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17 | Pop-A-Shot II

When we arrive to the game,  both of our families are in a suite and Spencer is having a fantastic game.

"21 points and 10 rebound. My boy can't miss. And he sat out the whole fourth quarter. M – V – P. Crown him." Mr. James' chants as everyone goes wild.

•••

As the evening at the game comes to an end, I begin to say my goodbyes, since this is the last time I'll be seeing everyone for a little while.

"I'm probably going to call you every day for at least the first week," Kia pretends to tear up and I giggle.

My eyes start to water and I am really going to miss having her as my roommate. 

"And you better take care of my girl," I threaten Kofi and he nods in agreement as we embrace.

Those two have been dating for weeks and my girl seems happier than ever.

I hug my dad, stepmom, Little Sister, and brothers before embracing Corey and Grace.

Spencer winks his eye and holds out his hand for me to grab before we leave in a sprinter van.

He wipes away my tears and holds me tightly. It's not that I'm not extremely excited to move with him. It's just that I'm going to miss my friends and family.

"I would've never thought in 1 million years I'd have so many memories in the city of Philadelphia." I say aloud. "If you would've asked me 10 years ago, I would've said I'd be a West Coast girly for life."

"Crazy how things happen, right?" He questions rhetorically. "And I thank God daily that he made you for me."

I don't speak. Instead, I extend my hand to his chin and pull him into a passionate kiss.

"Better than anything I could ever imagine," I whisper in between a few more pecks.

When we're done kissing, I watch his eyes go back-and-forth from his phone to the road and I try to ignore the fact that he seems a little preoccupied. Because I'm preoccupied as well.

I'm busy thinking about life in Dallas. I wonder how easy it'll be to fit in at a new law firm. I wonder if I'll like the grocery stores. And most importantly, I wonder if the barbecue is as good as they make it seem in Texas.

•••

We stop in front of a well-known restaurant, towards the outside of the city, and I smile as Spencer opens my door.

We walk hand-in-hand inside and I notice the entire restaurant is empty.

"Is that my baby picture on their wall?" I begin to look closely and I see a timeline of pictures of us as babies until the day we first met. "Aww! Look at us!"

I notice the photos of us in Uncle Bubby's photo booth.

"How'd you do all of this and play in a professional basketball game tonight?"

He smirks. "A wise-man once told me I had to plan or else I would fail."

I don't know who that man was, but I appreciate Spencer's effort. It means the world to me. And it gives me yet another reason to leave with him, tonight, for a new city and ultimately a new start.

I look at the menu and everything is customized to fit the meals I love. And to sweeten the deal, the dessert is red velvet cupcakes provided by Ms. Grace herself.

"Spencer, this is amazing," I say as I look around at everything. "I love you so much."

He smiles and opens his arms for a hug and I stop when I notice a pop-a-shot game sitting in the corner of the restaurant.

"Spencer—- is that?" I question and he smiles brightly as we walk over. "This is the exact pop-a-shot from Uncle Bubby's arcade. Why does it have a bow on it?"

He grins as I look at the names we carved in it as college students.

"Because this is going to Dallas with us."

I let out a loud scream as I jump up and down into his arms.

"You once said the reason why you love this game so much is because it reminds you of me. And before you told me that I didn't understand how important it was, but now I do."

My eyes fill with tears, and I can't stop hugging him.

"Thank you, baby!" I say as I finally let go.

And for the rest of the evening, we enjoy a live band and plenty of laughter.

•••

We leave the restaurant and I quickly notice our driver isn't going towards the airport.

"What time is our flight?" I ask.

"Don't worry. I just need to make one more stop before we leave."

Before long, we are out front of his mother's house.

"C'mon!" I hesitate because it's pitch black inside.

"Is she even home?" I ask as he holds my hand up the stairs.

I watch closely as he turns the knob and it opens without any struggle.

"Why is the door unlocked?" I whisper nervously.

He ignores me as we walk inside and he flicks on the light.

My eyes light up as I hear loud voices screaming 'surprise'.

I lightly jump in shock and become overwhelmed with joy as co-workers, family, and friends stand in front of a "good luck in Dallas" banner.

There's food, a DJ, balloons, and a bunch of smiling faces that I greet as I walk around the room.

"Yall tricked me," I say to everyone who hugged me goodbye back at the stadium.

"You know I couldn't let you leave without turning up one last time with you." Kia tells me before we do a little two-step.

For the next hour or so, I spend time with everyone at the party before noticing Spencer has been gone for the past ten minutes.

"Where's your son?" I ask Mr. James and he points to Spencer's room in between busting a few dance moves with Ms. Grace.

I'm curious so I walk inside his room and see he has completely torn apart his room.

"What are you doing, baby?" I ask as I sit next to him on the edge of the bed.

His body language is a lot less pleasant than before and I rub his back as he rubs the sides of his head in stress.

"Baby, are you okay?" I ask again and this time he looks at me with the saddest eyes in the world.