Page 50 of 1001 Dark Nights: Bundle Forty-Two

I take a deep steadying breath that doesn’t seem to besteadying anything before answering, “Naz.”

Chapter Three

Naz

As soon as I agreed to do this fashion show, Iregretted it. I even called Kenan, trying to get out of it.

“Sure,” he had said. “You can pull out, but you have to tell Lo yourself. Oh, and tell Iris you don’t actually care as much about survivors of domestic abuse aswe originally assumed.”

“Motherfucker,” I’d muttered and hung up on his smart ass.

Needless to say, I’m here waitingto be powdered and brushed and groomed or some shit for charity, whensomething…someone soft and scented literally falls into my arms.

“What the hell?” I stumble a little but right myself beforeeither of us fall and bust ass on the floor. I glance down to see who I’vecaught, and any words I would say cling to the roof of my mouth. I manage to pull one word down, despite my shock. Her name.

“Takira.”

It’s the first time I’ve seen her in twelve years. At least,in person. I may have lurked on her Instagram account and tracked her progresssince senior year. On occasion.

“Naz.” A sooty fan of lashes surrounds doe-brown eyes. Herchin bears the same tiny dent as her brother’s. She’s always been a smaller,softer, prettier version of Cliff Fletcher. Over the years, they’ve bothhaunted me for completely different reasons.

“You two know each other?” Lotus asks, her alert eyespinging between my face and Takira’s.

“A little,” Takira mumbles.

A little is accurate, since we onlyhad one night before everything went to shit, but thatdoesn’t feel like the whole truth. Doesn’t tell the storyof how we talked about real things on the roof that night, sketching our dreamsin the sky with stars. As irrational as it is, when our glances lock, I seethat awareness, the memory of that one night, in Takira’s eyes. She pulls back,but my hands tighten reflexively at her hips. It’s instinct to hold on to her.Not one I want to examine too closely, but she angles a sharp look up at me,her curves still pressed into the length of my body. Reluctantly, I let her go.

Even though she’s taller than average, her head doesn’tquite clear my shoulder. It makes me want to protect her even if it’s only fromfalling. Seeing her for the first time in more than a decade, it’s a ridiculousresponse, but that same connection I felt with her from the beginning isundeniable. Given a little time and attention, I bet it could grow intowhatever it could have been had things not happened the way they did. Thatnight before the championship, Cliff told our team that game would change everything.He probably was thinking of himself…because he always did, but it changedeverything for me. As much as I’ve always beengrateful for the chance that led me to a career in the League, I’ve also felt guilt over how things went down for Cliff. Any possibilityfor something with his sister fell apart that night along with everything else.

“I want to hear all about how you know each other later.Right now, he’s your first model,” Lotus says, nodding to the seat and mirrorright behind me. “Naz, sit. I think just a little powder and a haircut forhim.”

“I just got a haircut,” I protest.

“I mean a good one.” Lotus grins, mischief in her dark eyes.

I grumble but sit obediently in the chair because Lotus maybe tiny, but she’s a bulldozer. Takira closes her eyes briefly and blows out a breath before pasting on a polite smile.

“Cat,” Lotus says, her smile fading. “Let’s go check thosedresses that just arrived. I hope we got the sizes right. No time for mistakestoday.”

“Right.” Catalina’s eyes widen, and she trails Lotus’smarching figure, casting a look over her shoulder. “I’ll see you later, Takira.You did say you can make the after-party, right?”

Takira’s mouth forms an O, and her glance slides to mebefore lowering to the floor. “Um, yeah, but now I’m not sure I—”

“You’re coming!” Lotus yells from a foot or so ahead,turning backward and narrowing her eyes at Takira. “I want all the DessiBlue gossip, and I have some other stuff coming up I’d love todiscuss.”

She turns to walk off, but not before giving me a discreetwink. Am I that obvious? Or is Lotus that omniscient?According to Kenan, nothing gets by his wife, and she knows things about youbefore you know them yourself.

Thank you, Lo.

The prospect of getting to talk to Takira at the partytonight lightens a mood that has been admittedly foul all day. I hate stufflike this. MacKenzie Decker, San Diego Waves’president of basketball operations, says he’s only met one player less enthusedabout doing press and the public than me, and that’s Kenan Ross. People oftendraw comparisons between Kenan and me. When he retired, I was traded to theWaves and have never been happier with a team. Kenan has beena big part of that. He mentors lots of young players, and though after eightseasons, I’m not considered young, Kenan’s still about ten years older than me.There’s a lot I can learn from him, and he and Lotus have become close friends.

Which brings me back to the good turn Lotus inadvertentlydid me by recruiting Takira Fletcher for this fashion show. For Takira to alsobe doing my makeup…wait a minute.

“I don’t need makeup,” I tell Takira, who’s setting uplittle pots of blush and trays of eye shadow. Is that lipstick?

Oh, hell, no.

“It won’t be much,” she promises, her small smile tentative.“Powder to get rid of the shine. A little eyebrow grooming.”