pillowtalk.

forty | secrets

Stephen felt the distance between him & Heart & he hated it. He knew it was his fault for letting his thoughts get to him - to the point where he couldn't even formulate his words right or figure out where he was taking everything. Now, he was coming off like a total ass for listening to Klay so quickly rather than looking at their relationship as a whole. 

He knew he loved her, though. It just left him confused. He never saw it that way. 

Or, maybe he just didn't want to see it that way. 

He sighed as stuffed the last bit of salad into his mouth. He checked his phone and re-read the messages between him & Heart. All of a sudden, he felt himself feeling upset and sad all over again. He groaned in frustration as he locked his phone and pushed his phone aside.

"Damn. What the phone do to you?" Draymond pulled a chair aside and sat next to the man, resting his hands on his lap and interlocking his fingers.

"Nothing, man." He forked the remaining pieces of lettuce in the plastic bowl. 

"It's Heart, isn't it? What happened with you and Klay that night I broke up ya' little sissy fight?"

"We talked."

"I would have hoped so?" Draymond laughed. "What'd he say? You been actin' weird."

"I don't know, he mentioned a couple of things that kind of threw me off guard."

"Elaborate."

"He just put our relationship into a different perspective." Steph sighed. "Called me selfish cause he thinks I'm not really thinking about her and her wellbeing by dragging into this world she isn't really used to. Like, me being busy and all up in the media and what not."

"I mean, I guess he has a point. But at the same time, that's your relationship. How you about to let ol' Corey Matthews' ass tell you how to look at your relationship and how Heart's feeling?" Steph chuckled a bit. "He didn't even like her at first, and now he's tryna tell you about her like he know her better than you. Sheesh."

"I know. But it's not even that. I think I may have fucked up." Steph pushed his bowl aside and slumped deeper into his chair. "I had mentioned the talk to Heart and I think I came off like an ass about it. Or, like I wasn't sure about us anymore and like I was leaving her hanging on a piece of thread."

"Well how else could she take it? She's not gonna jump for joy hearing things like this, let alone hearing you slightly side with a dude who don't even know your relationship like that. Klay can be your homie & all, but he don't know her. He don't know what your relationship is like."

"That's true."

"I mean, has Heart ever told you it's been overwhelming? Or, that she didn't want to be included in this lifestyle? Pretty sure she was smart enough to know what she was getting into when she got with you."

"Yeah, she's aware. I don't even know why it threw me off the way I did. Now she's upset and I feel terrible." Dray shook his head and patted him on the shoulder.

"Need to make it up to the girl. Stop putting her though this shit, man. Klay dumb as hell." He laughed, making Steph chuckle once more.

"Yeah I need to. I think I'm gonna see her tonight and make her dinner and stuff. Pamper her a little bit."

"Get you some of that good good." Steph nodded in approval without even understanding what came out of Draymond's mouth.

"Make it a rather nice evening."

"You set, man. Go and get ya woman. Put her first. She'll appreciate that. Let her know you here and you ain't goin' anywhere."

"Right." Steph stood and looked at his watch. "Thanks, man. I need to head out. I'm picking up Logan from school and taking him to the courts right quick."

"Cute. Let me know when he starts calling you Daddy." He laughed, making Steph shake his head as he walked out of the room. 

With only a couple of minutes to spare, Steph sped off in the streets of Oakland in order to get to Logan's school on time. He offered Dom and Christen to pick up Logan after school so he could fulfill his promise of teaching the boy how to shoot and play a little ball.

It was a nice day out. Stephen didn't want to put it to waste. 

And, he was feeling good after Draymond knocked some sense into him. He was determined to make it up to her and make things right.

He wasn't going anywhere.

"Hey little man." Stephen pounded fists with the six year old before taking his backpack from him. "How was school?"

"Cool I guess. We got pizza today."

"Pizza, huh?"

"Yup. Pepperoni and cheese. But I settled for the pepperoni."

"Good choice. You got a lot of homework to do tonight?"

"Not really. I just have to color a few things & trace my glitter letters."

"Connecting the dots and coloring again?"

"Yup. And my teacher wants us to trace our glitter letters so we know our abc's and what they look like."

"Fun."

"Not fun, Steph."

"Oh right, stressful life for a 6 year old. Life is tough, I get it. You got it though." Steph looked in the rear view mirror, examining Logan quietly looking out the window as he chuckled at how cute the boy was. Getting to the park, Logan immediately jumped out of the car and headed to the court with the basketball. He began to dribble and throw up the ball, with the ball barely hitting rim or anything. Stephen smiled to himself as he approached him and watched him continue to struggle shooting. "Are you ready to play some ball, little man?"

"I guess?"  He threw up the ball once more. "I can't even get the ball up there and this basket is shorter than the rest."

"Here." Steph took the ball from him. "This is what you do." He began to explain to the boy, as simple as he could, about his form and how to shoot the ball properly. Logan scratched his head as he watched Stephen shoot shot after shot, making it everytime. "Here, do you want to try?" He nodded in response. Logan took the ball and began to put what Stephen taught him to the test, with a bit of his aid. Being that it was a smaller court made for younger kids, Steph found it a bit easy to teach him and help him work on his form. 

As time went on with more practice and occasionally lifts up to the basket from Steph, Logan was confidently shooting the ball higher than before. Steph smiled at how excited he got, and how he gleamed with happiness.

"Steph! Look at this!" He carried the ball in between his legs to carry out his trick before shooting up the ball and making it. "I'm like you now!"

"You are. Congrats, man. You might even be better than me."

"I can't wait to show Heart this."

"She'll be happy, won't she?"

"Yeah, she will. But she's been so busy with her homework too."

"Is that so?"

"Uh huh. I've been pretty sad. She's been so tired."

"I bet. Her schedule is a bit crazy, it's nothing personal."

"Well. She told me she might have to move for a little bit." Steph scrunched his forehead and squatted to get at eye level with the boy. Did he just say move?

"Wait, what did you just say Logan? I didn't really catch that."

"She might have to move."

"W-what? For what?"

"To model or something."

~

(Put that Woman First - Jaheim)