Hoops Holiday (Hoops 2.50)

“You think it’ll stay dead once she re-airs our dirty laundry on reality TV?” Kenan asks, a bitter edge to his voice.

I stop in my tracks and face him, searching his stony expression in the poorly lit tunnel.

“What the hell?” I wait for him to stop and face me. “What do you mean?”

“The reason she’s moving to New York is to be on one of those reality shows about ballers’ wives or some shit.” He sucks his teeth, annoyance in every tense line of his six-foot-seven frame. “We’re this close to a divorce and haven’t lived together in over a year, and she signs on as a baller’s wife? What baller?”

“Glad, man, I’m sorry.”

We resume walking to the lot and Kenan shrugs.

“I’ll deal with it,” he says. “The worst part is how it affects my daughter. She’s old enough to hear all the shit about us, but not old enough to really understand. She still doesn’t get that Bridge and I will never be together again.”

“I don’t get her,” I say. “Bridget, I mean. She had everything. Great husband. Great kid. Great life, and she threw it all away for what?”

“For who is a better question. Dude’s not even checking for Bridget now, and from what I hear, he just got engaged. I mean, I’m no picnic. I’m not an easy guy to get close to. I know that. And we had our issues, but I never thought . . .

Kenan frowns and squeezes the bridge of his nose.

“Anyway, count your blessings, Rook. You got a good woman.”

Just the thought of Iris waiting for me at the end of this tunnel fires my blood and squeezes my heart in my chest. Count my blessings? Every day. And pretty soon, we’ll have another blessing, though Iris and I have kept that to ourselves for now.

“Yeah, she and Sarai are the best things that ever happened to me,” I reply, shooting Kenan a grin. “They’re here. We won’t stay long at the party. We have Sarai with us.”

“Surprised you’re not heading down to Baltimore to see your folks?”

“My mom and stepdad are in Hawaii, if you can believe it. Jared gave them a trip for their anniversary, and they decided to go there for Christmas. Hey, they’re both off for the holidays, so I guess it works for them. At least we were all together for Thanksgiving.”

“And Jared? What are he and Banner up to for Christmas?”

“Staying west. They’re spending Christmas with her folks in San Diego,” I say. “So with my family scattered all over the place this year, New York’s as good a place as any to land. Especially with that W we got tonight.”

We fist bump, celebrating another win. This season is already going better than last. We just knew we’d make the playoffs last year, but ultimately fell short. We’ve been building this franchise ever since I came to the NBA, and I think, I hope, this time we’ll make the playoffs.

“Hey, start counting,” Kenan says, nodding to the black SUV where Iris and Sarai wait for me. “There’s your blessings.”

I hope I never get used to the passion and protectiveness that surges through me when I first see Iris. Though I’m guilty of what my old coach termed the impulsivity of youth and the quick temper that often comes with it, I’ve never considered myself a violent person. But had I known how Caleb was hurting Iris when she was with him, I think I might have killed him. That sounds harsh and wrong, but seeing that season of our lives through hindsight– the sadness lurking behind Iris’ eyes, the way she’d startle when I touched her unexpectedly, the scars she explained away – futile rage consumes me for a second. Futile because there’s no outlet for it. Caleb is dead, and I’ve never felt sorry about that.

As soon as we join my girl at the SUV, I pull Iris close and kiss her hair. She snuggles into me briefly, then tips up to kiss the corner of my mouth. Her eyes are hot and hungry when they meet mine. We made love this morning before Sarai woke up and bounded into our bed at the hotel, but it’s like we’ve gone weeks, not hours, without making love.

“Good game,” she whispers to me, discreetly brushing a hand over my chest under my coat.

My muscles tighten under the light touch of her fingers. I’m tempted to skip this party. I want her to myself in every position doing every dirty thing we can dream up. But she’s already changed and she looks so beautiful. Her dark hair has grown, and it spills nearly to her waist, thick and shiny. The gold dress of sequins molds her slim frame and caresses every curve. Gold stilettos give her a few inches and further define the sexy muscles of her calves.

“Damn, you look good,” I whisper into her ear.

“So do you,” she whispers back, her hand drifting down between us under my coat to squeeze my dick. “Good enough to eat.”

Holy shit.

“You two just gonna hump each other in the parking lot?” Kenan asks, threading laughter through the words. “I’m here for it, but you might want to remember the youth among us.”

Iris and I both turn our heads to find Sarai staring at us over the half-up window of the SUV. The other most important girl in my life.

“Hey, Princess,” I say, returning her wide, missing-a-tooth grin. “How’d I do tonight?”

“You did good, Daddy.” She wags one tiny finger. “Mommy says you still need to work on that D.”