“Hold up. She let you kiss her?”
“She did, but Nyeem’s call interrupted us.”
“Did you eventually tell her about your possible slipup?”
“I did, and she didn’t react as badly as I thought she would because I reminded her how she snuck out without leaving her information. I was able to use that to help plead my case about setting her up.”
“Does she believe you?”
“I think so, but she wouldn’t admit it. I don’t think she’s on any birth control.”
“What now?”
“Hell if I know. She said she had to get to work.”
We sat quietly for a minute before Knox said, “Damn, Bro. You really like her.”
I sighed and shook my head, not to deny that I liked Nyomi, but to show my dismay.
“Man, I don’t even know what to do.”
“Are there any rules against coaches dating the parents of their athletes?”
“It doesn’t matter. She let me know there wasn’t a chance.”
“Word?” I nodded. “Oh well. There are plenty of available women in Black Elm. Did you see all those women at the mixer?”
“The only woman I saw at that mixer was Nyomi.”
“Damn. You got it bad. Well, good luck figuring that shit out, but tread lightly. If you fuck shit up with her, you might fuck it up with Nyeem.”
He left me alone in my office to ponder my thoughts. My laptop screen had gone dark, so I moved my finger over the mouse pad. Nyomi’s headshot and short bio appeared again, and I began reading.
She was a BEU alumna, and it appeared we just missed being on campus at the same time. She graduated four years after me and was a former member of the track and field team. She also earned a master’s degree in library science from BEU.
I opened a new tab and typed her name and "track and field" into the address bar. Several articles came up linked to her name, so I clicked on the first one. I read everything that was considered public information about Nyomi.
She was a heavily recruited high school track star but chose to stay close to home. After a breakout indoor season at BEU, she became pregnant and didn’t compete for a year. When she returned to the track, she was better than ever, even qualifying for the Olympic trials.
While training for the trials, she suffered a severe hamstring pull and didn’t recover in time to compete. She competed professionally for a few years after missing her chance at the Olympics but, unfortunately, never returned to her best.
After reading several articles, I understood the dynamic between Nyomi and Nyeem much better. He wasn’t conceived at the most opportune time of her life, but she chose to put her hopes and dreams on pause to bring him into the world.
There were pictures of her holding Nyeem on her lap in classes and in his car seat on the track while she practiced. He’d witnessed her achieve so much while being a fully present parent because, from what I gathered, she did it alone.
Nyeem’s father wasn’t mentioned once in any of the articles, which made me wonder what happened. I prayed she wasn’t taken advantage of by whoever he was, and he simply chose not to be present.
I picked up my phone and leaned back in my chair. After opening theFlikstagramapp, I searched for Nyomi Kurrie, but nothing came up. It was possible she wasn’t on social media, but I wasn’t ready to give up just yet.
I found Nyeem’s page and went to his followers. When I came across Gabrielle Kurrie, with the username@nyomithelibrarian, I paused, clicked the profile, and smiled as I confirmed it was who I was looking for. I pressed the follow button and proceeded to look through all her pictures.
I’d lost track of time, hearting every single picture of her alone. I received a notification that she’d followed me, and seconds later, I had a message from her. For some reason, I was nervous to read the message because it had been proven that she didn’t mind cussing a nigga out.
@nyomithelibrarian: Are you stalking me now? There is no reason I should open this app and have over a hundred likes from one person.
@coyotekilo80:
@coyotekilo80: My bad, baby. I got carried away because you look so damn good. Can I have your number?
