Ryland
Me: What time you leaving?
MyPrettyAssBaby: Getting dressed now, so in like twenty minutes.
Me: Let me see.
MyPrettyAssBaby: See what?
Me: What you’re wearing.
MyPrettyAssBaby: No
Iswiped out the text thread and initiated a video call. She loved testing my patience.
“The fuck you frowning for?” Omiri asked from beside me while I kept my eyes on the phone, waiting for Somee to accept the call. When I didn’t respond, he leaned closer, looking at my phone and smirking.
“Bruh, let her breathe.”
“She can breathe after I see what she’s wearing.
” I grinned and propped my phone against the water bottle in front of me while Omiri added his thoughts on the highlight reels of the players visiting today that Coach was reviewing, Sakai and Sahil Ross, twin brothers.
I half listened to the grill session delivered by Coach with Omiri nodding every once in a while, but as soon as Somee’s pretty ass scowl came into view with her hands in motion, she had all my attention.
“You’re going to make me late.”
“How am I making you late when you’re the one holding up the process by not telling me what you’re wearing.”
She rolled her eyes and stepped back so I could see her clothes.
She looked cute as hell, putting a smile on my face, but her fit hadn’t been my endgame.
I didn’t give a damn about her clothes, I just wanted to see my baby.
After spending damn near every minute of the day for the past couple months with Somee, withdrawal was a real thing.
Call me obsessed and I couldn’t deny the truth.
I wanted this woman up under me twenty-four-seven.
“Happy?” she signed, then moved closer to the device, giving me a full view as her beautiful face filled my screen.
“Yeah, I’m good now. Drive the Benz.”
“Why?”
“You’re going to look good as hell stepping out of it.”
“I’m going to look good as hell no matter what I step out of.”
I grinned. “You got that. The keys are on the island in my closet. Drive what you want.”
“You thought I wouldn’t?” Her pretty mouth tipped up and I nodded.
“I know you will. Your ass stays jealous because baby sis always matches my fly.”
Her eyes rolled again. “I don’t need to match your fly. You need to match mine.”
I chuckled and looked up when our offensive coach called my name. “Parks, you have anything you want to add?”
“I have to go. You need me; hit my line.”
“I’m a big girl. At my grown age, I don’t need you pulling up to save me.”
“And I’m your grown, protective ass man. Hit my line if you need me and I better see them charges on my card or we’re going to have a problem.
I didn’t know what her pockets looked like other than the money I’d paid her to come spend a few months at my crib.
That was enough for her to flex on these hoes, but my goal was to fund her lifestyle the way she was upgrading mine with how she showed up for me.
Luckily, she didn’t have a problem spending my money, because that was an argument I didn’t want to have.
Working hard to build my net worth was cool, but having someone I cared about to spend it on elevated things in a way I couldn’t have imagined.
She smiled big as hell before her eyes rolled again and her hands were moving. “I know the drill. Goodbye, Mr. P-A-R-K-S.”
I locked my phone and gave the room my attention.
With the draft approaching, we were in the middle of Top 30 visits, which meant prospects would be showing their faces at our training facility for the next couple weeks.
Coach asked Omiri and me to pull up today since they were vetting a center and a left guard.
They were graduating from Crescent Falls University and hopefully would fill positions of two of our top players who would be retiring soon.
The one thing I respected most about our franchise was that they sought out homegrown players whenever possible.
Doing so created the space for a bigger investment from the community and kept our team feeling more like a family.
After the guys moved through their medical and physical evaluations, a tour, and lastly, their meeting with the GM, Coach asked us to sit in on their film review to give our thoughts on how the twins would fit the roster.
Omiri had been very vocal because this was his team.
As captain, his voice and leadership were the most relevant, but their positions would directly affect mine, which was why Coach wanted my insight.
“You saw how our season ended this year, right?” I asked.
They both nodded before Sakai spoke up. “That wasn’t on the team. The refs took that shit. You didn’t lose the game.”
“Call was fucked up.” Sahil added with a shrug.
“Doesn’t matter how we lost. We didn’t make it to the finish line, which means we better get there this season,” I clarified, looking both in the eyes one by one.
“It’s not just about the team. All of Crescent Falls is carrying that L with us,” Omiri added.
“You understand that type of pressure.”
The twins looked at each other and nodded. “Yeah, we do.”
“Do you also understand that you’re the first touch on the ball every single play?
You’re the protection call.” I pointed to Sakai, who was the center, then at Sahil, who was the left guard, before adding, “And you’re at my side each time we line up.
Your failure is my failure and every mistake you make is my problem.
” My eyes darted between both of them. “Do you understand that type of pressure?”
They both nodded, frowning hard. “We ain’t new to this,” Sakai stated.
“If you were, you wouldn’t be here.” Omiri grinned cockily before his expression turned serious. “I trust Land. I don’t have to think about where he’s going to be on the field and how he’s going to show up. If I can’t have the same confidence in you, you won’t be on the field.”
He lifted his arm and I did the same. Our forearms met before the twins nodded. “You got that.”
“Aight, then.” Omiri stood and I followed, extending a closed fist to both Sakai and Sahil after Omiri met theirs with his. “If this is where you end up, please understand that’s your brother, but we’re going to be your family. You respect what that means and you’ll be fine.”
Omiri and I left the film room, heading to the parking lot, pausing when we got to our vehicles.
“What you think?” he asked. I brushed a hand over my head, glancing back at the training facility.
“They’re gonna be alright. Coach feels like we can get both. Sakai is going before his brother. Sahil had some issues this season. An injury, I think.”
“Yeah, I heard.”
“Yeah, but nothing we need to worry about.”
“We have time to get them right before Johns and Holland step away.”
I nodded. “I’m out though. I have to get Rylee from school. She wants to pick my suit for the father-daughter dance.”
“Damn, you’re about to be all fucked up in the game. Avi is forever trying to get me to wear some shit that matches her, which is why I have all them damn pink shirts.”
He was grinning big as hell, expressing that he didn’t mind one bit. Whatever Avi wanted was as good as done, which was pretty much how I was moving behind Rylee. I couldn’t love her any more if she had been my own child instead of my sister, so I fully understood the bond he had with his daughter.
“She has her dress already. Somee took her shopping over the weekend and spent a grip, so I’m sure she’s about to go hard trying to get me in something purple. I fuck with it though, as long as it’s just a tie.”
“Seems like y’all are figuring shit out. Do we need to run that back with Turks?”
I laughed thinking about the trip we’d taken a few years back where Omiri and Makari decided to get married on what was supposed to be a couples’ trip to relax before we hit the field at the start of our season.
Thinking about it now, my life was so different than it was a few years ago. Hell, even a few months ago, if I was being honest. When I invited ol’ girl I chilled with in Turks on the trip, I barely knew her last name. If we made that trip now, I would be trying to give Somee my last name.
“If I thought I could get her to say yes, I would damn sure be down.”
“I thought y’all were cool?”
“We are, but she overthinks everything. I got her to agree to stay, so that’s enough for now.
I’m not going to push. Her dad leaving because she and her mom are deaf really messed with her head.
I have to prove that I’m in this and not gonna run.
She hears the words but she needs the actions behind them. ”
“You willing to put in work to keep her?”
“She’s the only one I’m willing to put in work to keep because there is no option other than having her with me.”
“If you need some advice, hit me up and I got you.” He smiled arrogantly.
“Did you forget I was the one giving you advice on how to keep Kari in your life?”
He smirked and shrugged. “That was just to figure out the parenting thing. Making Kari my wife was all me. When you need advice from a real one, let me know and I got you. Real shit though, she’s a good look for you.”
“’Preciate that.”
I dapped my boy and hit the locks to my ride so I could head out. I had a date that I refused to be late for. At this point, the two women in my life had become not just my responsibility when it came to keeping smiles on their beautiful faces but also my reason for existing.
Since Rylee had a half day, I pulled up to get her from school then drove us to Styles By Oni.
Oni Krew had been my personal stylist for the past couple years and never dropped the ball when it came to keeping me clean.
She had become the go-to for the majority of athletes in the city and her husband’s cigar bars, Flavor, were frequented by all of us when we needed a chill spot to unwind with top shelf drinks and cigars.
I stepped out of the dressing room and adjusted the sleeve of my jacket before I placed my focus on Rylee who was grinning from ear to ear.
“What do you think?” I signed, then smoothed my palm down the front of my jacket.