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As soon as the plane landed, Kez was rushing out, her Aces teammates watching her with amusement. "I'll see y'all tomorrow!" She waved, running to her Jaguar that was already there ready for her. Jewell agreed to take her bags to the hotel for her since she clearly wasn't wasting anytime getting the fuck outta the airport.

She drove straight to her LA mansion that Kelsey was living in since being in Los Angeles to play for the Sparks. Traffic was a bitch and she might have gotten a little bit of road rage on her way there. To sum it up, she hadn't seen Kelsey in weeks. It was absolute torture. She hated being away from her girlfriend this long if that wasn't obvious.

She unlocked the gate and drove inside, quickly parking the car and climbing out. She ran over to the front door and unlocked them. She pushed them open and stepped inside- not even kicking off her shoes before she was sprinting into the kitchen. The smell of her favorite dish lingered in the air. Kelsey smiled excitedly, turning to see Kez standing at the doorway, a fond gaze in her brown eyes. "Hey babe. I made your favorite food."

Kez didn't say anything, instead she rushed over and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend. "Oh, this is nice," Kelsey smiled softly, being pulled into a kiss. Kez slid her hands down her waist to grab her ass and pick her up so her legs immediately wrapped around her waist. "You missed me, Z?" She whispered into her ear, sighing softly at the pair of lips trailing down her neck, her hand reaching to grab onto her long untamed curls.

She took a long inhale of her scent, it was of lavender, the scent that always made her warm inside. "I miss you every second of the day. You look mesmerizing." She spoke, her eyes dilated as she gazed over her girlfriend's face. "I look a disaster," she chuckled at her words, loving when she found beauty in everyone, especially her. "No, you look perfect," she contradicted.

Kelsey smiled, a childish joy bursting through." You hungry?"

"Mhm." She hums, pulling her back into a kiss, her hands gripping at her soft skin, bringing goosebumps over the surface of the flesh. Kelsey melted into her, into the moment so much she didn't even realize they were leaving the kitchen. It was when she felt Kez going up the stairs is when she realized. "Babe. You know I meant real food, right?"

"I didn't." Kez dismissed, carrying her to the bedroom. She spent lots of money building this house so of course she knew exactly where to go without even looking. "The food's gonna get cold," Kelsey acknowledged. "We can reheat it," she countered, sliding the door open and kicking off her shoes before stepping into their bedroom.

She set her onto the bed and stood up, reaching for her top, she discarded it, along with her socks and sweats, leaving her in a black matching set. Kelsey blinked, taking in her appearance. She'd gotten far more muscular compared to the last time she'd seen her. And it was really hot. "You look different," she observed. Kez glanced down at her body, lips pressed into a line, "wasn't much to do besides work out. It's not too much, right? I don't wanna look like she-hulk or anything."

"You literally look like a goddess. It's so fuckin' hot," she concurred, eyes sparkling with anticipation, subconsciously rubbing her thighs together. "Fuck, I missed you." Kez smiled, climbing onto her lap and pressing their lips together in a kiss that was soft and gentle with a hint of yearning.

Kelsey smiled softly, her cheeks blushing a cherry red, pulling away to peer into her captivating brown eyes. "I missed you more."

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"How are you feelin'?" Syd asked, watching Kez walk into the locker room with her bag pulled over her shoulder. She adorned a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that they could've sworn belonged to Kelsey. "Better." She mumbled in reply, setting down her bag and taking a seat in her chair. "You see Kels yesterday?" She probed.

"Mhm. Had a really nice dinner." Kez shared, kicking her slides off.

"Just dinner?" Jewell inquired, sharing a quick look with Chelsea. Kez gazed up from her lap, her brows furrowed slightly, "y'all are bein' oddly nosy. Why do you wanna know if we had sex? Hmm?"

"We all think you've been too uptight," Jackie stated bluntly, knowing it was better not to beat around the bush. Kez frowned, observing her teammates just for them to nod slightly in agree- though they probably would've worded it better. "That is so incorrect. I have not been uptight. I'm just focused on my game. And my game has nothing to do with my personal life, okay?"

"If you say so," Syd shrugs.

After the Sparks finished using the court, the Aces walked out there to practice. Kelsey stayed back, sitting on a chair waiting for her girlfriend. All she wanted was a little glimpse of her at first, but as she got that glimpse came the need to hold her and kiss her. Kez strutted over with a teasing smirk, "I thought communing with the enemies was forbidden."

"Oh yeah? Do you typically sleep with your enemies?" Kelsey countered in a teasing tone.

"Not unless they look like you." Kez smiled, taking her hand to pull her up. She leaned down to connect their lips, a hand set on the back of her head gently and another at her waist in a delicate hold. They were interrupted by a strong and annoyed tone, "what in the PDA is happening?" Kamari grimaced, her heels clicking against the court as she walked over.

"Are those my Louboutin's?" Kez questioned with a sour expression.

"Um. So- I may have bribed someone to let me in here," Mari spoke, creating a new topic to avoid the subject. The truth was, she did in fact go into her mum's closet and take her shoes. They were the same size anyways and she was always in Vegas never putting the beautiful shoes to use. Moral of the story, always change the subject to avoid a scolding. At least that's what Mari always did. It did work...sometimes.

Kez pointed to the chair next to her coach, "go sit down."

Mari huffed, "fine."

"The competition gotta go, Kez," KB interjected, and Kelsey smiled in amusement at her friend's dramatic behavior. "I'm so flattered you think of me as competition," Kelsey teased, nudging her girlfriend's side. "We'd be stupid to underestimate you, baby," she acknowledged, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

"Hey hey, no makin' out with the opps," Syd scolded.

"Love you too, Syd," Kelsey grinned, walking away and waving her fingers at Syd with teasing undertones. Kez watched her leave (hugging A'ja, Chels and Jackie on the way out) with a longing stare, eyes sparkling with love. Syd nudged her arm and pulled her down by her collar, "you gotta snap outta this, man. You look like a lovesick puppy. Remember, on that court tonight, no matter how much you wanna go easy on your girl- winning this game is essential. You don't want us to lose our streak when it's just getting started."

"I'll snap out of it." Kez nods, and Syd smiled proudly, patting her head, "that's what I'm talkin' 'bout."

The arena was sold out, and Kez did in fact love how half of the fans in there were repping her jersey. LA was always considered her home. Many people even wanted her to play for the Sparks. But she made a promise that if she were to go pro in the league, it'd be with the Aces. Besides, she could always trade to LA next year if she wanted. Or straight up retire. Whichever one seems the most convenient.

"I told you LA loves me," Kez grinned with smugness, eyes twinkling as she looked up in the stands.

She took a seat and glanced up at the screen as they played the Sparks intro- it wasn't nearly as cool as theirs but Kelsey looked too good in it so she had to watch. Next thing she knew, the team was making their way out to the court. Her focus was on Kelsey the entire time they were warming up so much that Becky wasn't so sure about putting Kez in the game.

Kez was glancing at her girlfriend again when Becky grabbed her arm to pull her to the side. "What's up coach?" She queried, putting her attention on the woman. "Are you sure you're gonna be okay playing against KP? It's not gonna get in the way of your game, right?" Becky inquired.

"Of course not," Kez shrugged nonchalantly, toying with the chipped polish on her nails. "Okay, but if I see you favoring her, I will bench you." Becky stated firmly and Kez nods in understanding. She returned to her warm up and this time she kept her focus on that.

When the game was finally underway, both teams starting five made it to the court. Kez walked over to Kelsey from behind, setting a hand on her waist as she leaned down to her ear, "can I kiss you or will you get in trouble?" Kelsey smiled warmly, "you can kiss me." Kez sighed in relief, turning her around to bring her into a kiss.

She pulled away and whispered to her ear, "no matter the outcome, we're still going home together."

Kelsey didn't get a reply in before Kez was walking away to get in position for the jump ball with Dearica Hamby. She knew her girlfriend was good at jumpball so it wasn't a surprise when the Aces got the ball first. Jewell aimed at the glass it bounced off for Kez to catch it and toss it in the hoop for the rebound. In the beginning, she and Jewell had the worst on court chemistry until A'ja made them skip practice and go hangout to help them bond off the court so it would benefit them on the court. Clearly, it worked.

As the game went on, Kelsey had never seen Kez so in sync with someone the way she was with Jewell. It couldn't help but stir up some envious feelings. Whether it was the long distance, or the way Kez constantly found Jewell's hand after each bucket she made. It wasn't the first time she'd picked up on it. It was just the first time she was actually seeing it in person. Every time she seen them share even the smallest smile, it made her wish she never made that trade. Even when Kez got fouled by Dearica under the rim, as soon as she hit the ground, Jewell was the first one at her side.

Kels practically watched her sprint across the court to help her up. She watched the way Jewell set a hand over her knee and leaned down to her, asking, "you good? Nothin' hurt?" She watched the way Kez let out a hearty chuckle, shaking her head, "I'm good. Just felt like I got knocked over the head with a frying pan." She watched how Jewell laughed and took her hand to pull her from the floor. They even had a special handshake.

But maybe she was just overthinking it. Maybe she was thinking too much about Keziyah's past. I mean..Kez would never cheat on her, right? Not after everything they'd been through. There was no way. It wasn't possible. At least, that's what she'd been trying to tell herself. It didn't help that she'd been talking to Dearica about it and all Dearica did was fuel her suspicions by bringing up the past.

"You need to switch out?" Jewell asked as they made their way to the free throw line. "Nah. She's just bein' real aggressive with me. But it's cool, I can handle the aggression. I've got some of my own." Kez dismissed, and Jewell nodded, letting it go and moving back to her position which happened to be right by Kelsey. She knew something was off when Kels hadn't even acknowledged her or make a little joke like she typically would. Maybe she was just really focused on the game?

Kez made the free throw. She never missed a free throw, that was known by everyone who's ever seen her play. The game continued until halftime hit and they went back to the locker rooms. Kez sat down at her locker, and Jewell sat next her. Their lockers were always beside each other. "Kez, you're knee is bleeding," Syd pointed out, walking over to her chair.

Kez glanced down at it and huffed, grabbing her mini first aid kit in her bag and to clean it up. "Oh shit, I'm outta bandaids," she frowned. "I got some," Jewell said, and passed one to her teammate. She looked down at it and squinted, "this is a hello kitty bandaid, Jewell."

"Yup, got 'em on discount," Jewell grinned proudly.

She smiled in amusement and put the bandaid on, "wonderful."

"Is it just me or has Dearica been on your ass?" A'ja interjected, having been pretty close up to see all the blows Kez had been taking from her. "Maybe.. but that could just be her defense style," Kez replied, honestly not seeing a big deal 'cause she was used to being pushed around on court. So far she's had many players blatantly foul her as some sort of 'welcome to the w' moment.

"I don't know, Kez. Dearica hasn't exactly knocked me to the ground and glare at me like I cussed out her baby," A'ja retorts, knowing sarcasm was the only way to make Kez realize what was really going on.

Kez hummed, leaning back in her chair with her arms crossed over her chest, thinking of what to do, "then I'll foul her back until she sees I'm not a bitch that can be pushed around," she declared. Jewell pursed her lips, "I ain't gon' argue with that."

They came back out, Aces in the lead, score being 45-36. She watched her girlfriend walk back onto the court and the first thing she noticed was the pink hello kitty bandaid on her knee. "Cute bandaid," Kelsey teased. "Thanks. Jewell got them 'cause they were on discount," Kez explained, glancing down at her knee again so she didn't see the way Kelsey's smile faltered.

The game continued and Jewell was fouled running for a layup, conveniently by Kelsey. So she hit the floor a little hard. She watched the way Kez jogged over to Jewell, kneeling down to ask if she was okay before helping her up. Kez moved to stand near Kels as Jewell shot in her free throws. "You okay?" She asked, and Kels nodded, smiling up at her, "yeah, I'm okay. That was an accident. Kinda just collided."

"You don't gotta explain. I know you didn't do it on purpose," Kez smiled, patting her back softly before she put her focus back on the game.

Sparks started the 4th QTR with the lead this time, but Aces were down only by one point so she wasn't too worried. Dearica was still pushing her around but she was pushing right back. They did it so subtly to the point the refs didn't know if calling any fouls was necessary. That was until Jewell passed the ball for Kez to get the layup, only for Dearica to jump at her for the block- completely missing the ball and getting her head instead.

She fell to the floor with a groan, not even quick to sit up or crack a breathy laugh to let everyone know she was good. Kelsey was the first one to her side, pushing past Dearica to get to her. "Kez? You okay? Squeeze my hand if you're okay." She said, holding onto Kez's hand but she didn't respond psychically or verbally.

Jewell, A'ja, and Jackie had rushed over as well, making sure to block the cameras from seeing her. "I think her head hit the floor," A'ja suspected, being close enough to see how she landed. "Thanks to Kelsey's lovely teammate," Jewell remarked, holding onto Kez's other hand. "Do you got a problem with me? 'Cause we can settle it right here," Kelsey snapped.

"She's supposed to be your girlfriend and you're letting your best friend push her around the whole game like you don't even care about her well-being," Jewell argued back despite the disapproving looks from her teammates. She wanted to argue back, throw out what she really thought, how she suspected Jewell was sleeping with her girlfriend, but she didn't.

"I think I saw the light for a second there," Kez spoke out of nowhere, staring up at the bright ceiling. Kelsey sighed in relief, smacking her arm, "don't ever do that again. You scared the shit outta me. Are you okay?" Kez squeezed her hand, a smirk pulling at her glossed lips, "you're so cute when you're worried. Have I ever told you how sexy you look in those colors?"

"And she's back," A'ja snorts, patting her knees and getting back to her feet, dismissing the medical staff with a wave of her hand.

"You good?" Jewell asked, still by her side- which annoyed Kels, a lot. Kez nodded weakly, "yeah, I just got the wind knocked outta me. I think I'ma sit the rest of this quarter out. Shoot a three on my behalf." Jewell chuckled softly, nodding her head and pulling her up. "I got you, Z." That is what really stung. Nobody besides Kelsey ever called Kez that. It was their thing. So why was Jewell using her nickname? Why not just Kez like everyone else?

"Ziyah. Only my girl calls me Z," Kez corrected lightheartedly, giving her girl's hand a squeeze before letting go to walk to the bench. "Fine, but you gotta call me Mamba," Jewell compromised, and Kez scoffed, "are we still on this? I'm not calling you that."

Kelsey smiled to herself as she went back to her team. Kez didn't hesitate to correct her, so maybe she was just overthinking all of this. It's not like Kez made any romantic moves towards Jewell anyways. Unless...she was just acting. She was a professional actress...so maybe she wasn't crazy and all of this was an act. Maybe she only corrected Jewell because she slipped up. Lots of maybes...

"Um, what is that?" Rickea peeked over at the Aces bench to be nosy and Kelsey was quick to follow her sight. Jewell and Kez did their special handshake and after she took her hand to press a kiss to her knuckles. "I'll avenge you, my lady," Jewell said in a terrible English accent. Kez cackled, playfully smacking her hand away, "oh, my god, not even binging Game of Thrones could help that horrid accent."

"That's just mean. My accent was good. She must've knocked you in the head real good for you to be so delusional," Jewell scoffed, feigning offense at her laughing.

"Should've hit her harder," Dearica muttered in disdain, rubbing Kelsey's back to comfort her. "Maybe it's just an inside joke they have," Kelsey mumbled sadly, trying to have some kind of hope that she wasn't being cheated on yet again. "I don't think I've ever got my hand kissed by a friend," Cam comments, glancing down at her hand with a frown.

"Girl, I'll kiss your hand if y'all stop jumpin' to conclusions. Kez would never do you dirty like that," Rickea interjected defensively. She had lots of bias in it given she was really good friends with Kamari.

The game ended, Aces took the win- no surprise there given the Sparks were still adjusting to their new roster. But Kelsey scored the highest points in her team so she was proud of that. Becky ordered Kez to get checked out so she didn't get to see her immediately after the game ended. As of now, she was rushing to get changed so she could go find her girlfriend. "Where are we going to dinner tonight?" Dearica asked.

"Steakhouse?" Rickea suggested.

"What do you think, Kels?" Dearica queried, noticing her rushing and that was weird given she always took her time. "Uh, I'm not going tonight. Kez is taking me out. We're tryna spend as much time together as possible before she has to leave back to Vegas." Kelsey explained, pulling on her shoes.

"Seriously? You really believe she's not cheating on you?" Dearica deadpanned, receiving a pointed look from Rickea that she just ignored. "I get that you don't get along with her 'cause of how she did your friend, but she's not like that anymore. She loves me, and I'm not gonna sit here wondering if she's cheating when I can spend my time being with her before she's pulled away from me again."

"I support that," Rickea smiled proudly.

"Fine. But if anything goes wrong, call me." Kelsey smiled softly, appreciative of the support Dearica had for her. "Thanks."

»»

In the car, they didn't address anything that happened during the game. Kez preferred to just move on from it. At the end of the day, it was just a basketball game. Spending as much time as possible with Kelsey was the most important thing to her tonight. "Where are you taking me?" Kelsey questioned, noticing the neighborhood wasn't exactly in the richest area. It looked a like the area Kez described when speaking of her teenage years.

"We in Slauson," Kez answered, pulling into a very small dark parking lot. "Where you grew up?" Kelsey smiled excitedly, happy Kez finally took her like she'd promised. She looked hearing about her past- at least the good things from it. "Yeah." She got out and walked out to open Kelsey's door for her, taking her hand to help her out. "I'll give you a tour another time when it's daylight, but for now, we're going to my favorite barbecue spot."

"Are you sure it's open?" Kelsey questioned, noticing the lack of lighting.

"That light always goes in and out. I told them I'd pay to get it fixed but they said it's good luck so I don't bother," Kez mumbled, jumping up to hit the light and it flickered back on. She pushed open the door and held it open for Kels who stepped inside, immediately greeted with the sweet smell of barbecue. The tv in the corner had on the highlights of the game they just played. There was Kezie's celebrity games jersey framed on the wall with her signature on it and a whole collage of pictures on the other wall that showed kids from the neighborhood. Kez was in most of them. Even Lewis appeared in some. And obviously, as sad as it was, Kezie's childhood best friend Darien was in them.

Kez let her just look around and take everything in, all the pictures, all the jerseys, all of Kezie's, Lewis, Kaylen, and Kamari's lifetime achievements up on the walls. She hit the bell impatiently. "Child, if you hit that bell one more damn time-" an older black woman walked to the front, pausing when she seen Kelsey stop what she was doing to turn around. "Thank God! You finally brought you a girl! It's about time!"

"I'm here too." Kez mumbled, watching the woman walk around the front counter to embrace Kelsey. "You are even more beautiful in person. We'd thought Keziyah would never bring you." She expressed, turning to shoot the singer a small glare. "What? You judge everybody I date. I can never win with you," Kez defended.

"I wouldn't judge if you'd stop dating nothin' but losers," she snapped back, silencing the singer. She turned back to Kelsey with an apologetic smile, "excuse her behavior. She's got attitude problems." She walked back over and smacked the singer in the back of the head, "Kez, stop makin' a fool of yourself in front of this lovely girl," she scolded.

"That's like the fourth time I've been smacked in the head today," she noted, putting her hand around Kelsey's waist as she looked down at the menu taped to the counter.

"Terrance, come and meet Keziyah's girlfriend," the older woman called, her name being Henrietta but everyone called her Hen. After all, it was called Hen's BBQ. "I better walk out there and see Kelsey Plum or I'm gon' give you a stern talkin' to, Keziyah." He spoke from down the hall, and Kez sighed at the mention of her player days. "How many times I gotta say, I ain't a ho no more?"

"Child, you was more like a pimp than a ho," Hen corrected, causing Kels to stifle a laugh. "I'm not kiddin', she used to walk 'round like Kat Williams in Friday. Always had a lady or man on her arm." Kez sighed, finding that comparison extremely inaccurate. "That's not even remotely correct."

Terrance turned the corner and looked reasonably impressed at the sight of Kelsey Plum on Kezie's arm. "Well, I'll be dammed. It's about time. Thank you, Jesus." He stuck out his hand kindly, "I'm Hen's husband, Terrance. It's nice to finally meet the woman we've been hearing so much about. How are you doin' child?"

"It's so nice to meet you both too. I'm doin' pretty good for someone who just lost a game." Kelsey smiled, finding them both such warm and inviting people. Kez kept the very best people around her and she was happy she was finally getting to meet them. "You should be good. You shot the more points than anyone in both teams. You mind signing a jersey we could put up on the wall?"

"Unc, you can't just ask-"

"I would love that. You got a sharpie?" Kelsey grinned excitedly. "Got it on standby. I had a feelin' she'd bring company." He said, taking her Sparks and Aces jerseys from the drawer in his desk as Hen handed Kelsey the sharpie. She signed them both gleefully, "I feel so honored right now."

"We're honored to have you here," Terrance stated kindly, folding up the jerseys and putting them away to get them framed later.

"Y'all must be so hungry. What can I get you, Kelsey?" Hen asked, pulling out her little notepad to take the order. Kez always got the same thing. A brisket sandwich, cajun seasoned fries, Mac and cheese, cornbread, and collard greens. Kelsey ordered her food and went back to looking at the walls whilst Kez was chatting with Terrance about the game since he asked and she couldn't say no. "You gotta stand your ground. Can't be lettin' these girls push all over you."

"I get that- but I don't wanna come off as hard to work with," Kez admitted.

"Look, you keep lettin' yourself get shoved to the ground, they never gon' respect you. You shove 'em back, you earn respect. Understood?" Keziyah nodded firmly at his words, "understood."

"Good. You comin' to church tomorrow?" He asked, and she gulped nervously. "Uh- I gotta be at the airport." He scoffed at her lie, "don't lie to me. I already called your assistant. She said you gon' be here for another day. Service starts at 3pm, be there at 1."

"But I got plans Unc," Kez points out with a small frown. Terrance glanced over at her girlfriend, "Kelsey. Does Keziyah have plans that prevent her from being with God tomorrow?" Kez sighed in defeat, knowing her girl couldn't lie for shit. Kelsey sipped on her kool-aid and shook her head, "no she does not, sir. Neither do I. So I will be happy to attend with her."

"The church will be very happy to see you both," Terrance smiled, and Kelsey patted Kezie's back apologetically. She just didn't have it in her to lie and besides, she knew Kez needed it. "Have you been praying?" He asked the singer as she was drawing a sad face on Hen's notepad.

"I don't have time to pray," she mumbled dismissively.

"You always have time for prayer. This is a new chapter in your life and you need God with you in it. Start prayin'. Don't make me call your mother. She stricter than me." Kez sighed, nodding her head, "okay, I'll pray."

"If you really don't want to go, I will not force you. But, I cannot just stand by and see you lose your faith. So the least I'll ask of you is to read the Bible, even one page a day will do," he compromised. She smiled softly, "that's okay. I'll go to church. On one term- my food is on the house."

"Child, you're food been on the house since you walked your butt in here 18 years ago," he scoffed, walking away as she snickered in amusement.

They sat down after the food came out, Kez sat opposite of the collage and Kelsey couldn't help but notice how she hadn't taken not one glance over at it since they walked in. "You look really happy in those pictures," she noted. She didn't respond verbally but she acknowledged it with the smallest hum. She wasn't gonna give up on it though. "You didn't tell me Darien played basketball. Was he good?"

"He was the best," she confirmed, and Kels was relieved to hear her responding. "We used to play against these adults at the park and we made bets. One time we made 5k cause they couldn't stop gambling. Our dumbasses blew it all in three hours at the mall," she spoke, chuckling softly at the memories. "Everyone said we should take basketball serious 'cause we was so good, but we had our hearts set on music. His momma said we had the voices of angels."

Her eyes drifted off, "I didn't want to go to church..'cause I know she'll be there, and every time I see her, it's like I'm walkin' through a time machine and back at my birthday party listenin' to those gunshots go off." Kelsey leaned over and took her hand, "you don't have to do it alone. I'm gonna be there with you, holding your hand every step of the way."

Kez took her hand and brought it to her lips, pressing a kiss to her knuckles, "I don't know what I did to deserve you."

"I can say the exact same." Kez smiled and got up from her seat, "I'll be right back. I need to use the restroom." Kelsey nodded, returning to her food when she heard her girlfriend's phone buzz, signaling someone was texting her. She wasn't intending to snoop- but it could've been important! She picked up the phone and unlocked it as she obviously had her password. Jewell texted.

jewellryyyy 💎
you comin' back to the room tn? we need to talk 💜

She quickly set the phone back in it's spot after hearing Kez return. All those bad feelings she felt before were rising up again. She had so many questions. Why would she want to know if she was coming back to the room? Who's room? Did she mean Kezie's suite, or her own? Was she staying in Kezie's suite? Did she want Kez to finally dump her? What did she want to talk about? What the fuck was going on? And was a purple heart necessary?

Kez picked up her phone and clicked on the text, typing up an answer. "Who was that?" Kelsey asked.

"Just Jewell," Kez mumbled, eyes still on her phone.

"What did she want?" She pressed.

"Nothing important." Kez shrugged, setting her phone back on the table face down.

They drove back to the house in a comfortable silence- at least it was comfortable for Kez. Kelsey's mind was like a war zone the entire time. She was arguing with herself. She didn't know what to believe. There were so many signs that pointed to unfaithfulness but she didn't want to just accuse her girlfriend of cheating and ruin the trust they built. But maybe Kez would be understanding? Or maybe she'd flip out on her for even suggesting that? What if the accusations just gave her an excuse to break up with her? So many questions she had.

Kez unlocked the doors and made sure her girlfriend got in before stepping inside herself. They both discarded their shoes and coats. Kels let out a small yelp as Kez scooped her up out of the blue. "I would love a little warning next time you lift me off the ground," she teased, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "My apologies, Mrs. Kumalo," Kez replies smoothly, and all of those bad thoughts Kelsey had were gone again. It was the first time Kez even acknowledged marriage since they last spoke of it in Paris a year ago.

It was so fucking hot.

An hour later, they laid in bed, breathing in silence, the city lights illuminating through the black sheer curtains. Kez only got up to grab them some water from the kitchen...maybe a glass of wine for herself. Kelsey smiled to herself, looking over her naked body once more before she walked out. "I'll never get tired of that."

Keziyah's phone buzzed again. Kelsey grabbed it and unlocked it to see who it was this time. It was Jewell. Why did Kez seem to have her notifs on for Jewell and nobody else?

jewellryyyy 💎
i'm going to sleep now
let me know when you're ready to talk about her :)

There it was. All these bad feelings stirring up again. She heard footsteps and hurried to put the phone back. Kez returned, a glass of wine in her hand and two bottles of water in the other. "Before you call me an alcoholic- remember, I technically have the right to a glass after that masterclass of a performance I had tonight. That can have two different meanings if you want."

Kelsey chuckled, taking the waters and setting one on the table. She opened the other one to take a drink as Kez took a sip of her wine and set it on the table before climbing into her girlfriend's lap. She pulled the covers back over to contain warmth and pressed a kiss to her girlfriend's shoulder. "So, I noticed, something has been bothering you from the moment we left the house this morning. I figured it'd go away, but it's still in your thoughts. Tell me what's on your mind, darling."

Kelsey inhaled sharply, the fact that she knew something was wrong this whole time was honestly sweet and made her even more nervous. "I'm scared you won't like what I'm gonna say." Kez sighed, cupping her face gently, "baby, you don't ever need to be scared to tell me something. Communication is what keeps us going. Don't hold out on me."

"Are you cheating on me?"

She could tell immediately Kez was not expecting to hear that. From the way her face went into disbelief before forming into a frown, and the way tears welled up in her soft brown eyes. Immediately did the guilt and regret begin to sink in. "Babe, I'm sorry- I didn't mean to say that. Just forget I said anything I about it-"

"No, no, it's okay." Kez nodded, wiping her tears as she climbed off her lap. "I knew it was gonna come eventually. We might as well get it over with now." Instead of letting that coldness return, she remained vulnerable. She wasn't gonna turn dismissive and nonchalant like it meant nothing. She wanted to actually feel it.

"I didn't mean to upset you-"

"What brought you to that conclusion?" Kez asked, really wishing to know what would make her think such a thing.

She took a breath, composing herself. "It first started when Syd was telling me how much chemistry you and Jewell had after A'ja made y'all hang out together. It was just a little jealousy. And then I started seeing all the videos of you and Jewell having so much fun together and being super close. It was just the long distance getting to me, I swear." Kez's eyes drifted in thought, "keep going. I know that isn't all of it."

"Dearica told me about how you led on her friend, and made me start to think about your past..and all the things you told me about being unfaithful before. Then, I seen how close you and Jewell were today- the chemistry you had, and it got me thinking again. The texts she sent you-"

"What texts?"

"Check your phone."

Kez picked up her phone off the table and checked her messages, sighing at bad they sounded out of context. She carelessly tossed it to the side. "I want to be mad, but you honestly had every right to feel the way. I've never really been the best partner- and I'm not exactly proud of the way I behaved before. So, to give you a better understanding and clear mind, I'm gonna explain everything, okay?"

Kelsey nodded, wiping her own tears, the guilt still eating at her. "Me and Jewell got off on the wrong foot at first- cause they gave her your locker after I specifically asked them to give it to me. That affected the way we played on the court and A'ja wasn't happy about it. So she forced us to hangout and find common ground. It turned out we shared a lot of things in common."

"I was having a tough time being away from you- and I was in a depression that nobody noticed except her. She helped pull me out of it. I didn't tell you 'cause I didn't want you to worry about me. A lot of the times we hung out, Jewell's girlfriend was also with us. They really helped me. That's why we're so close." Kelsey was definitely satisfied with that explanation- even though they were definitely going to revisit that depression conversation. But it didn't explain those odd texts. "What about the texts?"

"A'ja told me what Jewell said to you when I was knocked out and I kinda went off on her in the locker room after the game. She asked if I was coming back to the room so we could talk about it. That's why she asked me when I'm ready to talk about you." Kez explained, ready to answer any other questions her girlfriend might have. And she had one more. "Why did she get so defensive?"

Kez sucked in a breath, "I can't tell you."

"And you want me to trust you?"

Kez sighed in defeat, and grabbed her glass of wine, gulping all of it down. Jewell was gonna kill her. "She just...she gets really protective of me 'cause she knows how in love I am with you- so seeing you not defending me made her kinda go off- at least that's what A'ja told me she said. Jewell knows how much I regretted getting married- she just doesn't want me to regret you either."

"Regret me? Like- you mean, like you want to marry me?" She stammered out, hoping she heard that right. "That day I couldn't reply to any of your calls until midnight, me and Jewell were picking up some rings. She wants to propose to her girlfriend, and I want to propose to mine."

Kelsey's head fell back into the pillow, completely mortified by all her wrongful accusations. "Oh, my god. I'm the worst girlfriend ever. I just spoiled everything." Kez smiled softly, leaning down to press a peck on her cheek. "No, you're not. Half of this is my fault. I should've come clean that I was struggling, then maybe you wouldn't had to jump to conclusions."

"But I should've trusted you 'cause you never gave me a reason not to," Kelsey expressed, more tears streaming down her face from all the guilt. Kez sighed, "let's just come to the agreement that it's both of our faults 'cause we're shit at communicating." Kelsey still cried but nodded in agreement. "It's gonna take me a minute to stop crying, I'm sorry. I'm really emotional today."

"It's okay," she soothed, peppering kisses against her skin which was beginning to calm her down. "I would also cry but I'm saving my tears for when you fuck me through the mattress," she casually noted, causing Kelsey's crying to come to a halt. "Please tell me I heard that right."

"Depends on what you wanted to hear," Kez smirked, peppering the smallest pecks down her chest, leaving goosebumps along her soft skin. "See? You stopped crying. Funny how that works, isn't it?"

"Don't get all poetic on me. I'm not wasting this opportunity. Get on your knees and let me apologize." Kelsey directed, flipping Kez onto her back and turning her around onto her stomach, basically manhandling her. "This escalated fast," Kez noted, feeling her girlfriend get up to grab something. "We're still revisiting some of those topics- just after I apologize."

"We'll see."

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"Wait so, she thought you were cheating and so you told her about the ring?" Jewell asked to sum it all up.

"Yeah, and then she fucked me really good to apologize." Kez added, her eyes drifting off as she reminisced it.

"I did not need to know that."

"What do you mean? That's the most important part. Everyone should know that."

"You're such an interesting person."

"Well duh, I'm Keziyah."

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a/n: still in mourning abt kelsey no longer being an ace </3

but also super happy abt alyssa thomas leaving the sun 😋 they didn't deserve her!

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