Chapter 18
SYNDER
I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. Glancing down, I grimaced at seeing my dick in my hand. My dick was still hard as hell and there was no sign of Sienna.
“Yeah,” I answered my agent’s call.
“You gotta pay that nigga’s dental bill,” Houston stated without so much as a greeting.
From the moment I decided to go pro, I knew The McQueen Firm was who I wanted to represent me.
They aligned with my values, and if need be, they got in the field with me.
Like now, this shit with Aaron Perdue had finally made its rounds.
“Fuck that nigga,” I grumbled. “See if he can talk with half his teeth missin’.”
Houston chuckled. “Aye, I’m on ya side, bébé. I need you to lay low ‘til this shit dies down. I’ve already talked to Bears upper management. For now, they’ve agreed to keep it off the court.”
“Yeah, aight,” I replied.
“I’m sendin’ you the receipt for his dental bill,” he added.
Mugging the phone, I said, “Yeah,” then hung up.
Aaron had better be glad I let him walk away with his life. A row of missing teeth was better than a casket. Speaking of caskets, Sienna was trying to send me to an early grave. Her silence was louder than Madison Square Garden during a championship game.
If I hadn’t slept under her, my ass wouldn’t have gotten any sleep, and that was the best sleep I’d had since the day I was drafted.
After some thought, I realized that I couldn’t be mad at Sienna.
I’d never had anyone who wanted to protect me—not my parents, not my sister, and certainly not a woman.
The only person I could ever count on was Legend.
If I called, without question, he was coming.
Glancing around, there was still no sign of Sienna. Everything she’d used to do our pedicures and Whimsy’s manicure was gone. She’d cleaned up while I was knocked out. My feet never felt so good, relaxed, and soft. She’d put socks on me and everything. I slept through it all.
Standing, I stretched, then made my way to Whim’s room. At the door, I paused. The door was partially open. Seinna and Whims were in the middle of the carpeted floor coloring. They both laid on their stomachs with their feet kicked up. They giggled at something Sienna said under her breath.
Whims was just a girl who deserved everything she wanted in life. She was growing so quickly, and I did everything in my power to ensure I saw every move my baby made. The picture of her bonding with Sienna was too much like foreshadowing our future. This was what I wanted to come home to.
The sound of my phone ringing alerted them that I was eavesdropping. Sienna glanced over her shoulder to look at me. Something laid in her eyes, the same eyes that skirted down my body to rest where my dick was behind my joggers. She turned away and went back to drawing.
Reaching inside my pocket, I produced my phone and glanced at the number on the screen. I didn’t recognize it, but I answered the call anyway.
“Sneaux,” I answered.
“You got me fucked up, Syn! How dare you let that ho take pictures with my baby! This is the last straw—”
I hung up on Courtland and blocked this number just like I’d done her other number.
She got blocked because of the text messages she’d been sending me since pictures of me, Sienna, and Whims started circulating.
She was terribly angry about a picture of Whims and Sienna sitting with Santa that some random muhfucka posted on the internet.
Honestly, I had full custody of Whims. Wasn’t a soul about to dictate who I had her around or any of that shit. As long as Sienna treated my baby good, I was all for the relationship they were building.
By the time dinner rolled around, Sienna was still ignoring my ass.
This time, she set up an elaborate setting for me and Whims to enjoy dinner.
It was holiday-themed, with tomato basil soup, cheesy croissants, homemade pizza, and salad.
For dessert, she made us decadent chocolate cake with Grinch green frosting and strawberry toppings.
One thing was for sure; Sienna could cook and bake her ass off.
She waited on us, served us, and did it all with a smile. Still, she didn’t say shit to me.
Whims and I ended the night with another one of her favorite movies. Somehow, without saying a word to me, Sienna talked me into wearing a Grinch onesie. I looked a damn fool, but if it made her day, then it made mine.
Whims didn’t make it through the movie. I kissed my daughter’s forehead, then laid her in her bed. After tucking her teddy bear under her arm, I covered her with a blanket, then cut out the lights.
Like a kid on Christmas, I went to my room to see if Sienna left me a gift on my bed. Sure enough, a box waited for me. Grinning, I hurried to open it. I ripped the wrapping paper off and opened the box as if I’d never received a gift before.
The red ornament on the inside of the box was exquisite.
Tiny diamonds outlined snowflakes, and my jersey number was intricately drawn into the snowflake design.
This shit was hard as hell. Sienna was so thoughtful, I had to blink back tears.
Then, I chuckled to myself because she was making my heart bleed for her.
I had a whole damn playbook for Sienna, but she was schooling me on every turn.
Exiting my room, I took the ornament to the tree I wanted to put it on, placed it in the perfect spot, then sought out Sienna.
Sienna was in the kitchen cleaning the dishes when I entered.
Per usual, she was humming a holiday song.
I chuckled to myself because I couldn’t wait for her to see one of the Christmas gifts I’d bought her.
She wore a Grinch-themed pajama set too.
It was cute on her. Too bad I was thinking anything except cute thoughts.
Sidling up behind her, I plastered my body to hers. She gasped as I reached around her to join our hands inside the bubbly dishwater. Before she could protest, I kissed down her cheek and down the side of her neck. She smelled like a gingerbread cookie and was as soft as one, too.
“I’m ready for you to stop being mad at me now,” I said.
“I apologize for fuckin’ up. I hate I can’t promise you that I won’t do it again.
” Eyes narrowed, she side-eyed me. I kissed the frown off her lips.
“I appreciate you for wanting to protect me. I’ve never had that before, so you gotta forgive me for not understanding where you comin’ from.
Now that I do understand, I’ll do better about controlling my temper and handling things a different way. ”
Sighing heavily, Sienna turned in my arms. “Also, I just want you to have the best holiday season this year. Christmas is two weeks away and the last thing I want is to be mad at you. There’s too much joy to be had, and so many great memories we could make.”
“Mm,” I replied. “You wanna make memories wit’ me?”
“I mean… I want to enjoy my holiday season as well,” she stated.
Tugging her closer, I peered down into her eyes. “That ain’t what I asked you. You wanna make memories wit’ me, Sienna?”
She nodded.
“Sienna, Baby…” I trailed my fingers over her cheek, then along her neck before restraining myself from wrapping my fingers around her neck.
“Yes,” she whispered.
“I’m referring to you as my baby again.” I kissed her lips and watched her eyes dilate.
“I wanna put ya legs over my shoulders and eat some good pussy. A nigga is starvin’ for it.
” Her eyes grew wide with want. Bending down, I kissed along her neck to let her feel just how slippery wet my tongue was. “You can have it,” I told her.
Her resolve broke, and the moment her hands clinched my shirt and yanked me closer, I took her direction.