“Is there some special meaning to dyeing your hair?” she wondered.
“Yeah,” I said, looking down at my phone. Seeing the notification of a text from Lamar, I smiled. “This is me being bold and standing out. And it’s a great fall/winter color.”
“Mm-hmm,” she said as if she’d caught me doing something I wasn’t supposed to be doing. As soon as I looked up, she smirked. “Good to see you getting back out there.”
I knew I looked goofy with how hard I was smiling, but I couldn’t keep it together. “What?”
“New man,” she concluded, answering her earlier question. “You have a glow.”
So even though I didn’t confirm or deny anything, she knew.
“My hair color is about my aunt, not about a man!” I argued.
“Maybe the hair color is about your aunt. But that glow… that’s a man.”
I couldn’t do anything but laugh.
The highlight of my Saturday was getting my hair done. The highlight of my Sunday was watching Lamar kick ass.
“Well, hello, Mr. Playmaker of the Game,” I greeted Lamar when he called me Sunday night.
He chuckled. “Hello to the beautiful Ms. Jazmyn Payne. Did you see that blitz?”
“Did I?” I reacted. “I screamed! I know my neighbors were concerned, but when you recovered the ball after Jones knocked it out, I was on my feet.”
“When they called that play, you instantly popped into my mind. I try not to think about anything but football when I’m on the field. But I saw your face immediately, and I…” He paused. “I wanted to tell you that before we catch this flight.”
I bit my bottom lip. “Well, I think about you constantly… just so you know. Like I said in my message to you this morning, you’re really special. On the field and off the field.”
“Those messages you send before the game put an extra battery in my back. So thank you.”
“You’re welcome, but you don’t have to thank me for showing you love. I believe in giving people flowers while they’re here and can smell them.”
“If you’re trying to convince me to come straight to your place when we land, it’s working.”
“I wish.” I giggled. “I’d love to see you soon though.”
“We’re still on for Friday, right? You’ll stay with me for the weekend? Go to the game on Sunday?”
“Oh absolutely.”I was just hoping sooner.“I’m looking forward to it.”
“Good. Because I need to see you.”
My stomach fluttered. “I need to see you, too.” I heard a commotion in the background. “I know you have a lot going on, but I’m glad you called. Text me when you land.”
“Even though you’re usually ’sleep, I always do.”
I grinned. “You know me so well.”
“I do.”
We said good night, and I put my phone to my chest and exhaled.This man.
I got on social media to see if the Monarchs had posted any postgame interview clips yet. I wanted to see any and all interviews with Lamar. The first one that came up was a short one, a sideline interview that I hadn’t seen when it aired live. He was so sexy and charismatic. I found myself smiling at my phone screen.
I got it bad.
Just as I was about to put my phone down, a familiar name popped up in the search results.
