Everyone in the bar got loud as the twenty-yard play captured everyone’s attention. I glanced over at her, and she was staring at Ahmad, who was talking to our waitress.
“You know what I can’t get over,” Aaliyah mused.
“What?”
“We alternate between his place and mine, but I haven’t slept alone in a week. And I don’t want to ever sleep without him. And not just for the sex even though mm-mm-mm-mm-mmmmm.”
“Oh wow. You got it bad.” I pulled my eyes from the screen to look at her. “He’s amazing, and you two are the cutest.” My vision darted to the screen to make sure the game wasn’t back from timeout before returning to her. “I love this for you, Aaliyah.”
“Thank you.” She swooned. “And you know what I love for you?”
“My team could still come away with a win?”
“Yes,andyou meeting someone who looks at you like you hung the moon and the stars.”
I rolled my eyes. “Liyah, please.”
“I’m serious! Like I’ve said at least three times since my birthday, Lamar is your future husband.”
“Husband?!” The commentators announced that the timeout was over, but I was still staring at my best friend in shock. “You saw us together once!”
“And that’s all I needed to see.”
Trying not to smile, I rolled my eyes. “You know you’re projecting, right?”
Lowering her voice as her boyfriend approached the table, she said, “And you know you’re in denial!”
“You see that play?” Ahmad asked as he took his seat, slipping his arm around Aaliyah. “I can’t believe that shit worked.”
“I know!” I exclaimed. “I really thought Martin was going to kick it!”
“Same, same,” Aaliyah added, her lips pursed thoughtfully.
Amused, I shook my head. She’d missed the whole play, but I opted not to call her out. Three minutes later, the entire sports bar erupted into a mix of cheers and boos as the Wasps won the game.
The waitress stopped at our table. “Do you need any to-go cups or anything?”
“Just the check for me, please,” I requested.
She pointed at Ahmad. “He’s already taken care of the bill.”
I turned to him. “Thank you! You don’t have to pay for mine though. What do I owe you?”
He shook his head. “You don’t owe me anything. I’m not going to pay for ours and not pay for yours, too.”
I was going to argue to reimburse him, but the kindness in his smile forced me to relent. “Well, thank you.”
After a round of hugs, they insisted on walking me to my car. We said goodbye for a final time, and I went home to mentally prepare for the work week.
“Hello?” I answered the phone a couple of hours later when I saw Lamar’s name flashing on the screen.
“What’s up, Jazz?”
“Not much,” I replied, putting the last of the graded papers in a folder. “Just finished uploading the grades in the system. What are you up to?”
“Just got home from Vinnie’s place—well, his girlfriend’s place. We watched the game over there.”
“He’s on the practice squad, too?”
