Page 54 of Platinum Pressure

“Go for it,” I encouraged.

Elijah clasped his hands behind his back and walked over to Porter, who was in a casual conversation with Ye about gaming stuff. Ye noticed Elijah first.

“What’s up, E?” he asked his son.

“I want to ask Mr. Porter a question.” Elijah looked up at my man, who towered over him.

“What’s up?” Porter kneeled to be face-to-face with my nephew.

I wanted to intervene as his physical therapist because the concrete under his knee would give him hell when he stood up, but I let it rock for the sake of letting them have their moment.

“Summer training is starting in a few weeks, and I was wondering if maybe . . . possibly . . . if you could, um.” Elijah stuttered as his nerves got the best of him.

Porter was patient as Elijah found his words. He waited for him, and when he saw him struggling, he swooped in to ease the nerves.

“Would you and your sister like to come to a training day and see the camp?”

Elijah nodded so fast I thought his neck would break. “Yes, please!”

“I got you. I’ll coordinate with your parents and find a day in the schedule that works for y’all. Okay?”

“Okay!”

The smile on Elijah’s face was brighter than the stars in the sky. He skipped back to the car and got into the back seat with Yasmine. Porter slowly stood up to his full height and stretched his knee. I made a mental note to give him a massage and a few lashings for putting his knee in an uncomfortable position.

“You got you a good man, Dow,” Essence commented as I walked her to the passenger side of the car.

“Thanks, girl. I really love him.”

She smiled. “Good. I’m happy you found your person. I’ve never seen you glow like this before.”

“It’s all so new and kind of scary, but Porter has been so kind and gentle with me since we made things officially. He’s everything to me.”

She squealed with excitement. “I’ll be planning your wedding soon.”

“You sure will!” I winked as we hugged once more. We waved goodbye to Mama and Daddy and made our way to the back seat of the all-black SUV.

Once I was inside, I gazed into Porter’s eyes and grinned.

“That went well,” I announced.

“I knew it would.”

“How could you have been so sure?”

“The way you love me isn’t something people learn from the internet or shit like that. Your love is soul deep, from parents and a family who poured their love into you. Because I treat you like you deserve, there was no question the people who love you would love me too.” He smirked.

“You’ve surprised me so much this month, baby. I can’t even lie. This has been some of the best moments of my life, and it’s all thanks to you.”

He leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips.

“Look who it is!” Eddie’s voice pierced through the air as the July sun beat down on me. I stepped onto the freshly laid turf. The lines on the field were crisp. The equipment was new, improved, and arranged for several drills.

Three of the coaches blew their whistles and waved the defense team over to me and Seddrick. My teammates and potential recruits greeted me with so much love my heart nearly doubled in size like I was the Grinch or some shit. Seeing all their excitement healed something in me.

I couldn’t lie. The whole ride to the training facility, my nerves were bad as fuck. Meadow wanted to be here, but she was handling business. She was on the fast track to getting the company signed over. They gave her a lot of pushback, but Seddy and the lawyers handled that shit like the professionals they were. Within the next couple of months, she’d reintroduce the world to A Healing Meadow. Shit made my heart swell with pride to see her lock in and pursue her dreams like this.

“Platinum, it’s good to see you back on the field, man. You are starting the season with us?” Vince, one of the wide receivers, asked as he pulled me into a dap-hug combo. He was a younger player with an explosive career. He’d hit some records in his rookie year and continued to stack his stats with great energy, on and off the field.