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“Uncle Hood!” Faylin excitedly yelled into the phone. I picked it up to give her my full attention and sighed. “You don’t like it?”

“It’s not up to me,” I said as I adjusted my seat. “Yo auntie gotta approve of it.” I swiped the screen to look at the pictures Faylin had sent me. No lie, they were dope as fuck, but I wasn’t sure how Legacy was going to react to us being public. I didn’t give a fuck, but I respected her privacy.

“Where is she?” Faylin questioned, and I laughed.

“Outside enjoying the water before it rains,” I answered. “Why?”

“Put her on the phone so I can ask her if I can post it,” she requested, and I shook my head. Faylin was bossy as shit, but little mama made sure that she respected everyone’s boundaries when it came to social media. I pushed up from the couch and headed to where Legacy was. I observed her sitting on the other side of the bungalow at the bottom of the steps with her feet in the water. The red-knit two-piece swimming suit looked good as fuck. I took a quick picture and brought Faylin back on the screen. “Point Guard?”

She looked over her shoulder at me and lifted her brow in question. “Yes?”

“Yo niece wants to talk to you,” I said, holding the phone to show her Faylin. “You feel like being bothered?”

“Bothered?” Faylin yelled, and I laughed. “Uncle Hood, be serious! I’m doing y’all press release over here.”

“Press release?” I turned the phone back to me and smirked. “How is that?”

“As y’all unofficial social media manager, it's my job to make sure that all your posts go viral and for all the right reasons. You better ask my parents; I’m good at this.”

“Yeah, alright,” I laughed. I looked up to see Legacy standing next to me, and I smiled down at her. I kissed her forehead and then handed her the phone. “Talk to your unofficial social media manager.”

“Oh no, she’s my official social media manager,” Legacy laughed. “I pay her monthly to handle all that for me, so I don’t have to.”

“Legit?” I questioned her, and she nodded. “She good?”

“Damn good,” Legacy laughed as she passed me. She turned her attention to the phone and smiled. “What’s up, baby girl?”

“I want to roll out a few pictures of you and Uncle Hood, but I wanted to get the green light first,” Faylin said. “Nothing too crazy, just a couple of candid shots and one that Sunday sent me the other day from the dinner.”

“Send them to me,” she said, sitting on the couch. Her phone buzzed, and she picked it up, swiped the screen, and bit into her bottom lip. “Which one are you thinking?”

“The one of you dancing for sure,” Faylin answered. “I’m thinking of putting a few candid pictures out in the next few days and then switching it to practice and home life.”

I sat on the couch and watched Faylin and Legacy talk. My mouth twitched as I fought not to smile. Legacy was coming out of her shell, and that shit was sexy.

“When we get back in the gym, we can go live a few times, too,” Legacy said, and I nodded. “You good with that?”

“Yep,” Faylin answered. “Now, what about the pictures of you and Uncle Hood? Are you happy with that?”

“Yeah, you good with that?” I laughed from my spot. Legacy looked up at me and lifted her brow. “Ay, I’m just asking cuz I've been good with it, Point Guard.”

“I’m good with it,” she said, nodding.

“Bet,” I licked my lips and gave her a single nod. “Niece, put that shit out there.”

“Already on it, Uncle Hood,” Faylin replied. “I even have the perfect caption for y’all.”

“Nothing too crazy, Faylin,” Legacy said with a serious expression.

“Never,” she said. “I’ll see y’all in a few days for Prom, right?”

“Yes,” Legacy answered. “We get in that morning but are coming straight to your house.”

“Bet, see y’all later. Love y’all.”

“Love you, too,” we said in unison, and Legacy hung up the phone.

“You know you could’ve told her no if you weren’t comfortable with us going public yet,” I said as I moved closer. “I know how the media gets when it comes to women and dating. If you ain’t trying to deal with that shit, you don’t have to.”

“Aceyn,” she sighed, and I raised my brow. “Shut up.”

“Damn,” I laughed and pulled her legs into my lap.

Legacy pulled her legs back, climbed into my lap, and cupped my face in her hands. “You haven’t been paying attention to my social media, have you?”

“Nah, I don’t be on there like that.” I shook my head. “Why? Should I?” She picked up her phone from the couch, pulled up her social media, and showed it to me. Her posts from the past few days were of us. My face was never revealed, but I knew the pictures were of me because of the tattoos. The last photo she posted was of last night with us lying on the couch. She’d climbed onto my back and laid down. Her back was against mine, and she was smiling. She looked good as fuck, relaxed and happy, which is all a nigga could ask for.

* * *

“Let’s play,” I said to Legacy the next morning. Even though she was on vacation, I could see that she was starting to get antsy and needed to play ball. I passed her the ball and watched as her eyes lit up. “You down?”

“Is there a court around here?” she asked, looking around the lobby. I took her hand, interlaced our fingers, and led her to the indoor court. “You’re just now mentioning this?”

“Because you are just now showing signs of withdrawal,” I laughed as we stepped onto the court. She wore ball shorts and a sports bra, while I wore ball shorts and a tank top. We were both in tennis shoes so we didn’t have an excuse for not getting a quick game in. “I was worried that the next sign would be scratching or something.”

“I’m not that bad,” she said, dribbling the ball between her legs. I let out a small laugh and shook my head. “Wait, I was that bad?”

“Baby, my mama told me to take you to play after she met you,” I answered, and Legacy twisted her lips like she didn’t believe me. “I’m pretty sure your leg bounced the entire time.”

“I’ve been trying to be strong,” she laughed, then shot the ball. It hit the backboard and then went through the net. “I guess I was failing.”

“Nah, you did decent,” I said as I got the rebound and threw the ball back to her. “I can't lie; I’m a little jealous of how happy that ball is making you right now.”

“Spalding was my first love,” she said, then shot it again; it went in, and I passed it back to her. “He kept me company many nights.”

“That nigga gonna have to go to, I see.”

“Whatever,” she said, then started dribbling. “I’m not jealous of your love for medicine, so you shouldn’t be jealous, either.”

“Because I don’t love medicine like you do basketball,” I replied with a shrug.

“Aceyn, you are a nerd,” she laughed, and I shook my head. “You are constantly listening to a medical podcast or watching some show.” She walked over to me and pulled at my shirt. “It’s cute, though. Big badass Aceyn Hood Bowlin is legit a nerd.”

“Man, move,” I laughed, playfully pushing her away. “You trippin’.”

“Pull your phone out right now and show me the last ten podcasts you’ve listened to.”

“Fuck nah,” I said, shaking my head. She was right, and she knew it. “Shoot the ball, Point Guard.”

“I am,” she replied, then did just that. Of damn course, she made it, and I passed her back the ball. “First one to twelve wins?”

“Bet.” We checked up and got to work. Neither of us went easy on the other, which was dope as fuck. Even though I wasn’t a professional player, I had skills because I worked out with the players often.

Legacy scored first and kept her momentum going, which I loved. Seeing her hustle, even during a pickup game between us, was a turn-on. She shot and missed, which allowed me to score. We went back and forth, scoring and playing hard. She squared up and drained two threes to put her within reach of winning, but I stole the ball and scored. We were tied up when I checked the ball to her.

“Aceyn,” she said as she locked down her defense. “If you let me win, I’ll do that thing with my tongue again.” I stepped back, dribbled the ball between my legs, and shook my head.

“That’s cheating,” I laughed. “And I don’t believe your ass for one second.”

“You shouldn’t,” she said, then stole the ball. She ran to the top of the key, dribbled between her legs, and flew past me. I caught her at the last minute when she went up for a layup, and I went for the ball. She hit me with a floater at the last minute, and I watched the ball sail into the net. “I was going to do it no matter what.”

“Fuck yeah, you are,” I laughed, then pulled her to me and kissed her. Sweating and out of breath, Legacy was still the sexiest woman in the world to me.

* * *

“I thought the last night we were here, it could just be us,” I said, pulling Legacy’s chair out so she could sit. We spent the last two days kicking it with my parents. I wanted Legacy to enjoy herself and Mama to get to know the woman I planned to spend the rest of my life with. There was no doubt in my mind that she was it for me, and when we got back to the city, I would be hitting up Yale to get her working on Legacy’s ring.

“Thank you,” Legacy said, taking her seat. My eyes went to the deep cut of her sea-green wrapped dress, and I licked my lips in appreciation. I twirled a loose curl around my finger as I looked down at her. “Aceyn?”

“Hmm?”

“Sit down,” she laughed, and I nodded. I took the seat next to her instead of across the table. “That’s not what I expected.”

“A nigga like being under you,” I said with a shrug, then pulled her seat closer to me and threw my arm over her shoulder. Legacy laid her head on my shoulder, and I returned to playing with her curls. “Why don’t you wear your hair like this during the season?”

“Too much work,” she answered as she picked up her menu and opened it. “Wearing braids is easier to maintain.” She set the menu down and looked up at me. “Why, is that a problem or something?”

“Nah,” I denied, then kissed her. “I like the curls, braids, or whatever else you do. I was just wondering, is all.”

“Okay,” she said, then returned to the menu. “You know what you want to eat?”

“Steak and lobster,” I answered. I hadn’t even looked at the menu, so I assumed they had it or something close to it. “Shit, I ain’t even hungry for real.”

“Then, why are we here?” she giggled, and I kissed her head. “We could’ve just relaxed in the room, watched a movie, and laid in the bed.”

“We’ve done that every night,” I said, shaking my head. “I wanted to see my woman dressed up so I could show her off.”

“Your woman would’ve been content with just being with you doing nothing if that’s what you needed,” she replied, and I looked down at her. “I don’t know what’s going on with you, but you aren’t all the way with me right now.” She tapped the side of my head with her index finger and gave me a sad smile. “You’re stuck in there, trying to figure out how to fix something, which I hate. Trust me enough to know I’ll help you with whatever you need.”

“It ain’t even like that.” I grabbed her hand, put it against my mouth, and kissed her palm. “It’s not too many people I trust with my problems but understand that you’re one of them. I just need a minute, is all.”

“Are you having second thoughts about us?” Legacy questioned. “I don’t mean to sound insecure, but I want to make sure before we get back home. I understand if this isn’t what you want or if you have something that needs all your attention and need to step back.

“Fuck nah,” I said, shaking my head. “Point Guard…” I sighed, set her up, then pushed my seat back to give her all my attention. “Let me clarify so we don’t ever have to have this conversation again, alright?”

“Okay,” she agreed, then nervously bit into her bottom lip.

I wiped my hand over my mouth and let out a small laugh. The words ‘I love you’ were on the tip of my tongue, but I knew she wasn’t ready to hear that yet. Legacy had trust issues, some of them from her parents, others from the way niggas that she should’ve been able to trust and respect mishandled her. So I knew it mattered how I moved around and with her because she wasn’t used to a nigga like me. I stood, towering over her for a second before stepping back to pick her up and put her on the table so that I could stare at her.

“Aceyn, I can't be on these people's table,” she said, trying to get down, but I stood and put my hands on the table outside her legs so she couldn’t move. “Aceyn.”

“Ask me what I need, Point Guard,” I said, staring into her eyes. She turned her head to look around, but I didn’t give a fuck about shit anyone else had to say or thought. This was between me and my woman. “Aye, look at me.” I gently took her chin and turned her face back to me. “Ask me what the fuck I need, Legacy.”

She sighed, licked her lips, then nodded. “What do you need, Aceyn?”

“You,” I answered, watching her eyes fill with tears.

“You need me?”

“Always.” I rested my forehead against hers and closed my eyes. “For the rest of my life, I will need you and only you.”

She cupped my jaw, and I opened my eyes to see her silently crying. My heart broke for a second, then she smiled at me, and I knew I’d said the right thing. It may have taken her a minute, but I didn’t doubt that she was realizing that we were locked in and there was no going back.

“Sir,” a man said, coming to our table. “Sir?”

I pulled my gun from the back of my pants, turned slightly, and aimed it at his head. “Do you see me having a moment with my woman?” I questioned him. He tried to step back, but I grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him to his original spot. “Nah, nope, nigga, don’t move now. Do you not see me talking to the love of my life?”

“Yes, sir,” he answered with a quick nod.

“Then, why the fuck would you interrupt me?” I sneered. “If I saw you making sure your woman was good, I wouldn’t say shit. Keep that same respect for me.”

“Aceyn,” Legacy said, tugging on the bottom of my suit jacket. I turned my attention to her but didn’t lower my gun. “Put the gun down.”

“What?” I lifted my brow and tried not to laugh at the panicked look on her face.

“Put the damn gun away,” she said through clenched teeth. Her eyes bounced from me to the worker. “They are going to call the police on your ass.”

“Girl, no, the fuck they aren’t,” I said, shaking my head. I put my gun away and turned back to the worker. “Take your ass on from over here so I can finish talking to my woman. When we are ready to order, I’ll call you over.”

“Yes sir,” he said, then quickly walked away.

“Now, back to you,” I turned my attention back to Legacy, who looked annoyed as fuck. I smiled, licked my lips, and then stepped between her legs. “I need you, okay?” I took her chin between my thumb and index finger. “The rest of the shit doesn’t matter. I know I'm good if you are by my side.” I kissed her, still not giving a fuck if people were watching us or not.

My phone rang, and I pulled back to pick it up off the table and swipe the screen. I laughed and handed it to Legacy so she could see who it was from.

Citrine:

Get Legacy's scary ass off my damn table!

Stop pulling guns on my staff. Them folks don’t know shit about your crazy ass.

Nigga!

I just knew you getting with that suburban ass girl would change you for the better. I was fucking wrong!

Your family discount is gone! I’m charging your ass the full price.

Legacy laughed loudly and then handed me back my phone. I didn’t give a fuck about what Citrine was talking about. I stuffed it in my pocket, pulled her to me, and kissed her.

“Easy or hard way, Point Guard.”