“One of the best trips of my life,” Antonio said. “Even though the Wi-Fi was sketchy, the instructors were weird, and the food was wack. Well, except Cecelia’s. That was incredible.”
Jackie laughed. “True, but the company was phenomenal.”
“The company was the best part.”
As they talked, a few fans came up to Antonio, asking for photos and autographs. Some even asked about PJ. But Antonio’s eyes never left Jackie’s. As soon as the crowd thinned, Antonio reached for Jackie’s hand.
“Come introduce me to your fam,” he said. “They’re all out there, right?”
Jackie tensed up but stopped herself. It didn’t matter who saw them, or if the tabloids wrote another post about them. Let the world think what they wanted. She laced her fingers with his and smiled. “Let’s go.”
“Well, if it ain’t Mr. Steele,” Tanika said, her voice slightly slurred. She’d been drinking since the second undercard fight and was clearly feeling it.
“You know Tanika,” Jackie said, shaking her head as she made introductions. “These are my girls. You’ve met Mya and Sara, and this is—”
Bronwyn pushed her way up front, engulfing Antonio in a hug. “Hello, brother! So excited to meet you formally! You know, I had a good feeling about you. Since your sun and Venus is in…”
“Bronwyn,” Jackie warned. “Do not scare him off. You gotta ease people into that, okay? Besides, this isn’t the place, girl!”
“Right, my bad,” Bronwyn said. “I almost forgot we were at this barbaric sporting venue. I think I got sprayed with blood in the last round.” She looked down at her caftan, checking wildly.
Antonio laughed. “Actually, I kinda dig natal charts and stuff. Maybe we can talk about that sometime.”
“Would love to!” Bronwyn said. She gave Jackie a wink and mouthedI like himbefore returning back to her seat.
Mya pushed past Bronwyn, looking Antonio up and down. “Damn, you even finer than I remembered.”
Jackie rolled her eyes. “Of course, this is Mya, our adopted little sister who can’t seem to use the braincells God gave her.”
“Now that’s just rude,” Mya said, sipping on her cocktail. “No disrespect. Jackie knows I have no filter. Pleasure to see you again, Mr. Steele.” She leaned down to whisper to Jackie. “You need to climb that treetonight!”
Jackie’s eyes widened, hoping Antonio hadn’t heard that.
“Good to see you again, Antonio,” Sara said with a smile as she shook Antonio’s hand. “You all really held out on me in that interview, with the daddy-son thing. I can see why Jackie threw beans on you.”
Jackie pinched the bridge of her nose. She was never going to live that down.
Antonio looked at Jackie with a smirk before answering. “Well, she still owes me for the ruined outfit, but I’ll let it slide.”
Gideon peered around Tanika, giving Antonio the judgmental, big-brother-like stank face.
“And the guy behind Tanika mugging you is my cousin—her fiancé—Gideon. And those are his friends, Lucas and Jeremy,” Jackie said.
Gideon extended a hand. “Wassup. I just took an edible, so I’m in no mood to grill you the way I’d like. Like a proper big cousin should.” He turned to his friends. “This is my business partner, Jeremy, and our homeboy from college, Lucas.”
“It’s all good,” Antonio laughed, dapping up everyone.
“Yo, you really PJ Dawson’s dad. Like for real?” asked Lucas. “That dude is cold with it on the court!”
“Yep,” Antonio said. “He’s a good kid. I’m lucky to be his dad.”
“Two legends in one family. That’s wild,” Jeremy remarked. “It’s like some kind of sports dynasty.”
“I don’t know about a dynasty,” Antonio chuckled. “But my son is definitely the one with the real heart and talent.”
“So, what do you think the chances are they make the playoffs?” asked Lucas.
“Okay, enough about that,” Tanika declared. “This is our bachelorette-bachelor weekend. You need a drink in your hand.” She called over a drink waitress and ordered another round of tequila shots for everyone. When the shots came, she beckoned everyone to take one, holding hers up high in the air. “I want to make a toast,” Tanika began. “To my future husband: I love you, Gid, more than words can say. To my bestie Jackie for these kickass seats. Girl, we can see the sweat on these boxers. And finally…” Tanika looked between all her friends and family, her eyes getting misty behind her glasses. “To our friends who are now, literally, family. Thank you for supporting us and having our back through this crazy, improbable love story of ours. May you all have magical love stories too. Now let’s hope Mo wins his belt like a real champ! Cheers.”
