“Me?”
“Yeah.”
“What about me?” Her eyebrows were raised in curiosity, and his deep voice gave her goose bumps.
“I was just thinking about today. It was nice meeting your parents and chillin’ with you outside of school. They were cool as hell,” he said.
“You just say that because they’re not yours. And I thought you said you were thinking about me? Tell me what you’re thinking about. I can’t sleep. I got all night.”
“I mean, how can I not be thinking about you. I’m talking to you, ain’t I?”
“You know what I mean!”
“Ugh! Why do you do this to me?” His exaggerated laughter faded into a sigh as he tried to hold off his confession. “I was just thinking about how I can’t wait to see you at school tomorrow. There, are you happy now?”
“As a matter a fact, I am.” She giggled.
“Yeah, yeah, don’t get a big head. But what about you? What are you doing up so late? It’s already a quarter to two,” he said. Jordan could hear him flipping through television channels in search of something good to watch. “Be for real, I know you’re over there fantasizing about me. Admit it.” His irresistible tone had Jordan on her feet. She bit her lip; her body temperature was up. She began to pace the room, anticipating the topics their conversation was bound to explore that night, until a high-pitched beep rang in her ear.
“Dammit! My phone is about to die.” She was annoyed by the flashing battery symbol on the screen.
Warren barely had time to say good-night before the caller ID screen went black. Jordan sighed and lazily dropped the phone on the floor beside her bed before rolling over. She felt awkward for lying there beaming, but she was overjoyed, and she couldn’t stop no matter how hard she tried. She closed her eyes and struggled to fall asleep as images of Warren flooded her thoughts. He seemed like everything she could ever ask for in a boyfriend, but she had never viewed him in such a way before out of respect for her friendship with Adrienne.
Now, with Adrienne out of the way and with her parents’ approval, she was free to feel any way she wanted. She couldn’t deny that she had developed a serious crush on Warren Taylor, and something made her think he might reciprocate her feelings. The line between them had died that night, but Jordan knew she’d made a new connection.
CHAPTER 13
“Jordan! Hurry up! We’re already running late!” Olivia was hollering to be heard over the stereo, but Jordan ignored her. Seconds later, she jumped and spun around when she heard the door to her room open. Her mother stood in the doorway. She hadn’t bothered to knock, and she pointed her finger toward the floor as a signal to lower the music.
Jordan was on the verge of a breakdown as she paced her room barefoot. She was only half-dressed, her hair was still wet from her shower, and discarded clothes seemed to cover every surface.
“What’s wrong? I thought you said the game started at seven? Why aren’t you ready yet?”
“Because…” she whined, “I don’t have anything to wear!”
Jordan dropped to her bed in hopelessness. Her mother put her hands on her hips and studied the length of the room.
“Jordan, if you don’t throw something on…You’ve got plenty of cute stuff. Here. What about this?” Her mother handed her a white strapless top with a black belt that wrapped around the stomach. “And what’s wrong with those pants you got on?”
“Nothing, I guess.” Jordan twisted her mouth as she stood and evaluated her choice in the mirror.
“See that. Now all you really need is some cute shoes. How about those black pumps you have? I’ve never really seen you wear them.” Olivia moved a small pile of clothes to the side and took a seat on the edge of Jordan’s bed.
“Oh! I forgot all about those. Thank you!” Jordan didn’t hesitate to grab the peep-toe heels from the bottom of her closet. She was a big fan of sneakers and usually found the labor involved in wearing heels to be bothersome. But tonight she was willing to make an exception. She wanted to make sure she looked exceptional for Warren.
As she took a seat on the floor to slide on her shoes, her mother began brushing her hair. Jordan was relaxed by the soothing strokes, and she felt silly for having gotten so upset.
“So, Warren can really ball, right? You’re not having me sit up here with you at this game if he’s a bench rider.”
“What! You were the one who wanted to come. And for your information, Warren has scouts coming to this game tonight.” Jordan was caught off guard by her mother’s words, and by the hint of pride she felt.
“Oooh, you sure told me, didn’t you? Aha, Jordan’s got a crush,” her mother teased.
“Mom! No, I don’t!”
“Yes, you do. I can tell.”
Her mother opened a jar of moisturizer and rubbed it through Jordan’s hair. She parted the hair and made two smooth French braids on each side. After a quick inspection in a hand mirror, Jordan quickly got back on her feet and hurried to her dresser.
She rubbed peach-flavored lip gloss on her lips and pulled an eyelash curler out of the top drawer.
“Uh-uh, look at you. You know you don’t need that. You got those good eyelashes like Mommy.”
“Whatever.”
“Don’t brush me off. I spent nine months making you. I want to admire my work.”
Jordan just shook her head and closed her eyes as she let the fresh peach scent of one of her favorite body sprays fall on her skin. She opened her eyes and turned toward her mother.
“How do I look?”
Her mother waved her hand to fan the mist away from her nose.
“You look very pretty.”
“Mom! When are we leaving?” Tariq sounded as though he’d used all his might to project his tiny voice from the bottom of the stairs.
“In a minute, Tariq!” Olivia yelled. “Wow, look who’s more excited to go to this game than you,” she whispered to Jordan.
“Nah, I don’t know about that.”
“So I take it you’re finally ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
Jordan pushed the limit of how fast she could walk in her heels as she made her way to the school entrance. Her mother and Tariq were right behind her, hand in hand. Tariq was practically skipping, he wanted so badly to see a basketball game played by the “big kids,” especially Warren.
As the ticket taker at the door stamped their hands for admission, Jordan scanned the crowd for a place to sit. It was a packed house tonight, and they’d arrived during halftime.
Olivia tucked her change in her purse as Jordan led the way to a cramped space courtside. They quickly hustled over to the bleachers and those already seated were kind enough to scoot over and make more room.
Jordan violently chewed a now flavorless piece of gum she’d bribed from Tariq while she stared at the entrance the players would return from. The cheerleading squad revved up the crowd, generating more anticipation and thirst for a home victory. Loyal supporters had their cheeks painted with the school’s colors, and they had the floor shaking from pounding their feet.
Jordan watched the group of cheerleaders scamper from center court with wide, exaggerated smiles held tight on their faces. The applause was beginning to die, and her mother leaned over to speak to her. She was only on her first word when the applause came back to life and the stands broke out in an uproar.
Jordan was torn away from her mother’s message, and she stood to see the teams reentering the gym, more than ready to finish the game. Jordan spotted Warren and screamed his name for him to hear her. She tried to mask her surprise when he actually acknowledged her with a wave and sprinted over to her.
“I thought you weren’t going to make it.” Warren was overwhelmed with adrenaline. He stared admiringly at Jordan before forcing himself to greet her family. He extended his hand for a low five from Tariq as he said, “Hi, Mrs. Wright, Riq. Nice ya’ll could make it.”
“Hey there, yourself. Good luck out there.”
; “You better go.” Jordan spotted Coach Avery’s eyes burning into Warren’s neck and nodded his way.
“I know. Good luck.” She could hear the crowd shouting out his name and number everywhere around her when she stood and fearlessly planted a kiss on his cheek.
The crowd let out a round of “aws,” and Jordan reclaimed her seat, laughing and growing hot with embarrassment. Warren arrogantly played up their moment and motioned the crowd to keep it up. Jordan didn’t take her eyes off him as he ran to the other end of the court. His jersey flowed in the wind, and his muscular arms were highlighted by his glistening sweat.
Jordan hoped for some time alone with him tonight. She looked over at her mother and brother and weighed her chances. Her father was out tonight, playing poker with his friends. She just wanted a chance to get to know Warren away from school and her parents.
Jordan glanced at the scoreboard for a moment, and the buzzer sounded. The countdown for the final thirty-odd seconds of the game had begun. The score was 62–62. Apparently the Hornets had made quite a few improvements since the last time they’d squared off, and Warren looked exhausted from carrying the team. He’d scored more than half of their points.
Jordan held her breath as she watched him dash from the sideline and down the court. She bit her nails as she watched him pass the ball to another player to slip by a block set up for him. Not even one second later Warren signaled for the ball and gracefully received it. He was ready to take it to the hole and go out with a bang by winning the game with a slam dunk, but time was running out. He opted not to show off, but when he went to go inside, he had men guarding him from every angle to lock him down.
The screams and cheers coming from the stands faded, and Warren jumped as high as he could and shot the ball. His Jordans landed on the three-point line, and he held his pose until the basketball swooshed through the net.
“Warren Taylor with the jumper! And he makes it! I’ve never seen anything like it! Number five wins the game for the team!”
The announcer continued to have a fit over the PA system, and the school gym erupted into wild celebration. Fans rushed the mirrorlike hardwood floor, but Jordan stuck close to her mother as the rowdy crowd swallowed Warren and then lifted him high enough for everyone to see. They sat him on their shoulders as if they were placing him on a throne.
Jordan sought to make eye contact because she was afraid to brave the crowd and get closer to him. Warren was breathing hard, but he never stopped smiling and releasing his energy through victorious yells. His team surrounded him with praise, and others with congratulations. He continued to listen as he wiped his dripping face with a small hand towel tossed his way, and his eyes continuously searching below him.
Jordan stood with her hands cupped together, impatiently wanting to congratulate him on his win. She was on the tips of her toes so fast she came close to jumping clear off the ground. Warren was looking directly at her and blew her a kiss that could’ve knocked her over in her awestruck condition.
“Jordan, we need to get going to beat all this traffic. Your brother needs to get home and get to bed,” Olivia said.
“But I want to say hi to Warren first,” Tariq moaned as his arm hung weakly from his mother’s hand. He’d had an active day of playing in the sun, and what small reserve of energy he’d had left had been drained over the course of the game.
“Well, I’m in no mood to deal with these crazy people and their driving, Tariq. You’re just going to have to talk to him later.”
“Mom?” Jordan looked down at the floor when posing her question.
“Yeah?”
“Do you mind if I stay?” she asked, lagging behind.
“How are you going to get home?”
“I’ll ask Warren to drop me off. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”
“Does he have his license?”
“Yes, Mom.”
“All right, you can stay. But I expect you in by midnight and not a second later. Don’t test me, Jordan. I’m not even playing with you.”
“Okay, Mom. I promise I’ll be home by twelve.” Jordan knew why her mother was so testy and did her best to reassure her that she was still trustworthy.
“Okay. Have fun. I love you.” Jordan could slightly feel her mother’s acrylic nails on her scalp as she pulled her close and kissed her on the cheek.
“I love you, too. Bye, Riq.”
“Twelve o’clock.”
Jordan turned her back on her mother’s warning to search for Warren all over again in the diminishing crowd. She had just begun to feel disappointment sinking in when a pair of firm arms grabbed her from behind and hugged her. Warren pecked the nape of her neck and she whirled around to see him face-to-face.
“Oh my God, you were amazing! What did the scouts say? Anything?”
“I don’t know. I’ll have to see what they say, wait until they talk to Coach.”
“Oh. Well, anyway, you did so good! I’m so proud of you!”
“Thank you.” He paused and looked around. “Where’d everybody go?” he asked in reference to Olivia and Tariq.
“Oh. They went home. I hope you’re not mad, but I said you’d give me a ride back.”
“It’s cool. What time you got to be in?”
“Twelve.”
“A’ight. Well, let me go change and we can be out. Give me ten minutes.”
“Okay.”
“Here are my keys. You can wait for me in my whip if you want.”
“Okay, it’s the silver Impala, right?” Jordan toyed with the keys in her hand, and just when she’d gotten the question out of her mouth, a rambunctious friend of Warren’s interrupted them to share the win and approve of Warren’s performance.
“Ahh! My nigga Warren was killin’ them niggas!”
Warren gave a quick nod, giving Jordan the go-ahead, and watched her walk away. Jordan turned to face him again, holding his eyes as she backed out of the gym. She liked the way he was looking at her, watching her hips sway back and forth.
“Ay! Hello! You all there?” His friend, Marlon, was waving his hands inches from his face.
Warren suddenly shook his head and grinned at Jordan, flashing ten fingers and mouthing, “Ten minutes.”
She smiled back and walked out the door, allowing Warren to reply. Whenever Jordan was in his presence, it was as though no one else existed at that moment.
CHAPTER 14
Jordan sat patiently for an extra five minutes as she thumbed through Warren’s book-like CD case. The overhead light went on, and Jordan turned to see Warren toss his duffel bag on the backseat and take his place behind the wheel. As he turned the key in the ignition, he immediately started seeking a track on the CD currently playing. He settled for “Wonder Woman” by Trey Songz, and by the time the first verse came on, the school was in his rearview mirror.
Warren let down all the windows and opened the sunroof to get some relief from the humidity. The sky was nearly covered in lavender clouds, but the moon still shone brightly, never permanently obscured.
“So, what are you trying to get into tonight?” he asked casually.
“I don’t know. It’s already a little late. I just wanted to get away from the house for a minute.”
“I feel you.”
“How are you so calm right now? If I were you I wouldn’t know what to do.” Jordan found his court skills to be jaw-dropping.
“Man, I’m just tryin’ to chill and reflect on things. Shit, I know I’m definitely trying to spend my time with you. What made you want to come chill with me tonight?”
“I don’t know,” she lied with a shrug. She thought it best to keep her feelings inside, and stiffened when trying to come up with scenarios in which she could tell him she cared about him.
“Whatever it was, I’m happy you did. But before we do anything, do you care if we run by my crib real fast? I just need to hop in the shower right quick. I promise I won’t take long.”
“Okay, as long as you feed me after that.
I’m starving.”
“See, now, that’s what I’m talking about! I’m hungry as hell. Don’t you try and front by ordering a salad and shit either.”
“Shut up!” She playfully smacked him in the arm and laughed. She rubbed her lips together to spread the small amount of gloss left on her lips and made sure the tips of her braids were still in place on her shoulders.
“Damn,” Warren said, turning his head to look at her.
“Warren, watch the road!” Jordan screamed as the car began to drift into the oncoming lane. They were lucky there was no traffic.
“Why are you trippin’!” Warren asked as he steered the car back inside the lines in the road.
“Because! You’re up here swerving all over the place with your non-driving self!”
“My bad, but you’re going to have to stop doing that.” He chuckled.
“Doing what? I didn’t do anything!”
“Yes, you did. It’s your fault. You distracted me,” he joked.
“I distracted you how? You’re full of it!” Jordan was worked up, and laughed along.
“’Cause, man, you’re just sitting over there looking so good, I can’t stop myself from just…looking at you. You don’t know how many times I had to catch myself during the game. I thought you weren’t even going to come at first, but then I saw you and—” He looked over at the passenger seat and Jordan bashfully smiled back. “Ha. I’ve said too much,” he said, weakly laughing at himself.
They cruised down the street, then came to a stop sign. He rested his arm behind the headrest of her seat and looked deep into her eyes when he spoke. “Stop being so scared and just relax. Ain’t nothing bad going to happen. You trust me?”
Jordan didn’t hesitate to say yes, and Warren tested her by pulling off and holding their stare. He did so only for a few seconds, and Jordan remained calm. Once he reached the entrance to an upper-middle-class housing complex, he zoomed for his house. Jordan noticed the darkened interior as they sat facing an opening garage door, and focused on the music.
Jordan’s mind went into overdrive as the door hit concrete behind the car. Warren had his bag out of the backseat before she had even opened her door. He could tell she was concerned as he turned his key in the lock.
16 Isn't Always Sweet Page 9
