4. The Space Between Hello and Forever
Sincere watched his little league basketball team run back and forth across the court.
The squeak of sneakers and the echo of the ball against hardwood filled the gym.
He loved those boys like they were his own.
He wanted to be the kind of male role model they could look up to, a man who stood on principles, morals, discipline, and values.
He reminded them daily that there were other ways to live a successful life than chasing validation in the streets or believing that was the only way out.
Today was a good day. The energy felt light.
And Kira was heavy on his mind. He stepped to the side of the court and gave her a call.
“What up doe?” Kira answered, her voice bright. He laughed. “Okay, okay… what up doe? I didn’t know you, um…”
“You didn’t know what, sir? You didn’t know I was cool too, huh?
I’m from the East Side. I don’t care about just being a nurse.
It’s different versions of me.” He smiled, shaking his head.
He loved that about her, the layers. The confidence.
The way she refused to be boxed in. It made him want to peel back every version slowly.
“Yo,” he said, lowering his voice, “I’m trying to experience every version. The hood side, the professional side, the I-don’t-give-a-fuck side. Whatever you are, you can be that with me. I will never judge.”
“As a matter of fact, whatever plans you got today, cancel them. What time should I pick you up, Ms. Kira?”
“Now,” Kira responded without hesitation.
She wasn’t even dressed yet, but she planned to be by the time he arrived.
He ended the call and noticed one of his players sitting alone on the sidelines, his head buried between his knees.
Sincere walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Marco, what’s the deal, man?”
“Nobody wants me on their team,” he said sadly.
Sincere crouched down so they were eye level.
“And that’s exactly what should make you work harder.
Practice longer. Sometimes God hides His most valuable players until the time is right.
He separates you so you can hear His voice.
Then He reveals you, and when He does, watch how you shine. ” Marco looked up slightly.
“Nobody has to choose you, Marco. You’re already chosen. Lift your head up. Get a ball and play by yourself if you have to. Be resilient. Believe in yourself before the world ever does.”
Kira stood in the middle of her bedroom, phone still warm in her hand, heart beating a little faster than normal.
“Now,” she had said. She smiled to herself.
There was something about a man who didn’t hesitate, and something even more powerful about the fact that she didn’t either.
She walked to her closet, sliding the door open slowly, scanning her options.
She pulled out a fitted ribbed dress that hugged her curves without trying too hard.
Soft. Effortless. Grown. She laid it across the bed and stepped into the shower, letting the warm water run down her back.
She shaved carefully. Moisturized slowly. Took her time. Not for him, for her.
When she stepped out, the scent of african her body oil mixed with the lingering roses in the air.
She slipped into the dress and watched how it settled on her frame.
Confidence rose in her chest not loud, not performative.
Just grounded. She sat at her vanity and applied light makeup.
Gloss. Mascara. A touch of blush. Enough to enhance, not hide.
Her phone buzzed with a text message that read: Five minutes away.
Her stomach fluttered. Kira took a minute to pause to take in the moment.
Tears started to fall as she remembered all the days she cried.
All the days she knew better. All the days she didn’t know how to leave a toxic, abusive man because she thought loving him meant staying was loyalty.
The different women calling her phone. The sexual disease she contracted twice.
The baby she lost because of his betrayal, pain her soul carried just to keep herself alive.
The way he told her she would never find another love like him.
But she kept her faith, knowing the enemy was a lie.
She looked at her reflection in the mirror and smiled at the pain she left behind and the happiness ahead.
“Look at me now,” she said. And at that moment, it was as if Chill could read her thoughts.
Like a test from the universe. Her phone buzzed.
He sent a picture of them courtside at Little Caesars Arena, at a Pistons game.
Happier times. The night he proposed. The night she thought she was living every girl’s dream, saying yes, forgiving him for everything he had put her through, believing the ring meant redemption.
Only to later realize he was performing.
An empty promise just to keep her a little longer.
And it worked. Just like he thought this would work, sending “I love you” and “there will never be another.”
“I know, bitch,” she said in her mind, blocking yet another number. Sincere arrived an hour later. He knocked once, firm but unhurried.
“Come in,” she called out. He twisted the knob slowly, stepping inside with quiet awareness.
His eyes moved carefully through her space, taking everything in.
The scent of roses still lingered. Candles flickered softly against the walls.
It felt warm. Personal, like her. Then he saw the bookshelf.
He walked over, running his fingers lightly along the spines before pulling one free. Black Labor, White Wealth.
Interesting, he thought impressed. From the books alone, he could tell she was the type of woman who was grounded, self-aware, and spiritual.
The kind of woman his mother was. The kind he admired.
The kind he didn’t just date, he built with.
The kind he already knew could be his wife and the mother of his children.
He moved closer to the pictures on the wall.
Her high school graduation. Then college.
He studied the pride in her smile. The discipline in her eyes.
Photos of her doing community service with elders and children.
She wasn’t just existing, she was living.
Then the dance pictures. Modern dance. Trophies lined up like quiet proof of her dedication.
Grace and work ethic in the same frame. She had built a life before he ever stepped into it.
And he loved that most of all. She didn’t need saving.
She needed honoring. And he intended to do just that.
“You reading my library already?” she asked from behind him. He turned; there she was. Just as beautiful and vibrant as she wanted to be, Kira looked away shyly, knowing he could see the glow on her cheeks. For a split second, nothing matters but the two of them.
“I’m still learning you,” he said, setting the book back in place but never taking his eyes off her.
“I love this though. I love to read. History about our people. Economics. Spirituality. Power. Politics. Anything that feeds the mind. And right now, you are feeding me a full course meal. I’m addicted to knowledge.
And I’m addicted to you.” He stepped closer.
Not invading. Just closing the distance.
The air shifted. Unspoken words filled the space as they saw the future they both knew they could have together.
They were simply having a moment, looking into each other’s eyes.
The past didn’t matter. Who hurt them didn’t matter.
It was divine refusing to let fear control what they knew was theirs.
His hands found her waist slowly, giving her time to pull away if she wanted to.
She didn’t. His touch wasn’t forceful. It wasn’t rushed.
It was intentional. His thumbs rested gently at the curve of her hips, like he was memorizing the shape of her.
Kira heart started to race, but not from fear.
From surrender. She could feel the steadiness in him.
The patience. The restraint. He wasn’t trying to take anything from her.
He was choosing her. His forehead hovered just inches from hers.
“You smell good,” he whispered, voice low. She swallowed.
“You’re close.”
“I know.” But he didn’t move away. And she didn’t ask him to. For the first time in a long time, intimacy didn’t feel like pressure. It felt like possibility. Like something sacred she wanted to unfold slowly.
“You be knowing what you’re doing,” she said, stepping back slowly. “You think you can just come into my life and sweep me off my feet, don’t you?” she added seductively.
“You mean like this?” he said. Before she could answer, he closed the distance and lifted her into his arms in one smooth motion.
Her breath caught as her hands instinctively wrapped around his shoulders.
The power in his strength was intoxicating, yet the way he held her felt careful…
intentional. She felt light, delicate, like a flower protected instead of possessed.
A soft laugh escaped her, the kind that made her feel like a teenage girl with her first crush.
But this… this felt deeper. Like the one her heart had already decided might be forever. He carried out the door and to the car.
Sade played softly in the background as they rode through Harlem. Streetlights flickered against the windshield while the city moved around them, alive but unbothered. The two of them had so much to say, but the silence was enough.