Kindred Spirits | Juan Toscano-Anderson

38 x Effort Pay Off

6 Weeks Later

It was mid February and officially the week of All Star Weekend. They would be going for three reasons: to support the Warriors that were in the All Star Game, Juan competing in the Dunk Contest, and Cynatra's birthday.

Everyone you can imagine would be there.

Cynatra had been back and forth to Atlanta over the last month and a half. The details of Taquan's case were starting to pick up and she needed to speak to the prosecution as well as the police. She was barely home and it reflected.

"I'm so happy you're home and I'm happy you're going on this damn trip because if I hear that man complain about missing you again, I'm gonna slit my own throat." Ricki huffed.

"It couldn't have been that bad."

It was that bad.

"Cyn, he's been sleeping here more than his own apartment. I only know that cause thick neck ass had been here too. There's food from Aunt Pat's house. Every. Single. Day. Cause he doesn't have time to cook. All him and Jordan have been doing is training together and eating that food."

"Speaking of, you're going to Maui right?"

"No, I'm going to all star weekend."

Cynatra gave Ricki a look, "Why? When your man is going to be on an island."

"He's not my man, and your birthday is this weekend." Ricki said matter of factly.

"I'll have another birthday next year. He invited you on that trip, go be with him."

Ricki refusing to go to Maui was insane. Jordan invited her in different ways before flat out saying he wanted her to go. She gave a bunch of "I'll sees" and "maybe, I don't know." But in reality she thought that it was a big step.

"Enough about me, you're going to be looking at basketball all weekend, your birthday weekend, why?"

Although Cynatra was always surrounded by sweaty men dribbling the orange and black ball, she didn't mind it being during her weekend.

"I never celebrate anyways. And I was promised that I would have fun so I'm gonna try to be optimistic. Richelle, don't use me as a scapegoat. I'm serious, go be with Jordan."

"I'll think about it." Cynatra raised a brow at her younger cousin, "I'll think about it forreal this time."

"In the meantime, you excited to see your man?"
"A little."

Cynatra had a pile of clothes on the bed that she needed to sort through. Ricki now laid in the open space on the bed.

"A little? What's going on there?"

She had grown tired of their relationship, or lack there of. Over the last month she had time to think about it and she felt like her initial reason to stop wasn't the only reason.

Yeah, she didn't want to put Juan through the emotional turmoil of a trial, trauma and the unknown. But he had her going through the unknown himself. They'd been head over heels, in love, under each other, stressed and not eating when apart, all for them to still be friends and business partners on paper.

They were comfortable with saying the other was "theirs" and not a step had been taken forward. All they did was cry together and have sex and she was over it.

"Ricki I'm honestly not feeling it anymore."

Sitting up, Ricki was absolutely shocked. "You're serious?"

"It's not going anywhere, I feel like we're stuck and I don't want us to drag it along. I'll cry about it later but dealing with Juan is the last thing on my mind."