“I thought y’all were keeping shit low?” I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do right now because I was torn.
He smirked and picked up an available clipboard that had paper for us to fill out with our girls’ information on it. “Lowkey doesn’t mean I ain’t claiming her. That’s me and if somebody's got a question I for damn sure got an answer. The answer might be they can stay out my business and off my dick but I ain’t about to have her miss out on something like that. Besides, it ain’t really seem like an optional thing and it gives her a chance to meet more people down here.” He shrugged because Aphrodite was in a similar situation to Sterling. She’d come with Anthony to Texas after Wimbledon and had been training here for weeks. They’d hung out after the night we’d all been at the club together but I knew Aphrodite wouldn’t have a lot of free time that wasn’t taken up with her training. And as soon as camp was over Ant was gone be doing a full-court press to make the team and convince her to stay here after the US Open. So that meant Ling might still be lonelier than I wanted her to be. I glanced over his shoulder looking at the shit they were asking on the paper.
“You're lobbying hard for her to stay ain’t you?”
He looked back with a smile on his face as he nodded his head. “Fuck yeah. I ain’t dumb enough to think that it mightnot work out. But I’m a firm believer in putting good shit out and letting things play out. The last thing I want is for her to have doubts about my intentions because I excluded her from an event that’s meant for our partners. I'll be damned if she questions her place in my life based on an oversight on my part. I worked too damn hard for this for me to let something small hold us back.”
I rubbed my forehead cause this nigga was preaching and I was feeling convicted with his logic. “I feel like you screaming at me right now.”
“Nah, that’s your conscience whooping your ass not me. You know you need to add Sterling’s name right beside AP’s, why are you hesitating?” When Ant folded his arms like he was gone go to war with me over Ling, I was pissed but it gave me even more respect for him. Most men our age in the league weren’t trying to do right by themselves let alone anyone else. My situation had a lot of people looking at me differently but never Anthony.
“That list is too long to speak on quickly.”
“Nigga, we got the time to walk from here to over there, getting to talking.” When he motioned from the middle of the table to the end of it I cracked up laughing. It had to be something in their genes that made him and his brother as funny as they were.
We were cool; he was probably the person closest to me but I was still uncomfortable speaking on my concerns. They might lead to him asking questions I couldn’t answer without speaking on something I wasn’t ready. But I needed his advice so I was going to have to take that chance. “You don’t think she’s going to take this shit the wrong way?”
Anthony’s brow cocked and I could almost see him questioning if I was too stupid to be his friend. “What way? That you want her to be more than the nanny? I think she got that hint when you laid that nigga out in the club for talking to hersideways.” He gave me a pointed look like I had done something special, when I knew he would’ve fucked him up too. Lucky had given us both a wide berth since we got here yesterday and I hoped that shit stayed that way.
“That was over disrespect. I’d have done—”
Ant held up his hand like he wasn’t going to let me finish the lie that was about to roll out of my mouth. “You might have checked his ass but you wouldn’t have put them paws on him and then sat yo’ happy ass down close enough to her that y’all looked conjoined. You can’t rewrite history I was there to witness, ya heard me?” Anthony was laughing like any of this was funny but I was frowning because I was still trying to figure out the best thing to do.
“Maybe…”
“Stop thinking too hard and go with your gut. Your first thought was to put her name down so do that shit and keep it moving. The worst she can do is not go, right?” Anthony looked at me like he wanted me to tighten up.
“Yeah, I guess.” Even that had me feeling some kinda way ‘cause if she didn’t go I was gonna feel some kinda way. But I knew if one of us was going to do it I would. I had no issue with reassuring Sterling despite my own concerns that I wasn’t playing around with her.
I bent down and scrawled Ling’s information onto the form they had for us to fill out. I could feel Anthony watching me, probably trying to figure out how I knew so much about her and why I had it memorized by heart. Was I going to share that I’d committed everything about her to memory? Hell no. I fooled myself into thinking it would be better since she had my daughter for me to know her number in case something happened to my phone but I still needed to reach her. But as far as knowing her birthdate, shoe size, clothing size and other pertinent information, I clearly felt like a stalker because I couldrattle damn near everything off about the girl from memory. Including her favorite color being red.
Damn. The fucking tables have turned in less than a quarter.
“Was it that hard to admit you feeling the girl?” Anthony’s grinning ass clamped his hand on my shoulder and I shrugged it off even though I felt like a weight had been lifted by writing her name down.
“No. But I also don’t want a fucking sexual harassment lawsuit on me if shit goes wrong.” I rubbed the back of my head. The idea of my name being back in the paper for some bullshit caused my stomach to churn.
“Gotta be real with you so you can be real with yourself, Money. Sterling doesn’t strike me as that kinda chick. And you gotta know that’s the truth; otherwise you wouldn’t have kept her around Ami.” Again this nigga was making good points but that didn’t mean I was going to go full steam ahead with this trust shit.
She's been living with you and you got her in the house unmonitored, think we’re far past that on trust. Especially since you got her caring for your seed.
“You right. It’s just me trying to be judgmental as fuck because I can’t control myself around her.”
Anthony’s eyes narrowed and I felt like he was going to swing on me. Appropriate response to how I misspoke but damn he should’ve known me better than that. “Fuck you mean, nigga?”
I held my hands up because he was hearing me wrong. “Not like that. Never like that. I’d kill myself before I did that to Ling or anyone else.”
“Bout to say, don’t tell me I misjudged you and you being a fuck nigga out here. I’d have to tell the line to stop blockin’ for your ass after I drug you out on the field and we jumped you.” Anthony’s face still bore the look of disgust I’d expect tosee when it came to the thought of someone taking advantage of a woman. I had a little sister and even if I didn’t the thought of someone taking advantage of any woman turned my fucking stomach. Especially now. The thought of that shit happening to Ling had me fucking murderous though.
I blinked back the haze that seemed to fall over my face before I spoke up again.
“And I’d help you. But you right. I’m hesitant cause I’ve been burned in the past—”
Anthony’s brows shot up and I knew immediately where his mind went. “I ain’t trying to speak ill of the dead—”
I could only chuckle because if only he knew how many times I wanted to drag that bitch out of whatever hole they’d buried her in for all the shit she’d done to me and Ami he wouldn’t feel the need to say that. “But it’s clear you're about to so why are we even going through the preface?”
Anthony looked pensive, almost like he was reflecting over what he was going to say before he spoke. That was the major difference between him and Antwan. “You were dealt a bad hand with a good result.”
