Kya & Xavier: It's Always Been You (Life As We Know It Book 1) (5 page)

“Dang girl, you know that’s basically racist.” Shaunie said
to her girl and then laughed.

“How is that racist? He’s black and Asian. Blasian and I’m
definitely not saying it in a negative way. Trust. He knows that.” She pressed
her lips on the side of my face.

“You need help.” Shaunie said and then went back to focusing
on her goal. Ethan.

“What’s up Chelle?” I asked.

“You.” She placed her chin on my shoulder so that her lips
grazed my neck. “You smell good and I bet you taste better.” She said.

“Girl you’re wild.” I said and then laughed.

“I can be for you.” She said, and released her hold on me
before she forced her way onto my lap and straddled my left leg and leaned back
against me. I put my arm across her lap and rested my hand on her thigh.

“You’re too much for me, I have to grow up a little before
I’m ready for you.” I said and rubbed her thigh. I had played around with the
idea of getting with her but she was the type of girl that ran her mouth too
much. The last thing I needed was everyone in my business most of the girls I
kicked it with kept things on the low and that was just the way I liked it. I
didn’t really care what Tori thought but with Kya that was a different story.
Even though we weren’t technically together I still didn’t want her to feel
like I was smashing every chick that smiled at me. I respected her enough to keep
that out of her face whether we were a couple or not.

“You can handle it.” She said.

“We might have to see about that one day.” I said knowing
that I had no interest in making good on it.

“I’ll hold you too that.” She said feeling hopeful.

“So are we going to get that win tonight?” Shaunie asked
Ethan.

“We better.” He said.

“You going to the party later?”

“Yeah I’ll be there.” Ethan said, “You chillin’ with me?”

“You want me to?”

“I asked didn’t I?”

“Don’t get grown now?” She said and laughed.

“Get? Girl I am grown. Keep it up and I will have to prove it
to you.” Ethan said arrogantly.

“I see you boo.” She said and laughed again.

“Well ladies I hate to cut this short but we’ve got a game to
play.” Ethan said and pushed his chair away from the table. “You ready bruh?”
He asked me and then stood up.

“Yeah let’s roll.” Chelle stood up and stepped away from the
table so that I could stand up. I had to admit her body was banging and the way
her jeans were clinging to it almost made me want to rethink my decision.
Almost
.

“Good luck hug?” She said and held her arms open. “Even
though I know you don’t need it.”

“Every little bit counts.” I stepped towards her, leaned
forward to hug her because she was so short and of course she made a point of
sliding her hands under my shirt and onto my back. When I let go she smiled and
said, “I'll be looking for you later.”

“You do that.” I said before I turned to walk off and the
caught a glimpse of Tori standing in one of the lines watching me. I just kept
moving knowing that I had just fueled her suspicions.

-----

I walked down the corridor that lead to the arena and stuck
my head out looking to see if Kya was there yet. She never replied to my text
so I wasn’t sure if she was coming.
Damn
I hope she shows up
. The moment she found about Tori she stopped coming to
my games even though I always offered her tickets and made it clear to her that
she could always be there no matter who was in my life. I was sure she knew
that but she was weird when it came to stuff like that. I knew it was more
about her not wanting to chance seeing me with someone else and not about her
trying to respect anyone that I was kickin’ it with. Truth be told I would
never purposely disrespect her like that. No matter who I was with she would
always come first.

 
I was pumped up and
ready to play. I looked around the arena and couldn’t wait to hit the floor. Tonight’s
game was going to be televised so the fans were in rare form. My number was
printed on jerseys, signs and painted on faces which made me even more anxious
to prove that I deserved their respect. There was just something about being in
uniform on the court that gave me a rush. It was like freedom to me. It had
been my escape when I was a kid and not much had changed. Nothing could faze me
when I was out there, ball in hand eyes on the goal.

 
I was a baller at
heart had always been. It was just natural to me. The thing that pissed me off
the most was that Johnny was too. His natural talent for the game was about the
only thing that I respected about him. He was a natural baller.
 
One of the best but he never had the
discipline to do anything with it. But to this day if you got him on the court
he could school just about anybody that challenged him.
When he was sober, that is
. When I was younger he would take me to
the gym with him and his friends to watch them play, mostly just to show off
not really because he wanted to spend time with me.

As soon as I was old enough to join them. He would let me hit
the court and then brag to everyone taking credit for every cross over, block,
and every three pointer that left my hands. Never once had he ever given me
credit for the hours of practice and training that I committed myself to.

 
I’m sure that had to
do with the fact that I trained so hard mostly to escape him and he knew it. If
I was on the courts then he couldn’t put his hands on me. The more he took
credit the harder I worked trying to prove to myself and everyone else that I
was the only one who deserved credit for my skills and abilities.

 
I was always at
conflict with myself because I hated anything that reminded me that I was a
part of him but I loved the fact that I was so nice on the courts. My hate for
him made me the player that I am.
 
Either
way I owed him for that but he would never hear me admit it.
Never!

Chapter 3

Kya Renee

“Girl this place stays packed.” Toni said.
 

We had just entered the arena and were standing in one of the
doorways looking around. It was a Saturday game so it was a little more crowded
than I was used to sense I had mostly only gone to games during the week.

“I hope ya boy got us good seats. I need a good view of my
future husband.” I immediately thought about the fact that I had never replied
to the text that Xavier sent asking if I was coming to the game.
Oh well too late for that now.

“You need to pump your breaks and slow all that down. I will
not facilitate you cheating on Ant.” I said and then cut my eyes at her. Even
though I really would. Ant wasn’t one of my favorites and I knew that Toni
could do much better.

“I am not a cheater boo but I need to make sure I have a next
to move onto before I let go of what I have.” Toni flipped her auburn weave
from her shoulder with a devilish grin.

“You need help, some serious help. I just can't with you.” I
shook my head knowing that it was pointless to try to talk sense into her. When
Toni was on a mission lord help whoever got in her way.

“Take a picture with me.” Toni said as she located the camera
on her phone. “Turn this way so we can get the arena in the background.” We
both turned so that our backs were to the arena and posed for several shots
before we agreed on one. Or rather Toni picked the one she liked and then I
just gave up arguing with her about it.

“Send those too me.” I said as I scanned our tickets so that
I could find our seats. I knew they were near the floor but I wasn’t totally
sure where. Each player was given four family tickets per game. Xavier's mom
had passed when he was sixteen and he literally hated Johnny so he would never
invite him. His aunt and sister could rarely make the hour drive so he always
offered the tickets to me which I hardly ever used. Me, him and some random
chick under the same roof wasn’t exactly the best combination. I knew Xavier didn't
care but I tried to avoid being in the same place with him and any of his so
called girls.
 
No sense in hiding the
fact that I couldn’t handle seeing him with someone else so it was just easier
for me to deal by staying away.

“I see you Zay, that's what's up? We got the bomb seats! I
guess your boy does have the ability to do something right.” Toni said when we
finally found our seats.

We made our way down the aisle and took our seats which were
near the floor about six rows behind the team.
 
I looked around, the arena was full of blue and gold.
 
The scene was so different from our school
because Toni and I went to an HBCU so the faces in the crowd were definitely
different from what we were use too. This place was full of blond hair and blue
eyes hidden behind paint to match the player’s uniforms and numbers. They were
holding up hand painted signs and banners showing love for their favorite
players and the game had not even started yet. I smiled when I noticed how many
of them had twenty two on their faces, chest and signs.

Xavier had been an all American player since his freshman
year and had played in tournaments all over the country so when he was offered
a full ride at one of the biggest DI schools in North Carolina it just made
sense but then he shocked everyone when he turned it down accepting an offer
from a local DI school that was much smaller. Their program was equally good
just on a smaller scale without all of the national exposer.

His reason on record was that he needed to be there for his sister
who had just started middle school. Their mom was gone, their dad was an
asshole and even though is aunt was raising his sister he wanted the freedom to
be there for her. His words exactly ‘the bigger school, the bigger commitment’
which was something that he just didn’t want to be tied to. He said he didn’t
need the type of commitment that would prevent him from being there when she
needed him. True enough but deep inside I always felt like I had something to
do with it also. Our schools were fifteen minutes apart which meant that we
could see each other whenever we wanted which worked out to be all the time.

“Aye, there's my new boo.” Toni had her eyes glued to the
players on the floor who were currently in the middle of their pre-game warm
up. “Let me see that program.” She said and snatched it off my lap.

“Okay let's see number twelve Ethan Evans. Ethan?” She made a
sour face. “Who names their son Ethan? Correction, what sane black woman names her
son Ethan? I guess I can work with that and with all these number twelves
painted everywhere he must be half way decent.”

“Oh my god, you are too much. Did you ever think that maybe
he has a girlfriend already, or maybe he likes white girls? I mean his name is
Ethan and look around here, this place is full of them.” I laughed at myself
for saying that out loud. I pointed to a red head that was sitting a few seats
down from us who was wearing his number. “That might be his girl right there.”

Toni looked at the girl and rolled her eyes. “Well whatever
his deal may or may not be I am here to change his mind. He looks too good to
waste all that on somebody who doesn't know what to do with it. Ya feel me?”
Toni smiled at me in a way that let me know that there wasn’t anything I could
say or do to change her mind.

I shook my head, “Lord help that boy. He has no idea what
he's about to face.”

“Amen.” Toni said.

The buzzer sounded and both teams made their way to their
chairs. I smiled when I noticed that Xavier was watching me. He gave me a head
nod before joining the team huddle and a few minutes later he was on the floor
doing his thing. I loved watching him play. The way he moved on the court was
so natural and sexy as heck I might add. It was like the court was his
sanctuary and he was totally in control and at peace. It's the only time I had ever
seen him completely let go.
Well while
fully dressed that is!

“Girl, after watching that I think I want to have his
children. There is something so sexy about a man that can ball.” Toni said. She
was checking notifications on her phone so she wasn't looking at me. The game
had just ended and Xavier's team had lost by two points with a last minute shot
at the buzzer. Both teams were leaving the floor heading towards the locker
room but Xavier took a detour and came rushing up the stairs towards where Toni
and I were sitting.

After he was about halfway between us and the court he stopped,
yelled my name and said, “Wait for me, don't leave yet.” And before I could
respond he turned, jogged back down the stairs and disappeared into hallway
leading to the locker rooms. I looked around as if I expected someone or rather
Tori to magically appear and have a problem with what had just happened.
Not that I really cared anyway.

A group of girls peered at us or rather me. I’m sure they were
trying to figure out how I fit into the Xavier Adams equation but I ignored
them and made sure Toni didn’t focus on them either. She was a little more on
edge than I was and constantly looking for a reason to snap.

“I need to get with Zay so that he can hook me up with his
boy. Do you think we can go down there?” I had mentioned to Toni that Ethan and
Xavier were always together so she was bound and determined to get Xavier to
hook her up in fact I was pretty sure that was the sole purpose of her agreeing
to come to the game with me.

“I don't know and I don't care. We are definitely not going
down their looking like two desperate groupies.” I said cutting my eyes at
Toni. “Look at them swarming the floor like little bee’s.” I pointed to the
floor which was quickly filling with fans, family members and what was clearly
girls in search of attention from anyone who had on an official Spartan jersey.

“Uh no boo, we are definitely not groupies but if it gets me
closer to my future husband then I just might have to break the mold.”
 
Toni laughed so randomly that it made me
laugh too. I swear she was always on ready.

“You are seriously on one girl.” I said.

We sat there waiting for what seemed like forever and the
arena was almost empty with the exception of a cleaning crew and what was left
of the few family members, girlfriends and what appeared to be a group of girls
that were hoping to get lucky. Some of the players finally surfaced so Toni and
I stood up and made our way down the stairs towards the court but stopped about
two rows above it when I finally saw Xavier. He was wearing a black Nike wind
suit unzipped at the ankles so that the bottoms were dragging the floor and of
course a pair of loosely laced Jordan's that I was sure were some overpriced,
special edition, step on them and die a painful death Jordan’s.
Typical after game gear.

He was twirling a piece of his half twisted neatly tapered
hair and talking to one of his teammates carrying an oversized duffle bag with
his schools logo printed on it over his left shoulder. He looked towards the
stands near where we had been sitting and immediately began looking around when
he realized that we had moved. When he finally locked eyes with me he said
something to his teammate and then extended a closed fist towards him. The two
of them hit fist and Xavier started towards us but before he could make it to
where we were waiting a short girl with weave down to her waist jumped out of
one of the floor seats, called his name and stepped in front of him. Xavier
looked up at me and then back to the girl who was clearly not happy with him.
She attempted to hug him but he stepped back which apparently pissed her off
even more.

“Is that that Tori trick?” Toni asked.

“I guess so.” I said, honestly I had never officially meet
her before. I had only seen her in her Instagram profile picture after I tried
to creep on her but couldn't because her page was private. She was short, kind
of chunky and wore too much weave and make up. Complete opposite of me. She
would actually be a lot prettier if she toned it down a little.

“Let’s go down there.” Toni said with an attitude.

“That would be a definite no. I'm not in the mood for drama
tonight.” I said quickly to make sure that I didn’t give Toni any time to move.

“You are better than me boo.” She said clearly not pleased
with my decision to avoid the confrontation.

Toni picked up her purse from the seat next to her. “Okay let’s
go then.” She said. The two of us stepped out into the aisle and started up the
stairs. “You better find a way for me to meet my future husband since you're
making me leave.” But before we could make it anywhere I heard my name.

“Ky hold up.” Xavier yelled.

We both turned to see Xavier say something to the girl
standing in front of him and then watched her storm away to join two other
girls who had obviously been waiting on her. Xavier jogged up the stairs and
caught up with us. He playfully punched Toni in the arm before he hugged and
kissed me on my forehead like he always did.
Well now! I’m sure this is going to catch up with you later, your girl
looks a little pissed.

Toni punched him in the back but harder than he had hit her
so he yanked at her hair but not with enough force to do any real damage.

“Chill man. I paid good money for all this.” Toni raked her fingers
through her hair and then flipped it over her shoulder.

“And left a lot of horses naked and unhappy.”

“Shut up, with your crooked leg, half seventies fro’d self.”
Toni said and then laughed at her own lame insult. “So was that your Kya wannabe?”

“Don't worry about that, what I tell you about minding my
business.” He said as the three of us made our way to the top of the arena.

“What I'm worried about is you getting my girl hemmed up by
your psycho girlfriend.”

“You don’t have worry about that.” Xavier said and put his
arm around my shoulders. “I got this.”

“Mmhmm and I got you if you get my girl caught up in some
BS.”

“Why are you still talking to me about my business? Let me do
me.”

“Whatever man! So Zay, how much do you love me?”

“Don't answer that.” I said and laughed.

“Girl don't block.”

“What do you want Toni?” Xavier asked as he held the door
open so that Toni and I could go through it.

“Tell me about Ethan?” Toni said with a little too much
enthusiasm.

“What about him?” He said even though I could tell that he
knew what she was asking.

“Does he have a girlfriend?”

“Hell I don't know. I don't be into people's personal
business like that.” He said purposely trying to aggravate her, “and don't you
already have a lame ass man?”

“Let me worry about all that. You just give me the goods on
Ethan.” Toni said. She linked her arm around Xavier’s and snuggled up close to
him.

“Ky, get ya girl.”

“Oh no, don't put me in this. That's between you two.”
 

“Come on Zay, who's always got your back and keeps the fridge
stocked with Dr. Pepper for you?”

“No Toni. You're on an extra kinda crazy and I don't need my
boy mad at me.”