Watch & Learn: Book II

Chapter Six: Drunk Mind, Sober Heart

One Week Later...

Rome

The crowd erupted into a loud roar as I made the game winning shot with the buzzer beating in the background. Tonight was Game 1 of the NBA Finals and we were playing the Warriors on our home court first. We had won with the score being 97-105 and of course we were gonna go out to celebrate tonight.

I made my way off of the court, heading towards the locker room. My publicist, Lauren, was already waiting for me by the locker room, making sure not too many reporters stopped me. I didn't mind interviews but being bombarded after a game was definitely something I didn't look forward to.

After answering a few questions, I made my way inside of the locker room, hearing the rest of my teammates chattering. This was the usual after we had won a game. I sat down on my seat, pulling out my phone to see all of the congratulatory texts I had received. One name in particular stuck out to me though.

Candace 🤤👀: Just finished watching your game, congratulations! You played your heart out tonight. Keep up the good work. I'm proud of you. 😊

Even though we were broken up, the fact that she was watching the game and still supporting me made me really happy. Candace was always one to support me though so it wasn't a huge surprise for me. I'm just glad that her and I are speaking again.

Rome 🤦🏽‍♂️: Thanks baby girl. That means a lot coming from you. ❤️

I replied back to a few other people before putting my phone away and changing into my sweats and hoodie. Now that Kennedy was dancing for the Heat, that meant that we'd be seeing each other a lot more. I grabbed my duffle bag and headed out of the locker room, walking towards the dancer's locker room. Kennedy had just walked out with her workout bag in hand. I took it from her, carrying it before we both made our way out of the arena.

"I saw you dancing out there tonight. You looked good." I said as I put our bags in the trunk.

"Thanks." She replied before we both got in the car.

Kennedy has been acting weird towards me since she found out that Candace and I were once engaged. I know I should've told her but I didn't want her acting weird like how she's acting now. The car ride back home was pretty quiet. Usually she's talking my head off about whatever goes on with her but now, it's just crickets. I couldn't take it. I pulled in to the nearest parking lot and parked in a parking space before turning to her.

"What's up with you?" I asked her.

"Nothing." She replied with her head against the window.

"Something gotta be up because you haven't been acting the same towards me lately." I told her. "What's wrong?"

"I told you nothing is wrong." She said, finally turning to me.

"Are you sure?" I asked one last time.

"Yes Rome." She said with a slight attitude.

"Alright." I reluctantly said before starting the car again and driving out of the parking lot.

"See! You don't even care!" Kennedy groaned, sitting up in her seat.