nba imagines ⇢ completed

more than friends | tyler ulis

more than friends

dedicated to: MTownPrincess901
explicit ♡

Malaya quietly sat down on her couch that was placed in her living room, letting the twelfth season of Grey's Anatomy play on her television screen. The twenty one year old had just purchased her own condo, for she had been saving up ever since she was in high school. Being in college didn't allow her to purchase the newly refurbished home she had been dreaming of ever since she was sixteen, but not all things go as planned; as she began to mature, she understood how absurd the thought truly was, and decided that it would take a bit longer until she reached that specific goal.

With a bowl of freshly cut strawberries sitting upon her lap, Malaya took one in her hand, popping it into her mouth as she kept her eyes locked on the screen. Malaya's best friend, Jazmin, lured her into the popular soap opera that was currently undergoing its fourteenth season, but since she was so far behind, she decided to go on her Netflix account and start from the very beginning— big mistake. Instead of doing her usual productive routine during her feee time, she would sit down on the very couch she was currently on and invest her time into Grey's Anatomy; the show was that spectacular, and Malaya was grateful that Jazmin told her about it.

The sound of a knock on her front door caused Malaya's eyes to shift away from the screen, a sigh escaping her mouth as she took the remote to her television in her hand, pausing the program. Malaya took the bowl of fruit from her lap and set it on the glass table in front of her, getting up from her spot on the couch and walking towards the front door. She reached out and unlocked the door, twisting her door knob and opening the door, only to come face to face with no other than Tyler Ulis.

"Long time, no see, eh?" Tyler smirked softly, Malaya's eyes growing wide at the sight of him in front of her. Malaya and Tyler were best friends back when they were five; with the both of them growing up next door to each other in Southfield, Michigan, it was hard not to become so close to one another. At the age of ten, Malaya, sadly, moved to Phoenix with her mother after she received a promotion at her job of five years, causing Malaya to leave Tyler behind. By the time the two were both in college, Malaya had learned that Tyler had been accepted to the University of Kentucky, privileging her to see her best friend play college basketball on national television.

After college, Tyler was drafted into the NBA, enabling him to play for the Phoenix Suns, which Malaya thought of as a sign. She had always had a small crush on Tyler, for he was the only boy she truly connected her the majority of her life.

"What're you doing here?" Malaya asked as she furrowed her eyebrows, watching as Tyler looked down at his feet for a second with a big smile, looking back up at her almost immediately. "I can't come see my best friend?" Tyler raised an eyebrow, looking behind Malaya, implying that she should let him come in. Catching his drift, Malaya opened the door a little wider, watching as Tyler walked in her condo, closing and locking the door behind him, "I didn't even know you still considered me that."

"Why wouldn't I? Just because I play professional basketball now doesn't mean I don't know who my real friends are; always remember where you came from, Malaya," Tyler said, walking towards her couch and sitting down on it. Malaya walked towards the couch as well, sitting in the same spot she was in prior to Tyler's arrival, picking up her television remote to un-pause the episode that awaited her attention.

Tyler's hand swiftly rose up, taking the remote from Malaya and placing it on the glass table. Malaya raised an eyebrow and looked up at Tyler, observing how his vibrant facial expression turned into a serious one. "What is it?" Malaya asked curiously, "You're looking at me as though you have something on your chest that you need to release."