Chapter 12
SIENNA
The morning after Thanksgiving, I woke up to a barrage of messages from Courtland. She’d flooded my DMs with demands and accusations. Blocking her, I wasn’t about to give her any of my energy. I blocked her and some other people who were being vulgar in my inbox.
Today, I didn’t have time for any of them.
It was off to the next city as Synder had a game tomorrow night.
The more time I spent with him and Whimsy, the more it was clear that he really did need me.
Whimsy was a good child, but Synder’s schedule was hectic, and he barely had time to process anything before he was off to the next game.
Yesterday put so much into perspective. All I knew was family.
Sure, I’d missed spending Thanksgiving with my family, but we were so close that I spent plenty of time on video call with them.
However, Synder didn’t mention the first thing about his family.
I found that sad, considering he took care of them.
I wanted to deep dive into his family’s dynamics. Then again, I was just the nanny. What they had going on wasn’t my business. However, I couldn’t help but to be concerned. Synder seemed like such a nice guy, and Whimsy was perfect.
His family was still on my mind the night of the game. Thanksgiving passed and now Christmas was on the horizon. No one should spend Christmas alone if they had family. As much as I wanted to not care, I did.
After the game, I couldn’t resist taking Whimsy out into Detroit’s snow-covered grounds.
For a little while, Synder’s family dynamics fled as he, Whimsy, and I played in the snow.
There weren’t any thoughts of those closest to him and whether their love for him was genuine.
There weren’t any feelings of sadness about the way his family wasn’t as loving as mine.
Back in Atlanta at Synder’s house, I dusted his ornaments and holiday fixtures while Whimsy was down for a nap. I was back to being concerned and decided to express my feelings with the only person who understood what the hell I was feeling.
“Hey, Mrs. Sneaux,” Domino answered his phone.
Laughing, I replied, “Don’t even!”
“So, what’s goin’ on?”
Sighing, I couldn’t believe I was this concerned about Synder and his people. “How did you initially handle Kevanna’s fucked-up family?”
Domino gasped. “You just cussed. Like for real cussed. This is serious.”
Laughing again, I said, “This is serious.”
“Well, who are we talkin’ about, first?”
“Synder.”
“Synder?” Domino skeptically questioned.
“Unfortunately,” I replied.
He chuckled. “You in too deep, baby.”
“Very.” I blew out a deep breath and said, “Now answer the question.”
“Sadly, I remind my wife daily that she has the Cooleys. Her family is dysfunctional as hell, and nothing anyone says changes a thing. I watch how I move with her because I don’t ever want her to think that we’re headed down that same path.
What we have is healthy, and it will stay that way.
It’s my responsibility as her husband to protect her, and filling in where her family falls short is part of that. ”
“Wow,” I responded. “I’ve always wondered why Kevanna clings to you the way she does. She feels safe with you.”
“Should she not?” he countered.
Giggling, I said, “She should. I just see it differently now. Physically, you’ve always protected her, so I get it. It’s her heart I’m talking about. She knows it’s safe with you.”
“Damn sure is. Just make sure your heart is safe with Syn before you hand it over to him. Understood?”
I couldn’t even deny that was where I was headed. “It’s locked away for now.”
“Sure, Cuzzo. In the meantime, I’ve had to block a few numbers on this side. That nigga’s ex is relentless. Now, I’d be wrong if I let Kevanna get on her ass.”
Domino bringing up Courtland made me roll my eyes. “She’s a piece of work.”
“She’s gon’ be broke piece of work if she doesn’t leave you the fuck alone. If she’s blowin’ the boutique’s line up, I know she’s in ya DMs.”
I didn’t respond.
“Really, Sienna?” he questioned.
“I blocked her,” I stated.
Domino mumbled something, then said out loud, “If she messages you again, tell me.”
“I won’t. I can handle myself.”
“I’m not sayin’ that you can’t. I’m not about to have some nigga’s baby mama disruptin’ ya peace.”
“Who’s baby mama?” Kevanna asked from the background.
Groaning, I said, “I gotta go, Cousin. I love you! Bye!”
Hanging up, I shook my head and went back to dusting.
“Be honest, Sienna,” I said to myself. “The only reason you’re this bothered by his family is because of how thoughtful he was for making sure you still had a nice Thanksgiving dinner.”
It was true. That small act of kindness spoke volumes. Synder cared about family.
“And now you’re smitten,” I mumbled. Well, if it was up to me, Synder was going to have the best Christmas of his life. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Pausing what I was doing, I went to my laptop and ordered a few things. I was going to make Synder’s holidays magical.
The Jets were finally back home for their next game.
I sat in my usual seat, and Whimsy sat next to me.
By now, I thought I’d get tired of being in this atmosphere.
However, the more games I went to, the more I enjoyed them.
The only downside was the cameras all in my face.
That was something I couldn’t see myself getting used to.
“Tee-Tee!” Whimsy shouted. She pointed toward two women walking courtside.
Players were on the court doing shoot-arounds and a few were distracted by the women’s fierce struts toward their seats; one I recognized right away.
Yakira Sneaux was just as beautiful as the pictures of her hanging up inside Synder’s den.
The other one had her eyes on me, but I didn’t know her from a can of paint.
Yakira smiled brightly and came up to us to hug Whimsy, who clung to me as if she didn’t know Yakira.
Yakira didn’t speak to me, which made me chuckle to myself.
Her homegirl didn’t speak either. Clearly, they wanted me to know they weren’t fucking with me.
Whatever they had against me was their issue.
Seeing how I’d never met either one of them, their behavior was strange.
After Yakira made small talk with Whimsy, she and her homegirl walked away and went to their seats, which were directly behind me and Whimsy. Synder came onto the court looking magnificent in his uniform. By now, I knew his first order of business was to come fist bump Whimsy…and me.
His eyes held mine as he neared us. The softness that was there disappeared when Yakira called his name.
“Girl, yo’ brother is so fine!” the girl, who was with Yakira, stated. They giggled, then cackled.
Instantly, they unsettled my spirit. I went from enjoying being here to wishing I was back in Niceville Shores—
“You good, baby?” Syn questioned. It wasn’t his question that rendered me speechless and halted my thoughts, rather it was his touch to my chin.
As if he didn’t just spark a fire inside me, he bent to kiss Whimsy’s forehead, then fist bumped her.
Somehow, I found myself in order to connect my fist with his larger, tattooed waiting fist. “You good?” he asked again.
“Yes,” I replied while glancing up at his towering frame. As he peered down at me, the softness returned to his eyes and a devilish grin accompanied it. Maybe he could tell that he was breaking me down.
“Have a good game,” I told him.
Suddenly, he was close. His lips touched my ear. “I love when you tell me that.”
In an instant, he was towering over me again. The grin said it all. He knew exactly what he was doing to me.
“Syn!” Yakira called, interrupting our moment. Synder chucked his head at his sister, then kissed Whimsy’s forehead again.
“Be good for Sienna, aight?” he said.
“I be good!” Whimsy replied. Synder bumped fists with us once more before he joined his teammates on the court.