Right from the Start (bwwm) - 𝙲𝙾𝙼𝙿𝙻𝙴𝚃𝙴

76: for them

"You can't be serious, Jordan."

"Doll, come on... just think--"

"Thought about it. Nope. I'm not about to let you just quit school."

Dahlia glared at Jordan for what felt like the thousandth time that morning. After telling her that he was planning on entering the NFL Draft instead of finishing his last year and getting his degree, Jordan had been trying to convince his wife that his idea wasn't necessarily the worst.

"I'm not quitting. I'm just... putting it off, for now."

"You can't just--"

"Babe, I already let the school know about my plans to withdraw."

The room was suddenly silent. Jordan couldn't decipher the look on Dahlia's face before she turned away from him, but the moment he heard her sniffling, he wanted to stab himself.

"One of us was supposed to graduate. That was still supposed to be a part of the plan."

Jordan sighed sympathetically as he pulled his wife in, kissing her forehead before looking down into the brown eyes he'd fallen for years ago.

"And it's still a part of the plan. We will graduate-- the both of us-- but for right now...?" Baby, this is the best thing for our family. I mean...I just won the school back-to-back championships... I know I can do this."

Dahlia shook her head and shut her eyes before looking up at Jordan.

"You were supposed to-- I mean, we haven't even--"

Jordan gently cupped the sides of his wife's cheeks, letting his thumbs brush over her lips, calming her down.

"Baby, student-athletes are getting paid, yeah... but she's gonna be here before we know it and I--  I'm gonna take care of us, Doll. That's what I promised you."

✨

Later that night, while Dahlia laid asleep in bed next to Jordan, he watched over her carefully, continuing his conversation on the phone with his father.

"She's sleeping right now, but she's good. Just getting ready for Sunny."

"Can't believe my kid's having a kid."

Jordan smiled as Dahlia shifted, and looked down to see her belly shift. Knowing Sunny was probably waking up from a nap, Jordan lightly tapped Dahlia's belly, sitting up in shock as he saw a hand pressing against Dahlia's stomach.

"Me either. I can't wait until she's here."

Settling back into his spot, Jordan took a deep breath, closing his eyes before voicing his question.

"Hey, Dad... are you still in touch with that agent friend you knew?"

🌻