Page 19

CREED

T he room was dim, the only light coming from the city outside, casting soft glows against the walls. The air smelled like her—sweet, warm, like vanilla and honey.

Serenity was curled up next to me, wrapped in the sheets, her bare shoulder peeking through, her curls wild and full, from the way I had been pulling at them earlier.

Serenity was in the crowds cheering me on the entire time. I saw her, screaming for me, so into the game and just as hype as I was; we were feeding off each other’s energy. Every time I scored, I looked for her and seeing the elation on her face warmed me.

In all the time I had been with Gianna, she came to damn near every game; but not for me, for herself, for what my status as the star player on our high school basketball team did for her.

When I looked in the stands for her, hoping she’d be seated with my family and Nas cheering me on, she was further up in the stands talking to her girls, loving the attention she was getting.

But not Serenity. She was here, in the thick of things, repping me with a custom T-Shirt she’d gotten made with my name and jersey number on it.

She’d gotten one in scarlet and one in white.

Her hair was pulled up into a messy, curly bun, and she wore a pair of dark blue jeans and some red and white Jordan 1s… Perfection.

After the game, we wanted to be alone, so while everybody else went out to celebrate, we had found our way back at the apartment, unable to keep our hands off each other.

We were too lazy, too comfortable, to do anything but lay there, laughing, and eating cup noodles like we hadn’t just spent hours tangled up in each other.

"You ever gon’ eat a real meal?" she teased, blowing on the noodles before taking a bite.

I smirked, resting against the headboard. "This is a real meal. It got everything you need—flavor, seasoning, broth. Gourmet."

She laughed, shaking her head. "You are ridiculous."

"Nah, I’m just resourceful."

She rolled her eyes, setting her cup on the nightstand before stretching her arms over her head, the sheets slipping lower, giving me a glimpse of all that smooth, brown skin.

Damn.

"You look good like this," I murmured, watching her, my fingers tracing lazy circles on her thigh.

"Like what?"

"Like you mine."

She bit her lip, tilting her head at me. "I am yours, Creed." Something about the way she said it made my chest tighten, swell. I didn’t even think. The words just slipped out.

"Damn. I love you."

The second I said it, I froze. Shit. I hadn’t meant to say it yet at least not out loud. Not because I didn’t feel it—I did. Deep in my bones, I knew I loved this girl. But because I hadn’t planned on saying it first.

Serenity blinked, stunned for a second, but then, a slow, knowing smirk spread across her lips.

“For real?”

I swallowed hard, my hands immediately settling on her waist, feeling the soft warmth of her skin beneath my fingers.

"For real SB" I muttered. I groaned, throwing my head back. "Damn, I can’t believe I said it first.”

She laughed, her fingers tracing my jaw, tilting my face back to hers.

"For the record, I love you too, Langston. I been waiting for you to say it first." I chuckled, shaking my head, but deep down, I felt like I could float.I pressed my forehead against hers, our breaths mixing, our heartbeats in sync.

"You got me, Serenity." I murmured kissing her deep, slow. And for the first time in my life, I felt weightless.

I was in the kitchen, standing at the stove, flipping pancakes when I heard a knock at the door. It was nearly noon. Brodie was in New York with Ari, Trent was out with his girl and Donovan was at his part time job.

Frowning, I wiped my hands on a dish towel before heading over. The second I opened it, my entire body locked up seeing my mama standing on the other side. She looked guilty and it didn’t take long to wonder why. Standing behind her? Gianna.

The sight of them standing in my doorway, together, looking like they had planned this ambush, sent a slow roll of frustration through me.

"Ma, what the fuck?"

My mama arched her brow looking at me like I was the one who was out of line. "What? We can’t visit you?"

"Not unannounced." My voice was tight, my grip on the door handle tighter.

Gianna’s sharp gaze swept over me, and I knew the exact second she realized I wasn’t alone. Her lips curled in irritation as she crossed her arms.

"You got somebody in there, don’t you?" she snapped. I clenched my jaw, already knowing where this was about to go.

"Y’all gotta give me a minute," I muttered, stepping back. "Don’t come in yet."

Mama gave me a look but didn’t argue, and I quickly closed the door, taking a deep breath before heading back to my room. Serenity had just finished getting dressed, pulling on her jeans, her smile easy and soft—until she saw my face.

Her brows furrowed instantly. "What’s wrong?"

I ran a hand down my face. "My mama’s here."

She blinked. "Okay… and?"

I hesitated.

"She brought Gianna with her."

Serenity froze. Her lips parted slightly, her body going completely still as she processed my words. I saw her lips moving like she was trying to figure out what I was saying, trying to process my words.

"Why?" Her voice was calm, but I could hear the tension underneath it.

I shook my head. "I don’t know. I swear, I ain’t know they were coming."

She stared at me, her jaw tightened. "Did you actually break up with her, Creed?"

My stomach tightened. "Yeah, I did."

"Then why is your mama still acting like she’s your girl? Why are they here together if she knows you’re not with her no more?"

I exhaled heavily. "I don’t know, Serenity. I swear to God.”

She studied me for a long moment, then let out a slow breath, nodding.

"I should go," she said, moving to grab her bag. “I’ll call an Uber.”

I reached for her wrist. "You don’t gotta do that."

"Yes, I do." She snatched her arm out of my hand. "And you need to figure out why your ex and your mama are at your door."

She was mad. I could see it in her eyes, in the way she was handling this.

It had taken me by surprise too. What possible reason could they be here for?

I had made shit clear to my mama that things between Gianna and me were over and when I had the conversation with her, even after the actual breakup, she seemed like she understood that I was firm with my decision.

I cursed under my breath but knew Serenity was right.

So, I didn’t stop her from packing and with her bag in her hand, I walked her to the door.

The second I opened it, Gianna’s eyes zeroed in on her.

The glares they shared. The tension. The silent war.

I felt Serenity stiffen beside me, but she didn’t give them the satisfaction of a reaction.

"I’ll call you later," I murmured. “Love you.” She nodded but didn’t say it back before brushing past them and walking away with her head high.

It stung not having her repeat the words we’d just shared with one another for the first time only hours ago. My jaw tightened as I continued to look out the door.

“You love her?” Gianna snapped from behind me. “You fuckin’ love her? We just broke up Creed, so when did you find time to love somebody else.”

I ignored Gianna, not feeling the need to explain myself, not to her or anybody else. I turned to them glaring, my patience dangling by a thread.

"Aight, somebody need to tell me why y’all here. Because showing up unannounced ain’t it Ma.”

My mama exhaled, rubbing her temple before stepping aside. Gianna stared at me, her expression unreadable—until she opened her mouth. "I’m pregnant, Creed."

The words hit me like a sledgehammer to the chest. I stared at her, not blinking or breathing.

"Nah," I finally muttered. "That’s not mine."

"Yes, it is!" she snapped. "We were still together when you came home for Christmas, or did you forget about that?”

My head spun. My stomach dropped. “Nah… that was?—"

Mama stepped closer, her expression determined.

“I know this is hard to hear, but she told me and said she had been reaching out to you with no answer, I knew I had to get here.” Her hand went to my face and she sighed; "You need to make this right, Creed," she said firmly.

"You need to end whatever you got going on with that girl so you can be a family with Gianna and that child. "

I couldn’t even speak. I felt like my entire future was slipping through my fingers, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to stop it. Because if this was real?

And if there was one thing I knew, I was about to lose Serenity.