“I appreciate it, Pops.”
He stood to his feet, pushing the steel chair away from him with the back of his legs. “Well, I ain’t gon’ hold you. Have a safe flight and take care of yourself out there.”
“You take care of yourself in here, OG,” I said, extending my hand to dap him up once more.
He swiped his calloused palm against mine and pulled me into a tight hug before tapping my back.
I turned to leave when I heard him call out, “Hey, son?”
I twisted my neck back in his direction. “Yeah?”
“If I don’t see you, Merry Christmas.”
I cracked a grin, knowing he wouldn’t see me before Christmas, but I appreciated the lightheartedness of it just the same. “Merry Christmas to you too, Pops.”
three
. . .
Christmas Eve
Cassidy
The gold, tufted headboard knocked against the wall with a final thud as Hendrix climaxed. He’d broken his rule about no sex before a game and broke me off just a mere hour before he had to be at the arena. Since my flight had landed in Las Vegas, it had been nothing but one back-breaking escapade after another inside his room at Caesar’s Palace.
“Shit,” he groaned before rolling off me. “See what you made me do?”
I allowed the crisp, white bedsheets to swallow up my body. “Call it an early Christmas gift.” I giggled while being thankful I’d remained faithful to my birth control.
“I gotta hit the shower. The bus will be here to start picking us up and taking us to the arena in half an hour,” Hendrix announced.
“Maybe I’ll just rewatch the porn we made and get myself off again if I get horny while you’re gone,” I teased.
He shook his head, reminiscing just as I was. “That shit was so fuckin’ sexy, Cass.”
“I know right. I’ve never done that before.”
“Trust me, baby, you were a natural. The camera loved you. You can star in another sexy movie anytime you want.”
“Yeah, yeah. You get one little movie role and now you know all about directing and shit, huh?” I joked.
“Yo, chill. What time are you coming to the arena? The game starts at six,” he reminded me.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be getting dressed and heading over to the game in the next couple hours to cheer you on,” I avowed.
“Good. It’ll be good to know my lady is in the building.”
“Are you sure you’re ready for us to put the rumors to rest and officially go public? This will be the first game of yours I’m attending in person,” I mentioned before taking a bite out of the leftover avocado toast I had delivered to the room for breakfast.
“I’m ready if you are. I don’t want to do anything to make you uncomfortable,” he answered.
I effortlessly grabbed my phone to begin swiping through my social feeds. My eyes landed on a clip of Angela Yee’s Rumor Report on The Breakfast Club.
“The blogs are all buzzing about a potential romance between NBA star Hendrix Croft and his co-star, Tamia Barker, after the two were spotted getting cozy after shooting a scene on set of their new movie, Undeniably You, where Croft plays Barker’s ex,”she reported.
I glanced up at Hendrix while trying my best not to let my insecurities run amuck. “Speaking of movies, you’re a tabloid favorite as of late,” I said, letting my uncertainties run right through my loose lips.
“Oh, that shit?”
