“That man,” Josie kissed her teeth. “You really dodged a bullet by not marrying him. I promise you did.”
When we arrived at the arena, it was already packed, but we were kind of early, so the line moved pretty quickly. We stopped by the concession stand before going to our seats, and we had really good seats.
“Oh shit, we’re with the WAGS,” I mumbled when I spotted London.
Her eyes widened as she jumped up and ran over to me. “Hymn invited you?” I nodded, and she squealed. “I think he’s a good one boo, and I’m not just saying that. I’ve never seen a woman in this section for him.”
“Okayyyy, sister,” Joise sang while bumping my hip with hers.
Dropping my head, I tried to hide my simper. They could hype me up all they wanted to, but I refused to get my hopes up.
“You look so freakin’ good,” London took a step back and observed my outfit. “That’s what I’m talking about you better show up and show out.”
As we took our seats, I caught a glimpse of the other women in the section. The designer purses, shoes, and iced out jewelry was out in abundance but oddly enough, I didn’t feel out of place. I was carrying a Louis Vuitton purse, but my shorts had been $48 when I got them, the shirt was $6, the cardigan was $25, and the shoes were $29. I didn’t have on one designer label, and I sat amongst the other women with my head held high because while I didn’t look rich, I looked nice, and that was good enough for me.
Looking around, the game was just what I needed. A reason to get a little cute. Some fresh air and adult time. It was the invitation that I didn’t know I needed and still I couldn’t even fully be one hundred percent happy. The ache in my heart still made it feel heavy. And that heavy feeling it was uncomfortable. Some days, it felt as if I was suffocating. As much as he currently got on my nerves there was a time that I loved everything about Corey. When his flaws began to rear their ugly heads, I stuck beside him because that was my man, and no one is perfect. Married or not, I saw us being old and gray together. Now, I had no idea what my future looked like, and that was beyond scary.
The players ran out onto the field, and that snapped me from my pity party. Hymn’s number was seven and when Isaw him, I had to pull my lips into my mouth to refrain from smiling. I couldn’t believe I was blushing at my big age, but seeing Hymn on that field had me feeling all giddy. It was almost sickening. Especially when I knew firsthand that those feelings of butterflies could turn into feelings of my heart being penetrated with a knife. Liking a person was a gamble. They held the power to disappoint you and have you feeling lower than dirt. And there wasn’t anything we could do about it.
Josie nudged me with her arm. “Maybe you could buy a cheerleader uniform. Hymn could wear his helmet, and you guys could role play in the bedroom,” she whispered in my ear making me turn to look at her like she was crazy.
“Crack. Is that what you smoke? Is it crack?”
With a laugh, Josie shrugged one shoulder before sipping her drink. My phone vibrated inside my purse, and I never took my eyes off the field while removing the device. When I finally looked down, my lip curled when I saw that I had a message from Corey. Once he started coming to get the girls as much as I didn’t want to, I unblocked his simple ass.
Idiot: I swear to God, Brion, I’m sorry. Being out in the streets trying to catch the attention of these lame ass niggas isn’t going to do anything. You’re going to get played trying to prove a point to who? There isn’t shit out there in the streets. I made a dumb ass mistake, and I took you for granted. I’ll spend the rest of our lives kissing your butt and apologizing. Just come talk to me, please.
Clenching my back teeth together, I shoved my phone back inside my purse. Had Corey always been so manipulative? I was one blind dummy for sure. The fact that he was so certain that I was going to get played was comical. I didn’t ask nor did I expect Hymn to invite me to a game. Contrary to what Corey believed, Iwasn’t out in the streets chasing anything. I was trying to heal a wound that he caused.
His text message wasn’t worth a response. Corey wanted to ruin my day, and I refused to let it happen. Sitting there watching the game, I realized how intense and entertaining football could be. I actually enjoyed myself. The Diamond Cove Cougars lost, but they still played a great game. Not knowing if Hymn was one of those athletes that became angry or withdrawn when they lost had me on edge about waiting around for him.
London finished her drink and tossed the cup in the trash. “It’s time for me to go home and love on my man. I’ll see you Tuesday, Brion.” She hugged me then my sister.
“Bye boo,” I smiled at her.
“Stop looking so nervous,” Josie instructed.
“Stop staring at me.”
“Loosen up. You’re not getting married, right? That’s what you told me. Don’t think about it too hard. Just relax and flirt a little but not too much. Don’t come across like a thirsty airhead.”
“Wait, let me put all this advice in my notes. One second,” I stated in a fake excited tone making Josie stick her middle finger up at me. “Here he comes,” she sang lowly looking over my shoulder.
My heart hammered in my chest as I swallowed down a lump. Despite being sarcastic, I remembered the advice my sister had just given me and tried to follow it. Turning around, I locked eyes with Hymn and Lord knows that was one handsome man. He didn’t look upset, so that was a good thing.
“Hi,” I smiled at him while praying I appeared friendly rather than mortified.
“I invited you to a game and lost. That’s not a good look, is it?”
“Please. First off, you only lost by two points. It was a really good game, and it seemed to me you were carrying the team. You can’t win them all.”
“I guess,” he chuckled and glanced over at Josie. “My bad, I’m rude as hell. What up? Josie, right?”
“That is correct, and you’re not rude at all. You spoke to the important person. I’ll be right back. I have to use the restroom. You two keep chatting.” My head dropped a bit because she wasn’t even trying to be discreet.
“Please ignore anything that comes out of her mouth.”
“I have to get going because the press is going to want to ask me some questions, but I want you to consider dinner with me on Thursday. The catch is, I’m in the public eye, and I don’t like being in the blogs and shit with people in my business, so I’d prefer you to come to my home. My chef can cook for us. If you’re not comfortable being alone at my house, I’ll make it a group thing and invite Isaac and London.”
