me & tomfoolery

Same Coin pt. 2 | Devin Booker Short Story

8 AM. That was the time Laila returned to the Airbnb. She came in untouched but extremely tired. For the last few hours she talked to Devin and rode around in his car. They talked about anything and everything under the Sun.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Sydel cleared her throat. She was the only one up at the moment and was preparing for breakfast. Something Laila volunteered to help with. "Look who it is.. Ms. Williams with the walk of shame."

"Morning Delly." She awkwardly laughed, taking off her heels at the door. "Just let me take a shower and change and I'll help you."

"Wait a minute, don't skate on past me. Where have you been?"

Laila was a little embarrassed that she was out that late, especially with Devin. She realized it would look bad but she couldn't keep that from Sydel. "I was out, umm talking. I promise just talking."

"Sounds like a good convo to be having as the sun came up. Who was it with? You haven't mentioned talking to anyone new."

Laila wasn't. She had just ended a fling that was going nowhere and wanted to focus on herself. There was no one to talk about.

"It was Book. He stopped me and Kira as I waited for my Uber and then said he would take me home cause taking an Uber alone wasn't safe. We got food and then talked."

"I'm sorry." The white mug in Sydel's hands now on the counter, "Devin Booker?"

"Yeah." Laila sighed. She again was embarrassed to have spent so much time out with her father's star player, hoping no one saw them outside of Thomas.

"We'll talk about this later, go get ready and then you can nap after breakfast."

••••

Devin yawned for the fifth time since suiting up for practice and it didn't go unnoticed by his teammates.

"Fuck you so tired for?" Kevin asked making a three pointer. "Should've stayed your ass home."

"Out partying again." Chris chuckled, "young niggas never learn."

"I ain't even party that hard." Devin defended. Which was true. His exhaustion came from driving around Phoenix in the middle of the night with Laila and just talking.

"Look at the rockstar." DLee chuckled as he walked onto the floor. "Y'all ready for practice or we gonna talk about the party boy all morning?"

Sweat dripped from Devin's forehead and biceps as he finished his workout. He moved through the gym and into the locker room to retrieve his toiletries for the shower. His phone lit up to a bunch of messages but not from the person he expected to hear from.

Once he was free from the practice facility, he was on the way home to finally rest. Being greeted by his dog, Haven and his mother was a blessing and a curse.

"Where have you been Armani?" He hated being called by his middle name. It only meant trouble in his book. "Working, practice."

"You haven't been here all night and luckily I came because Rita had to leave. Your dog have been walked and fed. I'll be heading out."

"I love you mom." He kissed her cheek before she walked out the door. "Mhm son, love you too. Make sure you come home next time."

Once the door clicked shut, he set his alarm and carried on up the stairs so that he could rest for the remainder of the day. Devin couldn't help that his dreams featured Laila. She was on his mind all day and it wasn't anything more than a rerun of their conversation from last night.

Flashback

Laila danced as she bit into her chicken wing. Over the moon that the spaces and juice from the meat balanced perfectly. Devin laughed as he watched her enjoy the meal.