I put the truck in gear and backed out of the driveway. “Yeah. Relax, I got you. Just enjoy tonight.”
STERLING
THIS IS SOMETHING I’d avoided my whole life and now I’d thrown myself into the thick of it. I’d thought that someone might have information on him coming out to the club tonight but I didn’t think he was going to be the unofficial host of the night. Aldrich’s ass let me know that as we pulled up and there was a line of people and a few cameras that were waiting for him to arrive. I couldn’t lie like I didn’t panic because I had a cousin who was so desperate to be a WAG despite having her own bag that she kept up with every player on every franchise like it was her job. I mean marrying rich in our family was almost a requirement.
Aldrich seemed to sense my panic and almost drove me around to a different side but instead had the security come out and meet us so that he walked in ahead of me and they walked me in behind him while the attention was focused on him. When I got inside the club, he was waiting by the door and I appreciated him not leaving me with two strange men I didn’t know. He took my hand immediately and they flanked us as we took the steps to the section that was reserved for him. The men didn’t speak and they were dressed in suits instead of being in club clothing. Now I was wondering if he’d hired them personally instead of working for the actual club. It made me feel extra secure because he wasn’t leaving anything to chance and I appreciated that more than he knew.
We walked in and I immediately recognized two people and no one else. I knew who Aphrodite was but I could tell shewanted to be low-key. When I sat down with her we immediately started to chat because we were both from the New York New Jersey area and I hadn’t talked to anyone from near home in a minute. Even her accent made me miss home and I wondered if mine was so obvious to Aldrich when I spoke.
Aphrodite and Anthony were clearly a couple and even when he’d come by the house a few times he’d been talking about someone named AP. I didn’t think he’d been speaking in code, simply referring to her the way he always did because he was clearly head over heels for her. They looked cute together and everyone in the world had seen that photo of Anthony lifting her up off the court at Wimbledon. It had been over every major sports network and since those were the channels that Aldrich normally had playing in the family room off the kitchen, I’d seen it happen in real time. The worry on his face when he thought she was injured and then the way he’d swept her out of the limelight so she could just rest was so damn romantic. The picture alone was something out of a great romance and the way he watched her now like she was the only person on earth even in the middle of this section could only be described as the look of love.
Damn, seeing it up close and for real is something crazy.
Aphrodite was even prettier in person than she was on the screen. I guess that made sense since right now she was all dolled up and normally she was sweating and grunting through swings. But she reminded me of Jhené Aiko with her almond-shaped eyes, rounded face and her long locs.
“I haven’t been out in forever.” Aphrodite sipped from her drink and glanced around, soaking everything in. I wasn’t sure if I was just that much of a homebody or if I was disillusioned with being out, but I was damn near ready to go. The highlight of my night had been talking to Aphrodite and hearing how she and Anthony met was just proof that they were really past feelingeach other and were a legit couple. Plenty of people had tried to say they were dating each other for clout or were just PR, but these types of feelings couldn’t be faked.
More and more people crowded into the section and I was on one end near people I didn’t know. Aphrodite was next to me, Anthony next to her and Aldrich was on the other side. There weren’t any women nearby and the men that had walked us in had seemingly disappeared.
“Neither have I, but mainly because I’ve been working and haven’t really cared to even step out.”
She nodded her understanding because I was sure her training kept her busy and I worked so I didn’t have to deal with outsiders. I wasn’t big on making friends but I couldn’t deny that speaking with Aphrodite didn’t have me realizing what I was missing.
“What’s your name, beautiful?” A man interrupted our conversation and I hoped he wasn’t crazy enough to be talking to Aphrodite when her man was literally sitting there with his arm around her. The guy was wearing a lot of what he wanted people to believe was diamond jewelry but with the way it refracted in the dim lighting I knew it was moissanite. To each their own but I didn’t get why men would try to make themselves look wealthier than they were and then get mad when women were attracted to it and desired some of that wealth?
With the way he was looking right at me, I realized it was me he was speaking to. To be nice, I gave him a slight smile before I told him what he wanted to know. “Sterling.”
He looked slightly “Like the silver?”
I could hear Aphrodite muffle a laugh and I had to bite back what I really wanted to say because he was being unoriginal but looked at me like I should be flattered. “Yes, you could say that.”
“Cool, cool. I see you wanna be around the team and shit.” He rubbed his hands together eyeing me again and looking meup and down like he had an agenda for the night and I was on it. I wasn’t ignorant to how people moved despite growing up in a different type of environment. If anything, the circles I’d grown up in were far more predatory than the obvious way he was acting so I wasn’t bothered by his behavior. I just hoped he was someone who could hear no and leave it at that.
“I’m just here with friends.” I gave him a smile and nodded toward Aphrodite, hoping he would understand that I wasn’t just some groupie here by myself. I guess he thought I was just a tagalong with a famous person who might want to be famous. Since I didn’t even know who the hell he was I don’t know why he thought that meant him but I guess in his mind he was LeBron in his prime.
“That’s what they all say, trying to be innocent. It’s cool, though. Nobody here gonna hold shit against you, baby girl. We all here to do what we feel.” He reached out his hand as if he were about to touch me and I shifted my legs toward Aphrodite so that he wouldn’t contact me. He frowned and I knew this was going to go left so I wanted to keep everything calm.
“I’m just relaxing enjoying the night out.” I kept my smile small trying not to be a bitch but also not to encourage him. The music up here wasn’t as loud as it was in the other areas of the club but I still needed to strain to hear him.
“So what you do?”
“I’m a nurse.” I wasn’t sure if Aldrich wanted people to know I worked for him outside of Anthony who seemed to be the only one he really was cool with here. He’d greeted the other people I felt were his teammates but he only spoke with Anthony. Besides checking to see if I wanted a drink a few times, they’d been chopping it up all night.
“Oh, for real. Like wiping asses and shit? Couldn’t be me.” He looked disgusted with the thought of being a caretaker forsomeone else and that said more about his character than even his jewelry did.
I fought to keep my lip from curling up because he made it seem like that aspect of nursing was demeaning when being able to care for someone at their lowest was an honorable thing to do. I was glad I hadn’t said much else because then Aldrich would’ve been drawn into the argument if he’d said something about Ami. Hell, I’d curse him out for saying something about her.
“Most of the people who take on those tasks are CNAs but yeah I’ve had my fair share of it too. I’m a BSN and have a master’s degree in nursing.”
“Oh, so you're smart then?”
His remark was still condescending, as though being smart was a sin but not a minute ago he was degrading the more physical side of nursing. This man was the type to neg a woman into low self-esteem and I’d already lived that slow erosion of my self-worth. I wasn’t about to volunteer for it a second time.
“That’s all relative. Plenty of smart people without degrees, plenty of dumb ones with them.” My attempt at neutrality wasn’t appreciated because his eyes narrowed and he leaned closer to me and I could see the way his face had gotten tighter despite how dim it was inside.
“You think you’re too good to talk to me?” Now I was frowning since nothing he’d said or done the entire time he’d been over here made him someone I wanted to speak to.
“Chill, bruh, she's trying to chill tonight.” I didn’t know how Aldrich was clued into what was going on enough to give this warning but when I glanced at him, his eyes were fixed on his teammate. Instead of listening, his teammate pushed it a step too far and now turned whatever had been bothering him onto Aldrich.
