To my surprise, I wasn’t the only one who had changed into something different, Lance’s number once again making an appearance as I casually commented, “Nice jersey. Is he like, your favorite player or something?”
“You could say that,” Darnell replied, running his hands down the front of it to smooth it out while he explained, “He’s a hometown guy. Gives back to the community and shit. I got a lot of respect for that.”
“So much respect that you almost burned his jersey?” I challenged, the surprised look on Darnell’s face prompting me to add, “Aubrey told me.”
“Aubrey’s ass talks too much,” he insisted with a chuckle, making me chuckle too as I responded, “Can’t disagree with you there.” But before I could get an actual explanation for why he’d even thought about doing that wack shit, he was already introducing me to people who immediately offered me free food and drinks which meant I was saving my questions for another time.
A bratwurst, two beers, and a victory in cornhole later, I was feeling a lot more relaxed by the time Darnell suggested we should head into the stadium. But when I made a quick stop in the women’s bathroom and just so happened to run into a familiar face as I was leaving the stall on my way to wash my hands, I found myself tensing right back up once the woman asked, “Briyana?”
With a nervous smile, I responded, “Mrs. Hawkins.Hi. How are you?”
“Doing just fine,” she replied with a smile of her own, taking the sink next to mine as she said, “Lance didn’t tell me he’d invited you to the game. Is your seat with us?”
Shaking my head, I answered, “I’m actually here with a friend. We’re sitting in one of the suites.”
Honestly, when Darnell had shared that tidbit, I was tempted to ask where all his money was coming from until I learned that his cousin they called Will,who was apparently some big baller investment type here in the city, had been renting the suite for their family for years now. And since I definitely wasn’t about to complain about having a comfier seat, easier access to more food, and a certain level of privacy that would make me being here a lot less risky, that was the end of that conversation, Mrs. Hawkins giving a bit of a grin as she said, “The suites are nice. But there’s nothing like being right on top of the action.”
“The same way I was almost on top of your son’s dick?”I thought, forced to shake off another flashback when I swallowed hard and responded, “I can only imagine.”
“Maybe next time,” Mrs. Hawkins suggested as we headed out of the bathroom, only to bump right into the other person responsible for Lance’s existence. And of course, he was rocking his son’s jersey like any proud father would, the sight of it providing me with yet another reminder that I really didn’t need since I wasn’t supposed to be thinking about Lance at all.
Now though, it felt like he was all I could think about as his father immediately complained, “This damn popcorn tastes like it’s been sitting in the bucket since last season,” giving a double take before greeting me with a casual, “Oh, hey Bri Bri. Lance didn’t tell me you were joining us tonight.”
“She’s actually here with a friend,” Mrs. Hawkins responded, putting a little something extra in her tone when she added, “Suite tickets.”
For whatever reason, that made Mr. Hawkins’s eyebrows raise as he responded, “Ahhh. I see.” And then the two of them exchanged a look like they were having a silent conversation right in front of me, the fact that I wasn’t in on it making me frown as I awkwardly interrupted, “So… I’m gonna go. But it was really good seeing you two. Enjoy the game.”
“You too, sweetie,” Mrs. Hawkins responded with a grin as I left to find Darnell who thankfully wasn’t too far away. But even with him, there was no escaping the Ghost of Lance since not only did he still have on the nigga’s jersey, but he also somehow knew to inquire, “Am I trippin’, or were you just talking to Hawk’s parents?”
“How do you know those are his parents?” I asked, frowning a bit until he answered, “Because I’ve seen them on his IG.”
“Of course he follows him on Instagram,”I thought, tempted to roll my eyes at the fact that I’d somehow ended up out on a date with Lance’s fuckin’ fan club president when I gave Darnell the briefest explanation that I could.
“Hawk…Lanceand I used to be neighbors growing up.”
Focusing on the simplest part of our history was a lot easier than focusing on our current, more complicated dynamic, my statement surprisingly making Darnell chuckle when he replied, “And here I was tellin’ you shit like you’ve never heard of this nigga before.”
“Peeling back the onion, right?” I responded, taking a page out of his book as he gave an amused nod before finally leading us into the suite. And even though the environment there was a little calmer than what was happening across the rest of the packed-out stadium, I still felt uneasy as we settled in for the introductions of the home team’s starters, even going as far as trying to distract myself with my phone until Darnell nudged me in the arm and said, “Here comes your boy.”
Once I peeked up at the jumbotron, I was grateful that the stadium was already rocking with excitement since I literally moaned when they zoomed in on Lance’s face after he’d ran out of the tunnel, the eye black that was smeared in his signature X onto one of his cheeks giving him this certain battle-ready edge that made me feel things I definitely wasn’t supposed to be feeling while on a date with someone else. And when he started getting all in his teammates' faces to talk his shit and hype them up, that only seemed to make matters worse, my bottom lip slightly tucked between my teeth until Darnell said, “I’ma go grab me something to drink right quick. You need anything?”
It wasn’t until I croaked, “I’ll take a water,” that I realized just how dry my mouth had gotten, lowkey embarrassing me even though Darnell thankfully didn’t say anything about it. And when he returned with a bottle, I couldn’t guzzle it down fast enough, even spilling a little on my shirt that had Darnell teasing, “Damn. I guess you were thirsty.”
Iwasthirsty. But it was for reasons well beyond actual body dehydration. And once the game finally got going, that thirst only grew more intense as I watched Lance prove he was worth every penny they’d paid him with each big play he made, the flex in his forearms when he celebrated after one tackle in particular giving me chills all over as I tried to think about literally anything other than him using that same strength to take me to pound town.
It didn’t work.
Every tackle had me squirming in my seat.
Every aggressive celebration with his teammates left me biting my lip.
And seeing him talk shit to the other team after making a big stop?
That was practically the icing on top of my pussy’s cake since I justknewhe kept that same energy when it came to sex.
I mean, Racquel had to have been as pressed as she was for a reason, right?
Thinking of her and the unknown status of their situation actually made it a little easier for me to relax as the game turned into a blowout in favor of the Skyhawks. And since his team being up big meant Lance wasn’t playing as much in the final quarter, that helped too as I tried to give Darnell the attention he deserved even though he seemed a bit…preoccupied.