SEDUCTIVE WHISPERS | THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GAME SERIES (BWBM)

TWENTY-THREE

D A K A R I

"How's the wife?" I questioned William as I knocked a ball into the pool table's side pocket with ease drawing a soft curse from him while I readied myself for another shot.

"Pregnant." He answered, catching me off guard to the point where I almost hit the cue ball with unfocused aim, luckily I stopped myself in time to give him a look of bewilderment.

"Again?" I inquired, hoping I had heard wrong, but from the annoyed eye roll he gave me, I knew I didn't.

"Yes again."

"Y'all tryna create an army or something?" I posed, drawing a laugh from Imani who sat around the bar that was located behind my house not very far from where the pool table stood.

"I'm saying." She agreed as I got myself back into position to make a calculated move that would knock the odds of winning in my favour.

"This is our last child." He defended, but I wasn't gon believe a word he said because this declaration was a regular thing for him.

"That's what you said a year ago when you had the second one."

"You need to take yo ass to the doctor and get a vasectomy."

Imani's words brought a chuckle past my lips that nearly affected my attempt at striking the cue ball just right, and as luck would have it I managed to knock two balls into the corner pocket.

"Shit." He cursed, watching nervously as I moved to take another shot at one of the two balls left on the table, but he chose to put aside this feeling to respond to Imani's statement, "I already have a date scheduled, ion wanna see Latoya go through this pain again."

I wasn't surprised by his sentiments because it was one he expressed many times before since he not only experienced the trauma of his wife going through labour, but his own mother had died giving birth to him.

"So what I gotta do today besides beating you in a game of pool?" I asked, briefly checking my watch before positioning my cue stick again.

"We need to drop by the clinic to see how the building is processing because I was told it's nearly completed." Imani notified me, and this information tugged on my heart strings because I had been anticipating this day for months—no, actually years now ever since I had formed the idea of opening a clinic for women, men and children who are and have been abused in all manner of ways.

"So do you think it'll be open before the 20th?" I questioned her, hitting the cue ball with the intention of it directing one of the two balls on the table into a pocket, but my efforts were deemed useless as it didn't even graze a single ball. This fact brought relief to Will as he began the process of analysing his next play which had me sharing my attention between my two friends.

"If everything goes as planned? Yes."

Even though the date evidently wasn't set in stone I was still happy to hear this response because it brought hope to me.

"Good."

"You also have a meeting with Don Russo, he basically wants to further finalise what you've already discussed." Will announced, and this had me placing my attention on him to see he was ready to make a move.

"Imani imma need you to sit in." I told her, gaining no protest in return.

"Mhm."

"Then you have—" I started, resting my eyes on her and I immediately caught the sight of her smiling brightly as she typed something on her phone, "Wait, who you texting?"