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It was the first game to kickoff the WNBA 2025 season and Keziyah was confident as fuck.

"I don't understand how I'm more nervous than you."

"Really? I'm quite confident- I mean, have you seen my 3s? I'd say they're even better than Kamari's." Keziyah bragged confidently to their assistant coach Teresa Weatherspoon. After she got fired from her position as head coach in Chicago Sky, Kez requested that they sign her given one of their coaches had left for one of the newly added team 'Golden State Valkyries.'

"What'd I say about that ego?" Teresa retorts in a scolding tone.

"Can't I be a little cocky?" Kez frowned.

"When you win a game, yes, you can." Teresa shot back, and Kez rolled her eyes dramatically. "I would've by now if you guys had actually played me in the pre-season," she mumbled bitterly. Teresa just rolled her eyes at the singer's dramatics. "Your wrist was sprained. Do you know how dumb it is to play injured? Not to mention, you're Momma would've killed anyone who let you on that court."

"Hey! I used to be a cheerleader. Let's not forget this isn't my first competition," Kez defended. "Z, you were a cheerleader for three months and they kicked you off the team! Let it go!" Kelsey retorts as they passed a ball for her to shoot into the basket. "They only kicked me off because I punched the captain- which she totally deserved! She made fun of my forehead!"

"She also sued you and won!" Kelsey shouts back with a shrug.

"I would've won that case if I wasn't too broke to hire a lawyer," Kez shrugged carelessly, receiving a small chuckle from Kelsey.

After chatting a bit more, she returned to do some throws, and obviously making each one before they were pretty good. Through all the training she helped Kelsey better her throws so she wouldn't miss them so much like last season. And the training was paying off, obviously. "Bet you can't make a full court," Syd challenged, throwing the ball to Kez.

"Syd...just stop. You've already lost so much money challenging her," Alysha input, but the woman was already too confident. "If I win, you're paying the bill tonight." Kez smirked, only adding 'if' to give her some false hope, and Syd rolled her eyes, "when I win, you have to give me one of your Jag's."

Kez smiled to herself as she launched the ball to the hoop, it spun around before falling inside. "I'll try not to order too much," Kez shrugged as Syd's face fell...again.

"Seriously- how does she do that?" Syd exclaimed in disbelief, holding her hands on her head. "You know what- it's the contacts! They probably tell her exactly where to shoot." She said in theory but they all just looked at her like she was crazy. "I want a redo! Take off your contacts and then try and shoot it."

"Are you serious?" Kez deadpanned, walking over to sit down next to Teresa.

"I'm being real serious. Take 'em off." Syd ordered, ignoring her teammates comments of disapproval.

"Fine." Kez mumbled, grabbing her container and working to take out her prescribed contacts. She reached for her glasses but Syd had to input, "no! You can't wear your glasses either. I bet you got cheat codes on them!" Kez rolled her eyes, setting her glasses back down and standing up. She walked onto the court and they tossed her a ball that she completely failed to grab. "Dude, she's blind! This ain't fair!" Kelsey argued.

"She's faking it! Did we forget she's a Oscar winner?" Syd scoffed, and Kez only giggled to herself, fighting the urge to bring up how many she won.

"You all look like blurry marshmallows," Kez chuckled, picking up the ball as she saw better close up. She reached for the pole of the basketball hoop, keeping a perfect arms length distance. Practicing the calculations in her head, she knew exactly where to throw it and with how much force. "I'm gonna have an extra big appetite after this," she smirked, throwing the ball and she grinned when she heard the swish of the net.

"That was really hot," Kelsey mumbled to herself as she picked up the ball.

"That's- that's insane. She's gotta be a robot." Syd frowned, knowing her bank account was gonna be gasping after she paid the bill tonight. 

"This is why I call her Reid," Kate smiled, handing Kez her glasses so she could see again. "Photographic memory comes in handy sometimes," she shrugged, taking a seat to put her contacts back in. She wasn't about to go out there wearing her glasses. "My very own Spencer Reid," Kate grinned happily.

Half an hour later, most of the team was in the locker room getting ready but Kez was one of them who stayed back on the court. Casually sitting around as she waited for the Phoenix Mercury team to arrive, as that's who they were gonna be playing. "Oh don't tell me you're gonna fake an injury already. The game hasn't even started." Kez grinned at the familiar voice, sitting up, her eyes landing on Diana Taurasi.

"You're a real bitch, ya know?" Kez retorts, pulling herself to her feet as Diana set her stuff down.

"I know. You gonna hug me or not? I wanna prepare myself for the most nauseating five seconds of my life," Diana shot back with a sarcastic smile. "Well now I don't wanna hug you," Kez frowned in offense, and Diana rolled her eyes, holding out her arm. Kez smiled anyways, pulling her into an embrace that lasted a total of five seconds before she was pushed off.

"You know, I'm probably the most pettiness person ever, but you really outdid me. I mean- staying another year just so you could clown me is insane. You've could've retired peacefully instead of choosing to torture me. Would've thought I shot your dog or something," Kez spoke, getting a mischievous smile and evil-like smile from DT.

"Someone had to give you a veteran welcome," Diana grinned, throwing an arm over the taller girl.

"You're gonna whoop my ass tonight, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

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"She looks really good in the uniform but don't tell her I said that. She's got an athletes ego now," Lewis mumbled, watching his best friend who was doing some kind of handshake with Kate Martin. "She's always had an athletes ego," Kaikara retorts knowingly and her husband nodded in agreement, even though it was a bit of his fault. He was the one who urged her to try sports all her life.

"I can't wait to see DT humble her," Kamari smirked, only to wince when her grandmother pinched her arm.

They announced each of the starting fives. Obviously for Aces it was Jackie, A'ja, Kelsey, Chelsea, and Keziyah. The whole arena had been sold out and it was cute how many people wore a 44 jersey. Her debut was highly anticipated by WNBA fans and Keziyah fans who were becoming WNBA fans. "I never thought she'd actually go through with basketball," Lewis comments.

"I agree. I thought she'd at least consider tennis..or gymnastics," Jae-hyun added, not too thrilled with the physicality stuff.

"Do you know my mother? She prefers physicality and I don't blame her. I too love shooting hoops and trash talking," Kamari comments proudly, taking out her phone to take some selfies with some of the celebrities there at the game. Lots of them she noticed to be actors in movies Kez worked on or acted in. But that didn't stop her from going straight to Zendaya and Tom Holland for some pictures.

"Is she seriously taking selfies with everyone?" Kez muttered, running a hand down her face as she and Sydney watched Kamari taking selfies with everyone sitting courtside. "I think she forgets she also famous," Syd comments in amusement.

"Leave my niece alone. She's just excited," A'ja defended, pushing Syd off of Kezie's arm.

They went back to their circle for the usual pep talk, going over everything again. Kez just sat down, her legs pulled up on the chair crossed as she meditated. It was basically her unofficial pre-game ritual. "Who's coppin' the first foul?" Syd asked with a smile. "Kezie," KB said almost immediately, causing Kez to shoot her a look of disbelief. "No way. It's gonna be Chels or KP," Kez retorts, receiving offended looks from the two named.

"You pay the bill if I'm right," KB challenged, and Syd about sighed in relief.

"Deal," Kez nods, and they do their handshake to officiate it.

"Would it be cheating if I pay someone to foul her?" Syd whispered to KB who just laughed, nodding her head. "Yeah, don't do that. It'll happen on it's own, trust me."

They joined the court and Kez was gonna do the jump ball for the team so she was a little excited about that. Unfortunately, the jump ball was against Brittney Griner...yeah, that said everything. "Y'all set me up," Kez mumbled under her breath, spotting A'ja and Chelsea both snickering to themselves.

Kez jumped up to smack the ball to her team, only able to do it by hitting BG's hand to deflect it. Kelsey got the ball and passed it to Chelsea as they ran to their side of the court. Kez ran to the inside and Chelsea passed the ball to her without even looking. It's like she knew exactly where she was. She grasped the ball and threw it up into the hoop for her first points in the W.

Mercury called a timeout after that which made Kez laugh just a little bit. "That was sweet," she grinned, dapping up Chelsea for the assist. "Y'all still set me up though. I thought she was gonna kill me after I hit her hand," Kez said, and they laughed as they made their way to the bench. "What? I'm serious- you should've seen her face. She was trying to intimidate me."

Returning to the court, BG sent her a smile and she sent one back- that appeared nervous, but she wasn't gonna acknowledge that. They had her on Diana Taurasi, funnily enough. She swore Becky was seriously fucking with her now. As she tried to steal the ball the ref blew the whistle, calling a foul on her. "What?! What'd I do?" She complained, ignoring that one cheer of relief coming from Syd on the bench.

"Don't let that mouth get you in trouble, Kez," DT warned, knowing Kez was the type who argued with refs like nothing and would catch techs for it. "Fuck off, you would know," Kez shot back in frustration even though those words were really gonna get her into some trouble with Diana.

Kez paused as she was passing by her family, not seeing Kaylen and Miles in their seats. She knew exactly what they were doing. "Tell those little fuckers to get me a cherry slushy," she said, pointed at Lewis as she passed them to return to her team. "You heard her. Go find them," Lewis nudged Kamari and she groaned, getting up from her seat. "You're so lazy."

DT still ended up shooting a three on her when the game resumed. The ball was given to Jackie who passed to Kez who was already running back to the court. She shot in a deep 3 with a grin, "I can go three for three baby." Diana rolled her eyes, pushing past her to get to her teammates.

"Haha, she plays like me yoh" Kamari grinned proudly.

"You mean you play like her?" Kaylen snorts, only to receive a slap on the arm from her.

Next few plays consisted of Jackie, Chelsea, and A'ja scoring some points, and Kez got some more assists in. She wanted to get some rebounds too. She also wanted Kelsey to get in some points. The clock was running down and they were up by five so obviously when Kez got the ball she wanted to let it run out. She ran in through the guards, making it seem like she was gonna shoot but instead she passed the ball through the gap of two guards and Kelsey got it, shooting in a three just before the clock ran out.

"That was nice. Good job, baby." Kez smiled, throwing her arm around her girlfriend. "Your passes are getting really good," Kelsey replied with a proud smile, trying to make her flustered and it was somewhat working because she ducked her head with a smile.

They returned to the team, the whole bench hyping them up. "Oh- that's not- no," Kez stiffened when Syd put her arms around her.

"Personal space, Syd," Lysh chuckled, pulling Syd off of Kez before she suffocated.

"..how did she do that? She wasn't even looking," Miles spoke after watching the replay of Kezie's blind pass to Kelsey. "If she ever considers F1, it's a no. She gets zero permission to race," Lewis mumbled and Kaylen just nodded in agreement, imagining his sister would do really good in his sport.

Coming back for the 2nd QTR was exciting for her, obviously. Diana took the ball and Kez was smiling as she guarded her. She passed to Cloud and then it was passed back to her. Diana knocked her down with an elbow to her collarbone and shot a three, then turned to blow a kiss at her. She didn't even need to speak because that action said enough.

"Ow," Kez frowned, holding her collarbone as she sat on the floor where she was put down. "You good?" Kelsey asked, kneeling down to check on her as their other teammates joined to help her up. "Just got that veteran welcome," Kez groaned, taking A'ja and Jackie's hands to pull herself up. "At least you get some free throws out of it," Kelsey smiled.

"I wanna dunk on her old ass," Kez expressed, walking to the free throw line.

"No, you are not," Kelsey said sternly. "Let me have some fun, babygirl," she frowned, catching the ball that the ref passed to her. "You're gonna break a bone if you try that, Keziyah," she shot back, and Kez scoffed, shooting the ball to get one point. "I know what my body can handle. You know it too." She winked playfully, shooting in another free throw.

Kez ran beside Sydney who joined the game during the free throws, "hey, can we do that thing we worked on yesterday?"

"I got you," Syd grinned, and Kez smiled, returning back in her spot and immediately blocking Sophie's basket attempt. And ironically she smacked the ball right to Sydney. Everyone cheered as she ran to the hoop, throwing the ball at the glass, and Kez was running right behind her with DT on her heels. She jumped up, hitting the ball into the hoop, her hands sliding off the orange rim as she landed on her feet.

"Oh shit! It worked!" Kez exclaimed, running over to Syd who had about the same reaction at the dunk. The whole bench had jumped up the same time everyone in the audience did. "That was the coolest thing I've ever done," Syd exclaimed, shaking her excitedly as Becky called a timeout for them to celebrate it a little.

The whole team ran over to them, and Syd jumped onto Kezie's back with a grin. "She's the LeBron to my Curry," Syd said dramatically with fake sniffles and tears.

"Curry? Girl where?" A'ja scoffed.

"I'm surprised your knees are still holding together," Kelsey comments towards her girlfriend. "Duck tape and prayers, baby," Kez replied jokingly, trying to wiggle Syd off her back but she wasn't budging. She wasn't actually being serious cause her body was in very good shape and Kelsey knew this. She just joked about it 'cause Kez was older. Syd finally hopped off and sat down in Kezie's seat as they huddled in a group talk. Kez just sat down on her lap since she wanted to sit in her chair.

"That was an amazing dunk Kez, and wonderful assist Syd. But, next time I'd like a little warning when you two come up with stuff like that," Becky spoke and the two nodded in understanding. Kez rolled her eyes, trying to pull Syd's hands off her stomach because she was obviously hugging onto her again. But Becky misunderstood the eye roll and Kelsey was quick to input, "she's rolling her eyes at Syd, not you."

"She's like a fuckin' koala," Kez muttered, huffing in annoyance as she crossed her arms over her chest. "At least it ain't me," A'ja sighed in relief, even though Syd still bothered her- this year Syd was very focused on annoying Keziyah because she knew she'd have funny reactions and she was easy to annoy. "She means adorable panda by the way," Syd corrected.

"No I don't." "No she didn't."

After they were called back to the court, Kez got up, smacking Syd's hands off of her in the process. "Girl- personal space," she scolded as she reached for her hand to hold on their way to the court. Syd held her hands up in surrender, "my bad, my bad. That's on me. I misread the situation."

"I'm sure you did," Kez snorts, going to her spot.

Syd somehow smacked the ball out of Sophie's hand and Kez immediately ran to grab it, shooting it in for the easy layup. "Keep it up! We're a pretty good team," Kez grinned, high fiving an excited Sydney as she ran back to Mercury's side.

A few plays later, BG dunked the ball in to somewhat kinda show up Kez. "That felt so targeted. I like it," Kez comments out loud to herself. They threw the ball in to Chelsea and she passed to Kelsey. Kez set up a screen on BG so Kelsey could run in without getting blocked. The ball bounced off the rim so Kez jumped up to push it back in.

More plays later, Kez was running in for a layup but was fouled by BG, knocking her down to the floor but the ball still went in. "That's my bad," BG admits, holding out a hand to help her up. "I feel like we've been here before," Kez groaned, taking her hand to get up as her teammates came to check on her. "I'm good, just winded," she reassured.

She was told she was getting free throws so that was fine. As she walked to the line a frown found her lips as she noticed Natasha and Kelsey next to each other flirting and giggling with each other. She didn't like that. Did she flirt sometimes? Yes. But did she giggle? No. "Interesting." She hummed to herself, catching the ball the ref passed to her.

She made both free throws easy and the game continued. She may have "accidentally" bumped into Natasha on her run down the court. "Why isn't she smiling anymore?" Kara asked, watching how her daughter turned all serious when she had been smiling and laughing the whole game, just overall enjoying herself, and now...she was just blank. It was little odd.

"Maybe she's locking in or something?" Kamari suggested with uncertainty. "They're up by ten points though..." Miles trailed off suspiciously.

Kez jumped up to block BG, and she succeeded but they still called a foul. She just shrugged it off cause it wasn't that serious. "You good?" A'ja asked as they all grouped together. "I'm fine," she answered nonchalantly, going back into her position as BG went to the free throw line.

Becky decided now was the perfect time to take Kez and Syd out for Tiffany and Jackie. She didn't argue that, just going back to the bench like she needed to. "Did you hear any flirting going on?" Kez asked towards Syd, leaning in so nobody else could pick up her words. "Oh, you mean with KP and Tash?" Syd asked, not surprised Kez would pick that up. She was a good observer. "Ja. What'd you hear?"

"Uh yeah, it's just like playful flirting though," Syd replied with a shrug.

"I can playfully flirt too," Kez smiled to herself, and Syd raised a brow of suspicion, "you got serious jealously issues." Kez scoffed in denial, "and you don't? You tried to fight me when I complimented your girlfriend." Syd rolled her eyes at the claims, "it wasn't a compliment. It was straight up flirting. You knew what you were doing."

"She was pretty. I can't compliment pretty girls?" Kez shot back, watching the game unfold, Kelsey shooting another three-pointer. "Not my pretty girl," Syd scoffed, both of them clapping for the three. "Fine, I won't give compliments."

Halftime came, the score was around 56-40. They called Chelsea for the little halftime interview because Kez didn't wanna do it yet. Kez ran behind them to get to Miles, snatching the slushy in his hand and running back. "Little bitch was gonna drink it," she mumbled, running into the tunnel to catch up to her team. "Ooh, is that a slushy?" Syd reached for it but Kez smacked her hand away. "Get your own."

"Can I have some?" Kate asked. "Of course you can," Kez smiled, passing her the cup and straw as Syd looked appalled. "Seriously? Why can't I get some and she can?" Kez rolled her eyes, taking the cup that Kate passed back to her. "She doesn't irritate me." She walked over to her locker, sitting down in the chair, not giving her girlfriend a spec of attention.

Kelsey noticed almost immediately when she didn't feel a hand on thigh like always, so she rolled her eyes at the pettiness. "You're being immature."

"Don't call me immature," Kez scoffed in offense, taking a sip of her slushy again. "I will call you whatever I want. You're being a child." Kelsey argued, snatching the slushy out her hand because the slurping was annoying her. "I rather be a child than a girlfriend who flirts with the opponents."

"Are you kidding me? You're such a hypocrite. Flirting is literally how we first met- or did you forget you fouling me and then having the audacity to ask me to call you?" Kelsey shot back knowingly, and they all knew she meant the celebrity games when Kez accidentally knocked Kelsey over and helped her up, then made a 'call me' gesture after with a sly ass smirk.

"I don't recall it going that way," Kez mumbled, adjusting the sleeve on her arm. "Really? I could show you the video-" Syd offered, reaching for her phone. "Sydney- enter someone else's conversation, okay?" Syd nodded, clearing her throat awkwardly before turning away to gossip with someone else.

"Give me my slushy back," Kez ordered, holding her hand out. "I don't think I will." Kelsey shrugged, holding it away from her. "Kelsey. Give it back."

Kelsey smiled, turning her chair to face her directly, "admit you're jealous."

"I'll just buy another one," Kez mumbled, shrugging it off because she wasn't about to admit that. "Okay. I hope you don't mind the couch tonight- oh wait, you have no choice," Kelsey shrugged nonchalantly, turning back in her chair to tune into the conversation with the team. "Bluffing," Kez whispered to herself, tuning into the conversation.

"Am I the only one surprised Kez and DT haven't got techs yet?" Jackie spoke randomly, and everyone turned to look at Kez. "Oh trust me, if she makes one more comment about my mum I'm gonna catch one," Kez muttered in disdain, leaning back into her chair with a displeased look. "Let's not speak it into existence," Kelsey scolds.

"I'll do my best, sweetie," Kez replied with a fake smile and mocking voice.

Kelsey shot her a glare, "don't mock me. I'm not your sweetie."

"Uh-oh, the parents are fighting," Syd comments, wishing she had some popcorn for this.

"Wouldn't be mocking you if you didn't state the obvious," Kez shrugged, and she turned in her chair, their teammates just watching, mumbling commentary under their breaths. "Get up. We're not doing this in front of them." Kelsey grabbed her arm and she groaned, complying with her and getting up from the chair.

"Hurry back," Teresa said.

"What are they even fighting about anyways?" A'ja questioned, watching the door shut as they left, probably going to one of the empty offices. "Kels was flirting with Tash and Kez seen it," Syd chuckled to herself, still finding this all really funny. "I think this is the longest argument they've had. It usually ends after three minutes," Alysha snickered.

"Cause Kez gots no backbone. She folds like paper. It's a little embarrassing," KB added. "Whoa- chill on my girl. She means well. KP too stubborn to apologize first so Kez initiates it. That's wifey material to me. Always payin' attention to the little things." Syd said in defense of her friend, seeing she was getting clocked a lil' too much and unable to defend herself.

"When is she gon' pop out the ring anyways?" Tiffany pondered aloud.

"When the time is right," Becky input, tired of hearing their continuous discussions about the ring. "It hasn't even been very long. There's no need to rush it. They should take their time." Teresa added to back up Becky's statement. They didn't argue that.

"What's taking them so long?" Kate spoke up randomly after their conversation trailed off to basketball plays.

"Should one of us go check?" Tip suggested.

"I will-"

"Sit back down," Kez tuts, stepping into the room. "I'm sat," Syd mumbled, plopping back down in her chair real quick. Kez walked over to her chair but paused halfway to hand Kate a cherry slushy. "Thanks Reid," Kate smiled gleefully. "Again? Have you considered that maybe I wanted one too?" Syd complained, again.

"Aw, that's unfortunate. I ran out of money," Kez winced, patting her pockets as she sat in her chair.

"...you're a billionaire, Keziyah," she deadpanned.

Keziyah just smiled, and in that same second, Kelsey walked into the locker room, her face flushed cherry red. She sat down in her chair, smiling cause she felt her girlfriend's eyes on her the whole time. "I only spend my money on people I like," Kez shrugged, moving her eyes off her girlfriend to see Syd's face. "Oh, okay, I get it! You don't like me. You love me."

"Ukuba nethemba kulungile," she mumbled under her breath, spinning in her chair until Kelsey stopped her so she wouldn't grow dizzy. "What'd you just say?" Syd questioned. "Ukuba nethemba kulungile," Kez answered with a smile knowing she wouldn't understand the language. The only one who remotely understood it was Kelsey. She only understood it, she couldn't speak a lot of it.

"She said optimism is good," Kelsey translated, getting up because they needed to be out on the court. "What's that even supposed to mean?" Syd blinked of disbelief as everyone was rising from their chairs to leave. They just ignored her question, Kels holding out her hand for Kez to grab. She smiled, taking her hand and getting up, letting herself be led out by her girlfriend.

She only let go to race Sydney to the bench because Syd always liked taking the chair she claimed first. When she sat down first, Syd plopped down in her lap on purpose. "You're so lucky I got strong legs cause I'd throw you off by now," she scowled. "Syd, she's not a chair. Get off her lap," Becky scolds, and she immediately hopped onto the other chair.

Kez chuckled to herself, turning her head back to watch the game. After a foul was called on Mercury, Becky took that to sub Keziyah back in. "They should play Michael Jackson in here. I should request that." Kez spoke to herself as she caught the ball for a rebound and threw it to Jackie who made it for a two. All while Kez was singing the "Beat It" lyrics under her breath.

"Who's singing Michael Jackson?" DT asked in disbelief, running with the ball.

"It's stuck in my head," Kez shrugged, focused on the ball to try and block whoever DT was thinking of passing to. "Don't worry, I'm completely focused." She smiled, smacking the ball away when she attempted to pass. She picked up the ball and ran to the hoop for an easy layup. Now she was singing Thriller under her breath. Her teammates were very used to seeing this as she always sung during practice for some reason.

"She's gonna kill me," Kez chuckled nervously under her breath, looking away from DT's pissed off expression. Running back down the court she sent a shy wave to her mum, "hey Mama." Kamari frowned, not liking how she wasn't acknowledged but Kaylen seemed more offended than her. "You're doing so good, KeiKei!" Kara shouts back excitedly for everyone to hear.

"Mum, you're courtside, you don't need to yell," Kez chuckled awkwardly, moving around the court as Mercury continued to keep passing the ball around. She was really starting to regret not telling her family to sit up in the suite with A'ja's family. But her family loved to be up front and center so she could hear everything. And honestly, she couldn't exactly complain because she did that to her family all the time. Just ask Kaylen.

After Kahleah shot a three, A'ja got the rebound and passed it to Kez. She tried for the layup but Diana fouled her, completely knocking her down and casually walking away when the whistle was called. "Fucking bitch," Kez groaned, holding back every urge to get up and argue with her. She didn't want to leave a bad impression...and also, Becky threatened to cut her if she couldn't control herself.

Kelsey was the first one to get to her, kneeling down by her with a concerned look, "is anything hurt?" Kez frowned, looking up at her caring girlfriend, "my dignity."

"You're so annoying." Kelsey scowled, pushing her back down.

"Can you help me up?" Kez held out her hand and Kelsey grabbed in begrudgingly, standing up and pulling her up to her feet. "You're still annoying." Kez smiled, nudging her waist softly, "and you still love me so it's a win win."

"In that case, I hope she knocks you down again. Maybe it'll help with your ego." Kelsey retorts before running off as Kez frowned in offense. "That's really mean."

Kez went over to the free throw line and the ref passed her the ball. She mumbled some random lyrics under her breath as she shot the first one. They passed the ball back to her and she shot the second one in, gaining two points. The game quickly resumed and Mercury's Sophie Cunningham shot a three-pointer.

Kez caught the rebound and held it up, searching for her teammates to see where to throw it. Jackie held her hand up and she threw it over to her before catching up with the rest of them. She passed to Kez because she was under the hoop but Kez was very guarded so she threw it over to her girlfriend in the corner. Kelsey shot the three.

They were growing close to the end of the 3rd QTR so coach took out A'ja, and Kelsey for Syd and Kiah. After some foul call on Kez for accidently knocking over Natasha Cloud, Becky called her and Jackie out for Alysha and Kate Martin. Kez happily sat down, and casually put her arm over her girlfriend who was sat next to her. "That was an accident, right?" She queried.

"Yes. She's small. I didn't see her." Kez shrugged, taking the water bottle someone handed her. "She's 6 foot, Keziyah," Kelsey deadpanned. "Is she? I hadn't noticed," Kez smiled innocently, taking the towel she was handed and putting it over her shoulders. "And this is why you're still sleeping on the couch tonight."

"I'll sleep at Syd's place then," Kez shrugged.

"Pretty sure she'll say no," Kelsey mumbled knowingly.

4th QTR came quite fast, and Mercury had changed the score so they were only down by four. Becky soon put her starting five back in the game to keep their lead. A few minutes into the 4th, they called a foul on Kez for apparently shoving one of the players. She wasn't super focused on which player cause she was too busy arguing with the ref. The call was bullshit.

"Oh, my fucking god, you're so fucking blind. I didn't fucking shove her. If I was gonna shove someone, it would've been in the last quarter when they were pushing me around. Get your fucking eyes checked sweetie." When she turned around it wasn't surprising that she was given a tech. Becky decided to challenge the foul so that's what they were doing now. Now Kez seen it was Diana that she "fouled," so obviously they would assume it's intentional given their history.

"I'm so proud," Kamari fake sniffled, wiping imaginary tears.

"I haven't seen her throw a tantrum in years," Jae-hyun mumbled, grabbing some popcorn and leaning back comfortably to watch the replays of the call. "Sisi's first tech. I feel so proud right now," Kaylen expressed, and Miles was just thinking about what he was gonna order at the restaurant after this.

"Let's hope she keeps it at one for the rest of the season," Lewis added, the game causing him some stress because of how close the scores had grown. "Haha, that's never gonna happen. She's loves to argue. She argued with the refs at my high school games so much they didn't let her sit near the bench for the rest of the season," Kamari recalled, very prepared for all the chaos her mum would cause.

"I remember that. It was hilarious. I had to talk her out of suing," Lewis chuckled.

"I called her sweetie to soften the blow but I'm starting to think she didn't like that," Kez pondered aloud in thought, wiping her neck with the towel. "Really? How ungrateful," Syd scoffed, and Kez nodded, both of them clearly feeding into each other's delusions. "I know, right? It was just a little criticism." Kate added in as she was sitting on Kezie's other side.

A'ja, Chelsea, KB, and Kels all just shared an equal confusion about what they just heard. Alysha let out a scoff of disbelief, "not y'all draggin' Katie into your delusions." Kez just smiled proudly, throwing an arm around the blonde. They won the challenge and the foul was called off. She still had a tech for her little tantrum. She preferred to call it common criticism but Kelsey just called it a tantrum.

"Would I get in trouble if I did the moonwalk?" Kez randomly spoke aloud as she walked onto the court with her teammates. "Is it even possible to do a moonwalk in those shoes?" A'ja questioned back, very unfazed with Kezie's random questions. She always had a lot going on in her head. "Probably not," she mumbled under her breath, looking down at her custom sneakers for further examination.

"Why she starin' me down like that? It's like bitches askin' to get smacked tonight." Kez scrunched her brows in slight confusion, adjusting her headband that kept sweat from running down her forehead cause she wore a little bit of makeup. "This ain't the playoffs. Calm down sweetheart," she comments towards the one who had been staring her down like she was some kinda super villain.

Not seconds later that girl caught a tech for grabbing onto Kez's jersey to pull her down, which she found so weird because she didn't even touch the ball during that play so it's not like she had any good reason for dragging her down like that. A'ja ran over to her as she just sat there on the floor collecting her thoughts- though it was hard to hear herself with all the booing from the fans after the replay showed. "Maybe she's a Chris Brown fan or somethin'," Kez mumbled in thought.

As A'ja helped her up that's when she realized Kelsey was going back in forth with the girl to the point their teammates were all holding them back so they couldn't get close enough to throw hands. "You don't wanna fight with us. Go sit your ass down if you can't act fuckin' right." Kez spoke, pulling her girlfriend back before she caught herself a tech.

"Nah seriously, go sit your ass down. You doin' entirely too much," Natasha said towards her own teammate, pushing her back cause she was acting entirely too childish. Even her teammates knew that tug was unnecessary.

"What the fuck is her problem? Did you know her or something?" Kelsey asked, very much aware of Kezie's little hookup history with athletes. It wasn't her proudest of moments..but it also was the reason they got together so in a way, it wasn't all that bad. "I don't know. She's been staring me down since she got in the game. I don't even know her name." Kez shrugged, tucking her jersey back under her shorts because that girl had pulled it out.

Kelsey frowned, remembering her girlfriend was practically dragged down to the floor so she'd probably be hurting somewhere. She just acted out on anger the minute she seen her go down like that. "Are you okay? Does anything hurt? And don't say your ego." Kez smiled at her concern, figuring she'd thank her later in a private scene, she just nodded for now. "I'm good. I'll thank you when we're not in a filled arena with thousands of people watching us."

"Glad to see you can control yourself," Kelsey smiled proudly, leaving a smack on her ass before walking back to where she had to be. Kez smiled, blowing her a kiss as DT made her way over. "Think I should blow a kiss to your mommy too?" She queried with a grin. "Oh yeah? Which one? I got lots of mommy's. I am one myself," Kez shot back swiftly. "You're such a dumbass," DT chuckled.

Thankfully the coach pulled that girl out before they could resume the game. At that point Kez and DT both cracking up in the corner about it. "It's like she needs gentle parenting."

"Gentle coaching too," DT added and they both bursted out in laughter. "She acts like my grandma's crazy ass Chihuahua," Kez added and they both cackled again. They hadn't even realized the camera was on them until they heard the audience laugh with them. "Okay, back to hating each other." Their smiles dropped as soon as the ball was thrown back in. Jackie tried to pass to Kez but Diana knocked her hands away to steal the ball.

"Oh this bitch," Kez scoffed, chasing after her as they ran down the court.

Diana got the layup and smiled at the displeased Keziyah. "What happened to being focused? I thought multitasking was your thing," she retorts sarcastically.

"That's on me. I'll take that. My bad." Kez held her hands up in surrender, her teammates just letting out a small laugh at her mess up. She stood out of bounds and the ref passed her the ball for her to throw in to her team. She threw it in to Chelsea and then stepped back in bounds to get back on defense with A'ja. Kelsey made the deep three after a pass from Jackie. Mercury called a timeout.

"That's my girl," Kez smiled proudly, squeezing her waist as she walked past her to sit down at the bench.

"What was y'all laughin' at?" KB asked, leaning over Kezie's seat between her and Sydney. She glanced up at her, "you remember my grandma's dog Chico?" Syd and KB shared a horrified look, "you mean that half blind crazy ass Chihuahua that chased us down two blocks?" Kez nodded with a laugh, "ja, that's what we were comparing that girl to. You see the resemblance too, no?"

"I see it," KB mumbled with a small purse of her lips.

Kez tuned back into the conversation the team was having and put her arm over the chairs. Kelsey just grabbed her hand to pull her arm around her shoulders because that's what she was really trying to do. She had a thing with psychical touch, she always had to be touching her. It was one of Kelsey's favourite things about Kez.

She may have got a little distracted by Syd singing a song playing in the arena but otherwise she heard the plan. They soon went back out there to resume the game. Towards the end of the quarter, Becky put in Kate and KB for Jackie and Chelsea. The clock was running down and they were up by a lot, KB passed to Kez for the last shot to finish the game but Kez decided to throw it to Kate. The blonde shot a three in to finish the game.

The rest of the team ran onto the court to celebrate their first win of the official 2025 season. Kez immediately ran to Kelsey first, throwing her arms around her. And obviously the whole team went and jumped onto them for the group hug. "Syd- don't climb on m-" her words cut short when Sydney jumped onto her back and let out the most dramatic cheer.

"Can someone get the sloth please?" She requested.

"Syd, what did we say about climbing on Kez?" Becky scolded. "Don't climb Kez or you're gonna give her a bad back. Yeah yeah, I know the rules." Syd repeated with a tinge of annoyance, hopping off the singer's back. "Learn how to follow them," Kez scoffed, pushing Syd back so she wasn't all in her personal space. But then she was in A'ja's personal space so that wasn't so fun for her.

Kez shared a hug with some of the women on Mercury because at the end of the day she still considered them friends. Pulling away from Tash, she spotted DT exchanging some hugs with her family. She quickly ran over before she could reach her mom. "Hey mum," Kez grinned, pulling her into an embrace.

"Hi my child. Where's my daughter in law?" Kara asked, pulling Kez out of her arms to look over her shoulder. "Ma? Seriously?" Kez scoffed in disbelief, but the stern look from her mother had her calling her girlfriend over. Kelsey ran over with a smile, "hi! I'm so glad you made it!"

"Since when did they become besties?" Kez muttered to her father with a slightly confused look.

"No idea. Maybe they're plotting," Jae-hyun shrugged, moving past her to keep an eye on Kamari since she liked to wander places. "Plotting what? You can't just put that in my head and walk away!" Kez complained, pulling off her headband as she ran her hand down her hair.

»»

"Can I steal this after we're done?" Kez questioned aloud, messing with the name plate on the table. They were in the conference room, obviously. It was Kez, Kelsey, and A'ja at the table, still waiting for Sydney. "Is it stealing if you announce it to the room?" Kelsey replies, pushing the mic back cause it was a little too close.

"I'll take it anyways. What are they gonna do? Fire me?" Kez retorts, leaning back in her chair to cross her arms over her chest.

"Where are you gonna put it?" A'ja asked just to amuse herself cause she knew Kez would say something funny. "Probably next to my Oscars," Kez answered with a casual shrug. "Why not Grammys?" Kelsey asked, knowing exactly what her girlfriend was gonna say to this. "Cause I'm still bitter they didn't accept my nomination for Record of the Year. I deserved that nomination," she answered and they both chuckled.

Sydney finally showed up, holding a medium-sized container of salted caramel brownies. "You're mom said these are for you," she spoke, sliding the container over to Kez. "Please be salted caramel. Please be salted caramel," Kez mumbled under her breath, unlocking the lid and pulling it open, "yay." She bit her lip with bright eyes, taking out one of the brownies.

"Why you bein' greedy? Ain't even gon' offer me some?" A'ja scoffed in offense, snatching the bowl from her as Kez was still chewing, trying not to laugh. "You want some?" She asked towards Syd. "Nah, I smashed a whole bowl of her mom's cookies," she grinned, patting her stomach proudly. Kez turned to her with scrunched brows, "which ones?"

"Double chocolate chip with caramel drizzle," Syd smirked.

"You bitch," Kez scowled, reaching around A'ja to smack the back of her head.

"We can't take them anywhere. I apologize on their behalf." Kelsey comments into the mic, waiting for them to stop bickering so they could get started. "I don't apologize. She started it. She knew those were my favorite cookies," Kez shrugged, crossing her arms over her chest. "Why is everyone so quiet? You can speak ya know? I'm media trained now," she added.

"When have you ever gone to media training?" Sydney scoffed in disbelief. "I'ma be honest, the last time was probably 2008, and I don't remember anything from that time," Kez replied with a small chuckle. "That makes so much sense," A'ja input, sliding the bowl back to Kez.

A'ja answered the first question, it was about how she felt playing with Kez as teammates again. "Amazing, obviously. We've always had really good chemistry on the court, so it was almost easy to get back into that and incorporate the team into it. I love the energy she brings as a teammate and even more as a friend. She's amazing."

Kez smiled softly, leaning away from the mic so it sounded more like a whisper. "Thanks, A'ja."

"Your first WNBA game, and you dunked. What's your opinion on dunking? Do you think it should be done more in the W?" This question was directed at Keziyah, clearly. "First, I'd like to say, and they're definitely gonna censor this, but that shit fucking hurt." She stated boldly, getting some laughs from them. "I don't think you'll see me dunking very often and I don't blame any of the women for not dunking either. I just had a lot of adrenaline going tonight. I don't even recommend it. I'm still getting the feeling back in my hands."

"Hands are important, yup," Sydney voiced, nodding in agreement. Kez nods slightly, pushing her glasses back up, "and fingers. Can't live without 'em, right Syd?" A'ja paused mid chew of the brownie as the two just snickered simultaneously, sharing a fist bump behind her. Kelsey cleared her throat awkwardly, "next question?"

They asked Kelsey basically what she thought of Kezie's performance tonight. "I mean- look at the stats, she did great. I don't really have much to say other than that she was incredible and I'm happy to have her apart of the team. I can't say anymore, I don't wanna fuel her ego too much." Kez pursed her lips in thought, "28 points though...can you blame me baby?"

Kelsey just shot her a look, "28 can just as easily be 12 in the next game. Don't get ahead of yourself baby."

Kez smiled in amusement, "she keeps me in line."

She shrugs, "someone has to."

Sydney got the next question, it was about her performance tonight and the chemistry she had with Keziyah on the court. She answered it exactly how Kez expected her to. "Well, obviously, my performance was outstanding cause I'm just that bitch. I guess Kez did alright, it definitely wasn't better than me. I taught her how to dunk so she would've never done that without me, you know?"

"I think what she means to say- is that our chemistry on the court mirrors our friendship off the court." Keziyah input, the corner of her lips tugged up in amusement, and Syd pursed her lips, shrugging nonchalantly, "yeah...I guess you could say that too. I feel like my answer was a little better..but whatever that works too."

"Keziyah, you're going to be facing Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever in your next game, how are you going to prepare for that and what are your thoughts on that team?" Someone asked, and Kez was expecting to hear Caitlin's name mentioned because when wasn't it? It was a very anticipated match also. Caitlin already spoke about how she was excited to play against her. And obviously Kez was equally as excited. She's known her for years and she really enjoyed watching Caitlin play in college.

"I'm gonna prepare like I do every other game. I personally don't intend to leave without a win. There's some really good players on that team. I think they'll be good competition and that's what I thrive on, so I hope they bring their best." Kez answered, smiling as she thought of Indiana's new rookie, "and I'm really excited to see Hazel on the court."

They did a few more of the slightly boring questions before they finally asked Kez about the fouls, and the tech she got. Kelsey was really hoping she didn't say anything that would get her in trouble cause she had absolutely no filter. "It's apart of the game, there's always gonna be fouls and trash talking, especially with DT in my ear getting on my nerves. I just like to run my mouth. Uh, I didn't think it'd get a tech this early on but that's something I've been working on with coach."

Then they added a question about the foul where she got dragged down by her jersey, the moment that had everyone on their feet cause they were expecting a fight. "That was...uh, unexpected? I had to just sit there and regroup or I definitely would've caught a suspension had I acted on impulse. That's just how the game goes, fouls happen, we just gotta move on. I don't want anyone attacking her or any of that. I don't hold a grudge. It's done with. Everyone needs to leave it alone."

They moved on to Kelsey, asking what she was thinking in that moment. "Uh, I think Kez already worded it the best. Fouls happen, it's apart of the game. I'm very protective of my teammates, so I stepped in. I don't regret that, she did go a little too far there. But yeah, it's done with, there's no grudges. We gotta leave it alone and move on." Kez nodded in agreement, still chewing on a brownie that she had to split with Syd because it was the last one.

They started getting more of the fun questions that they all input on. "DT said that you kept singing Michael Jackson songs during the game. Is that some kind of game ritual you do?" she was asked. Kez laughed, leaning forward to get closer to the mic, "uhh, that's just something I do when I'm focused. I try not to be loud or disruptive with it but the fans were very loud so I had to sing a little bit louder to hear myself. Apologies in advance if I annoyed anyone else cause DT looked pretty annoyed with me by the end of Thriller."

"Yeah, she compared you to her toddler so I think that describes her annoyance perfectly," the woman replied and Kez chuckled in amusement. "I'll take that as a compliment cause her kids are adorable."

They obviously asked Kez about the moment of her looking all embarrassed when her mum shouted her nickname. "Yeah, why were you embarrassed KeiKei?" Syd teased further. "I wasn't- I was not embarrassed. I love my family...but sometimes they can love me very loudly. They actually insisted that they sit courtside...so, I just think it's a little much sometimes."

"The audacity for her to complain- as if she don't act the same way," Syd added for Mari since she wasn't there to say it.

"That's not true-"

"Didn't you get banned from sitting courtside at Kamari's high-school games?" Kelsey input with a knowing smirk on her lips. Kez frowned, dropping her voice to a whisper, "baby, you said you wouldn't tell anyone." Kelsey chuckled, patting her shoulder sympathetically, "it's never really been a secret, Z. Everyone knows. It's public information."

"Seriously?" Kez blinked in disbelief, and Syd snickers at her shock, "how are you so out of touch with social media?"

"Because I have other real life hobbies. That's why I have so many degrees. Maybe you should get some too, Syd." Kez suggested, and her jaw dropped dramatically, "did you just call me dumb? I know y'all heard that. She just called me dumb. This is what I gotta put up with. I'm being bullied. Don't y'all feel bad for me?"

"Nobody feels bad for you," A'ja shrugged nonchalantly.

Kez leaned forward to look at her dramatic teammate. "Hey Syd, you'd be really good in theater."

"Is that a compliment or an insult?"

"Both?"

》* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • 。* 。° 。* 。 • ˚《

"Why didn't you tell me you weren't gonna sign an extension last year?" Kelsey glanced up from her phone at her girlfriend's sudden question. "What do you mean?"

"Becky mentioned to me at dinner that you didn't sign an extension until after I signed the contract." She explained further before continuing, "why didn't you tell me you were gonna leave the Aces?" Kelsey grew silent, her phone discarded to the side now as Kez pulled a soft knitted sweater on. "I don't know. I guess I didn't want you to make your decision based on mine. You wanted to be on the Aces. Why would I get in the way of that?"

"Okay so, you're allowed to make decisions based on mine but I'm not allowed to do the same? I don't see how that makes any sense." Kez responded, her eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "Who said I made any decision based on yours?" Kelsey replied, but the fact that she couldn't meet her eyes is how she knew she was lying. Kez hummed, taking a seat on her vanity stool, "let's say you didn't. Why didn't you sign an extension the same time A'ja, Jackie, and Chelsea did?"

"I'm allowed to consider my options, Keziyah."

"I never said you weren't. I asked why you didn't." Kez stated firmly, not liking the use of her full name cause she didn't want to deal with an argument.

"Because I didn't know what I wanted. I didn't know if I wanted to stay here in the place I shared a life with someone I stupidly loved or if I just wanted to get the fuck out." Kez' eyes softened with sympathy, but she almost expected this. She went through a similar thing. "This place doesn't feel like home to me anymore. It just feels like a place full of void memories that I'm forced to remember when I walk the halls. It never had anything to do with the Aces."

"I wish you told me sooner. You don't have to live here if you don't want to." Kez said, getting up from the chair and grabbing her phone on the bedside table. "Z, what are you doing?" Kelsey frowned in confusion, watching Kez click a button and putting the phone to her ear. "One second babe- hey, it's Keziyah, again. Yeah, do you think it's possible to go house shopping maybe, uh tomorrow? The same list I sent you, yes. We'll discuss putting the house on market tomorrow, alright? Thank you so much, Valerie. Goodnight."

"Z, you can't just buy me a house. We're not even engaged. What are your parents gonna think? What are mine gonna think? I'll tell you exactly what-" Kez cut her off, a small smile etched on her lips, "-you mean the same parents who sent me the list of properties? Your mum, who suggested Valerie to me? She is incredibly expensive, by the way. Your mum's got great taste."

"Okay...what about the relationship status here? You can't just buy your girlfriend of barely two years a house- and knowing you, you'd spend millions, not thousands, Keziyah. I'm gonna look like a gold digger." Kelsey expressed, and it was annoying how amused her girlfriend look. "Kelsey, you are my girlfriend, and that means I'm gonna spend my money on you. I'm not just gonna let you live in a house that no longer feels like a home. Believe or not but I love you enough to not let you live in pain. Your happiness is priceless, baby."

Kelsey sat up to grab her hands, bringing her closer. "Lay down. Just lay down. Don't speak."

"Did I say something wrong?" She pondered, laying back in the bed with suspicious eyes. "Be quiet, baby." Kelsey whispered, unbuttoning her shirt as she climbed over her lap. She didn't argue, and decided to actually listen for once and shut her mouth. It was only then that little breaths escaped her throat after feeling her girlfriend's mouth kissing and sucking on her neck. The most she could do was bite her lip and try not to make any sounds because her family was still in the other rooms.

"Don't bite too hard. You don't wanna bleed," Kelsey teased, trailing her hands down her body, softly tracing over the tattoo that peeked around her stomach. "Keep teasing and I'll bite yours," Kez shot back, sliding her hand around her neck to pull her forward, bringing their lips together.

Kelsey broke away first much to Kezie's dismay, only furthering her impatience. "It's not so fun when you're the one being teased, is it?" She smirked, slipping her fingers under the waistband of her panties. Kez went to say something back but one look from her girl and she shut right back up. She pulled them down just enough to see the full tattoo of her name.

And of course the door was knocked on because why would she expect any less from her family? "Fuck," she groaned in frustration as Kelsey climbed off of her, working on the buttons of her shirt to cover back up. "You should get the door. I'm gonna run a bath." Kelsey pressed a kiss to her cheek before getting up and leaving.

"I should've put them in a hotel," she muttered bitterly, grabbing some shorts to slip on. She walked over to the door and pulled it open, faced with Kamari and her dog Sargeant. "It's 2am...why are you knocking on my door?" Mari frowned at her attitude, "okay, rude. Anyways, I was wondering...ya know, if you could make me some cinnamon rolls? Please? Cinnabon is closed."

"It's 2 in the morning, Kamari," she deadpanned.

"I'm on my period-" Kez was quick to cut her off with a blank stare, "no, you aren't. Your period was last week. Make your own cinnamon rolls." She went to shut the door but Mari placed her hand on it to stop her. "Mother, please, I'm begging you! I don't wanna burn down Kelsey's kitchen. You know I can't bake for shit!" Kamari pleaded desperately, nudging Sargeant to whimper for extra guilt trip.

"Fine, cut it out with the guilt trip eyes," Kez smacked her hand off the door with a small glare. "Can you give me five minutes?"

Mari frowned at the request, "for what?"

"None of your business. Get back downstairs. Both of you." Kez scowled, shutting the door on her face. She pulled off her sweater and pushed open the bathroom door just as her girlfriend switched off the water since the tub was filled to her liking. "Who was at the door? Kamari, again?" She asked, sitting at the edge of the tub.

"Take off your shorts," Kez instructed, ignoring the question.

"Why?" Kelsey squints in suspicion, walking towards the counter where Kez was standing, pulling her long curls back into a bun. "Four minutes, babygirl. I have four minutes to eat you out until you're gasping and the only thing you can remember is my name. So take your shorts off and get on the counter, understood?"

"You think you can get me off in four minutes?" Kelsey scoffed, and Kez smiled down at her, moving her hands down to untie the strings. "I can get you off in 20 seconds, that's the whole point. But you already know that. Sit down and spread your legs." Kelsey smiled, pushing some strands behind her ear, already knowing that bun was not gonna stay for very long. "Do it for me, since I almost got a tech for you. Remember that?"

"How could I forget?"

»»

"That's gotta be the loosest bun I've ever seen, Ma." Kamari comments, tossing some Hershey popcorn in her mouth as her mum just rolled her eyes. "By the way- that was six minutes. You lied. That's naughty," she dramatized, mocking her mother's accent. Kez turned to her with a sharp glare, "I know I don't say this often- but, shut the fuck up."

"Fine, but only because I choose cinnamon rolls over my pride," Kamari mumbled.

"You want vegan or non-vegan tonight?" Kez asked, reaching in the cupboards to grab the dishes she needed. "Non vegan, give me all the dairy. Ya know, it's so refreshing that I'm not vegan anymore. Now I get to try all of your food without restrictions." Kamari spoke, sitting up on the counter. "Get off the counter," Kez scolded, smacking her knee.

She rolled her eyes, hopping off and going around to sit on the stool. "Yoh, I was rewatching Black Panther with Paige the other day when I was visiting LA and we realized that Makena is low-key a stud. I also think she had a huge crush on Natasha. I can go on and on about the potential there." Kez just nodded and gathered the ingredients as her daughter continued to ramble.

"How is Paige? She settling in well?" Kez wondered.

"Oh yeah, definitely. She loves LA. I just think the long distance thing with Azzi is a little tricky. But, I've got experience with that stuff so I've been helping her adjust." Kamari explained, messing with the charm on her bracelet. Kez hummed as she worked on getting the dough together. "Uh-huh, and you have experience with long distance..how? You've been single your entire life."

"Mum! That's rude. I have experience with long distance because you and dad traveled a lot so I didn't always get to see you. And by the way! I had a boyfriend in primary school." She argued defensively. Kez shook her head in objection, "doesn't count. He's gay now and you're a lesbian. Romantic relationships are different. And from personal experience, long distance fucking sucks."

"Okay, but have you ever been rejected by the only woman you've ever loved in your entire life? Because I have, and let me tell you- it's the most humiliating feeling ever. True heartbreak. I thought I'd never be the same." Kamari expressed dramatically. "You're not even twenty, Nomsa. You will be perfectly fine. Clearly, Hazel wasn't the one for you. Learn to move on."

Mari rolled her eyes, watching as her mum rolled out the dough. "Of course you can say that. You've never been rejected. You've never felt the humility of it."

"How would you know that?" Kez smiled at her bestfriend's voice, glancing up from the dough to meet his eyes. "Because she's perfect. Name one person who's turned her down?" Mari shot back. "Sarah Kelly. 6th grade. Your mum had a crush on her and she didn't feel the same way. She told the entire class." Lewis retorts, leaning up against the counter.

"Was the explanation really that necessary?" Kez retorts incredulously.

"Wait, what- how do you even know that? You said you didn't remember anything from primary school," Mari pointed out with a look of betrayal. "I lied. I remember a lot, and I hated it because I was a loser. That's why nobody knows. I didn't tell you cause you got a big mouth. You still do, cause I know you're planning to tell KK everything."

"That's just rude. I would never!" Kamari said, baffled at the allegations.

"Oh yeah? Give me your phone. I'll check the group chat," Kez shot back knowingly. "Let's move on. We need to discuss this living situation. No offense to Kelsey, her house is lovely, but if I'm going to be living with you guys on my off-season, I need more closet space. So...would you be open to switching rooms?" Kamari suggested with a bright smile.

"Do you need your card disabled again? You're starting to sound like a privileged brat. Recognize your blessings sweetheart." Kez spoke, and Mari nodded in understanding. "Understood. I recognize, truly. I also can't help but recognize the amount of empty space in your closet..."

"Oh, my god, Mari, be quiet. We're moving. You're going house shopping with us tomorrow and we're putting the house on the market." Kez said so she'd stop asking about the closet cause God knew Mari would ramble on and on going over the pros and cons if she felt it necessary. Mari sighed in relief, placing a hand over her chest, "thank God. I also wanted to express my thoughts on this place potentially being haunted." 

Lewis squints at the girl in suspicion, "are you high?"

"What? No, of course not," she denied quickly, avoiding any eye contact with her mum. Kez scoffs under her breath, "you're a terribly bad liar. She ate the gummy bears I had in my purse. Didn't you, Kamari?" She frowned, ducking her head shamefully, "...they looked really tasty. How was I supposed to know that they had cannabis in them?"

"I don't know, maybe read the label?" Kez mocked, but this unsurprisingly wasn't the first time Mari got high so she wasn't upset or anything. They already had a discussion about it, as long as she didn't use anything during basketball season it was fine. "I didn't have my glasses on! And you know I took my contacts off before dinner. It was just three bears, no big deal."

Lewis crossed his arms as he turned to look at his bestfriend, "speaking of glasses, where are yours?"

"Uhh...no idea. Could you find them for me?" Kez requested towards Kamari. She frowned, pointing to herself with a confused look, "me? How am I supposed to know where you put your glasses?" Lewis chuckled in amusement, "check her room. She probably left them in the closet like she always does. And try not to bother Kelsey in case she's sleeping or something. She's probably exhausted."

"Can't make your cinnamon rolls if I can't see, Kamari," Kez mumbled, and the girl hopped up and ran off to fetch the glasses. "You'd think weed would calm her down but she's just more energetic," Lewis comments, hopping onto the counter.

"They were sativa. She's gonna be trippin' very soon," Kez mused, grabbing a bowl to coat the cinnamon sugar over the rolled out dough. She paused, noticing he was sitting on the counters snacking on some almonds. "Get off my girlfriend's counter before I throw you off myself."

"Clean freak," Lewis muttered, hopping off the counter and going around to sit on a stool. "Rather be clean than dirty," she retorts.

"Oh, my god, I am going to burn that fucking tortilla blanket. He always has it. Like everywhere he goes. It's fucking concerning." Kamari rambled, setting down her mum's glasses on the table before taking a seat. "It's called an emotional attachment, Nomsa. We all have one." She shook her head in denial, "that's not true. I don't have one."

"Yes, you do. It's Sargeant. That's why you had to take him to Connecticut with you. You basically stole my dog." Kez deadpanned, still a little bitter about it because she was the one who rescued him and he helped her get through her twenties because that was certainly a time. Now he was helping Mari get through college. "I did not steal him. We formed a bond and he chose me. He sensed I was a kind soul."

"I'll let you believe that, sweetheart." Kez mumbled, going over to preheat the oven because she always forgot. She worked on making another smaller batch that was vegan specifically for Lewis because she knew he'd want some and obviously he couldn't eat the non vegan ones.

"About the game...you really need to work on your 3s. How do you even miss them? You're the one who taught me how to throw and I've never missed that shot so that's not sitting right with me, ya know?" Mari expressed passionately and her mother just sighed because they already had this conversation in the past. "The only reason you've never missed is because you don't shoot the ones you know you will miss. I don't have the same mindset you do. I just shoot, and if it makes it in, good, if it doesn't, oh well, we move on."

"So basically, I'm better than you?" Kamari smirked victoriously.

"Don't forget she coached you," Lewis input, and Mari just shrugged, "student becomes the master."

"By the way, I think you hooked up with that girl's sister. The one who fouled you pretty hard. I seen her with her sister at the game and I recognized her from that party we went to. I'm pretty sure she was the one you hooked up with and ditched in the morning cause you almost missed your flight." Lewis said out of nowhere as she was placing the rolls into the pan. "Uh...it's not ringing a bell. What did I call her?" Kez asked, not super phased by this.

"Olivia, apparently." Kelsey input, holding up Kezie's phone as she walked in. "She's been blowing up your phone for the past twenty minutes," she stated, sitting atop the counter. "Ohhh, bubble gum," Kez chuckled. "Bubble gum? What does that mean?" Kamari asked, completely lost. "We bumped into each other- literally, and her bubble gum got stuck in my hair. That's really the only thing worth remembering about her," Kez explained nonchalantly, placing the pan into the oven.

"No wonder her sister tried to fight you," Lewis snorts.

"We should call her," Kamari suggests, trying to reach over to grab the phone but Kelsey quickly pulled it away. "I don't think rejecting her twice is gonna help." Kez hummed, taking her words into consideration. Then the phone went off again, it was her and she was calling this time. "Okay, now she's pissing me off," Kelsey mumbled, hitting the answer button.

"Oh shit, give it to me!" Kamari whisper shouted, and Kelsey passed the phone over to her and Lewis picked up his own to record this. "Keziyah can't make it to the phone right now, this is her assistant. What can I do for you?" Mari spoke, imitating an American accent. The woman scoffs rudely, "wow, she can even pick the phone right either. How about you tell her to unblock my fucking number and call me back."

"Fantastic, I can do that. Would you also like some advice? I know Keziyah can be a lot sometimes," Mari continued. "Sure, whatever," she replied with an annoyed sigh. "My advice would be, stop acting like a crazy desperate hoe. Stand the fuck up. This is getting embarrassing. She is in a committed relationship now. Go outside and touch some fucking grass, maybe get a sense of fucking reality, and I'm speaking for her girlfriend cause she wanna go to heaven so she wouldn't say it like it is. Go to church or something, shit. Pray, meditate, I don't fucking know, just stop callin' this number."

Kamari smiled proudly, tapping the button to hang up. "How did I do?"

"Absolutely perfect. You can have as many cinnamon rolls as you want tonight," Kelsey smiled, leaning over to high five her. "Yay, more sugar," Mari cheered gleefully. "Now I gotta watch her blood pressure," Kez murmured, and Lewis chuckled in amusement, knowing he wasn't gonna get much sleep worrying about Mari's well being. "At least she solved the problem."

"You're so welcome," Kamari giggled.

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"This is an immediate pass. I need taller ceilings and taller double doors. My dad wouldn't even be able to walk through the door," Kez critiqued, hitting the top of the doorframe to prove her point. She didn't even wanna go inside after seeing that she barely fit through the door in heels. "Really? I think it's perfect," Syd grinned, walking right through without a problem. Yes, Syd decided she had to accompany them..so did A'ja, and Jackie just came for free food.

"Oh yeah? You wanna know how much it is?" Kez asked.

"Yeah actually, it looks really nice," Syd nods, growing serious because it was a really nice home and she was genuinely thinking about buying. Kez looked to their real estate agent Valerie with a shrug. "5.6 million dollars. Are you interested in buying?" She asked as the player's face slowly fell. "All right, lemme just get out here real quick." Syd mumbled, awkwardly chuckling as she walked out and shut the door gently behind her.

"To the next house."

"So...how do we feel about this one?" Valerie asked as they were gathered in the dining room after viewing the whole house. They all liked it and voiced that during the tour but Kez was more quiet when she observed so they didn't know how she felt about it yet. "It checks a lot of our boxes but...I don't really like the lay out, and I need a space specifically for a studio and I can't see one in here," she voiced.

"Okay, that's fine. Is there anything else you didn't enjoy about the house? Anything I should check off?" She questioned.

"The kitchen, right?" Kelsey asked, glancing up at her girlfriend, already knowing what she was thinking. "Yeah, I didn't like that," Kez replied, rubbing her neck. "What didn't you like about the kitchen?" She questioned. "There's not enough counter space. It's just too small for us. We cook a lot so a small kitchen just isn't gonna work for us," Kelsey answered.

Syd scrunched her brows in disbelief, "that was small?"

"To the next house."

"This is really nice," Jackie comments, reaching for the plate of cookies upon entering the house. "You've been saying that every single time we walk into a house with deserts," Kamari snorts, taking a cookie for herself. "She don't even be lookin' at the actual house," A'ja chuckled.

"This is the first bedroom," Valerie spoke, pushing open the door to that room. "There are three on the first floor, five on the second, and one on the third."

"Uh..are all of the bedrooms carpet?" Kez asked, walking around the room, immediately turned off by the carpet. That completely ruined it for her. She did not like carpet in any of her homes. It was one of the other reasons they were moving, because Kelsey had carpet in the rooms of her house. "Yes, most of the rooms are carpet. I'm assuming you're not a fan of carpet?"

"Not at all," Kez shook her head nonchalantly, walking out to see the rest of the house. She held her hand out and Kelsey took it, following her down the hall. "The hallways feel a little cramped too," A'ja added, and Kamari nodded in agreement with her. "Yeah, I got that feeling as well. Not a big fan of it." They toured downstairs and it was a similar layout to the last ones, kitchen, dining room, wine room, sauna, backyard with the pool, etc.

The second floor was cute, it even had a balcony area and overall it was nice. The third floor wasn't anything special, just a  large bedroom and bathroom with lots of ceiling tall windows. "I like it, but the carpet is really the only thing throwing me off," Kez voiced, walking around the patio in the backyard since they went out there again to fully view it instead of seeing it through the windows. "I'm a bit of a germaphobe when it comes to my house and carpets collect nothing but bacteria so it's just not for me."

"But overall you like the house? You could see yourself living here?" Valerie pondered.

"Uhhh..."

"What if you just tear out the carpet like you did with our house in Connecticut?" Kamari suggested to her mother. "We could, but knowing me I'd end up tearing everything out and full on replacing it," Kez explained, and knowing herself, she was still gonna change stuff even if they found the perfect house. She just wanted the house to be ready within a month so they could just move in without it being such a hassle.

"Okay, well, we still have one more house to look at and I have a feeling that you're gonna love it," Valerie stated with a confident smile.

"To the next house we go."

"Damn, that's one big ass mansion. That's not even a house man." Syd expressed as she stepped out of the car. Kez was already liking it, especially how secure it was because her addresses were always getting leaked and gates were a necessity. Valerie pushed open the doors for them to enter. "I love these floors," Kez comments, glancing around the entry. She could see the potential in it.

"I don't really like the chandelier," Kelsey mumbled to her girlfriend. "That's okay, we can always switch it out with whatever you like. Anything you don't like we can change." Kez assured, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "Can we see the kitchen first?" Jackie asked, more so she could see if they had any treats in there. "All you think about is food girl," Mari snickered.

"Let's see the kitchen," Valerie spoke, leading them into the very large kitchen that provided lots of space. Jackie and Kamari rushed over to the plates of sliders on the table as Valerie spoke about all the space and such, just the typical stuff they said to convince their clients to buy. That stuff never worked on Kez though, she always tuned it out, and not even on purpose.

"This is really nice. I see the potential," Syd comments in full seriousness. "I already love it, honestly. It just feels like the perfect mix of you and Kelsey. Not too modernized, super earthy and open. I can see you guys living here, definitely," A'ja added.

"Let's see the rest of it," Valerie smiled, escorting them out.

They toured the whole house, and there wasn't a bad thing to say. It was quite literally perfect. Kez and Kelsey went outside to discuss it by themselves and Kamari was with Jackie and Syd picking out a room. Obviously the main bedroom was off limits, but the other ones were still a great size for her. She was more focused on choosing one with the most closet space. "Why do you look so concerned? You don't like the house?" Kez asked with a slight frown.

"No- it's not that. I love it. I think it's perfect. But...it's 30 million, Z. That's a lot of money and to put my name on it is..." Kelsey trailed off, exhaling softly.

"Kelsey, I love you." Kez cupped her softly, "do you love me?" She nodded immediately, "of course I do, more than I've ever loved anyone else." She smiled, pressing a peck to her lips, "that's all we need, baby. Just love and family. You don't ever need to concern yourself with the money. I told you last night. Your happiness is priceless." She spoke, pulling her into her arms and pressing a kiss to her cheek.

"This is the one. I can see us making it a home," Kelsey said, giving her the words she really wanted to hear.

"Anything you wanna change about it before we sign those papers," Kez asked knowingly. "I hate the closet in the main bedroom and that hideous chandelier in the entrance," Kelsey admits, grimacing as she thought about it. The closet was more like cabinets, and she hated that. She wanted dressers and more open space in there. "I agree. Those are easy fixes thankfully. Otherwise, we like the house?"

"We love it." Kelsey smiled, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

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a/n: probably the longest chapter I've ever written ngl but it was worth it, i loved how chaotic it was 😭

what team should they play in the next chapter? ☺️

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