Talk a Good Game (11 page)

“
Me too,” I whispered. And really
I did. Spending time with Q was fun because when we were together,
it was all about me. I know that may sound selfish but it was his
choice, not mine. But we truly had fun together.

I heard my ringtone,
Beyoncé
’s
Drunk in Love
and I knew it was Kaleb. He
’
d
been on my ass all afternoon. I don’t understand why he was
sweating me. He knew I was in Las Vegas with Q.

Once Q had fallen asleep, I slipped out from beneath
him, grabbed my cellphone from my purse and disappeared into the
bathroom. As soon as the door was locked, I looked down at all the
missed phone calls and then there were the text messages.

Answer the phone!

Please, answer the damn phone!

Seriously
? I was a little turned off but then I thought maybe
something might have happened and he needed to speak to me. I
turned on the faucet so the water was running and Q couldn’t hear
me through the wall then dialed Kaleb
’s
number. He
answered on the first ring.

“
Why aren’t you answering the damn
phone?”

I had to take the phone away from
my ear and look around to see if there was someone else in the
bathroom he was talking to. Unfortunately the only one in here was
me. Now I had a slight attitude. “I
told
you I
’
m with
Q.”

“
I thought you were ending it?” He
had the nerve to sound like he was my damn daddy. Last I checked
that crazy mothafucka was dead.

“
Kaleb,
I
’
m gonna end it, but on
my
terms.”

“
What
’s
that supposed to
mean?”

“
It means I
don’t need you micromanaging my actions. I got this!
We
’
re here until tomorrow, so
I
’
m not breaking his heart until
the end of the weekend.”

“
Jae—”

“
Uh-uh!
I
’
m not doing that to him! Q hasn’t
done anything to me. I
’
m the one ending it with
him.”

There was a long pause. “Do you
wanna be with me?”

“
Of course I do,” I whispered into
the phone.

“
Then tell me! Tell me you want to
be with big daddy!”

Goodness, he sounded crazed and
yet my nipples beaded. What was it about this controlling man that
turned me on? “I wanna be with you, big daddy.”

He chuckled.
“That
’s
more like it.”

I heard the television click on
which meant Q was up from his nap. “
Look, I gotta go. I’ll
call you tomorrow.”

“
Wait!
” he yelled before I
could end the call. “Answer one question.”

“
Yes?”

“
Are you fucking him?” he
demanded.

No he didn’t just ask me that.
“Excuse me?” I needed him to repeat that.

“
You heard me. Are you fucking
him?” Kaleb was practically screaming so I had to take the phone
from my ear. “Janelle, answer the damn question!”

Anyone else I would have cussed
out but Kaleb had something I craved. What that was I wasn’t quite
sure. All I know is I liked it. “No boo, I
’
m not
fucking him. I
’
m on my period.”

He was quiet like he was thinking
about my answer, before he finally said. “Good, because you need to
bring that pussy back home to me.”

“
Of course I
will,” I cooed in the phone. “As soon as my period is over,
it
’s
on.” I giggled a little so he
’
d
know I was truly feeling him. It
’s
crazy, but I
felt this high that was better than any rush I had gotten from
smoking weed.

We talked a few more minutes
before Kaleb said, “What time you landing tomorrow?”

“
Seven.
”

“
I’ll be at the airport waiting.”
He hung up and I took a deep breath. Kaleb was really getting
possessive. I know this sounds crazy, but my heart was pounding so
hard because I had never had a man who felt so strongly about me
and was that determined to make me his own. Of course being rich
was an incentive as well.

I heard Q calling me from the
other room. “Baby, what
’s
taking so
long?”

“
Here I come!
” I flushed
the toilet and then turned off the water. As unpredictable as Kaleb
is, it would probably be a good idea to leave my phone off until I
left for the airport tomorrow.

NYREE

I gave the delivery guy a five-dollar tip then
carried the two pizzas and wings to the kitchen.

Jeremy was coming over to watch
the game and I was nervous. We’ve been texting and talking on the
phone since we had run into each other at
McDonald
’s
last week and tonight would be
our first official date.

I put the food on the counter,
then rushed into the half-bath to check and make sure there were no
boogers hanging from my nose. I turned from side to side in front
of the mirror and was pleased at how I looked in a pair of skinny
Levi
’s
and an Oklahoma City
Thunder
’s
t-shirt, both accented my
curves.

I was ready to run up to my
bathroom to gargle with mouthwash for the third time when the
doorbell rang, and I jumped. “C
’
mon Nyree. Get
it together,” I murmured under my breath then made myself take a
few deep breaths before I went to the door. I don’t know why I was
so nervous. I mean, unlike that phony Alan who I had to block from
calling me, I already knew what Jeremy looked like. Yet even still,
my heart raced and my hands sweated. “It
’s
now or
never,” I mumbled then headed toward the living room. I unlocked
the door and swung it open, and there Jeremy was wearing a
Washington Redskins jersey and loose-fitting jeans. There was even
a matching fitted cap covering his big head.

I raised an eyebrow. “You do
realize we
’
re gonna be watching
basketball
,” I greeted him
playfully.

“
I do, but
I
’
m a
diehard football fan,
” he said with a
chuckle.

“
And let me guess who your
favorite team is,” I teased.

“
How
’
d you guess?” All of a sudden, he
busted out laughing and there was that squeaky sound
again.

Smiling, I stepped aside so he could enter my house.
I shut the door and turned around to find him admiring my living
room that I had decorated the contemporary-styled room in vibrant
shades of blue and yellow.

“
You have a nice
place.”

“
Thank you.” I was beaming.
“Please go ahead, have a seat and make yourself
comfortable.”

He nodded. “Yes,
ma
’
am.”

Ma
’
am
? Jeremy was way too mannerable,
but cute, nonetheless. I could eat his mama boy ass up.

He took a seat on the couch. I
reached for the remote, and turned to the game on the fifty-five
inch screen. “
Hold up. Let me grab our food.
”

“
You want some help?” He was
halfway off the couch when I held up a hand and stopped
him.

“
No, please, relax. I got
it.”

“
Yes,
ma
’
am.” He winked then lowered onto
the cushions again.

Smiling, I hurried toward the
kitchen and rushed into the bathroom just to make sure everything
was still intact and was pleased that it was. As soon as I grabbed
the boxes from the counter and two Sprite cans, I brought them back
to the coffee table. “I ordered you the pepperoni and I got veggie.
But you
’
re welcome to have some if you
want.”

Just like a man, he turned up his
nose. “Veggies? No way. I gotta have my meat.”

“
Yeah, yeah. I figured as much.” I
was smiling so hard my face hurt. I took a seat at the other end of
the couch and we got into the basketball game while we ate.
Conversation wasn’t needed, although I didn’t have an idea what to
talk about during the commercials. Jeremy looked uncomfortable and
I couldn’t believe that little ole me was at a loss for words. Then
my cellphone started vibrating like crazy. It was Janelle texting
me.

Is he there?

Is he cuter this time?

I just giggled and texted yes and yes, then went
back to eating my pizza. At the end of the second quarter I noticed
Jeremy was falling asleep. Oh my goodness! Was I really that
boring?

“
Hey, can you
explain to me the whole ‘in the paint
’
crap.” I asked
and realized I startled him when he jerked upright on the couch.
“Sorry.”

“
No problem.”

“
I was saying,
I
don’t
understand how a player can
just stand there and if another player runs into him
it
’s
considered a foul.”

Jeremy grinned then was suddenly wide awake. He rose
from the couch and demonstrated while he explained. I was pleased I
could think so fast on my feet. While demonstrating the cap fell
onto the carpet, and even though he had that big ass head, Jeremy
really was cute. I know I keep saying that but there was really
something wholesome about him. Like he just wanted to make sure he
was saying and doing the right thing.

We settled down and spent the last quarter of the
game cheering for OKC who ended up winning 103-98.

As soon as Charles Barkley started analyzing the
game, I noticed Jeremy looking down at his watch and knew it was
time for our date to end.

“
Well, thanks for inviting me
over.” He rose and did a full body stretch.

“
I appreciate you coming.” Now I
was nervous all over again. “I’ll walk out with you. I need to put
my trash on the curb.” I rose then flicked on the light and we
stepped out onto the porch together.

“
I’ll drag it out for you,” Jeremy
offered and grabbed the large trash container that was against the
side of the house. “I’ve never watched basketball with a female
before,” he suddenly said out of the blue.

“
Really? Then I
guess you
’ve
been dating the wrong women,”
I teased and I was pleased when he looked back and grinned at
me.

“
You
’
re right. I have.” We walked down
my driveway together and he pulled the trash can to the left of my
mailbox and then headed toward his Tahoe. He was almost to his door
before he turned around again. “I have tickets to see Lavell
Crawford at Déjà Vu Comedy Club on Thursday. You wanna
come?”

“
I
’
d love too.” I was screaming
“Yes” inside. For a moment there I really thought the date had been
a flop and Jeremy wasn’t going to call me again.

“
Good deal,” he said with another
boyish grin. He then took my hand and stared down at me for so long
I thought he was going to kiss me before he asked, “You have time
for a walk?”

“
Sure, let me lock up.” Grinning,
I scurried back into the house, grabbed my spare key on a keychain
I kept on a hook in the kitchen and slipped it in my pocket.
Janelle was texting me again.

So how was the date?

I quickly texted back.

It
ain
’t
over. Now leave me alone.

I hit Send then left my phone on the coffee table
and locked up the door. I was practically skipping as I moved to
join Jeremy at the curb where he was waiting patiently. He extended
his hand and I accepted it. We started walking up my block and then
over to the next. It was nice. Maybe because I never met a man who
wanted to take walks.

“
Tell me what
you
’
re thinking about?” he said
breaking the silence.

I also haven’t ever dated a man
who had been interested in what I was feeling let along thinking.
“I
’
m thinking… this is
really
nice.
”

“
Good stuff.
” He stared
down at the street like he was trying to wrap his mind around what
I had just said. “Taking walks is the way I like ending a long
week.”