rub my hand over her stomach.
I thought she would fight me or push my hand away but she doesn’t.
To my surprise, she places hers on top of mine.
When I look down at her, she’s smiling. “You look pretty as fuck right now.”
“I don’t,” she says with a slight grin.
“Nah. You do.” My lips press into her and I softly kiss her lips. “Now, get up and get dressed. Let me feed you.”
“Where we going? It’s Sunday morning and The Pancake House is going to jampacked.”
“They just opened up a Morningside near the mall. We can hit that up and I can grab something to wear over there.”
“As long as they have cappuccinos, that’s fine.”
“Can you drink coffee?”
“Today, I am!” she assures me before lightly pushing my side and easing off the bed.
After walking into her closet and pulling stuff out, she heads into the bathroom. While she gets ready, I grab my phone to check it. I have a few texts, one from Quay and two from Mick, one at six this morning and another one twenty minutes ago. I swear this nigga never sleeps.
Quay: gm:-) Can I borrow $100
Mick: Call me
Mick: We need to talk.
Putting Quay on the back burner, I hit Mick first and he answers almost immediately.
“I need the luxury of sleeping in,” he answers.
“You can if you want to,” I reply.
“Money never sleeps so neither do I. I called because you got the invite.”
“Real shit?” I ask.
“Real shit. Congratulations!” he says and I can’t hide my smile.
This shit is getting real.
“How many were invited?”
“Seventy-six and you have to be there May tenth.”
Every year in May, the NBA has its yearly, invite-only Draft Combine.
It’s any draft contender’s time to show the fuck out.
So me and seventy-five other top prospects will have a week in Chicago to showcase our skills, undergo measurements, and participate in drills and scrimmages for NBA teams personnel.
This week is crucial because whatever happens during it can influence draft stock and eligibility decisions.
We will have to undergo physical tests like vertical jump and sprints, shooting drills, and five-on-five gameplay.
This invite puts me one step closer to my fucking dream.
“You still here?” he asks.
“Yeah. Yeah. Just taking this shit all in.”
“Take your time. It’s a lot but just know that everything coming your way is because you earned that shit.
Don’t forget that and don’t take this invite lightly.
A strong performance there will definitely secure you as a first-round pick.
Come by the office tomorrow afternoon so we can create our gameplan.
Congrats again,” he says, then ends the call.
Tyriq Hill is going to the muthafucking Draft Combine!
I’m so damn hype I can’t even sit down any more.
I’m up, off the bed, and pacing the room, smiling and shaking my head at the same damn time.
Having dreams is one thing but actually seeing them come true is a mutha.
I can’t even put this shit into words. I can’t.
It’s unreal as hell and I damn near want to scream.
“Yeah!” I yell as I slap my tattoo on my arm. “You gotdamn right!”
When Teaira walks her fine ass out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, I’m still on a high. I rush over to her, scoop her up, then turn around and drop her onto the bed. I do that shit so fast she doesn’t have time to protest or say anything. However, when I’m hovering over her, she finally speaks.
“What are you doing? And why are you smiling like that?” she asks while smiling herself.
“A lot of good news in the last twenty-four and I want to celebrate.”
“I thought we were going to Morningside.”
“We are. Afterwards.” While my lips kiss hers, my hands move to the towel and I unhook it.
It drops to her sides and my lips move to her titties.
Taking my time, I kiss them next then trail down to her stomach.
She smells and tastes so fucking good. I can kiss every inch of her, but right now, her pussy is calling me.
After kissing, licking, and sucking her stomach, I kiss along her inner thighs. She starts squirming then I lean in and lick her slit before tongue kissing her glistening pussy lips.
“Damn, Riq,” she moans.
“Nah. Damn you, Tee. You taste so fucking good.”
I continue to French kiss her pussy then slide my tongue into her opening.
I’ve barely been kissing her and she’s already soaking wet.
As I tongue fuck her, her moans and squirming speed up and I drink her juices.
After placing my hands on her inner thighs, I spread her legs more then switch my focus to her clit.
When I flick my tongue over it, her body jerks.
“Mmm,” she purrs, sound sexy as fuck.
I love the way she reacts to me, all of it.
Her moans, how wet she gets, and the way she squirms all over the bed amps me up.
Motivated as fuck, I slide my hands under her ass and grip it.
After pulling her as close as I can to my mouth, I open her up more and bury my face in her sweet pussy.
Her trembles turn into shakes and her hands grip my head.
Seconds later, her whole damn body quivers and she cums, wetting up my whole face.
As shakes through her orgasm, I plant kisses on her inner thighs then kiss up her stomach all the way to her flushed face. My tongue licks across the small beads of sweat on her forehead. Then I stare down into her beautiful eyes.
“You good?” I smirk and she just shakes her head. “Good. You can get dressed now.”