“I might be a hands-on owner, but one thing I will never do is take credit of another man’s accomplishments. On behalf of my fiancée and I, we want to thank everyone who is a part of our organization for the work you’ve put in tonight. Coach Douglas Stewart and the entire coaching staff, home office and every individual from the field crew to the stadium crew, this trophy belongs to all of you.” The entire crowd started to cheer and I knew many of the staff were in attendance. Parker held a lottery for the top-ranked employees from each area of the team to enjoy the game all expenses paid on him. So, people from the suite attendants to the environmental services staff were here celebrating.
“Anything else you want to say?” The mid-sized, balding man held the mic out to Parker who just smiled. He turned to Tiana and her eyes bugged but he simply waited on her to speak up. She sighed and took a step forward, the royal blue silk dress with the billowy sleeves moving easily around her as she moved. When Tiana lowered the microphone to her height, her ring sparkled off of every light in the stadium.
“The last thing we want to say to everyone in attendance today is, ‘We’re going to Disneyland’! The flight charters for you and your families along with park tickets and hotel reservations are awaiting you all in the locker room.”
The entire crowd and the stage erupted at her announcement because although it was tradition, having the team cover the cost wasn’t something that was expected.
They wrapped up the broadcast and I could get away from the stage, congratulating my teammates as I went. When I got close to Ling, I wrapped her up and finally had time to kiss her the way I wanted to before. My brother was holding onto my MVP trophy for me and I couldn’t wait to give him and my sister their gifts from me. Ling and I had already picked out a house for my mama in case she was serious about letting her house in LA be rented out. I had a feeling that being an empty-nester would hit her hard as hell with the twins gone. She would have to work through that at some point, but having her closer to Ami and to us, especially with both of my siblings looking at full rides to multiple schools in the south would be ideal.
I took my baby and tossed her in the air and I swear Ami’s giggles were exactly what my soul needed.
“Do you need to get going?” Sterling looked around and saw the rest of the team trudging into the locker room to get changed and get on with the night but I almost didn’t want to leave. Rushing this moment with everyone I loved with me seemed wrong.
I held Ami, who was so used to being around the lights and cameras that it didn’t bother her as the team photographers snapped photos for social media, and put an arm around Ling.
“Y’all ready for Disney? Don’t tell me y’all gone be too cool for that shit.” I was looking at the twins because I couldn’t remember the last time they’d even wanted to go to the theme park.
They looked at each other before they spoke in unison, “What you mean?”
“When Tiana said everyone, she meant everyone. Family included.”
Now my mom looked taken aback as well. “You’re joking?”
“Nah, knowing them they probably shut down the whole park just for the winning team. I’m sure there're all kinds of stuff waiting for y’all because they asked me everyone’s sizes as soon as we knew we were coming. I had room for up to five people so—” I shrugged and looked at the five of them. When me and Ling had more kids, I would pay out of pocket so that we could all continue to enjoy this tradition together.
“I ain’t ever too old to have an entire park to ourselves. Coach just gone have to understand ‘cause I ain’t going to school.” Teo was grinning despite still being in season. I knew he wasn’t about to worry with missing a few days of school. The twins were smart as shit competing against each other for who would rank one and two in their class.
“Ma?”
“And miss the baby’s first time there? You are out of your mind. I took the entire week off.” She looked excited and the joy of the day was finally settling in fully. I was ready to wash my ass, celebrate in the locker room and then get back up with my family.
I kissed Ling and then Ami because I knew they would be on whatever I was on. “Good, then it’s settled. We're going to Disney!”
STERLING
ALDRICH WAS BEING weird. And not weird in a bad way but in a way that had me somewhat on edge. We had a ball in California after they won the Super Bowl and it was amazing to see Ami light up at everything in Disneyland. The entire crew had come and we’d run through the park like kids since it had been shut down for the day for us. Parker had to have pulled major strings to have it shut down but I was grateful the entire day hadn’t been spent dodging fans or the fellas signing autographs. They had press obligations that meant time away from the fun, but they all happily got on rides without an ounce of shame. Seeing Runt walking around with mouse ears on as tall and broad as he was still one of my favorite memories.
But none of that explained why Aldrich was being strange.
We’d been home for two days, and Valentine’s Day was tomorrow. The players hadn’t all dispersed around the country yet despite it being the off season. Having won the championship, they had extended media obligations and of course everyone wanted a piece of the champs. Aldrich had been tied up heavily since we’d had our brief vacation last week and I was thankful Mama Sonya could come back with us for the next few days. Our time in California had been fun but it had still been too brief. I got introduced to a bunch of cousins and aunts and uncles from his mom’s side of the family. Old friends and colleagues of his father’s had come by the party that Mama Sonya had thrown for him at a local community center. He seemed even more surprised by the party than he was aboutwinning MVP. I was so happy to witness his life getting back to a new normal and I knew he wasn’t taking a second of it for granted. It made me love him even more and so much deeper than I could’ve ever imagined.
The last few months hadn’t been perfect but I felt like it forced us to grow even more as a couple. I was grateful that we’d been able to work through just about everything that had come our way on our own. What we couldn’t, we took to counseling with Doc. I could tell that Aldrich was withdrawing into himself just after the New Year. They had a first-round bye because they were the number one seed and having that physical break for his body didn’t serve him well the way it should have. Without the constant distraction of work, his mind started to unravel especially when a reporter so flippantly retorted to himwhat a difference a year madewhen Aldrich said he was more than focused for the playoffs.That seemed to send him immediately into a dark place that I knew I couldn’t pull him out of by myself. That night everything seemed normal even when we went to sleep. His body was wrapped around mine but at some point in the night we’d separated. He’d started having a nightmare and he wasn’t violent but it broke my heart when I woke up to hear him whimpering. For a moment I just watched his body twitch and then still, like he was frozen in the moment his body taunt with fear. Instead of touching him, I called out to him, giving him words of encouragement to pull him back from where he was. The last thing I wanted was to startle him by making physical contact or to have him associate me with his fear. It took a minute but he finally roused and when he realized it was me; he had tears in his eyes. He’d wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to him, resting his head on my chest. I held him while he cried and didn’t say a word when he left early and went to talk it out with Doc. He asked me to come with him to a later session and I did it without hesitation. I’d seen firsthandhow traumatic it could be to be assaulted. I’d borne witness to rape kits and the aftermath of another human’s brutality while nursing and I felt just as inept to help them as I did with my partner. It was hard not to internalize his trauma as my failure to keep him happy. Doc being as good as he was at his job recognized it and told me that everything was technically still fresh and gave me a few recourses to read through on my own. It helped me feel less guilty and focus on being what he needed.
Work, of course, put him back in a place of not having his sole focus being what happened but at night we talked about how he was feeling. He knew that the stress of the game and potentially not winning had brought on the self-doubt and that’s how it had manifested for him. The way he acknowledged his hurt and accepted it as a part of him while still working on being better reaffirmed that Aldrich was my person.
I was grateful for the people we had in our lives who could hold our hands and help us navigate troubled waters without judgement. They wouldn’t allow us to fail or falter and I appreciated how they would share their own troubles with us so we knew we weren’t alone. Many people talked about family, but ours proved true to their word when it mattered most. Billy had sent a request to the security company for Aldrich’s townhouse for all footage of that time period to be wiped from their servers. I wasn’t sure how she knew it was done, but she seemed confident like she had an inside connection. The last thing I would ever do is question that woman. She took the drive that held the footage that Aldrich had saved and put it in a vault inside of her office. The last thing I wanted was for him to have it tormenting him whenever he saw it and Billy’s office was more than secure. Aldrich didn’t want to see it, but he also no longer felt like it would be the end of the world if someone else did. I could only thank Doc for that.
“Everything okay, baby?” I’d glanced up from where I’d been lost in thought as I moisturized my arms and legs. Aldrich’s eyes were locked on me as I soothed the scented whipped butter into my skin and I was fighting my grin at the amorous way he watched my movements.
“Yeah, why do you ask?”
I stood up carefully because I didn’t want to disturb the clips that were keeping my curls set. I’d spent forever getting my hair right and the last thing I wanted was for these curls to fall before I showed off the full effect when I got dressed.
Aldrich pulled a tuxedo out from the tailor’s bag it arrived in. He turned back around to look at me and I could tell by the look in his eye exactly where his mind had gone.
“Aldrich—”
“It ain’t my fault you over here looking fine as fuck per usual. You think I’m not going to be thinking thoughts?” He walked over to me with his mind on seduction and all thoughts about my hair went out of the window. He was only wearing boxer briefs and I could see his dick growing longer against his thigh as he strolled toward me. Aldrich’s hand slid down my hip pulling me flush to him as his lips met the bottom of my jaw before traveling down my neck. My back was against the blonde wood of the shelves before I could think to pull away from him.
