In this vibrant city where dreams and danger collide, King and Reign's worlds intertwine. King, a rising basketball star escaping a tumultuous past, crosses paths with Reign, an unapologetically ambitious soul seeking his place in the world. A magne...
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Reign May 27. 12:15pm
A whole week had gone by since the party, and I hadn't crossed paths with King or Santana since that night. I was feeling low-key embarrassed and purposely ghosting Santana's calls and texts. The more I thought over the situation, the more I wasn't feeling the idea of getting involved with another "DL" nigga. Most of my past relationships , or whatever you wanna call 'em, had been with closeted basketball and football players from in high school. More often than not, it turned into a cycle where I'd catch feelings, only to realize I was locked in as someone's dirty little secret. I had made a promise to myself that I wouldn't get caught up in that shit again, but it's a struggle when my type had always been those stereotypical "straight" niggas.
As for King, he had been clearly uncomfortable with what had happened that night, but he acted normal when we were finally around each other again. It was a Saturday around noon, and we were all in Amber's mom's white BMW truck on our way to Great America.
Great America is an amusement park a good 3 hours away, and surprisingly, King greets me with friendliness before hopping into the back seat next to me. He is dressed in blue distressed shorts, a white, navy, and baby blue print tee, some white and blue Jordan 1's, and, of course, his chains. The color of his eyes seem brighter in the sunshine, and I force myself not to stare.
Sitting there next to King in that car is like a mix of tension and uncertainty. The air inside feels thicker, like all the unspoken tension and that lingering awkwardness has carved out a physical space between us. Every side-eye I sent his way carried a load of unspoken questions and secrets waiting to be cracked open, making the whole scene feel hella uncomfortable.
My own body language was on the same wavelength as the weirdness. I was sitting half-turned, trying to find a way to get comfy without making any part of my body touch his. My fingers constantly were tugging on my shirt hem, a telltale sign of my inner chaos.
King, he wasn't any different. He'd sneak a glance my way every now and then, but most of the time, his eyes were avoiding any direct contact. His hands were all antsy, tapping on his thighs or messing with the seatbelt, a clear sign of his unease. Shoulders a little stiff, arms crossed like a barricade, he was saying without words, "I'm here, but I'm keeping my guard up."
Despite his attempt to appear nonchalant, there was an underlying tension in his jaw, which he clenched from time to time, and his brows were furrowed, indicating that his thoughts were preoccupied with the events of that night.
We were stuck in this strange limbo, lost in the fog of uncertainty, not knowing how to bridge the gap that had sprung up between us after that cringe-worthy moment.
Kai, picking up on the thick tension in the car, decided to slice through it with a question, trying to switch gears and start conversation.
