8. KD
KD
Awhole day after Sebastian caught us having sex in her old bedroom, Sage was still in her head about us. On the other hand, I felt better than ever because the cat was finally out of the bag. Well, for the most part. The most important thing about it was I finally had my girl once and for all.
Now I just had to secure her studio and tell Supreme about us.
One of those things would be easier than the other.
Choosing the easy part first, I gathered up the paperwork for her dance studio.
Somehow, that bitch had the paperwork switched to have him as the owner.
I wasn’t going to assume it was a careless mistake.
He’d done that shit on purpose. It didn’t matter.
I was going to make it right. I already had the forms to fix it.
I found Sage in the spare bedroom stretching. It wasn’t huge, but it was completely empty, giving her room to dance. I leaned against the doorframe, watching as she walked over and picked up her phone. Once her phone was in her hand, she noticed me and smiled.
“Hey, beautiful. How are you feeling?”
“Much better now. Thank you again. Imagine that you used to get on my nerves always knowing what to say,” she said, referring to me helping her draft an email to the parents of the kids who attended her studio.
“That’s just because you’re a big hater.”
“Be that as it may, I fully accept the fact that I love your black ass. I just hope my brother doesn’t kill you before I get to show you just how much,” she joked.
“Just in case I don’t have much time left, dance for me for old times’ sake.”
“K, I don’t really dance like that anymore.”
“Dance like what? You’re just dancing for your man.”
A soft smile played on her lips as she shook her head and looked down at her phone. “Only because you’re so good to me, and I know I’ll never be able to repay you for always showing up for me.”
I shrugged. “Whatever it takes.”
“Dance for You” sounded from her phone as she walked over and put her phone on the windowsill. It felt like a full circle moment since it was the same song I played the very first time she danced just for me.
I held my position as she moved fluidly, letting her body work out the emotions flowing through the music.
I thought my heart would stop as she moved sensuously to the beat.
Although I had no plans of fucking her when I entered the room, my dick pushed against the front of my jeans, begging for some special attention from our favorite girl.
Calm down, buddy. Be patient with her. She’s hurting right now.
When she finished her dance, I reached outside the door and picked up the basket I brought with me and walked over to her. I placed my hand on her cheek as I passed it to her.
“What’s this?”
“Your assignment.”
“I’m not doing homework, Klever. You used to pay me to do yours.”
I laughed. “You don’t even know what it is.”
“You’re right,” she said, sinking down to the floor and placing the basket in her lap to inspect it.
One by one, she removed the contents of the basket: a candle, a face mask, bath salts, a journal, a fluffy robe. When she reached the bottom of the basket, she actually looked offended. She held up the bullet, studying it like she wasn’t sure what to say. That only made me laugh again.
“What exactly do you expect me to do with this?” she asked, looking up at me with lifted brows.
“Take care of my girl while I’m gone.”
“Seriously, Klever?”
“Yes, baby. I don’t want you feeling stressed out and deprived while I’m gone.”
“Wait, where are you going?”
“I have to go close a deal. Supreme is going to be there, so I figured it wouldn’t be good to show up together. While I’m gone, I’m going to get your studio.”
“That’s not on you, K. You can’t do everything. I was the one who wasn’t vigilant. I should have protected myself from the start.”
“You were not wrong for thinking that you could trust someone you loved, baby. This is his fuck up.”
“I hear you, but please be careful, KD. You and Sebastian are the only ones who’ve ever openly chosen me without obligation.
You keep choosing me no matter how bad I fuck up.
You are one of the only people I’ve ever cared about letting down.
I don’t need anything happening to you when I finally got the balls to choose you back.
” She tittered before returning to a straight face.
“In case you didn’t know it, you mean the world to me, Klever Davis. You always have.”
My heart soared, hearing her confession.
I knew all it would take was a lot of patience to get her to see the light.
I was so happy that I grabbed the base of her throat to pull her in for a kiss.
She met me halfway, crashing her lips into mine.
The softness of her lips got me lost in the moment before I pulled away.
Once again, my man downstairs bricked up, ready to slide between those tight velvety walls of hers.
I resisted the urge to prolong my mission.
What I was about to do needed to be done sooner than later.
“Rest and take care of my wife and my sweet pussy until I get back.”
“Hurry back, K.” Her demand hit the center of my chest, helping me to accept that this was really happening.
“I’ll only be gone until tomorrow night. I’m going to Cashville and bringing back your new contracts.”
“K, if this is too much for you, I think this might be the right time to say so. I know I’m a lot.”
“Look at these hands.” I held up my hands in front of her face. “I’m sure we can agree that I’m fully equipped to handle a lot.”
I knew her fear that I wanted to leave was deep rooted. I didn’t mind reminding her that I wasn’t her mother or any of the other people who’d walked out on her so easily. I wasn’t them. I was her husband, and I planned to be that until I ceased to exist.
“OK.”
“Take care of my girl while I’m gone,” I said, kissing her cheek.
“I’m your girl, KD.”
“I know. I just wanted to hear you say it. I’ll be gone two days at the most.”
“Two days, Klever? You said tomorrow night.”
“Sometimes deals run long. I don’t want to rush the process. Plus, I need to find the right time to talk to Supreme.”
“OK,” she said, nodding quickly to show her understanding.
“I’ll call you tonight. Order whatever you need. The keys to the car in the garage are in the bowl on the table.”
“Call me as soon as you get where you’re going,” she instructed.
“Aww, look at you caring about me.”
“Of course, I care about you, Klever. You’re my husband.”
Finally, she’d said it. I smirked, kissing her forehead and turning to leave the room before I talked myself into staying. More than anything, I needed to talk to my friend. Depending on how the conversation went, that title might have been changing soon.
I hated lying to Sage, but I felt like it was necessary.
I didn’t have to be in Cashville until morning, but Jaylen had a game a couple of hours away.
According to his socials, they were already in town.
I had the paperwork ready for him to sign to give Sage her dance studio.
I was fully prepared to buy it from them, but first I would try to reason with him to sign it over.
Hopefully, he was only half the bitch I thought he was because I would hate to have to go to extreme measures to get my point across. This transition needed to go smoothly.
By the time I reached the training facility, it was close to sunset. Several cars filled the parking lot. Security was on post near the entrance. Thanks to Supreme, I had a pass, so nobody paid much attention to me as I passed through. That worked out perfectly because I didn’t need to be noticed.
It didn’t take long for me to find Jaylen.
Before I could walk through the entrance, he was coming out with another player.
They were laughing and talking about something.
Seeing him laugh pissed me off. He’d just served my baby the worst week of her life, and he had the nerve to be laughing and smiling like shit was sweet.
Jaylen’s smile faded when he spotted me.
Good. At least he knew I wasn’t there on a friendly visit.
He and his boy dapped each other up before the other guy kept going.
Since the last time we were this close, I beat his ass, I shoved my hands in my pockets as I stopped in front of him.
I wanted to look as unintimidating as possible.
“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be somewhere screwing your so-called sister?”
“I never said Sage was my sister. I’m pretty sure she didn’t tell you that either.”
“That’s funny. She also never mentioned that you were married.”
“The same way you didn’t mention that you were fucking your assistant. Everybody around this bitch is keeping secrets.”
“What do you want, KD?”
“I need you to fix the studio paperwork. I can see how there must have been some mistake. They have you down as the owner.”
“That’s no mistake. Where the hell do you think she would get money to keep that place if it flopped? I was protecting her.”
“It’s crazy that you didn’t believe in her dream, but either way, it didn’t flop. She brings in enough revenue to keep that place running and offer scholarships. You should have straightened that shit out a long time ago.”
“That’s none of your damn business.”
“Everything about Sage is my fucking business,” I countered.
“Oh yeah, I forgot about all that for a second. She’s yours, right? Or at least that’s what you were screaming while you were standing in a bedroom in a house that I pay for.”
“According to the documents I saw, you haven’t been paying for shit. I guess now we know why.”
“What do you want, man? I’m not about to stand here entertaining you. We have barely said five words to each other in the past ten years, and I would like to keep it that way.”
“Oh, good,” I said, pulling the papers out of my back pocket. I extended them to him. “Let me have you sign these papers, and I’ll be on my way. We actually never have to speak again after this.”
“I’m not signing shit. I put the down payment on that building and made sure everything was running. As soon as Sage didn’t like the way shit was going, she decided to show her ass.”
“You cheated on her and got another woman pregnant. If that weren’t humiliating enough, you let that woman play on her phone and left her homeless by not taking care of your responsibility of keeping a roof over her head.”
“She’s not homeless. She’s living in a house I bought while she’s fucking another man. She’s one to talk.”
“Don’t act like you didn’t know that house has been foreclosed on.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, and I’m not signing shit. All these years later and you’re still playing hero.”
“Hero?”
“Hero, Captain Save a Ho, whatever you want to call it. When are you going to realize some of these hos ain’t worth saving?”
For years, I’d respected Sage’s decision. I walked away with a broken heart and let this fool have her. Back then, I swallowed my pride and took the high road. This time, I was taking it to hell.
“If I knew you were going to fuck her over, I would have finished killing you the first time,” I said.
This was never about me. It was about what Sage gave up to try to have some semblance of family.
It was about all the years she couldn’t get back.
It was about her feeling like she had to settle and beg someone to love her.
It was all about how hard I had to work to prove myself to her just because so many people had made her fearful of genuine love.
This lanky bitch-ass punk was no exception.
“Are we done?” he asked, stretching his eyes.
“You owe her this,” I reminded him.
“I don’t owe her shit.”
I shook my head and tossed the papers on the ground next to us. “I was really hoping you wouldn’t say that.”
My fist connected with his jaw before I finished the sentence. He swung, hitting me back. I could taste the coppery blood in my mouth as I charged him, hitting him again. He stumbled back, and this time, I didn’t give him time to recover before I hit him again and again.
He was probably falling anyway, but I rushed the process, scooping him and slamming him on his back. I walked over and grabbed the papers with the pen still clipped on top before walking over and putting my foot on his knee.
“Sign the fucking paper before I make sure this is the last day you ever bounce a fucking basketball, pussy. Just in case you think I’m bluffing, I’ve already been in touch with some of your sponsors. I would hate to let them know the kind of man they have representing their brands.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“Please try me. You kept ownership of Sage’s dream and let her think they were her own.
She poured her blood, sweat, and tears into that studio, and you let a woman who helped you betray her threaten to take it away because you’re in your feelings because you got caught.
I can’t wait to end your career. While you’re nursing a catastrophic knee injury, I’ll be tearing you down from the inside.
You know I’m connected. Everybody I can’t reach is in Sebastian’s Rolodex.
I actually want you to try me. Please don’t sign that shit. I want to see your life crumble.”
“Man, fuck you,” he spat.
He might have talked tough, but he picked up those papers and signed them. I had never seen him move so fast, not even on the court.
“You’re obsessed with that sneaky bitch. You think I don’t know she’s been messing with you the whole time while pretending you were like a brother to her.”
“You should be careful about throwing around allegations like that. I manage public figures for a living. A baseless rumor can really fuck up someone’s life. I wonder what kinds of rumors people would believe about a professional athlete. Y’all boys will do anything.”
“I’m signing the papers, my nigga. You can stop making threats.”
I shrugged. “I don’t make threats. You of all people should know I’m about action.”
“She can have that dance studio. I wasn’t going to let Rebecca sell it anyway. She’s just pissed that I wouldn’t tell Sage about us. She made the truth come out.”
“I really don’t care about none of that shit. Are you done?” I asked, peeking over his shoulder to make sure he didn’t miss a spot.
Once he scribbled his John Hancock on all the designated spaces, I kicked him in the ribs and headed back to my car.
I stuffed the contracts in my glove compartment and looked up just in time to see two police cars pulling up to block me in.
Throwing my head back, I put both hands on the steering wheel and waited for the inevitable to occur.