Page 86 of Unexpected Pass

“She’s already said what mattered with her actions, her loyalty, and her love. We’re not here to entertain nonsense. We’re here to celebrate this family, this game, and the legacy we’re building.”

The interviewer blinked. They were clearly thrown off by how smoothly he shut it down.

“Fair enough. Phileigh, you’ve got a lot of buzz around your upcoming haircare line. Can you give us a sneak peek?”

Kellon smirked. “I’ll let her answer that one.”

“Yes. Philosphy by Phileigh is my baby. I’ve worked so hard with my best friend and business partner to create a natural, clean line made for us by us, and I couldn’t be prouder.”

“It’s about to take over the world!” Kellon added, making me laugh and shake my head.

The interview wrapped. The lights faded. We made our way off the carpet, linking up with our parents in the family section. Our moms were already plotting baby handoffs and game snacks. My dad was already talking to the dads about pre-game rituals like it was life or death.

Kellon leaned into my ear. “You good?”

I nodded. “More than good.”

A few minutes later, we had to part ways. He was heading to his final team briefing, and I was meeting with my glam team and PR rep for a quick run through before tomorrow’s festivities. Our baby was asleep in my arms peacefully unaware of the history his daddy was about to make.

We stood near the escalator, hidden just slightly from the commotion.

“I’m so proud of you,” I whispered, looking up at him. “Like… soextremelyproud of you. Win or lose, but you better win.”

He tilted his head, smiling down at me with that lazy grin that always made my knees feel like water.

“You think we got time for you to give me some pussy for good luck?”

I shook my head, pushing him away.

“Nope!”

“I love you,” he said, cupping my face. “Both of you.”

He kissed me

“Go be great,” I told him. “We’ll be right here. Always.”

He kissed our son’s forehead, gave me one last look, and then disappeared down the escalator to chase his legacy.

Confetti rainedon me for the second time like a dream, but it wasn’t. I was a champion again. I had just clinched my second consecutive Super Bowl win in a game that wasn’t even close. My teammates screamed and jumped around me. We had done it again, but this one hit differently.

“Kellon!” Phileigh called out as she ran toward me barefoot with her heels and our son in hand like she was on fire. My mama was right beside her with tears in her eyes. I shook my head as security tried to slow them down, but the badge hanging around Phileigh’s neck might as well have said move bitch get out the way.

“You fucking did it!” She flung herself at me, arms wrapping around my neck. Then my mama wrapped us both up, her handscradling my face like she did when I was five and scraped my knee.

“You did it, baby. And he saw every second of it.”

I turned and looked up into the stands, holding my son above my head like a trophy of my own.

“This one’s for you, Rone,” I whispered loud enough for the sky to hear me “For every dream we had about this moment when we were kids.”

I didn’t feel guilt anymore. I didn’t feel like I’d stolen this life out from under my brother’s ghost. I felt pride and peace and purpose. As long as I had breath, I was going to keep living for him.

I brought my baby boy back to my chest and kissed his cheek. His little hand gripped my jersey like he already knew what the moment meant. Phileigh’s hand slid into mine again, grounding me like she always did.

“I have something for you,” she said, pulling a small velvet box from her purse.

“You proposing tomenow?” I teased, grinning.

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