Page 46

DEKE

Jacobi Bennet, one of the Ravens’ power forwards, passed me the ball, and when the rock hit my hands, I positioned myself to shoot.

The ball sank into the net, and the nine other men on the court hollered at the tops of their lungs.

“Let’s go!”

“Hell yeah, that’s game, baby!”

“That’s what I’m talking about, Bishop!”

A hand clapped my shoulder as I placed my hands on my hips to catch my breath. We were in the stadium where all the magic happened. Training camp wasn’t starting for another week, but Coach Harrison gave us the green light to scrimmage with some of the rookies.

I preferred it this way—getting to know the new guys and building a connection with them before we got into the heavy hitting. In my opinion, a team couldn’t be a team if we didn’t trust each other.

Jacobi gave my shoulder a proud shake before he let it go and snatched off his headband. “I see you’re ready to ball, Bishop.”

“I am, man. Been training with Ken all summer.”

Jacobi hissed through his teeth. “ Ken Massey? Yo, I know he’s been drilling your ass. That man is tough as hell, but that only means you’ll be ready. Nobody’ll be able to stop you, my boy.” He tapped the heart of my chest with the back of his hand before walking backward. “I’ll catch you in a couple weeks, though. Stay up, Bishop!”

I gave him a nod, then jogged toward Javier. We grabbed our stuff from the locker room, then headed to the private garage, where our cars were parked.

There were bound to be people lurking outside the building, trying to catch a glimpse of the team. Though we loved our fans, most of us were tired and ready to go home and chill.

“I am telling you, Deke. If I do not hire someone soon, I will lose my mind. Aleesa has been having these tantrums. I am not understanding why. It is like she is a whole new person.” Javier stopped at his black Range Rover with a frustrated huff. I could see the tiredness in his eyes, the heaviness on his shoulders. “My mother has been helping out, but she has to leave for Argentina soon.”

“Hire Octavia,” I offered, swinging the door of my car open and dumping my gym bag on the passenger seat.

“You would like that, wouldn’t you?” He inhaled deeply, his chest inflating, before letting the air out in a sharp exhale. “I will decide closer to the start of the season.”

“Don’t wait too long.”

I focused on Javier, who was about to climb behind the steering wheel of his vehicle but ended up doing a double take over my shoulder. When his brows furrowed, I looked with him, and my smile collapsed.

Giselle was walking through the private parking deck. Some of the teammates drove by and whistled at her, which only made her grin and swing her hips harder.

I slammed the passenger door of my car and marched her way. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Hey to you, too, Deke.”

“Stop with the bullshit, Giselle. Why the hell are you here? How did you even get in this garage?”

“Security let me in. I told him it was urgent. He remembers my face. Besides, I could’ve been waiting for you at your condo, but my key doesn’t work anymore, and Justin said you removed me from your visitors list.”

“Yeah, I changed the locks and removed you from the list because you don’t get the fucking point.”

“I don’t think we’re really done,” she said, stepping in closer. She tugged on the hem of my shirt, but I pushed her hand away. She frowned.

“Go home, Giselle,” I said, turning away.

“I went to see her!”

I stopped in my tracks, glaring at her over my shoulder. “What?”

“That Davina woman you’ve been doing stuff with. I saw her yesterday. Are you really dropping me for her ? Wasting so much opportunity for that ?”

I twisted around until I was in front of her again, but Javier was right behind me, tugging on my shirt. “Deke,” he said. “Let’s just go.”

“She’s not going to talk to you again,” Giselle went on smugly. “I told her about you and how you really are. Using women for your own satisfaction, then neglecting them. Lying to them. Disowning them. She doesn’t strike me as the woman who likes to be used, Deke. Or the type who likes playing the games you play. And didn’t her husband die? Don’t you think it’ll break her even more if you make her fall for you and then disappear? Because that’s what you love to do. Hide. Disappear. Ignore the people who actually care about you. It’s a sick game with you. It’s like you get a kick out of making women love you just to discard them like trash.”

I clenched my teeth together as Javier pulled harder on my shirt, a warning for me to move now before I did something I regretted. But I couldn’t contain the anger simmering inside me, the rage coursing through my bloodstream.

“Deke,” Javier said again, but I yanked my shirt out of his grasp and got closer to Giselle’s face.

She smirked like she was winning—like she could control me with her words, rule me. Nobody controlled me anymore. I’d worked hard at being my own damn person and making my own damn rules.

I thought about Davina and how I’d called her last night only to get no answer. I assumed she was either sleeping or busy, so I thought nothing of it and figured I’d try again the next day, but now that Giselle was saying this, I realized she was ignoring me. She was afraid of the risk, and once again, the trust she had in me was severed.

My upper lip twitched as a hotness slid down my throat. I swallowed and took a deep breath to cool my temper.

“You know what, Giselle? I used to feel sorry for you. A woman without parents, adopted into a family that ended up despising you.” At that, her cocky little smile sagged, and her mouth pushed downward. “But now I see why they hated you—why they didn’t want you. You’re a miserable, shallow person who only gives a damn about herself. Yeah, the world looks at you and sees your face, your body, but what they don’t see is how fucking ugly you are inside. And that’s why you’re mad I moved on and why you went behind my back to find the woman who was actually making me happy. Because she’s beautiful inside and out and you wanted to see it for yourself. You wanted to see what it was like to be her—what it was about her that makes me want her, makes me smile, makes me feel like an actual person and not just a damn prop. You wanted to witness a good woman and not the woman you are now—one who is rotten to her fucking core.”

The parking deck was completely silent as we stared at each other.

Her bottom lip trembled, and her eyes became misty as she stared right back. When she finally blinked, she took a step away from me, but only to extend her arm and slap me across the face. The slap stung, but I barely flinched.

“ Fuck you , Deke,” she snarled before twisting on her heels and scampering away.

I watched until I could no longer see her, then dropped my head and stared at my shoes. A hand touched my shoulder, and I cut my eyes to Javier, who wore a mask of concern.

“Go get her back,” he finally said after some time, and for a split second I thought he was talking about Giselle. When he realized I was about to protest, he held up his free hand and said, “Davina. Go get Davina back.”

I felt a stinging in my eyes, which I kept trying to blink away. I hated this feeling, this disappointment. For once, I just wanted shit to go right in my life and to remain on a steady path. It felt like no matter what I did or how hard I tried, it was never easy.

I had to agree with Davina. Sometimes it felt like God made my life complicated too. I don’t think it was to punish me, though, but to help me learn lessons—lessons that often left me feeling raw and gutted afterward.

“Do not let this defeat you, Deke,” Javier said. “Get Davina back, and prove to her and everyone else how wrong they are about you.”