“I need to umm… go do somethin’. I’ll get up with you after the game, Coach.”
Paying me no mind, he only responded with a groaned, “Mmhm,” the whole thing trippin’ me out as I finally made my way down to the locker room. But when I stepped in to find all of my teammates dappin’ Dre up, I was right back confused, looking around for clues before I asked, “What I miss?”
Zeb was the one to fill me in - sort of - when he answered, “The one time your ass ain’t on Instagram is the one time you missed somethin’ of actual importance.”
His little jab about my social media usage made me scowl. But instead of trying to force the intel out of him, I decided to go and see for myself, legitimately surprised when the first thing that popped up on my feed was a picture Selena had shared of Dre kissing her just slightly protruding stomach under a mistletoe with the caption, “Happy Holidays! Love Selena, Dre, and #BabyLeonard2020”
“Wowwww. That’s crazy,” I said out loud, joining in on the celebration as I told Dre, “Congrats, man. Should’ve been mine, but congrats.”
After a little shove to my arm, he eventually accepted my dap and shoulder hug with a genuine, “I appreciate it, Kage.” And I suppose since the picture was still up on my screen, he couldn’t help taking a second look, his eyes getting a little glossy when he groaned, “Damn. Shit gets me in my feelings every time I look at it.”
Seeing him be that emotional and excited only made me feel even happier for him. But it wouldn’t have been me if I didn’t get some jokes off too, already chuckling to myself when I told him, “Well hopefully you’re a better dad than you are a coach.”
Laughing right along with me, Dre argued, “Come on, man. You know I’m one of the best coaches we got on staff. Best coach, future best dad, soon-to-be best husband...”
“Yo, y’all got engaged too?” I asked, bringing my hand to my chest like I was real-life hurt about it when I said, “It’s one thing to stab me in the back, but it’s another thing to twist the knife, Dre. Gotdamn.”
That only made him laugh harder. “First off nigga, Selena doesn’t want you. And secondly, we’re not engaged yet. I’m proposing today after the game.”
“So I still got a chance?” I asked, catching another shove to my arm that had me chuckling as I told him, “Nah, that’s what’s up though, for real. I’m happy for you, Big Dre.”
With another dap and shoulder hug, Dre responded, “Well you can show me how happy you are by making sure we get this win today cause ain’t nobody tryna propose after taking an L.”
“Consider it an early wedding gift, my nigga,” I assured him, taking my job as unofficial Best Man seriously as I led the squad to another easy victory. But after the game was over, it felt like I was surrounded by nothing but toxic energy as I looked one way and saw Dre and Selena sharing a postgame kiss, then looked another way and saw Jayde and Niko looking like they were about to bust out in a holiday love song, then looked another way and caught Ms. Jeanine and Coach Joe in the tunnel making damn googly eyes at each other...
Hell, even Zeb had one of his fifty-leven siblings in attendance, Jonah and his wife looking like they were ready for the holiday edition of an Essence cover as they made Zeb take a picture of the two of them standing courtside.
The shit was beautiful and ugly all at once since it felt like I was the only one who didn’t have anybody to share the moment with, lowkey feeling a way about it as I headed to the locker room only to be stopped in my tracks by someone saying, “Long time, no see.”
Peeking up, I recognized the face immediately, giving a bit of a grin as I approached her and responded, “My bad, Keilani. I’ve been meaning to hit you up.”
It wasn’t a total lie since I really had thought about it once or twice. I’d even made a point of liking her pictures on Instagram whenever they showed up on my feed. But after sleeping through her first invitation for me to come through on the night we’d met, there really hadn’t been much communication between us. Though Keilani didn’t seem too bothered by that when she smirked and replied, “Sure you have,” as she dug in her purse that looked just like the one I’d sent to Bleu, pulling out a little box before extending it my way with a cheery, “Merry Christmas, Kage.”
Honestly, I was confused when I asked, “You got me a Christmas present?”
“Don’t open it here, though,” she advised, practically shoving it in my hand as I told her, “But I didn’t…”
Without letting me finish, she insisted, “I’m confident you’ll make up for it later,” lifting to her tippy toes to press a kiss to my cheek before she left me to go join her friend. And even though I still thought the shit was a little strange, Keilani was fine enough for me to just go with the flow as I tucked her gift in my duffel bag, settled in for Coach Kirkwood’s postgame message, got dressed and rambled my way through the presser, and then linked up with Coach Joe who’d apparently arranged a whole Christmas dinner at Ms. Jeanine’s house.
Only because Ms. Jeanine threw down on the regular did she have all the fixings for the two of them to make it happen. And considering it was going to be a night of some expensive ass restaurant takeout otherwise, I was grateful that Coach Joe had been able to finesse it; though it was obvious to me that he was interested in much more than just a meal once we finished up both dinner and dessert and he asked, “Kage, don’t you got a little girlfriend or somethin’ to go hook up with?”
“They’re just friendssss,” Ms. Jeanine chimed in, giggling as I shot her a side eye to which she responded, “What? You said it!”
Addressing them individually, I listed, “First of all, the person you’re talkin’ about is spending the holidays in Atlanta with her family. And secondly, are you tryna get rid of me, Coach?”
Glancing over at Ms. Jeanine, the two of them shared a look before he answered, “...You said it,” the laughs that followed prompting me to head into the living room instead of staying at the kitchen table just to be the butt of more of their jokes.
“Is this what having embarrassing parents is like,” I wondered, letting the highlights from today’s games play as background noise while I scrolled through my phone until the two of them decided to join me. But when Coach Joe made himself comfortable in Ms. Jeanine’s special chair, and instead of telling him to move, Ms. Jeanine made herself comfortable on his lap, I knew it was really time for me to go, the both of them pretending to act disappointed about me leaving like that wasn’t exactly what they’d wanted.
Truthfully, I was happy for them. But them having each other meant I really had nobody as I made the drive back to my condo that seemed especially empty and quiet when I finally got inside.
“This is some bullshit,” I said out loud, sitting with that for a moment before deciding to call Bleu on Facetime. And when she finally picked up, just the sight of her was enough to lift my spirits, a smile already on my face by the time she said, “Kage! Hey! Merry Christmas!”
“Merry Christmas, baby,” I responded, not even thinking much of it until someone in her background asked, “Baby? Who is that callin’ you baby?”
“Nobody, Daddy!” she yelled back, giggling as she moved to another room while I told her, “My bad. You still with your peoples?”
“Yeah, and they’ve all been on the spiked eggnog heavy,” she explained, the gloss in her eyes once she finally looked back at the screen telling me they weren’t the only ones who’d been sippin’ on the holiday beverage.
That was the ultimate Christmas vibe though, so I couldn’t even knock her, lightweight jealous when I responded, “Sounds like a good time.”
“I’ve missed like, the last three Christmases because of work. So yeah, it is,” she replied with a huge ass smile before asking, “What’s up with you, though? Coach Joe already asleep?”
“Nah, I left his ass over at Ms. Jeanine’s,” I answered, Bleu’s eyebrows almost immediately bunching together when she repeated, “Ms. Jeanine’s? Coach Joe and Ms. J are hookin’ up?”
“And you know how fast old people move,” I added. “She’ll probably be ready to relocate to Bridgeport tomorrow.”
“Whatever makes her happy,” she replied with a giggle, glancing past the screen in response to someone yelling her name before she said, “But hey, they’re callin’ me to play spades, so I gotta go. Can I call you back later?”
“Nah, enjoy your family time. We’ll get up soon,” I told her, recognizing the importance of the moment even if it was at the expense of our conversation.
But I must’ve sounded a little too sad about it since Bleu felt the need to ask, “Kage, is everything okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m good,” I answered, sitting up a little straighter and plastering on a smile when I said, “Merry Christmas, Bleu.” But once the call was ended, it was back to square one, the silence lowkey consuming me until my phone buzzed with a text.
“Did you open your gift yet?” - Keilani
To be real, I’d forgotten all about Keilani’s gift. But with nothing else to do, I decided to go check it out, pulling the box from the very depths of my duffel bag and taking my time with the bow before I removed the top and found a note.
“So you won’t forget about me this time ;) - k.”
“Little late for that,” I thought as I tossed it to the side so that I could take out the small tissue paper package beneath it. But once I got that unfolded, I could only laugh as I asked aloud, “This girl gave me her panties?”
It was an interesting move, but a bold one nonetheless, my lip pulled between my teeth as I held the lacy black thong out in front of me. And even though I wasn’t all the way sure I wouldn’t regret it later, that uncertainty wasn’t enough to stop me from grabbing my phone to respond, “Yeah. Now tell me how soon I can see you in it.” - Kage
Eleven
“Girl, did you see what happened to A.S.D.?!? OMG!” - K.L.
That was the text waiting for me when I checked my phone at halftime of the game I was working in New Orleans on a Sunday afternoon, the fact that Katianna had started referring to Kage as A.S.D. - All-Star Dick - always making me cackle even though the rest of her message had me on edge since… what the hell is she talking about?
I thought about texting her back to ask that question. But I knew I’d get a much quicker answer by just going to Twitter to see for myself, the fact that “Kage Steele Ankle” was already trending making my heart beat a little faster as I scrolled through a bunch of tweets of thoughts and prayers until I landed on the actual video.
Honestly, I was scared to press play. But I knew I had to if I wanted to know what was really going on, my hand immediately moving to cover my mouth once I saw the full extent of Kage’s injury.
It was bad.
Like, his season might be over bad. And knowing how hard Kage had been working, how well he’d been playing, I felt awful as I watched him writhe on the court in pain while the training team tried to assess what had happened, Niko and Zeb eventually being the ones to help him to the locker room since he couldn’t stand to bear any weight on his left ankle.
Another bad sign.
As usual, the Twitter Sports Medicine Group - a bunch of regular ass fans with no real medical credentials - was already jumping to diagnose him, some insisting it was just an ankle sprain, others suggesting his ankle was completely broken, and a small few mentioning that it could be his Achilles. But regardless of what it was, I knew it wasn’t something that Kage would be able to bounce back from quickly, the fact that All-Star fan voting had literally just started only making the whole situation that much more awful as I finally got around to texting Katianna back in hopes of getting some accurate intel.
“What are they saying it is???” - B.T.
“They’re guessing a Grade 3 Sprain.” - K.L.
“Maybe worse.” - K.L.
“They’ve already taken him to the hospital for further evaluation.” - K.L.
“May need surgery.” - K.L.
The progression of those texts made me sick to my stomach as I thought about Kage possibly needing to have a season-ending surgery, though I was forced to shove my phone in my pocket for now since I had to get back to work. Still, on-camera and off, Kage was all I could think about, wondering if he was okay, praying that it wasn’t as bad as it looked, questioning how quickly I could get to Nashville to see for myself...
I was already scheduled to work a game there in two days, so moving my flight up to tonight instead of waiting to fly out tomorrow really wasn’t that much of a hassle. But honestly, the fact that I was even considering doing such a thing spoke volumes to the fact that maybe my feelings for Kage really were a lot deeper than I cared to admit, his line about being patient from way back during preseason playing in my head as I contemplated my next move.
Well, contemplated my next move in regard to Kage and I. It was already decided that I was flying to Nashville tonight. And thankfully, a convincing lead in the fourth quarter gave me a chance to both make adjustments to my flight arrangements and text Katianna my plans.
“I’m flying in tonight. You think you could arrange some transpo from the airport and get me clearance at the hospital? Pretty please?” - B.T.
“Damn, girl. The A.S in A.S.D. must’ve been in all caps if you’re flying in to come see about him.” - K.L.
Not even her jokes could deter me from keeping it real when I responded, “I’m just super worried, Kat. Highkey sick about it.” - B.T.
“No need to explain, boo. I got you.” - K.L.
With that, I was able to lock in and finish out the game. But the second I was done with work, it was a whirlwind rushing back to the hotel to get my things, that hectic energy continuing when I just barely made it to the airport in time to catch my flight.
Thankfully, the trip to Nashville was a quick one, the fact that I lived out of a carry-on suitcase saving me some time on the back end as I took my phone off airplane mode and saw a bunch of texts from Katianna with instructions for what to do when I landed. And once I met up with the big, semi-creepy security dude I remembered from the night of the accident at the designated pick-up area, I was on his ass about getting me to the hospital as fast as he could, my demands hardly making him budge as he took his time loading my bag into his truck and then drove the speed limit the entire way.
Asshole.
Since there wasn’t much I could do about it other than sit in the backseat and be quiet, I decided to shoot Katianna a text to update her on my status.
“In-route. Any updates?” - B.T.
“The initial X-Rays came back negative, so that’s good.” - K.L.
“They’re just now doing the MRI.” - K.L.
“Are you at the hospital? Or is the creepy security dude gonna get me in?” - B.T.
“LOL. Junebug is actually a sweetheart when he knows you. But nah, I’ve been getting all my updates from Dre. He’s there and knows you’re coming.” - K.L.
“What else does Dre know?” I wondered, frowning at the screen a little bit until “Junebug” alerted me that we’d arrived at our destination. And I suppose because he worked in the world of the privileged, he knew exactly what to do and where to go once we actually got inside the hospital, flashing his badge that allowed us to easily bypass security until I spotted Dre standing outside of one of the suite doors towards the end of the hall.
“Dre. Hey,” I called out, leaving Junebug behind when I did a little speed walk to reach him so that I could ask, “How is he?”
“We’re still waitin’ on the MRI results, but he’s hangin’ in there,” Dre answered calmly. But there was also this weird glint of amusement in his eyes that made sense once he asked, “So are y’all like a thing now, or…?”
“Just friends,” I stated plainly, that response only making Dre chuckle as he reasoned, “Bleu, you and I are friends. And I highly doubt you would’ve rushed to the hospital
from another city if I got hurt.”
“Well, yeah. But you’re whole ass engaged now,” I defended. “You wouldn’t need me for all that.”
It sounded good to me, but Dre wasn’t nearly as convinced when he pressed, “Even if I wasn’t.”
“What’s your point?”
Again, he chuckled. “I’m just sayin’. I know Kage has been feelin’ you for a long ass time. And you being here right now, like this, is making that whole “just friends” thing look a lil’ funny in the light.”
I knew he wasn’t wrong. But the fact that I hadn’t pulled up to discuss my feelings for Kage with Dre made it easy for me to disregard what he was talking about in favor of asking, “Is it alright if I go in?”
“Yeah, you good,” Dre answered with a smirk, giving me the go-ahead as I nervously knocked on the already cracked suite door before I entered to find Kage sitting on the hospital bed with some sort of brace already on his elevated left leg. And while his face was in a tight scowl when I initially stepped into the room since he was discussing something with one of the nurses, it turned into more of a surprised grin once he realized it was me.
Smiling back, I was slow to fully enter without first asking, “Is this a bad time?”
“Nah, come on in,” Kage responded just as the nurse excused herself, giving me more room to approach his bedside when I quietly asked, “How are you feeling?”
“Better than I was a couple hours ago, but still not great since playing in the All-Star Game next month is already out of the question no matter what happens with the voting,” he answered somberly. “But I guess they’re sayin’ there’s still a chance I might be able to come back at some point towards the end of the regular season.”
On The Rebound Page 12