Cleo's POV
"Honestly I think we need some lemonade, this popcorn is dry today" I said to Deuce as we sat on the sidelines while Jayson played
I watched as Deuce nodded
"Come on before we choke to death" I said as I held my hand out
Just as we got up Jay walked over while putting his Celtics shirt over his uniform
"Bathroom break?" He asked
"No. Daddy this popcorn is nasty" Deuce said as he held up the popcorn box
"We're goin to get something to drink before one of us chokes to death" I added
"It can't be that bad" he said as he held out his hand
"You can keep it" Deuce said as he handed over the box
We both watched as Jay took a handful of popcorn out and shoved it in his mouth
His entire face shriveled up
"Yeah throw that shit away. Its stale" he said as he spit it back in the box
"Gatorade and water?" I asked
Jay just nodded his head before taking his seat
"Can I stay here with daddy?" Deuce asked as he looked up at me
I just looked at Jay for approval
Normally he'd come with me just in case they threw Jay back in the game
"Yeah I'm not goin back in until 4th quarter" he nodded
"Alright I'll be back with the drinks" I nodded before heading up the stairs
Waiting in line was the most nerve wracking thing because it seemed like the workers purposely went as slow as humanly possible
I didn't fault them though because I know how the serving business goes; they're probably overworked and sleepy.
I turned around to see how long the line was behind me..I don't know why but it was a habit
Maybe I'm just nosey
"Cleo?" The woman behind me asked
"Sorry do I know you?" I asked
Damn that sounded harsh
"It's me..Grace" she said as she took her glasses off
"Oh my gosh hey!" I said as we hugged
I haven't seen her since high school
There was 4 more people in front of me so I decided to chat
"Finally taking an interest in basketball?" I asked
"Hell no. My boyfriend dragged me out here" she groaned
"To see which team?"
"The Celtics, my man goes into fangirl mode whenever he sees Jaylen brown" she said as she rolled her eyes
I couldn't help but laugh a little at the thought of Jaylen having fans
Yeah he's good at his job but knowing him personally makes it funny because I know he's crazy as hell.
"You?" She asked
"Oh I um..I'm here with my man too" I giggled
"This seems like your scene" she nodded
"Yeah, this is my man's happy place. I enjoy watching him in his element" I smiled
"Lucky! My boyfriend's friend gave him court-side tickets as a gift for his birthday thinking he'd take the friend but nooo he chose me" she groaned
All I could do was laugh; she always hated basketball games
"I was gonna try and get out of it but I figured it's just this one time so I might as well suck it up because he wanted me here."
"You do crazy things for the people you love" I shrugged
1 more person in front of me
"I don't know how I'm gonna top this gift next year because he's in his seat going crazy as we speak" she laughed
"NEXT" the cashier yelled
I motioned for Grace to follow me so we could keep talking
"Hi can I get two large lemonades, a blue Gatorade, and a water..get what you want girl, it's on me" I said
"Uh I'll just have two waters" Grace said
The lady nodded and walked away to get the drinks
"I know something that'll give you max girlfriend points" I hinted
"You'd have to rename every state in this country after him" she joked
"I can get him a nice little birthday message from not one but 2 Celtic's players" I smirked
"Oh I heard about those! The cameos? I looked it up and they're expensive as hell" she laughed as the cashier came back and handed us our drinks
We gathered our things and stepped off to the side
"Give me your number, I got you girl" I smiled
We exchanged numbers and went our separate ways
"Sorry I took so long I bumped into an old friend" I said once I got back to my seat
"It's cool...I uh gotta talk to you later though" Jay said as I sat down and handed him his water and Gatorade
"You know I'm gonna stress and overthink until you tell me right?" I asked as I handed Deuce his lemonade
"Relax, It's nothing bad" he chuckled
I looked over at Deuce who was smiling ear to ear and kicking his legs and that calmed me down
"Ok..oh and I need you and Jaylen to do me a favor once the game is over"
I watched as he nodded before starting a conversation with Deuce
I took a picture and posted it to my Instagram story
The Celtics won 123-110 so the guys were in good spirits
"I need to call in that favor now" I said as people started clearing out the arena
"I'll go get Jaylen" jay nodded
I texted Grace my seat number and told her to meet me there, turns out she was only a couple seats down
We just couldn't see each other because of how crowded it had been
"Are we going to the back with daddy?" Deuce asked as he held my hand
"Not yet, I have to do something first okay?" I said softly as Grace walked over to me
"Cleo this is my boyfriend king, king this is my friend Cleo I was telling you about" Grace said as she introduced us
"Can I go sit down over there why you talk?" Deuce asked as he hid behind me
"Sure, sit right here so I can keep an eye on you" I said as I pointed to the seat next to me
"Okay" she smiled as he sat down and swung his feet
"Isn't that Tatum's kid?" King asked
Grace looked confused as to who that even was
Like I said..basketball was the last thing she cared about
"Jayson Tatum" king said in a duh tone
"And he is?" She asked waiting for him to elaborate
"A Celtic's player..we just watched him play" king scoffed
"No baby, YOU watched him play. I was listening to Uzi" she said as she held up her AirPod case that was in her hands
All I could do was laugh at their interaction
Grace was never the type to care what came out of her mouth
"What's the favor? I heard you tried to kill my dawg with stale popcorn and if that's what it is...I ain't eating it" Jaylen said as he walked over with Jayson
King looked like he seen a ghost and Grace was just confused because the guys were still in uniform
I shook my head and rolled my eyes
"I just need you two to stand right there and smile"
"Whatchu getting me into?" Jayson asked with his accent popping out
"It's my boyfriend's birthday and we came all the way out here from Cali to watch you guys play-" Grace started
Jayson looked at Grace, looked back at me, then right back at Grace
It was like I could see him putting everything together in his head
"Cool, I'm down but we gotta make it fast..we got media to do" he nodded
"Thank you guys so much!" Grace smiled as they posed with king
"Happy birthday bro" Jaylen smiled
"Oh my go-thank you man" king smiled
Grace was right, total fangirl
"I don't know how or what you did but thank you babe, I own you one" Grace said before hugging me and walking away with her man
He's for sure gonna talk about meeting the guys for the rest of the week
"Who the hell were they?" Jaylen asked
"You could say my sister and her man" I slightly laughed at his confusion
"We'll talk once we're done with them" Jayson said as he pointed to the reporters
I nodded and sat next to Deucce
"Is it fun having a sister?" Deuce asked
"Um...I wouldn't know actually. I lived in a different house" I said as I did my best to explain without confusing him
"Can she cook?" He asked me which made me bust out laughing
"Do you only like me because I can cook?" I laughed
"No. You're nice to me, you're nice to my daddy, you're nice to my Mimi, and my mommy. You play Trucks with me, you do my hair sometimes, and you tuck me in at bed time too" he smiled
"Noted" I said as I felt my eyes start to water
I knew if I tried to say anything else I'd burst into tears
Damn me and my crybaby ways
"Yall ready to go?" Jayson asked
"Yeah" I smiled as I blinked away the tears
"You alright?" He asked low enough for only me to hear as we walked out of the stadium
"Yeah" I smiled as I held his hand
I love it here