Thanksgiving had just come to an end.

I had a lot to be thankful for this year. I was engaged to a wonderful man. I was having a healthy and stress free pregnancy. The boys were having a great season so far.

" Did you decide on whether you wanted to make an offer on the house yet?" Carson came into the room carrying snacks.

All of them for me of course.

" I don't know if I want to live in a house where the real estate agent gave my fiancé fuck me eyes in front of me, a woman who is obviously pregnant and wearing a ring that she will never have if she keeps on trying to steal taken men. In other words, that's bad juju." I ranted, pressing play on the christmas movie of my choice.

Carson chuckled as he began to walk towards the closet. " I'm surprised that she made it out of the house with her eyeballs in her sockets."

And she had one person to thank for that– the little baby in my stomach.

I was six months pregnant and enjoying every bit of it.

My bump was so tiny up until the five month mark, that it made it easy to hide my pregnancy from Carson's delusional ass fanbase. I only wanted love and positivity surrounding this little baby.

" I did her one better," I smirked. " She left without a job."

I knew what I signed up for when getting into a relationship with Carson. He was one of the best players in the Pac 12 conference with a promising future in the NBA. I was aware of the jersey and clout chasers, the delusional fans who were unaware of privacy, and the girls who had zero self respect for themselves or respect for relationships.

I can handle that because I had trust in my relationship.

Carson was obsessed with me from the moment that we laid eyes on each other. Maybe obsessed with an understatement– I consumed his every thought.

Having a man like him, I didn't have to be insecure in our relationship. Even if he had multiple women throwing themselves at him left and right. It came with the territory.

We either learn to adjust. Or we learn to let it fester, consume us, and ruin something good in the end.

" How am I not surprised," he emerges from the closet in only a pair of flannel pajama pants. His torso that he slowly started to fill with tattoos was on full display, taunting me with every step he took towards our bed.

Rolling my eyes, I shoved my spoon full of ice cream into my month.

The bed creaked under Carson's weight as he got into it, rolling over to my side of the bed. In the process, the plastic of the potato chip bags and sour gummies crumbled under his weight."Carson! You're crushing my snacks!" I cried out, pushing him over as best as I can.

" I'm sorry, angel," he apologizes, helping me move the snacks off of the bed.

Out of my peripheral vision, I saw the subtle shake of his shoulders. Was.. was he laughing?

Frowning, I grabbed the first throw pillow that I could get my hands on and whacked him across his back." What's funny, Carson?"

Carson was fully laughing now, raising his hands in self–defense as he turned around. As I raised the pillow mid-air, Carson lunged for it, snatching it out of my grasp and throwing it to the side.

" You're about to get it."

Yes please!

My laughter now filled the four corners of our bedroom as he gripped my hips and softly pulled me towards his side of the bed. He hovered over my body, hands braced besides my head as he stared down at me, his hair covering his face.

He hadn't cut it in a while. The length looked sexy on him.

He looked more mature for his age.

Tilting my head to the side, I brought my hand up to his face, gently brushing the slightly wavy ends of his hair away from his cheeks, seeing him smiling down on me. " You're so handsome," I whispered softly, rubbing my thumb over his cheek.

Carson blushes, quickly ducking his head into the crook of my neck to hide it from me. My arms wrapped around his back, holding him closer to me. Well as close as he can without intruding on my tummy.

Carson slowly began to pull away, peppering slow kisses on whatever inch of skin he could. When he got to my cheeks, I was out of breath from laughing at his insistence to kiss my entire face, leaving no inch of skin unkissed.

Even my freaking eyelids.

" Carson!" I giggled, patting his back. " I'm going to laugh our kid out."

" How could I forget about our mini baller," he grinned as he proceeded to kiss down my neck, chest, and stop at my stomach. He got comfortable between my legs, smile growing as he palmed my stomach with his big palms.

" Hold on," I instructed, fluffing the pillows behind me in order to get into a comfortable position for the both of us.

Carson laid in between legs, a smile on his face as he stared at my stomach. " He's going to be a baller like his daddy." I rolled my eyes at his insistence that I was carrying a boy.

" What if we're having a girl?" I crossed my arms over my chest, patiently awaiting his response,

His smokey grey eyes reached mine," call it a father's instinct."

" A father's instinct," I mimicked." Is it that or the fact that you heard both of our mother's say that I'm carrying a boy due to my stomach?"

Carson pressed a kiss to my stomach. " That's a factor too. I'm telling you, Ayanna, I feel it in my spirit. We're having a boy."

Shaking my head, I drove my hand into his hair and smiled. " Whatever you say wonderbread, whatever you say."

While Carson busied himself with talking to my stomach, I started the movie over from the beginning. Just as the intro started, our room door burst open and in came Dominic. " What are we watching ?" He asked.

" We are watching nothing," Rhegan came in shortly after.

She came in front of him, trying her hardest to push his mountain of a body out of the room. Dominic simply looked down at her, smiling in amusement at her attempts to get him out of the room. " Are you done,Ice?"

Rhegan huffed, blowing a single strand of hair out of her face in the process. " I think so."

" We just spent the whole day with them. I'm sure that Ayanna and Carson want to spend some alone time together," Rhegan tried to reason with Dominic.

Dominic pouted. " But they're watching Friday After Next. It's a hood christmas classic, baby."

Carson simply rolled over as I paused the film. " I don't care if it's a hood christmas classic. We need to give them some space to bond with our niece or nephew. Either you walk out of the door willingly, or i'll drag you out of the room by your fucking ear."

Carson blindly reached for the kettle corn, watching Dominic's reaction to Rhegan's threat.

" That's if you can reach," Dominic tapped her nose with his pointer finger.

Oh boy. Things were about to take a turn.

" Dominic fucking steele." Dominic had to be shaking in his boots if even I got chills from the sound of Rhegan's tone.

" Well goodnight guys. Don't stay up too late kids," Dominic quickly turned on his heels and marched out of the door with Rhegan hot on heels.

" Get in the room and think about your actions. You're not getting any tonight."

Carson and I exchanged amused looks as Domimnic began to throw a tantrum. " Not even that thing with you––"

" Especially that!"

Carson couldn't hold his laughter any longer. Especially when Kyler yelled, " shut the fuck up! I'm trying to get my dick sucked and I'm having a hard time concentrating when your loud ass is throwing a damn tantrum!"

" Fuck off!" Dominic whined.

" You know what, I could always sage the last house," I joked.

There was no way that I was bringing my baby back to this frat of a penthouse. I loved living with everyone but this was no place to raise a baby.

" That sounds like a good idea."

______________

" This house has six bedrooms and eight bathrooms. It's nine thousand, four hundred and ninety-five square footage. It sits on two hillside lots which takes up about a width of this block." We followed the new realtor throughout the entrance of the house.

This one was a tad bit older but a lot more professional.

As we walked throughout the house, she proceeded to tell us all of the amenities that came with it. " This listing has panoramic views of the city, indoor and outdoor living, entertainment, and dining spaces and if you look outside, there's a nice infinity pool overlooking the city's skyline."

I approached the glass windows, looking out at the pool on the side of the deck seeing all of the greenery and nature surrounding the property. " What do you think so far?" Carson grabbed my hand, intertwining our fingers as we stared out of the window.

" It's really nice so far. I'd like to see the rest of it before coming to a final decision though," I joked, turning towards him with a smile.

" Of course," he kissed the tip of my nose.

I found it adorable how much Carson loved house hunting. He was always so interested in the area, the best schools in the district for our kids, and of course, the distance between the house and the stadium. Overall, he was more interested in my opinion and whether I thought it was a good fit for our family,

There was always the idea of building our home from scratch as well. However, we didn't have enough time to build a home from the ground up before the baby came. For now I wanted to focus on finding a home that we could live comfortably in while we started that process.

And building a home took time, especially a dream home.

" And what is the asking price?" I asked as we walked outside, stuffing my hands into the warmth of my pockets,

" Forty million, five hundred thousand is the asking price," the realtor nodded.

That seemed about right. The house was up to date with top of the line appliances and technical features throughout the house. I wouldn't expect anything less of the asking price.

" Shall we take a look at the rest of the property?" She asked.

I was starting to get hungry and tired. This listing was interfering with my second nap of the day and the grouchiness was begging to make an appearance for the lack of rest. " Yes please," I quickly answered.

Carson chuckled quietly, knowing exactly why I was so eager to move this along.

Despite that, I thoroughly enjoyed the house. It had a decent sized backyard and outdoor entertainment space. The kitchen was open floor plan, providing a nice direct view of the back yard.

" Well?" Carson asked again once the realtor gave us a moment alone.

I looked around the master bedroom, noting the breathtaking view of the city. " It's a nice home, very spacious. It doesn't really feel like a family home but I think that it's a perfect temporary home."

Carson walked in front of me, gently cradling my cheeks. Smiling softly, I kissed the inside of his palms as he stared into my eyes. " So are we buying a house?"

I hummed, kissing his palm again. " We're buying a house."

" I love you," he smiles, closing the space between us.

" I love you too."

My stomach growled just as our lips touched, followed by the baby kicking me. " I think the baby's hungry," I whispered against his lips.

" Is the baby hungry or is it you?" He countered, brushing his lips against mine as he spoke.

I quickly pulled away, scowling at him. " So you got jokes?"

He quickly dropped his hands to my waist, gently pulling closer to him as I crossed my arms, trying but failing to scowl him. I couldn't help it when he smiled that stupid boyish grin— the grin that made his eyes light up like a thousand twinkle lights. Or the fact that he was looking at me with so much love that I felt it all the way down to my toes.

How lucky was I to call him my fiancé?

" Yes," he kissed my lips once. " And a reservation to your favorite restaurant."

I was very lucky to call him my fiancé.

" Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

February 14th.

" Carson, you're turning red," Ayanna let out labored breaths as she sat on the birthing ball. " Breathe baby."

I chuckled. Breathe.

" I'm supposed to be telling you that, Ayanna." I paced back and forth, watching from a distance because I didn't want to smother her.

Or maybe I should be smothering her.

Great. I'm already off to a bad start.

" Ouuu," she hissed, rubbing the side of stomach.

Okay, maybe I should be smothering her.

I quickly raced over to her, pressing my palms on her belly as Elizabeth rubs her shoulders. " You're doing great, baby momma."

Elizabeth stayed behind while the others went to get food, per Ayanna's request. She practically had to guilt trip them into leaving the room. Except Elizabeth.

She had stayed behind to give the group updates while they left. Plus, she was probably the only one who was able to understand half of the stuff the doctors said since she helped Ayanna with research and birthing methods.

I looked over to the monitor, seeing that she was six centimeters dilated. " Only a few more centimeters, angel. Our little baller is almost here."

Ayanna wiped her palm over her forehead as she chuckled. " What if the baby doesn't want to play basketball?"

I nearly jerked back, appalled at the question. " He or she will have a wonderful career in the NBA or WNBA. This baby has basketball in their genes. They'll have their jump shot down before they learn to walk."

" I can promise you that." I nodded.

Ayanna and Elizabeth shared a look, both looking like they were about to have a field day at my expense.

" Laugh all you want but it's true." With this baby growing around a bunch of gentle-ish giants... it was sure to happen. Especially when half of us being team boy.

" Whatever you say, Carson," Ayanna hisses.

By the time the group came back, Ayanna was bent over the bed while I rubbed her back. Her contractions had begun to speed up, hitting her left and right.

Elizabeth had left the room when the others came back, seconding to eat outside with Abel out of respect for Ayanna.

" I would kill for a burger right now," Ayanna cried as I handed her the ice chips.

" It'll be the first thing you get when you wake up," I promised,continuing my circular motions on her back as haley out a pained sigh.

" I'd hope so after I push out this baby of yours."

" Our baby." I corrected her.

Ayanna scrunched her nose up. " I'm in labor. I get a pass on the things that come out of my mouth while enduring immense amounts of pain."

Well that's fair.

Considering the fact that she denied the epidural like a crazy person. But my girl was strong and would kick natural birth right in the ass.

Plus, I was with her every step of the way.

" We're having a baby!" Ayanna and I, along with everyone else looked up as Haze and Xander burst into the room straight from their practice with balloons in tow.

" We didn't know which balloons to get since you guys had to be so secretive about the gender," Haze sassily remarks, setting the balloons in the corner.

" There's only one balloon for a girl and like twenty for a boy," Sade pointed out.

Xander and Haze shrugged their shoulders in unison. " Oh really? I didn't notice," Xander said as he plopped into a chair.

Sade rolled her eyes as she took the balloons and put them into a closet. " Thisnis what happens when you leave the rookies to the grown ups job," she mumbled under her breath.

" Hey!" Haze pouted as Ayanna let out a pained grunt.

" Alright, if you're going to bicker while my fiancée is about to deliver a whole child, I would kindly like this to be the time where you exit the room," I stressed while helping Ayanna get into bed.

" Where is my mother?" She cried.

" Their plane just landed," Dominic informed her." They'll be here as soon as possible, Yaya."

Ayanna lowered her head onto her pillows, sighing as I squeezed her hand. " You're doing alright, Angel. You're doing just fine."

By the time Ayanna was ready to push,our parents had arrived and she was more than what to push out the baby.

" This is all your fault!" She cried, clenching her face as she pushed.

" I know baby," I responded, kissing the middle of her forehead.

" Can I have a big push, Ayanna?" The doctor asked as Ayanna cried, shaking her head no.

" Yes you can, Ayanna. A few big pushes and your little angel will be safe in your arms, baby girl. Just a few big pushes ," Raven spoke, brushing hair out of her face.

Ayanna let out another pained scream. It hurt to hear her go through so much pain in order for us to meet our small bundle of joy. She would say that it was worth it though.

" Two more, Ayanna! I can see the head!"

I tighten my grip on Ayanna's hand. That being the only thing that I can do while she pushes. " One more baby! One more! You got this, my strong girl."

Ayanna smiles as she pushes once more and the baby slides right out. I'm not even paying attention to the doctor as we await for the baby to cry. My gaze is fully on Ayanna as she throws her head back into the pillows, tired but happy.

At the sound of a baby's cry, I snap my head towards our child.

" Congratulations you two," the doctor says standing up. " It's a boy!"

I couldn't help but cheer. " It's a boy, boys! We got a mini baller!"

I could hear their cheers from the outside hallway as Ata bar shook her head. " Cut the damn cord," she rolled her eyes playfully as the doctor handed me a pair of scissors.

I took them, carefully cutting the umbilical cord and then I held him for the first time.

He was perfect.

I smiled as I handed him to Ayanna, watching as tears fell down her cheeks at the first sight of him. My own eyes watered up a bit at the two people that made me the happiest meeting for the first time.

" He's so perfect," Ayanna cried, kissing his forehead.

" What are you naming him?" Raven asked, smiling down at her grandson.

" Halo." Ayanna looked up at me.

" His name is Halo."

________________

" Yep. Uncle Dom is going to have you nice with the fresh fits," Dominic held Halo in his big arms. The baby didn't have a clue in the world as he stared up at his uncle, blinking slowly.

Halo was the perfect mixture of me and Ayanna. He had my eyes and nose. While he got Ayanna's curls and lips.

He was just so damn perfect. Of course he'd slept half of the time like Ayanna, but when he was awake he was the chillest baby.