She wasn’t lying because I felt like she was going to gnaw the corner of her lip raw.
“There’s so much going on this weekend that I think we’re feeling all the weight of that too.”
Yzzy nodded and crossed her legs continuing to fidget. Her engagement ring and wedding band flashed tastefully in the lights of the stadium and I had to grin, remembering Samp’s words about kids.
“True. We would have another person we love involved in another sport. I don’t know what we were thinking. Aphrodite has been around for so long I don’t even think about it, but now with a brother-in-law that’s on the team, another brother-in-law that’s a rodeo athlete and a husband that is a fanatic for both sports, I understand how people can become overwhelmed with it.” She shook her head and I could tell it stressed her out but she loved it too.
“You could always just not go to the games.”
She shot me a look like I’d lost my mind, which confirmed exactly what I was thinking. “You really might not be my friend thinking like that.”
I laughed and turned my focus back to the game. One thing I could say was that everyone had been on their A-game with outfits for this event. It wasn’t something that I was concerned with, judging them for what they were wearing, but they put this shit on. Every woman wore clothing that fit her personality but it was Lyric’s outfit that was my favorite. She’d worn a floor-length men’s style button up maxi dress. She left it unbuttoned with a thick gold link choker, a white tennis skirt and designer sneakers with a fitted half tank underneath. She wasn’t trying to change her style but it looked like something everyone would be copying.
My eyes were focused back on the game grateful that Aldrich’s mother didn’t mind looking after Ami in our hotel room. She said she missed her anyway and she didn’t make me feel guilty about not skipping the match to stay with her. I’m sure that she realized things between me and Aldrich were different just by how he spoke to me over the phone. She’d overheard our conversation but just smiled like the idea of us made her happy. It was strange that I was still getting deposits to take care of her but things had shifted between me and her father. Aldrich refused to stop paying me, which made me feel slightly out of place.
Aphrodite served the ball over the net her feet shuffling as she waited for the ball to be returned. Aphrodite’s serve was returned and she could hit it to a spot on the court where her opponent couldn’t get to it. As soon as the announcer called the game we were on our feet cheering for her. You could see the look of wonder in Aphrodite’s eyes as the realization of her win washed over her. The media flooded her and somehow they knew we were there for her and pointed us out. We started toholler even louder hyping her up and she waved with tears in her eyes. I understood how she was feeling. We both lived lives that placed high expectations on both of us. Not only that, but having friends wasn’t something that was in the cards for us. Her because everyone was competition on the court and me because they felt like my money made me a threat on the marriage market I didn’t give a fuck to be on. I didn’t need to glance around to see that we were all tearing up because you could feel the joy for Aphrodite in the entire stadium.
Her win was historic and I prayed this set the tone for the rest of the weekend. We were going to make sure that it was amazing. I knew that Aldrich had a lot to prove to the critics that had talked shit about him and how his off the field life was going to interfere with his game. He had a point to prove and since they might consider me a distraction; I wanted to absolutely make them eat their words. But right now, I was about to celebrate my girl making Black History.
This was probably a terrible idea.
There was noprobablyabout it, it is definitely a terrible idea. But I couldn’t help but be me. And maybe that was the fucking problem. I needed to be a little less Sterling right now and a lot more…hell, anyone else. But there was one thing about me and that meant I wasn’t about to go out anywhere and embarrass my ancestors. I had to show up dressed to impress and so did baby girl.
I’d sewn up a custom onesie for Ami to wear with her father’s number on it and a custom white and blue tutu to match her jersey. Her curly hair was put into two pigtails and with those two deep dimples in her cheeks that matched her daddy she wasready to go. I’d gotten her blinged-out headphones to match her outfit just in case the stadium got too loud.
I’d had a bunch of confidence while we celebrated Aphrodite last night but somehow in the light of day today it had waned. Maybe because I didn’t have the shield of my friends around me to confirm everything would be good. Maybe because I didn’t have Aldrich to say he’d handled it. I had a lot of people counting on me to ensure everything this weekend was going to work out and I didn’t want to let anyone down.
I’d thought about just wearing a laid-back outfit or something that didn’t show my affliction with anyone on the team. Aldrich asked me about my game outfit before he met the team plane like he knew I was trying to fade into the background. When he saw what I suggested, he told me it wasn’t at all enough. And then he left something for me to wear that would remove all doubt about who I was in his life.
Putting it on today made me suddenly nervous. It was a loud statement, a declaration, a giant middle finger to anyone who had questions about him or about me. I wasn’t upset about it and it made me proud to be claimed but I was still nervous. Having avoided scrutiny from the press my entire life I wasn’t interested in courting their attention now.
Too fucking late.
I couldn’t complain about not looking the part or not having my look together. Porsha was a magician with hair because mine was flourishing under her watch. She’d had time to give me a fresh blown out and place the clip-ins that matched my natural highlights throughout my hair. I’d tied it up last night in curlers so it was giving body and waves. The jersey I was wearing was black and I’d paired it with black leather, paper bag shorts with combat boots that perfectly matched the blue in my jersey. If the number on my back wasn’t enough of a hint, the item thatAldrich left for me to wear and wave when he scored touchdowns was.
He really wasn’t playing about me and damn it felt good.
“Thank you for having us, Sterling. You both look beautiful.”
Billy had brought in her family to the suite once I had her passes waiting for her at will call. True to her word her father-in-law tried to pay me for the market cost of the suite rental even when I told him I wasn’t out anything. When we boarded his plane, he had a check waiting for me and wasn’t happy when I told him I wouldn’t take it. He wasn’t pleased but there was nothing he could do.
“Thank you. I’m nervous about all this.”
I’d made sure that the suite was completely stocked with just about every type of food and drink on the menu. We had the full bar with the additional Bellini and Mimosa bar package with top-shelf alcohol. There were the typical snacks for the kids of chips, popcorn and hotdogs. Aldrich had let me know that Billy’s oldest son ate like a teenager so I had them order extra kid-friendly portions of chicken tenders and kosher hot dogs and pizza. Theatre-style box candies were also lined up against a wall to ensure everyone could snack as they wanted. For the adults, I’d ordered every variety of wing they offered, tenders, shrimp cocktail that was on ice and chilled until it was time to eat, fries, dips and soft pretzels and dumplings. After halftime, they would bring out fresh salads, pasta salads, grilled veggies, wraps, steaks and a mix of filet, cheesesteak, pulled pork and tender sliders. Was it overboard? Yes. But I wasn’t about to make a bad impression. If nothing else, my family would throw a memorable party so I was channeling my inner Sanders with the spread I’dordered. I was close to having the suite decorated but I had to pull back because that would’ve been overkill.
“I don’t see why. With the way Miss Sonya was laughing with you, there’s nothing you have to be worried about. Besides, you and this beauty are part of our family.” She cooed when she spoke Ami’s name and then leaned over and stroked her hand. Her youngest daughter was staring at Ami and imitating her mama like she wasn’t still two seconds off being a baby herself.
“I don’t want to look like I’m trying too hard but I wouldn’t be a good hostess if I didn’t go out of my way to make sure you guys had everything you needed.”
When Billy smiled ruefully I felt slightly on edge until she spoke. “You’ll feel much better next week as you see how ridiculous it gets when Mac and everyone else host. It’s three suites that connect and turn into one big party. We are more than thankful that you took the extra step for us.”
I could only smile especially since she didn’t realize she’d all but told me I was going to be with them next week. It wasn’t a big deal to her because it was normal, but I’d never experienced camaraderie like this before.
Aphrodite had left us to speak with Rye and I grinned at how easily they got along with one another.
“She needs to sign up for her last name to be changed before the end of next year. Anthony is in love with my girl.”
I nodded because she had brought her US Open trophy with her the way he’d requested. The jersey dress that I’d made for her and the black boots she’s paired it with would’ve made her a head turner even if she hadn’t just made history last night. “They are so cute together.”
