Chapter 21
Four years later…
My eyes popped open. It was Kane’s twenty sixth birthday and it landed on a night I had a game. I had plans to request to be off, but Kane told me not to do that. He wanted to watch me play on his day. He wanted me to drop at least thirty points tonight…just for him.
We were in Chicago, playing the Bears. Kane didn’t have a game tonight, so he flew in last night, stating there was no way he was waking up on his birthday without me beside him.
I rolled onto my side and found him asleep on his stomach, both arms underneath the pillow.
“Happy birthday, baby,” I whispered in his ear, morning breath and all.
Kane stirred, then his eyes opened—barely.
“Thank you, baby. What time is it?”
I stretched my neck to see the alarm clock. “A little after nine.”
Kane rolled onto his back. I bit back a smile, well attempted to.
This man was so fine. His pecan colored skin was covered in so much ink, while I still had that one tattoo on my rib cage.
He had a fresh lineup with his curly hair hydrated with moisturizer.
Kane was looking at me through his light brown globes.
Before I could dart away because I knew it was coming, Kane had me pinned down underneath him, planting kisses on my lips, neck, and chest.
“I know what I want for my birthday,” he mumbled, inhaling one of my nipples in his mouth. My back arched and my legs widened apart.
“What?” I asked breathlessly, acting dumb.
“Pussy.”
In one swift move, Kane had pulled himself out of the boxers her wore and inside of me since all I wore was a nightgown and no panties. We both gasped in unison, and my nails scratched and dug in his back as I took him inch by inch.
“Kaaaaane,” I moaned, raising to meet each of his thrusts. It felt so good. It always did, and as a grown ass man now, Kane did things to my body I still didn’t understand.
“What, baby,” he asked in my ear, causing me to shudder.
“Why do you fuck me so goooood,” I purred, biting down on my lip.
Kane chuckled and slowed down, delivering powerful long, deep strokes. My eyes rolled to the back of my head. His mouth was on my neck, suck and licking.
“Marry me, Slim.”
“Okaaaay,” I whimpered as I exploded for the third time maybe.
“I’m serious,” Kane pressed. “Let’s elope and then I’ll give you your dream wedding.”
I searched Kane’s face. “Wait, you’re serious? You’re really asking me to marry you while in my…”
“Shit,” he grunted. “I’ll get down on one knee.”
“No, fuck that,” I cried out. Kane sped up his pace and my stomach was clenching. “I’ll marry you. I don’t care how you ask me.”
He stilled, causing me to move on my own because I didn’t want the pleasure to stop.
“Say swear,” he said, eyes bucked.
“I sweeeeear,” I moaned out. Wrapping my legs around him, and circling my arms around his back, I brough him to me, so he could go back in deeply.
“Slim, you know you finna be my wife, right? Is that what you want?” Kane queried.
“Kaaaaane. We live together. We already married. We just need the paper, but right now, I want you to fuck me.”
“I’ma fuck you, you gon’ win that game tonight, then we hopping on the jet to Vegas,” he told me. Kane removed my legs from around him, pushed them apart and dove back in.
The scoreboard said we were down by two points with thirty seconds left on the clock. Coach Neal was drawing so hard on the clipboard, focused and frowning.
“Grant, they’re going to go for you. They’re going to try and block you from getting the ball because they know you’ll make that a three and end the game.
I need you to get. Open. Get. Open. Move around the court as fast as you can, but get Grant that ball.
” She looked around the huddle and the players nodded.
I nodded, breathing through my mouth while sweat rolled down my neck. My legs were burning. I had played damn near the whole fourth quarter, and the woman guarding me had been attached to my hip. The Bears were definitely just as good as the Hornets.
Across the court, Kane sat forward with his elbows on his knees.
Everybody else around him was standing, yelling, waving shit.
He was still. Watching me. The second our eyes met, he tapped his chest twice.
I pressed my lips together and nodded, moving a loc back that had gotten loose from the hair tie.
I turned back to the huddle just into time to break with a clap.
I walked back onto the floor, my hands on my hips, and taking deep breaths.
The ball was thrown in. I moved around to get open, Tanya, my defender stayed on me. I took a right and then a quick left to juke her and she fell on her ass. The ball hit my hands.
“You ain’t getting that shot,” she said, hopping up.
She knew better. I was right behind the three-point line.
Quickly, I jumped and let the ball go with ten seconds left.
Everybody in the Bear arena stood. I peered over at Kane who nodded with a proud smile.
He knew it was going in. He extended his arm with three fingers out and made a shooting motion. The ball went in.
“You think Mama gon’ kill me?” I asked Kane with a huge smile on my face.
I moved my hand in front of me that held a huge diamond rock. We were married. Been married for a week now. Seven days of waking up to my husband.
Kane glanced away from the road long enough to look at my ring, then at me. A lazy smirk stretched across his face.
“She might,” he answered.
I laughed. “She’ll be okay.”
I told Kane that I didn’t want a wedding. Growing up, I wasn’t the little girl who dreamed of one. Eloping was good enough for me. Our parents would just have to deal with it.
“The minute she finds out you put me on a private jet after my game, flew me to Vegas, and married me without her there, she’s gon’ blame you.”
“I didn’t put you on shit. You walked onto that jet willingly…Mrs. Stone,” he joked. Kane shrugged. His left hand remained on the steering wheel, his wedding band shining as the sun hit it. “Gotta change your jersey.”
I groaned. We argued about this all the way back home from Vegas. I still wanted Grant on my jersey because that was my last name coming up as I dreamt this shit. I understood I was married now, but damn.
Kane cut his eyes to me. “We ain’t arguing about this shit again, wifey,” he sighed.
“It’s a discussion.” My heart didn’t look over the way it fluttered when he called me wifey.
“You’re married to me. Why the fuck you wanna run around with another nigga’s last name on your back?”
“Kane!” I screeched, covering my mouth when I laughed. “Another nigga? That’s my mama’s last name, remember? Not his.”
His face softened a little. “Oh. The answer is still no. Better tatt it somewhere on your body ‘cause you a Stone now, baby.”
“Fine,” I huffed.
He put a tatted hand on my thigh and I playfully knocked it away before grabbing it and putting it back. I loved my husband’s touch.
“Better get some act right,” Kane joked, smirking.
“You know what I need then.”
Kane looked at me, then back on the road slowly licking his lips.
‘You gon’ get it once we leave yo’ mama’s. Where today?” he asked.
“On the basketball court,” I answered, wiggling my brows.
Kane’s head reared back as he eased into my mama’s driveway. “You’re out your damn mind, Slim. You ain’t finna taint the court.”
I slapped his arm. We exited the car and walked up my mama’s driveway. I had a key, but still knocked because the last time I used it without warning, I accidently scared Mama, and she nearly took my head off with a lamp.
“Come in!” she yelled, already expecting us. I’d called ahead of time to make sure she was home.
Kane grabbed my hand before I could open the door.
“What?” I asked.
“You telling her,” he stated.
“Why me? I know you’re not scared.” I snickered.
Kane cackled. “A little.” He reached around me to open the door. “After you, Mrs. Stone.”
I walked inside and immediately smelled fried chicken. Mama was in the kitchen with her apron on, and music playing from the speaker on the counter. She stood over the stove in a house dress and slippers. Strolling over to her, I placed a kiss to her cheek.
I’d retired my mama. She had nothing but time on her hands and I loved that for her.
All the stressful days and night wondering how she was going to pay each bill and feed us were long gone.
I took care of everything. She had access to my bank account whenever she needed anything.
Her bills were automatically coming out, and whenever she didn’t feel like cooking, I had a chef come out to cook for her.
“Hey, son,” she greeted Kane. He kissed the top of her forehead. “I hope y’all are hungry.”
Kane nodded and rubbed his stomach. “We are, but Scottie has something to tell you.” He pushed me forward. Ms. Grant’s eyes squinted.
“You pregnant, Scottie?” she asked. A hand went to her chest as if bracing herself for an answer.
Scottie’s eyes stretched. “What? No!” A nervous laugh escaped from her lips. “No, mama. Scottie’s left hand went to her chest and Ms. Grant’s eyes followed it, noticing the diamond ring.
“Wait… Is this an engagement ring?” she quizzed, eyes darting to my husband.
Kane slid his hands into his pockets. “Technically—”
“We’re married,” I finished. “We eloped.”
The whole kitchen went silent. Even the music seemed to get quieter.
“A what?” Mama asked.
“A wedding ring.”
Her eyes moved down to Kane’s left hand.
“I told Slim we could still have a wedding, but she doesn’t want one,” he said, swallowing hard. I mushed his head for throwing me under the bus.
A smile formed on Mama’s lips. “Congratulations. I wish I could have witnessed it, but I’m still happy for you two,” she said. “I knew it would be you and Kane from the first day he came over. He was so attached to you.” Mama giggled, and Kane dropped his head with a grin.
We stayed over there for at least two hours and then went on to his Mama’s house, to break the news to her.
Just like mine, Mrs. Stone took it well.
She was so excited, she opened a bottle of wine just for herself since me and Kane didn’t drink, and when we finally made it back home that night, we made love right in the middle of the basketball court.
I often thought about what would life be like without Kane in it.
He was sent to me for a reason and I was happy I let him in despite not wanting to back then.
Vani left me and I still had Kane. Maybe that’s how it was supposed to happen, but I couldn’t lie, Vani’s death still hurt me to this day, and when I got in my feelings, Kane was always there.
The love of basketball brought us together.
Kane loved me through every version of myself. The guarded teenager. The woman who sometimes woke up crying because she had a dream about the night Vani got shot and killed. The wife who could be stubborn as hell. He loved all of me.
Life hadn’t been perfect for us. We argued.
We got on each other’s nerves. We spent too many nights in different cities, sleeping alone while one of us was on the road.
We lost people we thought would live forever.
We learned that money couldn’t protect us from pain, and success didn’t stop grief from showing up whenever it felt like it, but at the end of the day and with each other… we made it.
Kane was my best friend, my husband, and the only man who could piss me off and make me laugh in the same breath. He was my peace. He was home, even when we were thousands of miles away from the house we shared.