Hoops Holiday (Hoops 2.50)

Lotus is one of the fiercest women I know, and I’ve never seen her run from anything. I have no idea why, but she’s running from Kenan. Iris offers him a subtle shrug, silently apologizing for something that isn’t her fault. Kenan doesn’t acknowledge her, but grabs a whiskey from a server walking past. He holds the liquor in one hand, crosses his arms over his chest and turns his glance back to Lotus and Chase.

I survey the festive opulence of the penthouse suite, taking in the guys I battle with on the court night in and night out. We’ll have the briefest of reprieves for the holiday. In just two days, we’re back on the road for the last two thirds of a grueling eighty-two game season. I want to go back to our hotel, put Sarai to bed, fuck my wife like it’s nineteen-ninety-nine, even though we’re well past that, and tomorrow, go home. There’s a cluster of suited men supplicating around Decker. I see that dude all the time, and will see him next week back in Cali. There’s no reason to stay.

“I’m with Lo,” I bend to whisper in Iris’s ear. “Let’s be out.”

Iris

“Let’s be out,” August whispers to me.

I am so down for that. Sarai’s initial fascination with the holiday scene and all her daddy’s “giant” friends has faded into exhaustion. She’ll sleep through the night, and if we’re lucky, she’ll sleep in. And if I’m lucky . . .

It feels like hot steam being carried through my blood, the way I want August tonight. These hormones . . . I can’t get enough of my husband.

He has not complained.

I’m pregnant. A bubble of joy expands around my heart. I look at August, the man literally of my dreams through the darkest season of my life, and my daughter, the only good that came from my relationship with Caleb. I have been content for a long time, but now, this new life growing inside of me, is my cup running over. Such great joy spilling over the sides and saturating my life with more blessings.

I blink away tears. Lotus’ sharp eyes have already seen more than I was ready to reveal. And then it hits me, I want her to know. August and I agreed that we would carry our secret to New Year’s Eve, and then tell only those closest to us, but it’s so rare I see Lotus these days. My life is filled with a demanding career I’ve carved out for myself, raising my daughter, and sharing every drop of happiness with my husband on the West Coast. And Lotus lives at warp speed here in New York, traveling to Paris, Milan, Hong Kong. She’s become that designer’s right hand of sorts. Who knows when we’ll see each other again.

I tip up on my toes and slip my fingers into the abundance of August’s dark, silky curls, longer than his mama prefers, and exactly how I like it.

“Hey,” I whisper to him. “I know we said we’d wait til New Year’s to tell everyone, but what do you think about me telling Lotus tonight?”

He turns his head, and only a breath charged with what I’ve had to deny myself all day separates us. He dips and kisses me. The kiss, light though it is, feels like gasoline poured on the fire in my belly. I pull back, panting, breasts heaving. His smile is knowing and his eyes ravenous. He’d give me the moon if I asked for it right now.

“Whatever you want,” he replies, sliding his wide palm down my back to rest at the curve of my ass. “Just promise we’ll leave in the next two minutes. I need to be inside you.”

I close my eyes against a wave of want and nod jerkily. He’s barely touching me, but electricity fans out from his fingers at my waist and draws my nipples tight. My pussy clenches and contracts with the desire he stirs in me effortlessly.

“We’re leaving, too,” I tell Lotus. I clear my throat of the huskiness and continue. “It’s been a long day. I’m sorry we didn’t have more time together this trip.”

“Yeah, but I’m in LA next month.” Lotus smiles down at Sarai, tucking a lock of thick hair behind her ear. “Now are you sure you were a good girl because I can’t give you the Christmas present if you weren’t.”

“I was good.” Sarai strains on her toes, eyes stretched wide and earnest. “Mommy, tell her I’ve been good.”

Everyone in our little circle laughs. The grim line of Kenan’s mouth even yields a small smile. I don’t know what it is between him and Lotus, but she is avoiding it like the plague.

“Okay,” Lotus says. “Well if you’ve been good.”

She goes down on her knees, careless of the obviously expensive leather dress molding her petite curves. I understand why Kenan keeps staring at her. I’ve seen her all my life, but she seems to be blossoming even more before my eyes. Her face is expertly made up, a cat eye emphasizing the natural slant of eyes fringed with fake lashes and lined with mystery. Her skin, honey and cinnamon, glows against the platinum braids gathered in an elegant knot at her neck.

She reaches into her clutch and draws out a pale pink sachet bag with a cream silk drawstring tie.

“What is it?” Sarai asks, her eyes bright as gold coins.

“That’s why you open it, silly,” Lotus laughs and puts the bag in Sarai’s tiny palm.

For some reason, I find myself holding my breath. The satchel stirs a memory I’d forgotten. Of Mimi giving us gris gris rings in bags that looked like this. My glance zips to Lotus, only to find her looking up at me, searching my face for approval. I caress the silver ring on my right hand and remember the painful days without it; when Caleb stole and hid it from me. And I remember the sense of rightness when it rested on my finger again. I give Lotus a small nod and blink back tears again.

Damn hormones. Horny and emotional.

“A ring!” Sarai’s mouth makes a delighted “o,” and her smile stretches across her little face. “For me?”

“Just for you,” Lotus says, still on her knees. “I made this ring for you.”

“You made it?” I ask, my pulse skidding. Mimi made ours, and I didn’t even know Lotus knew how.

“Yes, I made it,” Lotus returns solemnly, her eyes fixed on Sarai’s face. “Look at me, little girl.”