The kids lose their shit when Ryan Shay, NBA champion and two-time league MVP shows up at their school or playground and shoots hoops, reads a book with them, or makes sure they have shoes to play in. He does a fantastic job not only being the face of The Ryan Shay Foundation, but also pouring everything he’s got into giving back to the city that loves him.
“Daily update, Vee.”
“Absolutely not.”
“This morning in the shower—”
“Make it stop.”
I cover the kids’ ears. “Your brother had me pressed so hard against the glass that I’m pretty sure there’s a permanent outline of my tits etched into our shower wall.”
“It’s been over four years, Ind. Put me out of my misery.”
“I made you a promise all those years ago,” I remind her. “I’m nothing if not loyal to my word.”
Stevie takes Iverson from me, and Tay makes herself even more comfortable in my lap, leaning her head back to lay on my chest.
“How’s my favorite guy?” Stevie asks her nephew.
“I’m good, sweetheart!” Zanders calls out from the back of the room.
Navy’s giggle fills my ears as she plays with her uncle.
“Is Uncle Zee full of himself?” Stevie pitches her voice higher, and Iverson loves it. He smiles at her, all deep-set dimples and baby teeth. “Yes, he is! He’s a cocky guy, isn’t he?”
She peppers her nephew’s cheeks with kisses, and I will never get over how much my kids love their family. How much I love my family. How lucky I’ve been to surround myself with my favorite people, for them to love on my kids the same way I love on theirs.
They’ve got grandparents that adore them, aunts and uncles that treat them as their own, and a dad who spends every free moment he has making sure they know how adored they are.
Taylor laughs in my lap at Stevie’s voice.
“Tay, is your mom talking like a baby?”
“Yeah!” She covers her mouth to contain her laughter. “Iverson is a baby, but I’m not a baby anymore.”
“You’re not?” Stevie sighs. “You’re still my baby, though.”
“No!” Taylor laughs. “I’m three.” She holds up her fingers to make sure her mom knows. “Iverson and Navy are two. They’re babies.”
“Ah. Then I guess you don’t want to go see Danny the Devil at halftime. I think only babies are into team mascots.”
She sits up on my lap, her curly hair bouncing with the movement. “No! I want to go!”
“Oh, okay. I must have been mistaken when you said you weren’t a baby.”
She brings her cheek to her shoulder, showing off that cheeky smile her dad passed on to her. “I’m your baby.”
Stevie laughs before leaning over and popping a kiss on her cheek. “Yes, you are.”
Stevie and Zanders were one and done. Taylor was born and that was it, their family was complete. Rosie was obsessed with her from the moment she was born. They’ve recently moved into a house close to ours and adopted a few more pups, but Taylor is the center of their universe, and it works perfectly for them. She’s witty, charming, sweet, and sharp as a whip. It’s a dangerous combination and they’re going to have their hands full as she gets older. She’s also stunning, with hazel eyes and curly hair. Zee will be getting a taste of his own medicine when she grows up and has everyone in school chasing after her.
“Navy girl!” I call out. “Do you want to go see your dad before his game starts?”
She hops her bare feet off Zanders, stopping their dance for now. “Yes!”
“Daddy?” Iverson quietly asks. “Basketball.” He makes the American Sign Language sign for basketball with his hands.
It’s his new favorite word to speak and sign. He doesn’t have quite all the syllables down, but knows it starts with the “B” sound and ends with ‘ball’， but he caught on to the sign no problem. Both my kids are learning ASL as they learn to speak English, and Ryan is essentially fluent now as well. I love that my dad gets to experience his grandkids learning new words in the same way we do.
“Yeah, baby, he’s playing basketball, and you can see Dom.”
“Dom!”
He loves that word too.
With Navy’s hand in one of mine and Iverson’s hand in my other, we slowly make our way down to the court with their tiny steps, using the back tunnels to navigate our way through the arena. We take our time because just about every staff member here knows the kids by name and Navy needs to show off her bedazzled Converse while Iverson wants to throw them the stuffed basketball toy he carries everywhere he goes.
They give high fives and waves until finally, we make it to the court while the Devils are still shooting around before formal warm-ups begin.
“Daddy!” Navy bounces on her toes as soon as she sees him.
There he is, number five, all sweaty and all mine. Ryan Shay has only gotten sexier with age. He’s still the same confident and controlled basketball player out there on the court and I love watching him run every game he plays. But when he’s at home, he’s relaxed and knows how to let loose. Moving into that house has been amazing for many reasons, but it’s truly given Ryan enough distance from the city to leave the basketball superstar with two MVP titles at the door.
When he’s home, he’s Dad and Husband, and he excels at both.
“Dad!” Iverson catches on, wearing a little Shay jersey of his own with Ryan’s number on it.
Ryan is entirely focused as he always is on the court, running through ball-handling drills with Leon off to the side. Leon sees us first and while continuing to dribble, he gains Ryan’s attention, nodding our way.
Ryan looks up and that serious and stoic expression melts, my favorite beaming smile stretching across his lips. He drops both balls he’s working with and jogs over to us without a second thought. I let go of the kids’ hands and they charge at him full speed, which granted, isn’t very fast on their little legs. Bending down, Ryan scoops them up, one in each arm, covering them both in kisses.
It’s my favorite view, the three of them together. I could sit and watch them all day and never tire of the sight. Ryan Shay as a dad is not only sweet and fun, but he’s also hot as hell while doing it. Have you ever seen a 6’3” basketball player laying shirtless with his newborns or in a nursery building cribs with his hands? Because I have and let me tell you, it’s a vision that will forever be branded into my memory.
“Are you checking me out, Shay?” Ryan asks, wearing a cocky little smirk and breaking me out of my daydream.
No use denying it. “Yes.”
His smile only grows as his eyes rake every inch of me, all the way from my head to the Converse of my feet. As much I still love my heels, I’ve got a couple of toddlers to chase after these days, so they only really see the light of day when Ryan and I attend events or have date nights.
“Daddy play basketball now?” Iverson cuts in, interrupting his dad’s blatant perusal over my body.
“Yeah, buddy, just like you.”
Iverson waves his stuffed basketball around. The kid is an athletic freak for a two-year-old, already making the majority of his shots on his mini hoop at home and learning new tricks on his tiny scooter every day. His balance and coordination are out of this world, and he’s in the ninety-ninth percentile for height in his age group. I have a sneaking suspicion that Ryan’s mini me will be following in his dad’s footsteps one day.