Foul Play

Prologue

Aaliyah Hayes~ Point Of View

"Mommy? Mommy?"

"Hmm?" I blinked, snapping myself back to reality.

I looked down to see Ivy bouncing on the balls of her feet, excitement shining in her eyes. "Can I go with Uncle D? Pretty please?"

I smiled. "Go with him for what?"

"To get hot dogs and ice cream," she said, licking her tiny lips like she could already taste it.

"Ivy, those two things don't go together. You're gonna end up with a bellyache."

She pouted for all of two seconds before trying again "Okay... what about just ice cream?"

I couldn't help but laugh. "Nice try."

"Pleaseee?"

I sighed dramatically. "Fine. Just ice cream."

Before I could finish my sentence, she squealed and took off across the gym floor.

"Ivy!" I called after her.

She either didn't hear me... or pretended not to. Nobody stopped her. Then again, nobody was going to tell "Coach Devon Hayes niece" what she could or couldn't do.

She "rans" this program with an iron fist. Forget Devon running this program it's all her just like how I was... Back when her grandpa coached here, I practically lived in this gym.

I guess some things never change.

That's actually how I met...

"Kyrie."

I turned toward my little sister.

"What?"

Layla wasn't looking at me. She was staring across the gym. "You were just thinking about him, weren't you?" she whispered.

Before I could answer, she grabbed my forearm and gently turned me toward the entrance.

The air left my lungs.

My heart stopped.

It was him.....

Older.

Taller.

His skin was a shade deeper than I remembered. Tattoos now covered both of his arms and legs, telling stories I knew nothing about. His haircut had changed, but everything else...

The broad shoulders. The athletic build. Those warm brown eyes. Even his laugh.

It was still Kyrie.

The second Layla pointed him out, it felt like the entire place went quiet. The squeaking sneakers, the conversations, the whistles...

Everything faded .

"Damn..." Layla muttered under her breath. "He got finer."

I cut my eyes to her. "That's still my ex, so watch it."

She held her hands up. "My bad, sis. I'm just saying." She looked back at him and shrugged. "I'm surprised he's still single. I mean... look at him. Every woman in here including us is making googly eyes at him, and he doesn't even notice."

That was... different.

The Kyrie I remembered noticed every woman. Wondering eyes were one of the many reasons we kept breaking up.

But now?

He didn't spare a single woman a glance. He walked with a few men I assume are his friends before taking a seat on the bleachers directly across from us.