Dominic
" Why can't you understand that no, means no," I slammed my drink down on the table, annoyed as I stared across from my manager.
Or soon to be an ex-manager if he kept this shit up.
" But Dominic, this will be good for your image," he repeated the same old excuse.
I rolled my eyes, so close to losing my shit. " It may be good for my image but it's not appropriate seeing as I am in a relationship. Part of that contract says that I have to be in a p.r relationship with her. If I do that, I'll end up looking like a player, hopping from girl to girl and I am not that guy."
" It's not like you guys have made it publicly official. There's no harm. For all the media and fans know, you are a single man, having fun, he spoke as he cut into his burger. " Just take her out in a few dates, do the music video, and after everything is said and done, you can go home to your girl."
At this moment, he had a very punchable face.
" Do you like your job, Rick?" Instead of looking at his face flatter ever so slightly, I looked behind him, staring at the view that San Francisco had to offer.
" Yes," Rick swallowed.
Of course he does. I signed a 100 million dollar four year contract with the warriors under him. I was his cash cow, his prized possession. He'd be a fool to lose me as a client by pushing this p.r stunt on me.
" And I assume that you want to keep your job, yes?" My thumb and forefinger rubbed together as my eyes swept over the view and met his.
" Y-yes," he cleared his throat, shifting in his seat uncomfortable under my gaze.
" Then I'd suggest, yet again, that you tell her and her persistent ass manager to respect my wishes and find somebody else because it won't be me." I stood up and threw some money on the table along with my table cloth.
" Now the next time you come up to me with an offer, it better be an extension with the Warriors, or a twinkie deal. Don't piss me off, Rick."
I didn't bother looking back at my stunned manager, I was usually cool with him. We joked, we got along well, but he was crossing a line pushing me to do something that I didn't want to do. Sure, this music video would gain me more popularity in the media, but was that type of attention worth it.
And a p.r relationship on top of that? I couldn't do that to Rhegan— I wouldn't do that to Rhegan.
Aside from the tabloids leaking those photos of us all out at the club, our relationship was pretty private. Despite Rhegan's presence on social media as a rising influencer, she didn't post much about our relationship.
I just barely got a highlight reel on her instagram account.
It had a dinosaur emoji— tehehehe.
I pulled my beanie over my head as I stepped out into the chilly air that San Francisco provided. I was used to the cold growing up in New York, but I hated it. L.A was always sunny and warm. On the rare occasion, there was a stint in the winter season where it was ridiculously cold, but nothing was beating New York weather. That was pure hell.
By the time the valet had pulled around my car, I was shivering in my bones and anticipating the warmth of my car. I rubbed my hands as I sat behind the steering wheel and reached forward to turn up the volume of my radio. A slow smirk spread on my lips as the song brought a special memory to mind.
Caroline would forever sound different to my ears.
I could still hear her soft whimpers as I devoured her pussy in the back of that moving SUV. The song was already a hit, but if I had her moans embedded into it, I would play it on repeat everyday.
This weekend was much needed. We were in such a good place, albeit, we still had so much to discuss. And maybe I should've pushed more on those discussions but I knew her, she would run. That was what I wanted to prevent.
Rhegan wasn't fragile in the slightest, she was strong and guarded. But when you broke down her walls, she was exposed, showing every insecurity that she thought made her ugly, dirty. I thought that they were beautiful.
I would never forget the day that I discovered she had adhd. I suspected from her behavior in the kitchen the morning after our first time being intimate with each other, but that was all it was, a suspicion.
I didn't learn of it until much later.
Last year.
I could see her fidgeting out of the corner of my eyes as I drove, it was quite distracting.
" Are you cold?" I asked, reaching forward to adjust the temperature in case.
" No. Why?" She looked puzzled, yet she still kept fidgeting.
Maybe she was nervous. " No reason," I shook my head, shaking it off as we came to a red light.
I noticed that she did that a lot over the last few days. She would fidget from time to time, mostly with her fingers. I noticed that she picked at her cuticles alot but chalked it up to a nervous habit. On some days, I noticed that she was always moving, almost like she was restless.
The weird and hush-hush conversations with Ayanna also caught my attention. Sometimes Rhegan had these impulsive outbursts that none of it missed but we never questioned her about it, Ayanna always handled it.
Rhegan sighed, her thumbnail now in between her teeth as she tapped her feet. " I umm— I have adhd," she whispered. " I forgot to take my meds today."
" Just today?" I questioned, picking up the guilt in her tone.
She sighed in frustration. " I forgot to refill my prescription last week."
Then it clicked. The conversation that she and Ayanna had in our kitchen a few months ago. Rhegan had forgotten to pick up her prescription, she was off of her meds that day. I wouldn't have noticed if Ayanna wasn't so concerned, and now that I've picked up on a few of her tells for when she was off of them, I would be concerned too.
I didn't know how bad her symptoms were, but I would try my hardest to make sure that she was taking her meds.
I've never met people who had adhd, I would have to read up on it to research and see what else that she had to deal with when she was off of her meds. I wanted to help in whatever way that I could.
Reaching over, I grabbed her hand, " do you want to order your prescription? I can swing by the pharmacy when it's ready."
" You don't have to do that," she whispered, rubbing her thumb over my knuckles.
" I want to," I answered. " You don't have to hide from me, Rhegan."
The silence in the car has me pulling over to an empty parking lot. I turned off the car, listening to the engine die down and unbuckled my seat belt. Turning to face her, I noticed that she was looking out of the window.
She was always so strong. So guarded.
It was hard to picture her as that little girl who cried at recess. But she was still there. Somewhere inside of her was still the little girl dressed in purple with the tinsel in her hair and the Bratz dolls in hands. Somewhere inside of her was the little girl that had never healed from the betrayal that her mother caused.
And I understood that.
It took me a while to heal from the abandonment of my parents. It took me a while to adjust to my new life, my new family. But I did it. I healed.
And she could too.
" I don't li-," she inhaled deeply, still gazing out of the window. " I don't like being vulnerable. I don't like crying. I don't like letting people in. I ju-"
" You don't want to be hurt," I finished for her.
" Not again," she whispered after a moment. " I can't go through that again."
She was so young when her mother left. I knew what thoughts ran through her mind because the same ran through mine when my parents left me for a life on the streets. Drugs were more important than me. I learned that early on when I found my mother with a needle sticking out of her arm.
That was the first and last time that she had overdosed in front of me. After that, I was out in my grandmother's care.
I saw my mom from time to time, mostly when she was trying to fix her life. In the end, she always chose drugs. My father, I barely had memories of him. But I knew about him, I had heard about him. He was the root of my mother's drug addiction.
When my grandmother couldn't take care of me and my parents were in no position to take care of their own child, I was put up for adoption. And that's when I met Jax, the man that would forever change my life.
He and my mother, Keelie, showed me true parents' love. They had been trying for years and years, and no such luck. Finally, they settled on adoption.
And they found me. And I was grateful.
And so were they.
Rhegan, she didn't get the closure that she needed to heal. She was still angry, still hurt and rightfully so. So many women would do anything to have a family and couldn't. And her mother had that, she had what most women would kill for and she abandoned it.
" I am a lot to deal with, Dommy," she sniffled and I felt something inside of me crack. I hadn't heard that vulnerability in her tone in years and it was like I was being teleported back to the day that we met.
We weren't in my car in an empty parking lot. We were outside, sitting on a bench on school grounds. We were kids again and she was so open, so vulnerable. And I listened, we bonded.
" I am damaged and I know that I need to talk about it," she nodded, chewing on her bottom lip as she harshly wiped a tear away. " But I can't. It hurts to even acknowledge what I went through, what I still go through. And the thoughts that I have because of it, hurts even more. So it's hard to let people in. It's hard not to hide from
people."
Reaching out for her, I pulled her over the console and into my lap. She adjusted in my body, getting comfortable in my lap as she threw her legs over the console, letting her feet rest in the seat.
" I won't run from you." I promised.
Rhegan laughs, wiping her nose as she faces me. " You will."
But I didn't. She did.
I pulled into my parking spot, seeing Kyler's car right next to mine. Good, I wouldn't be alone with my thoughts right now.
Upon entering the apartment, I discovered that it was quiet. I walked into every room, finding them all empty before turning down the hallway with our rooms. I dropped my keys and gym bag in the room before searching for the guys. Knocking on Carson's door, I found him asleep with his laptop open and the soft snores of Ayanna were coming from the device.
I snickered and crept into the room. Stopping next to Carson's bed, I pulled out my phone and smiled, holding my thumbs up as I took a selfie with the sleeping couple. Carson's mouth was wide open and I'm sure that there was some drool in the corner. Ayanna, her face was hidden by her hoodie but she looked better than Carson.
Which would work in my favor when I posted this to my close friend's story. Carson's wrath, I could live with. But Ayanna, she had access to my most prized possessions.
My durag collection that got left behind somewhere in the new house was a box with all my favorite hair products. She was a menace to society, she knew where to hit where it would hurt.
Standing up, I smiled as I looked over the two before tip-toeing out of his room, and crossing to Kyler's side of the hall. Knocking on the door, I suspected no response as well. To my surprise, he answered.
" Come in."
I cracked open the door, poking my head inside and looked both ways as if I were inspecting the tidy room before entering it. Kyler was always tidy and neat. Without him, the basketball house would've been in shambles.
" How'd the meeting go?" He asked, throwing a mini basketball in the air as he laid on his back, staring at the ceiling.
" I think I got my point across," I answered, asking over to his desk chair. " I mean, how hard is it to find a video boy or whatever the fuck they're called to do this shit. I am sure that there are a million, better looking guys out there that can take over that role. The girl seems a little obsessed, don't you think?"
Kyler hums. The smirk on his face tells me that he was about to be anything but serious regarding this conversation. " I don't know, Dommy boy, you are quite the catch," he winks playfully.
Reaching for his pillow, I grabbed one and bopped him across the head. " Be serious here," I whined.
" I am being serious," he laughed, sitting up. " She won't be the first girl to be obsessed and she won't be the last. Regardless of the fact that you have Rhegan, there will be girls that can't take the hint and try to push themselves on you. Unlike me, you aren't stupid when it comes to situations like that."
He got that for damn sure.
" Have you told, Rhegan yet?"
I bite on my thumbnail nervously, avoiding eye contact. "No."
Out of my peripheral vision, I saw Kyler pick up a pillow and bop me. I raised my arm as he repeatedly hit me, laughing so hard that I began to tear up. " It's not funny, Dominic," he said, yet he sounded just as unserious as this beating from a pillow.
" Well stop trying to give me a concussion with your fucking transformers pillow, you idiot," I straightened up, running a hand over my hair.
" It's a collectible," he defended, fluffing the pillow and putting it back in its place.
A collectible? Okay, Kyler.
" On a serious note," Kyler said, " You should tell, Rhegan. She may be a wee bit umm... how do I word this in the nicest way possible?"
I studied him closely as he racked his big brain for the correct vocabulary word fit for my girlfriend.
" Scratch that," he gave up. " Rhegan and every girl in her friend group are up the wall crazy for their boyfriends. I mean even sweet ol' Lizzie was throwing jabs and nasty words towards a girl that stepped within a ten foot radius of Abel."
In her defense, the girl was doing entirely too much. Especially considering that Abel is connected to Elizabeth's hip whenever we go out. He couldn't have made it more obvious that he was a taken man. That was just a consequence of being an extremely good looking man.
" Although valid, imagine how Rhegan is going to feel when she finds out that you've been hiding this from her. She already has...difficulties when it comes to communicating."
That's what I was afraid of, either way in this situation, I felt like I couldn't win. I didn't know how she would react to it either if I told her from the jump or right now. Maybe hiding it wasn't the wisest decision seeing as it was getting out of hand, but I didn't want her to think that I was hiding it for other reasons.
I didn't want to give her an excuse to overthink and run.
I side eyed Kyler, knowing that he was right. " For someone who gives out good advice, you sure do have problems taking it."
Kyler snorted, " I hear you guys loud and clear. I don't know, I just get lost in my own head and do everything the opposite of what I intend."
I twisted my lips, humming as I took the mini basketball from him, tossing it from one hand to the other. " Is still upset ab-"
" She seems more so disappointed than upset, " he cut me off, chewing on his bottom lip. "But we are working on it... I am working on it. We aren't arguing every time we speak now, so that's a step in the right direction."
" What about you and Sky?" I asked, seeing the picture of the two of them from their graduation. Their relationship was always chaotic— but the hood kind. The twins were comic relief.
" We are doing better than usual. She sees that I am honestly trying for JoJo. She's still a fucking pain in my damn ass." Kyler looked annoyed but it was clearly coming from a place of love.
" You are doing great, Kyler," I nudged him. " I see it, the guys see it, and even though they may be a little pissed right now, the girls see it too. You guys are going to be fine."
Kyler smiled, subconsciously rubbing the tattoo on his wrist. " You and Rhegan are going to be fine too. Just talk to her about it before she finds out from someone else. And take from me, her hearing from somebody other than you, would be worse than you telling her."
That's what I was afraid of.
" You're right," I agreed. " I'll tell her this weekend."
I would rather tell her face to face that over the phone. I knew her well enough to know that in a situation like this, she would need assurance.
Silence fell over the room, the both of us passing a ball back and forth. " Wanna go wake up Carson and play horse?" Kyler asked, grinning like a child.
" Yes."
The two of us shuffled out of his room. " I'm going to kick y'all's ass at this game by the way."
" You never make it past the letter O, Kyler," I pushed him playfully out of the way.
" Cus you guys cheat," he cried.
" Lies."
__________________
Today was exhausting at practice.
I walked into my room and face planted into my bed. And needed sleep, food, and more sleep. In that order. Games against powerhouse teams took more time and energy out of us as a team while we prepared for them.
This weekend was going to be packed. Luckily for us, it was a home game. The girls wouldn't be able to come out because it would be too much to come here and immediately hop on a flight back to Los Angeles with their schedules.
Especially for Rhegan, whatever she was planning for my birthday, I had an inkling that it wouldn't be small and intimate. Plus, I didn't want her traveling back and forth when midterms were right around the corner.
Lifting my head, I tapped around my bed, searching for my phone. Finding it, I picked it up and turned on my back as I clicked on Rhegan's contact time and hit call. I adjusted my head as she answered, her screen popping up but I saw the fabric of her sports bra and lower midriff instead of her face.
" Boobies," I snickered.
The sound of Rhegan adjusting her phone on what looked like her bathroom counter according to the background muffled her words. When her phone was propped to her liking, she stepped back, showing off her sweaty body.
She was red in the face, her ponytail was lopsided, and she looked beat, just like me.
" You look beautiful." That wasn't a lie. Even sweaty after an intense workout, she still managed to glow and look effortlessly beautiful in my eyes.
" I just came from getting my ass beat by a bitch named Pilates," she laughed, taking her hair down. The chocolate brown waves fell down her back as she gently ran a hand through her thick mass of hair. " But thanks for the compliment. I think I look like a burnt tomato."
I shook my head. I couldn't help but smile as I watched her actions. She was doing something so simple as doing her hair and I was completely mesmerized. "A beautiful burnt tomato."
Rhegan blushes and grabs her hair brush. " How was practice? You look tired. Are you getting rest?"
Her face quickly morphed from shy and flustered, to worried the longer she looked at the screen. It was cute when she was worried about me. " It's just been a long, stressful week," I answered honestly.
" Practice was gruesome today. If we don't when this game against New York, that will be our third away game loss in a row this season." I know that we can't win them all, but the response from the fans was a little gut wrenching.
" Are you still reading comments from critics?" She asked, pinning me through the phone with her stare.
" No." I shawolled.
She squinted her eyes, not believing me. " Are you lying to me?"
" Yes." I sighed.
I had a habit of reading the bad comments about me and honestly it ate me. I was hopping that I could feed off and thrive off of them, show them that they were wrong. I knew that I was a good player, I wasn't the best. That would come with time, but I was a damn good player.
I didn't want to be overshadowed by my father's career and success. But that seemed to be the main focus when it came to me. I wanted to prove to everyone that I was my own player. I wasn't my father. I could never be my father.
" Baby," she spoke in a soft yet stern tone. " Those critics, they don't know shit. Half of them never made it off of a college basketball court; their talent rested in their ass that warmed the bench. You are greater than anybody that writes a negative comment on you. You do what they dream of and you excel at it."
" For a rookie in the nba, you are doing pretty damn good. Your stats are off the charts and you are already in talks for possibly being an all-star during your first season. That and you are one of the most confident players that I know."
Her expression softened as she stared at me. " Don't let them ruin your confidence, Nic."
I wanted nothing more than to hold her right now, to give her a billion kisses because she was my biggest supporter. She always reassured me any time she sniffed out that I was doubting myself. And sometimes, I could sense that she was disappointed that I let them get to me, that I let them inside of my mind. But she always knew what to say to snap me out of it.
" I wish that you were here with me." I didn't realize how hard this journey would be without her. I got used to her presence last year, I found comfort in it fairly quickly into our relationship.
" I do too," she whispered. " FaceTime calls and visibly every other weekend isn't enough but we make it work. There's still two more months until break and we haven't talked about what our plans are yet, but whatever works for your schedule, I'll be fine with."
Winter break was fast approaching and I knew that she always spent time with her father. Last year they went to Paris for Christmas. She hadn't mentioned her plans with him yet and I didn't want to impose on them either.
" Do you know what you and your father are doing this year?" I asked.
Rhegan nods. " He wants to visit my mother's family in Sweden for a week. I told him that I was okay with going but I don't know if that's going to be during Thanksgiving break or Christmas."
I hummed. " Wwll let me know and I can plan some things around that. But for now, I can't wait to see you this weekend."
Rhegan smiles, her face brightens immediately. " I can't wait either. We are going to have the best time. I have so much packed into one weekend for your birthday. I hope that you love it."
" Whatever you have up your sleeve, I know I'll love," I answered.
" Good," she grinned, licking her lips as she came closer to her camera. The gleam in her brown eyes twinkled brightly and I knew that she had something that would blow my mind planned up her sleeve.
"Because the moment you land, we're starting off with you being in your birthday suit."
This weekend was already going to start off with a bang. I couldn't fucking wait.
DOUBLE UPDATE!!!
Except the second chapter is coming out later tonight!!!
But it's startinggggg... I hope you guys aren't too mad at me.
I love you all, alexis