Epilogue
Ryland.
Sixteen months and some change…
I didn’t think I would ever get used to the feeling I had right now watching my son.
A miniature version of myself and a beautiful blend of me and the woman I loved.
This shit made me emotional as hell each time I thought about how he was created in love and being raised in that same love. Something I wanted but never had.
Somee and I were righting the wrongs of our past by being better versions of ourselves as parents than our own had the ability to be and that was more important to me than any accomplishment in life.
Being a good husband, big brother, and father was my flex.
Being available for them in ways my biological parents never were swelled my chest with pride, so while Somee slept in, I was up in his nursery, chilling with my son before I had to head to the training facility to prepare for today’s game.
“Come on, M-E-L-L-Y M-E-L. Let me see your footwork,” I signed and our son bounced in place where he held onto his toy chest and grinned at me. He was only seven months old but already pulling up on things and occasionally standing on his own.
Somee’s mother kept joking that he was moving out of the way for his sibling, which I was down for, but Somee was avoiding at all cost. She wanted more kids but was trying to hold off until Sah’mel was at least out of his terrible twos.
We both wanted a daughter, and with the way I stayed in her pussy, she would be making her grand entrance to expand our family sooner rather than later.
“Come to me, man.” With me shooting up the spot while we were in Crescent Keys for Somee’s birthday, her present ended up being a positive pregnancy test a month later.
We got married at my beach house in July with our family and close friends surrounding us in love.
Omiri was at my side while Marlee was next to my baby, but Rylee stole the show as our flower girl.
Our little man was born in January, and with a Super Bowl championship in February, the past year and a half had been full of wins.
He continued bouncing but didn’t move his feet.
He let go of the toy chest for all of ten seconds before he dropped onto his butt, rolled over, and crawled right into my lap.
I chuckled and kissed the top of his head before I lifted him in my arms and tossed him in the air several times.
I was mid motion to do it again before fuzzy ass slippers stepped into view.
I followed them up caramel colored legs, lingering on thick thighs and little ass shorts that had my dick thickening against my thigh.
“What I tell you about throwing my baby around like that?”
I sat Sah’mel on the floor so I could respond to Somee. “So he’s your baby now? Because two hours ago, you were throwing him at me, talking about get your son.”
She grinned and rolled her eyes. “It was five in the morning, and when he wakes up that early like a serial killer, he’s your son.”
She pointed at me and I chuckled, signing to Sah’mel, “Your mother is a hater because she’s lazy.”
He was still young, but we began signing to him from birth.
Sah’mel had partial hearing, although it was possible he would lose it completely.
Our main reason for teaching him ASL was to make sure he could communicate with his mother and Rylee.
It was too early for him to emulate the motions, because his motor skills weren’t quite developed, but his pediatrician expressed that he was learning and absorbing.
Eventually he would begin to mimic what we did, connecting the gestures to the words.
It was so important for both Somee and me to make sure he had the best of both worlds.
“I’m not lazy, I’m tired. I’ve been reviewing lesson plans for two days straight and I’m still not done.
School starts in two weeks.” She pouted and I lifted our son, holding him in one arm, bringing her into my chest with the other.
I pressed a kiss to her forehead while she leaned into me, lifting her chin so I had her beautiful browns.
“I’ll take care of that later.” She was close enough to read my lips, so I spoke the words.
My little G decided that since his mother was going to be my priority later, he was going to be hers right now. He damn near jumped out of my arms, diving for Somee. She caught him, kissing all over his face, smiling like she wasn’t just calling him a little terror.
She shifted our son in her arms and adjusted to sign using one hand, something we both had been doing since Sah’mel was usually held by one of us at any given time. “You’re going to be late.”
“So you’re just gonna hit me with a ‘get the fuck out of my house’?”
“Our house,” she signed and smiled smugly. I chuckled and kissed them both. “I’ll see you at the field and you better be dressed appropriately.”
She smiled big as hell. “You threw out all my Tigers jerseys, so I’m pretty much stuck R-E-P-P-I-N-G the squad.”
“You can grab one on the way if that’s how you want to get down today.”
I wish the fuck she would…
“Nope, I’ll be R-E-P-P-I-N-G the finest man on the field.” She lifted onto her toes and delivered another kiss before leaving our son’s nursery. I watched her go, admiring the jiggle of her ass, contemplating how pissed she would be if I got her pregnant before our son reached his first birthday.
I let the thought go and decided to get my ass moving before I really was late.
Today was a joint practice with the Tigers.
We’d played them multiple times since being put out of the playoffs two years prior, and each time, we walked away with a victory.
We also never got too comfortable. The rivalry was set on both sides.
They wanted a win. We refused to give them one, so the next two games would be very physical.
The Tigers’ coach reached out with the request for a joint practice, which meant we were facing off with them in two games before our preseason started.
They had a new lineup and were trying to gauge how they would do this season.
It only made sense to suit up against the team they couldn’t beat no matter how they showed up on the field.
When I reached the kitchen, Sah’mel was in his high chair while Somee was making one of those nasty ass matcha drinks. Joy had a full spread on the table for Somee and our son with her homemade blends of baby food, which was the reason why he was so damn fat.
“Good morning,” I signed and spoke to Joy.
She returned the greeting and pointed to the counter where a protein shake was waiting, along with an insulated lunch bag.
Based on what was on the table, I was sure I had three breakfast burritos, made with egg whites, vegetables, turkey sausage, and avocado.
“Thank you,” I signed, then went right to Sah’mel.
“Let me get that good luck so Daddy can do his thing on the field.” Before each game, I tried to have a moment with my family, carrying their energy as my good luck.
He watched my hands moving, babbling. I touched my fist to his and he kicked his legs, smiling.
After I kissed his head, I was on his mother, pulling her into my chest. “Let me get that. I need my dose of good luck from my baby…” I said, bringing a smile to her face before she looped her arms around my neck, bringing me down to meet her mouth for a kiss.
“Don’t embarrass me.”
I chuckled. “I’ll try not to.”
With one last kiss, I let her go, brushed my hand over our son’s head and was out the door.
Rylee had spent the night with Areena, so Toya was bringing her to the game.
My baby was geeked as hell because her rec cheer team partnered with the Sharks for the summer.
They got to cheer at our joint practice games and be on the sidelines for the preseason games.
You couldn’t tell her little ass shit. She really thought she was doing big things.
As soon as I was in my truck, my mind shifted to game mode. It was time to put in work.
Somee
The Omari Corp Performance field was packed.
Looking around at all the bodies surrounding the field, you would think the entire city showed up for the joint practice games between the Sharks and the Tigers.
We had beat them multiple times last season, but each time they faced off, Sharks fans felt like there was something to prove.
The win needed to be secured by any means necessary.
It was mid-August and fairly warm, but rain last night cooled things off enough for the temperatures to be bearable. I still appreciated the tents they had set up for us out here. Families were seated on the fifty yard line, providing the perfect view of the players and coaches.
This was my happy place. Outside in the parking lot, almost every food truck in the city was lined up and they had activities available for the kids—face painting, balloon art, inflatable jumping houses, and football-themed fun stations.
It was a perfect day to kick some Tiger ass and the Sharks had better not disappoint.
I grinned and laughed internally at how much things had changed.
I was officially a Sharks fan and not just a Ryland Parks fan.
Marlee nudged me, motioning toward Rylee as she moved through a sequence of jumps that were pretty damned good for only a few months of cheerleading.
Since May we had been juggling cheerleading and dance classes.
Thank goodness for Toya and Marlee because getting Rylee where she needed to be multiple days a week with overlapping schedules while keeping up with Sah’mel was damn near impossible.
Regardless, I handled the task and showed up as much as possible, but Marlee and Toya stepped up, refusing to let me burn out. Makari and Shiya had even pulled a few shifts since Avianna and Shiya’s daughter Zaya were also enrolled in the rec cheerleading summer program.