The PreGame Ritual (Lynstone University Book 1)

by Warren, Alexandra

  For a moment it made no sense, but that was only because I wasn’t willing to admit my fault.

  I fucked up.

  Terribly.

  Even though I had already been thinking about our future on my own, it definitely wasn’t fair for me to jump to conclusions. And now that the damage was already done, there was really no way for me to mend things. I mean, how do you tell someone, “On second thought, let’s give this long distance thing a try” after you’ve already ripped their heart to shreds?

  Damn, I’ve ruined him.

  There was no way he’d invest in loving another girl now that he had his heartbroken. At least that’s usually how guys worked. All it took was one girl to mess up his heart for everybody. Now every girl after me would get the stank treatment, forced with the terrible predicament of trying to get him to change his mind about women.

  Fuck her.

  Just the thought of another girl getting close to him annoyed the shit out of me.

  I didn’t want there to be another girl.

  I wanted him for myself.

  But again...selfish.

  How dare I try to stand in the way of him finding the love of his life?

  You are the love of his life, Ava.

  Got damnit, stop talking to yourself.

  Thoughts of Miles were completely distracting me from the task at hand; packing up all of my stuff to move to Atlanta. Well actually, directing other people to pack my stuff for me. The league had already given me the perk of hired help for my big move.

  But certain things I wanted to touch on my own, pack on my own, like the framed schedule poster from my final collegiate basketball season. The one Miles and I had flirted our way through before I even realized it was legit flirting. The picture that was taken a few shots before I had touched his dick for the first time.

  Damn, I’ll definitely miss that.

  Hell, I’d miss everything about him.

  His calm to every one of my storms. His picture-perfect smile. The way he called me, “Ma”. The way he... damn, the way he loved the hell out of me before either one of us admitted it.

  But I had to let him go.

  For his own good.

  miles.

  “Bro, I mean...I know Ava is fine and all, but you’re still down over the break-up?”

  Leave it to Bryson to downplay what I felt, like his ass wasn’t trippin’ over a girl that wasn’t even his. We were sharing dinner at his crib that I finally had a chance to visit now that the season was over. But nothing about being on what most would consider a vacation felt right.

  “Bryson, you’re the last person that should be talkin’ about being down over a break-up. You been down for a minute over that Lexi girl and ya’ll were just friends.”

  He bit the inside of his cheek, his usual reaction to someone striking a nerve, before he calmly replied, “Lexi is different though. She’s like...I can’t even explain it.”

  “Trust me bro, I know the feeling. Its completely unexplainable but you can’t help how you feel.” It was driving me nuts that I couldn’t shake Ava no matter how much I tried. I mean, I even went as far as talking - yes, just talking - to other girls, but none of them were as interesting as Ava, or as fine as her, or as smart as her, or...

  “Right. Exactly that. And for the record, Lexi has always been a work-in-progress.”

  I grabbed another slice of pizza from the counter as I reminded him, “Yeah, her working on her relationship with Jaden while you’re working on breaking up their happy ass home.” He instantly tensed up.

  “Bro, chill. Ain’t nobody breaking up happy homes. I’m just...you’ll see.” I had no idea what Bryson had in mind, but I knew it couldn’t be anything good.

  “Don’t do anything stupid, man. It’s not worth it.”

  “Oh, so you’re tellin’ me you wouldn’t do whatever it takes to get Ava back?” I brushed him off, knowing our situations were nowhere near similar.

  “That’s different. Ava and I just broke up. You and Lexi were never really a thing.”

  “See. That’s not true. We dated. It was awhile ago, but we dated for a little bit.”

  “Whatever. All I know is I want my girl back and I’ma get her one way or another.” I wasn’t sure how I was gonna do it, but it had to happen. It wasn’t like I just wanted her, but I needed her. I wasn’t the same without her. I wasn’t... me.

  “Newsflash: she broke up with you, not the other way around. Ain’t no gettin’ that back.” It was a tall task for sure, but it wasn’t impossible.

  “That’s why you’re in the predicament you are now, chasing after taken women cause you don’t know how to finesse. You really need to be taking notes, big bro.”

  He didn’t seem completely convinced, but he still offered, “Whatever, Miles. I’ll believe it when I see it.”

  ava.

  Game time.

  The first of my professional career.

  A fresh start.

  Exactly what I needed.

  Though the practices had been a blur along with all the promotional events I had to force myself through, I knew for a fact playing in a real game would lift my spirits.

  Or remind me of how much I missed playing in front of Miles.

  Damnit.

  I halfway listened to the pre-game speech from the coach before we met in the middle of the locker room as a team with our hands held high.

  “Dream on three. One. Two. Three. Dream!”

  I was the last to leave the locker room, trying to take in the moment, though my mind was beyond occupied. It was really unfair the way Miles had managed to cloud my thoughts though it had been a few weeks since we last spoke. Those few weeks really felt like months because I missed him terribly. But now I had to focus.

  Get your shit together, A…

  “Ava?”

  I froze dead in my tracks. I mean, I had to be imagining the voice that I heard. It wasn’t even possible that…

  “Miles?”

  He gave a half-hearted smile. “Hey, ma.”

  I scrubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn’t dreaming, and to my luck he was still there, in the flesh. I literally ran and jumped into his arms, desperate to feel his touch, and smell him, and see his smile up close, but cover it with lips of my own.

  “What are you...how did you…Hi.” I couldn’t even finish a sentence, too overwhelmed by his presence.

  “Slow down, beautiful. I was just...I guess I was coming to wish you good luck.”

  “But...how did you get here?” My breathing was still frantic as I balanced inhaling his scent and kissing his face

  “Did you know technology was so advanced that they created something called airplanes?” I smacked him on the shoulder and he put me back down on the ground.

  “Shut up! But seriously…” For Miles to be here, and not just here but by the locker rooms was something I knew had to take some well thought-out strategy.

  “Big bro pulled a few strings, but that’s beside the point, ma. I wouldn’t have missed your first pro game even if it was in a different country. I love you, Ava. And I don’t care what we have to do to make this work. Hell, I’ll transfer to a college around here if I have to, but I... I need you, ma.”

  I couldn’t speak.

  Nothing – literally nothing – had prepared me for this moment. I honestly wasn’t sure if a reconciliation would ever come considering we were a world away from each other. But, leave it to Miles to make things happen.

  I pulled his face closer to mine, giving him a kiss that made up for all of the ones we had missed out on in our time apart.

  “I love you too, Miles. And you are not transferring. We’ll... we’ll figure it out.” There was no way I was gonna make him restart his college legacy somewhere new, but the gesture alone let me know how serious he was about me; how serious he was about us.

  God, I love him.

  “For real?”

  I smiled confidently as I replied, “For real.”

  “Well in
that case, I know the game starts in an hour or so, but uh... think you got time for a little PreGame Ritual?”

  the end.

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  To stay up-to-date with all of Alexandra Warren’s happenings including samples and excerpts, visit actuallyitsalexandra.com or like her Facebook page!

  More Books by Alexandra Warren

  Attractions & Distractions: Freshman Year

  Attractions & Distractions: Sophomore Year

  Attractions & Distractions: Junior Year

  Getting The Edge

  An Unconventional Love

  Check out a sample from Alexandra Warren’s previous release, An Unconventional Love, now available on Amazon!

  jasmine.

  “Ain’t this about a bitch…”

  I snatched the parking ticket off of my windshield before I fiddled with the door to my BMW. The battery on my keyless entry remote had died weeks ago and since I had yet to make it to the dealership to get a new one, I was stuck in a tussle with the door’s lock to get inside.

  They probably think I’m trying to steal it.

  Thankfully the lock popped before things got too suspicious.

  I leaned against the inside of my door as I glanced a few parallel parking spots ahead of mine at the porky parking patrolman who was writing yet another ticket. I had seen him on a few occasions, doing the same exact thing day in and day out. But now that he had messed with my car...

  “Don’t you have better things to do like going to the damn gym or something? I mean a membership can’t be more than 20 bucks!” Call me rude, but I wasn’t gonna stop until I got his attention. He was obviously picking on me by writing me a ticket so it was only right to return the favor. “Maybe if you spent less time writing these bullshit ass tickets and more time on a treadmill, that uniform wouldn’t fit so tight!”

  He finally turned my way and his initial scowl in response to my verbal assault turned into a look of lust.

  Jackpot.

  He smacked the parking ticket he had been working on, on the windshield of a SmartCar before he made his way over to me with a slow strut. Even with his sunglasses on and his patrolman hat sitting low, I could still see the smug look on his face.

  “A pretty little lady like you shouldn’t be swearing like a sailor.” A few choice words came to mind but I knew they wouldn’t help me get out of the ticket so I went the damsel in distress route instead.

  “I’m sorry. It’s just… I’ve had a really long day. My car broke down so I had to borrow my mother’s and she’ll kill me if she finds out about this ticket. She already warned me that she has a warrant out for so many parking tickets of her own and one more will probably get the car taken away which means she won’t be able to get to work and I won’t be able to get to school. I’m a first-generation college student, studying to be a lawyer now and…” I could tell my whiney little white lie was working by the way the height of his shoulders seemed to get lower and lower.

  Damn, this shit is too easy.

  “You know what? How about we just rip this little ticket up and act like it never happened? It won’t register in our system for at least another hour so I’ll have time to get rid of it by then.”

  “Seriously? You’d do that? For me?” I batted my fake eyelashes as hard as I could while I watched the buttons of his uniform shirt strain from his heavy breathing as his eyes perused my body.

  “Sure. It’s the least I could do for you, sweetie.”

  Ick.

  Since I was on a mission, I mustered up as much sweetness as I could to reply, “Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me. I mean, I know they say men in uniform always go above and beyond their call of duty but this…” I watched as he gave a slow graze of his five o’clock shadow that really looked more like five-thirty, maybe even six. He was clearly feeling himself like he was a real police officer and not a borderline rent-a-cop.

  “Just doing my job, beautiful,” he said, as he tipped his hat to me like some damn hero.

  Who does he think that flashlight is gonna save?

  I took a quick peek at his left hand to make sure my exit strategy would work and sure enough, I saw a titanium wedding band.

  “I’m sure you make your wife very proud.” His face turned a different shade of red at my acknowledgment.

  “I umm…”

  Instead of waiting around for his explanation, I tossed out, “Have a good day, sir. Thanks again.” I slid into the driver’s seat of the car that damn sure had nothing to do with my mom, shutting the door before I could be subjected to anymore of Porky’s bullshit.

  Of course I wanted nothing to do with him besides getting out of the parking ticket he gave me, but the simple fact that he was endearment dropping like his ass wasn’t married was exactly why my views on relationships were fucked up in the first place.

  I was a Daddy’s girl by nature, but growing up and watching him flirt his way through and in everything like he wasn’t married to my mom forever changed me. When I was younger, it didn’t really mean much to me that he made all the ladies smile. Hell, I honestly thought it was a good thing that every woman was always so happy to see him. But as I grew older, I learned that their smiles were in response to a lot more than just his charm and good hair.

  He was a player.

  And being that I was so enthralled by everything he stood for, I inherited all of his mannerisms; from the way he always talked with a little hint of flirtation, to the way he constantly touched women ever-so-slyly during conversations, just enough to make their skin miss his presence later on. The way he dealt with his women, making them fall under his spell time and time again, was exactly the way I dealt with every man in my life. And for the most part it worked in my favor. Any paper I turned in - during office hours - would alway get high marks. Any job interview I did was a shoe-in. Anytime I wanted sex, it was practically guaranteed.

  In all actuality, the only thing it kept me from was falling in love.

  Like real love.

  Like Jada and Will kind of love.

  Michelle and Barack kind of love.

  Hell, even the kind of love my best friend Ariel had found in her boo Jamison.

  I mean, it wasn’t like I even wanted someone to love. I surely got my fair share of intimacy. But I guess the idea of it and the fact that it felt out of my reach made it that much more...attractive.

  Unfortunately, there was no room for love as I was too busy using that kind of energy towards things a little more important.

  Like getting out of that ticket.

  I watched the flow of traffic out of my side view mirror, waiting for a good chance to jump in. I had a solid half hour before my Contemporary Issues in Laws and Politics class was due to start but judging by the traffic that had yet to stop coming, I would be late as always.

  I veered in once I thought the coast was clear and instantly heard the collision of someone’s headlight against my bumper.

  “What the fuck!”

  I put my car in park and hopped out to inspect the damage. For as bad as things sounded, there was only a small dent but that wasn’t gonna stop me from cursing whoever the driver was out after I snapped a quick pic of their license plate. There was no way in hell I was falling victim to a hit and run.

  The second I heard the door to the 95 Honda Accord creak open, I started going off. “Are you blind?! Were you not paying any attention?! This is a BMW for Christ’s sake!”

  “Calm down, girl. It was an accident. Shit happens. Just chill out for a second.”

  I didn’t have time to look at whoever the man was as I was too busy snapping shots of the damage to submit to my insurance agent by app. “Chill out?! I’ll chill out when your insurance information… if you have insurance… is in my hand so I can get to where I need to go.”

  “Look. I have places to be just like you so don’t try to put yourself on some high horse just because my
car is a different level of luxury than yours. If your ass was paying any attention, you would’ve seen me coming. But no; you were probably too busy checking yourself out in the mirror to think about other people on the road.”

  He had a point.

  I mean, I was only checking my teeth to make sure none of the spinach salad I had for a late lunch was stuck between them. But he didn’t know all of that for a fact so he definitely had no right to just make it up like he knew me or something.

  When I finally looked at him, ready to serve him my spitfire specialty on a platter, all my words seemed to get choked up in my throat. Smooth, honey-roasted skin, a legit five o’clock shadow that contradicted his fresh-out-of-the-barber’s-chair low fade, and muscles that were straining against a damp white tee like he had just came from the gym.

  Lawd.

  If I would’ve known he was this fine all along, I certainly would’ve kept my mouth closed. But now that he had came for me on some personal shit…

  “And just where do you have to be, huh? Going to visit one of your baby mamas? Gonna lay some dick on her so she’ll lower your child support payments?” Clearly the last case I had finished the paperwork for before I left the office was still in my head.

  He raised an eyebrow at me before he said, “I don’t have kids. Not that that’s any of your business. But actually I was headed home before your non-driving ass interrupted me.” I rolled my eyes, pretending to be unfazed by the bulge in his basketball shorts.

  “Anyway! Will you just...hand over your insurance card so I can snap a picture and get going? I have way better things to do than go tit-for-tat with a stranger in the street.”

  He finally cracked a smirk and my lower extremities seemed to lose a little bit of their cohesion. Thankfully he didn’t see my reaction as he was already back at his car, leaning over the front seat to get to the glove compartment. I tried to divert my attention to everything else happening around me, but somehow my eyes still gravitated to his ridiculously firm ass.