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"Mum, I told you to just hire movers. You can't do this all yourself." Kamari deadpanned, crossing her arms over her chest as Kez pulled open the boot of the car, all of Mari's stuff packed inside. She didn't have that much stuff but she still had to carry it all upstairs. "You underestimate me." Kez shot back as another car pulled up. Kaylen in the drivers seat, and four of Mari's friends climbing out. Hazel, Carmen, Hana, and Amancia all climbed out, here to support their friend.

"Mum, we're gonna go meet up with Paige and the rest of the team! You got this?" Kamari said excitedly, and Kez gave her a thumbs up. "I got this! Have fun." The girls rushed off excitedly and Kaylen went to follow until Kezie's hand reached out and grabbing his arm, tugging him right back. "You not goin' nowhere. Come help me carry this shit upstairs."

"It's my day off, Kez," he complained, grabbing the box she shoved into his arms.

"I don't care. You offered to come, so be useful." She scoffed, setting another box on top of the one he was already carrying. "You sound like mum," he mumbled, and she shoved another box onto him. He groaned, walking into the building to put it in Mari's dorm. Half an hour later, they got everything into her dorm. Now, she was sitting on the floor reading the instructions to set up the vanity Mari ordered.

"I gotta learn more Mandarin," she mumbled, tossing the instructions away as they were in a completely different language.

She did managed to get it done, along with the purple gaming chair Mari ordered. She set up the desk next, which thankfully was in a language she did understand. After that, she put the boxes to the side and set up the bed, and as much as her mother instincts wanted to unpack the boxes and set up the whole room, she resisted. Decorating your dorm was always a huge part of the college experience, and she wasn't gonna take that away from her daughter.

She pulled on some sunglasses and walked down to the gym where she knew Mari and her friends would be. "Sorry to interrupt, but it's almost seven. We gotta go, babygirl." She said, walking to the court, chewing on a piece of gum whilst she texted on her phone. She glanced up, not getting a response but she did see girls from the UConn team just staring at her in awe. "Is there something on my face?"

"No, you look perfect," Paige rushed out, receiving a pointed look from her friends.

"Thank you, Paige." Kez smiled and the blonde giggled, nudging Azzi's arm, "she knows my name."

"Mum, these are my new friends and teammates. Guys, this is my mum." Kamari introduced, and they all waved at the singer. As Nika went to extend her hand to the woman, Paige suddenly shoved her out of the way and took her place. "I'm Paige," Kez smiled as she shook the blonde's hand. "She knows who you are. She just said your name." Ice stated and Paige turned to shoot her a glare.

"This is equivalent to meeting Beyoncé. Don't ruin this for me," she defended, subconsciously backing up into Nika, who toppled over again.

"You okay?" Kez asked, holding out her hand and helping the girl up. "Y-Yeah, thanks. I'm Nika?" She stammered nervously, still holding Kezie's hand. "Did you hit your head?" She questioned, pressing the back of her hand to Nika's forehead. "Mum, we gotta go," Mari input, trying to get her mum away from her teammates as fast as possible because Paige was redder than a tomato and it looked concerning.

"Where are y'all going?" KK asked out of curiosity.

"We got tickets to Aces versus Connecticut tonight," Hazel answered, Mari nodding in confirmation. "Y'all got an extra for me?" Paige asked bluntly, receiving looks of disbelief from her friends. "What? You just mad I asked first." Kez pursed her lips, nodding her head, "we got two extras cause Lewis and Mike had to skip. They're all yours if you want them."

"Well don't mind if I do!" KK grinned, snatching the two tickets from the singer.

"KK, I will fight you!" Paige exclaimed.

"I'mma wait in the car. Nice meeting you all." Kez mumbled, turning on her heel and leaving, ignoring the loud yells of Paige chasing KK for the tickets. She sat down, sitting there for about twenty minutes before the girls came to the car, both Paige and KK with them. Paige volunteered herself the passenger seat almost immediately. They blasted music as she drove to the arena where the game was taking place.

"Bitch, are you reading a fanfiction about my uncle?" Kamari reached over to snatch Hazel's phone.

"So what if I am? He's fit as fuck, and you're not blood related so it don't count." Hazel defended, snatching the phone back as their friends laughed. "Girl, is it the fic with Victoria Monét as the face claim?" Amancia asked, leaning over the seat to see the phone. Hazel nodded excitedly, "of course! It's called Persuasion." Mari snorts, "Lewis wishes he could pull Victoria Monét."

"Y'all got no faith in him," Kez scoffed incredulously.

They had the courtside seats, obviously. Keziyah was sat in between KK and Mari so that was certainly...fun. Those two yapped like nobody was around. The game went pretty well for the Aces, who went 90-84. Kez went out to the hall to wait for the girls who got caught up talking to the players and some fans. Kez ran over to the food stand before it could close, "can I get a cheeseburger and fries, please?"

"Yes, you can," the woman nods, blinking a few times to make sure the lack of sleep wasn't making her hallucinate the singer.

She paid and collected her food, plus a fountain drink and took a seat at the empty table in the corner. "Is this seat taken?" Kelsey plopped down across from her without invitation but she knew Kez wouldn't ever turn her down. "My lap is free if the chair gets too uncomfortable," she flirts, a smirk growing wider when Kelsey turned even more red than she already was.

"You doin' okay? You know, with Mari in college now?" Kelsey asked, reaching over to take some fries from the tray.

"I'll manage," Kez shrugged, taking another bite of the cheeseburger.

"You're a really shit liar. You're teenager is in college. It's okay to freak out a little. You don't need to always be so calm and collected." Kesley reassured, taking the burger from her hand so she could eat it because she was very much starving. Kez didn't respond, just nodding softly as she leaned back into the booth, her eyes drifting in thought.

"I heard you were in the same hotel as the team..." Kelsey trailed off in suggestion.

Kezie's eyes shot up, a smirk playing at the corner of her lips like always. "I am, but I won't be there. I have stuff to do, unfortunately." Kelsey raised a brow, "what type of stuff?"

"I bought a house here, so I'm gonna spend my night tearing it down so the renovation workers can fix it up how I like," she explained. Kelsey nods, grabbing the cup to take a drink of her soda. "Is sleep like non-existent to you?" Kez chuckled at her words, and shrugged, a playful look in her eyes. "I like to sleep...with people. With you preferably. Maybe that's why I can't sleep. You're not in my bed."

Kelsey bit her lip, ducking her head to try and hide just how her cheeks flushed with red. "You just don't stop flirting, huh?"

"Can't. It's in my DNA." Kez joked, pushing over the tray as Kels had basically ate up most of it. "I'm not the first basketball player you've flirted with," Kelsey shrugged, trying to make it seem like she wasn't that important. She knew Kez was a player. She knew Kez probably wasn't thinking about her every second...like she definitely was. "You're right. But it doesn't make you any less special, baby. In fact, you're probably the hardest one to crack."

"Cause I'm straight and you're delusional?" Kelsey smiled sarcastically.

Kez smiled, leaning forward on her elbows, her calm eyes staring into Kelsey's. "A straight woman doesn't think about how good I can make her feel compared to her out-of-state husband." Kelsey went quiet, pursing her lips awkwardly as she broke the intense eye contact, this making Kez smirk triumphantly.

"Mum! We're ready to go!" Kamari called. "I didn't know she was friends with Kelsey," Paige comments. "I'm not sure what they are to be completely honest with you," she replied, receiving a confused look from the blonde. "My sister's next victim," Kaylen jokes, causing his niece to smack his arm. "Don't talk about my mum as if you wasn't whoring around before James came along."

"Thanks for keeping me company." Kez said, getting up from the booth and walking around to hug her. "No problem." Kelsey smiled, accepting her hug. They exchanged a small goodbye before Kez was walking back over to the girls. "What was that all about?" Mari asked, putting her arm around her mum's shoulders.

"Just catchin' up. That's all."

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"I'mma go beat his ass if he cheatin' on you. Or you know what- I'mma get Kez to do it cause she know karate and boxing and all that shit." A'ja ranted, watching her friend pace the hotel room back in forth. She just had a call from her husband, and he had been very dismissive, but that wasn't the part she cared about. The part she cared about what a woman's voice in the background.

"Maybe I'm just overthinkin' it. She could just be his assistant or something." Kelsey excused, sitting down at the edge of the bed.

"Men don't exactly have a good history with they assistants though.." A'ja trailed off, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly.

"Fuck. Do you know Keziyah's new address here?" She asked, and A'ja shook her head. "I don't. But, I could ask. Hold up." She mumbled, reaching for her phone on the nightstand. She texted the singer and Kelsey leaned over to see if she texted back. After two minutes, she replied, sending her location with a friendly heart emoji.

"Who's got a car?" Kelsey asked, getting up and grabbing a sweater and some shoes.

"Syd rented one. I'll drive you cause you don't need to be drivin' in this state." A'ja offered, getting up to get dressed.

"Thanks, A'ja."

"I got you, girl."

Half an hour later, Kelsey was knocking on the large door of the big house under renovation. Kez pulled open the door, furrowing her brows at the sight of Kelsey rather than A'ja, who she was expecting. "You know it's like 2 in the morning right? Why are you here, baby?" She asked, leaning against the frame, seeing A'ja pulling out of the driveway now that she seen Kez at the door.

"I wanna keep you company. I also brought you burritos." Kelsey said, pushing past to let herself in.

"You're also a shit liar." Kez mused, shutting the door and walking over to the couch that was covered in dried paint. It was being thrown away after the renovation anyways. "Okay, maybe there's another motive, but I do wanna keep you company. This place is empty, and slightly scary and you being here alone is concerning."

"I'm not alone. My brother is here," Kez shrugs, taking the bag of burritos for her hand.

"Where?" Kelsey frowned, looking around frantically.

"He's outside sleeping on the pool chairs. The pool is surprisingly the one thing that didn't need much changing." Kez explained, pushing open the glass door and stepping out. Kelsey followed her, and then she seen Kaylen laying down on the pool chairs like she said, loud snores leaving him with a tortilla blanket thrown over him.

Kez sat down on the pool bed and patted the spot next to her. Kelsey kicked off her shoes and sat down, taking the burrito the singer passed her. "What's the other reason you're here? And don't lie to me because I'll figure it out. I also just don't like liars." Kez said and took a large bite out of her burrito. "I think my husband is cheating on me," she shrugged nonchalantly, trying to act unbothered but she could see right through her.

"What makes you think that?" Kez asked.

Kelsey sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I called him to tell him about the game, but he was dismissive as fuck, and I heard some girl calling his name in the background." Kez nodded slowly, taking in the information. "Ya know, just give me the word and I'll find out if he's cheating on you." She turned to face her, her brows knitted in confusion, "you can do that? Just like that?"

"Just like that," she confirmed.

"That's a little concerning...and I'm not sure I'm ready to know the truth," she admitted.

"Well, we got all night for you to make a decision, baby." Kez smiled, nudging her playfully. She stood up, and grabbed the sledgehammer leaning up against the chair by Kaylen. "Wanna go smash some shit?" Kelsey grinned, nodding her head as she stood up. Kez passed her the sledge and she followed her into the kitchen that needed lots of work. "Put these on," she mumbled, handing her a pair of clear glasses to protect her eyes.

"I can just smash anything?" She asked, looking at the kitchen that was very old fashioned looking.

"It's all being replaced. Smash away." Kez encouraged, switching on some music and putting on her glasses. Kelsey swung the sledge right into the cabinets, glass shattering upon impact. "This is so fun." She grinned, swinging again, breaking down the cabinets. Kez smiled, leaning up against the small kitchen island that was also gonna be teared down.

After an hour of smashing the kitchen up, it was pretty much unrecognizable. Kez was just glad it made Kelsey feel better. It was good to get your frustrations out in any way you could. "I want you to do it. Find out if he's cheating on me. I don't care how you do it. Just find out."

"Alright," she nods, taking a sip of her water.

"Are you sleeping here tonight?" She asked, moving to sit down next to the woman.

"Yeah, I got a sofa in the studio downstairs," she confirmed, moving her head to the music that played. "You mind if I stay here tonight? I don't wanna wake up A'ja if I go back to the room." Kez nodded, putting an arm around her shoulders, "as long as you don't mind being curled up on a tiny sofa with me." She chuckled.

"That sounds like bad back pain in the morning. I'm in."

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a/n: making progress....

live laugh love paige

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