by K, S
Suzanne took note of the way Amir held Alexis' hand. She smiled and sent him an exaggerated wink. “Of course not, dear. You know the way. Take your time. It was nice to meet you, Alexis. I look forward to speaking with you later.”
Before Alexis could utter another word, Amir ushered her towards a room down the hall. Without Suzanne there to act as a buffer, she again trotted behind him to keep up. Finally, he opened a heavy wooden door and practically shoved Alexis in ahead of him.
Alexis swallowed several times when he only stared at her. “I hope you're satisfied. You didn’t have to drag me all the way in here and…”
She stopped speaking as Amir slowly began to advance toward her. Alexis tried to hold her ground, but the expression on his face made her back up until her legs hit a chair behind her, causing her to plop down in it in an unladylike sprawl.
Amir placed a hand on each arm of the chair, effectively holding her captive. “Why.”
That one word spoke volumes. Alexis tried to avoid the intensity of his gaze, but he wouldn’t let her look away. “W-why what?” she whispered.
Amir's jaw tightened as he leaned closer. She could see he was physically trying to get a reign on his temper from the way he squeezed his eyes shut and clenched and unclenched his hands around the arms of the chair.
“Alexis..." She heard the warning in his voice, but that was what gave her the courage she so badly needed right now. She was not going to let him intimidate her!
“Amir…” she mocked him, using the same tone as he. “You want to know why? Why I never told you that I was pregnant? Why would I, is more like it.”
Amir’s head snapped back as if she'd physically slapped him. He stood up to his full height then took a couple of steps back as if he didn’t trust himself to be in such close proximity to her. Alexis let out an audible sigh of relief once he was several feet away.
“What in the hell is that supposed to mean?” His voice was still dangerously low.
Alexis was able to think clearer now that he wasn’t in her space. “It means exactly what I said. Why would I tell you I was pregnant? The last words I remember you saying were, ‘no bitch is ever gonna whip me.’ That is correct, isn’t it? That’s all I was to you. Another ‘bitch’ you’d managed to fuck on spring break? And oh, let’s not forget the bonus you got.”
“First of all, that’s not why we’re in here. If you’d given me a chance to talk to you these last couple of weeks, I would’ve apologized! Don’t try to purposely confuse the issue!”
When Alexis stood up and turned her back to him, he stalked over and spun her around. “Why didn’t you tell me I had a son?!”
Alexis raised her voice to match his. “And what would you have done if I’d told you?! Laughed in my face?! Called me a liar. Said I was easy because I slept with you the first night I met you?!”
“No, I…”
“You would’ve what, Amir? I didn’t even know your last name, for Christ’s sake.” She let out a hollow laugh. “You just found mine out a few minutes ago.”
Amir couldn’t meet her eyes because he knew what she’d said was true. Then his face hardened, but before he could say a word, she continued.
“And for your information, I did try to find you. I figured there couldn’t be too many Amir’s who went to Morehouse and played football. After I found out I was pregnant, I got on a bus and rode five hours to Atlanta. Once I got to Morehouse, I went to the athletics department, and asked around until I was directed to a Coach Brown.”
Amir’s look intensified as she mentioned the name of his college football coach. Coach Brown had been instrumental in helping him perfect his game to become one of the best collegiate players in his division. He’d been like a father to Amir. “You came to Morehouse. To find me…”
Alexis squinted as she heard the touch of skepticism. “Yes. I did.”
Hearing the conviction in her voice and seeing it on her face, Amir felt an unsettling gnawing in his gut. “Okay. Let’s say you did come to Morehouse. If you’d spoken to Coach Brown, he would’ve told me. Hell, he would’ve called me. He knew how to contact me at all times.”
“Oh, I’m sure he did. When I told him my name and that I was looking for you, he led me back to his office once he saw how upset I was. He managed to get it out of me that I was pregnant with your child - and then he called me a gold digging little slut.”
“What?!” Amir shook his head. “I don’t believe you. Coach Brown would never keep something as important as this away from me.”
Alexis laughed. “He would if he thought it would ruin your squeaky clean image. He said you were on the ‘fast track to stardom’, and not only was it a foregone conclusion that you would be a first round draft pick, but endorsement deals were just waiting in the wings once you signed on the dotted line. You having a baby out of wedlock would have tainted what he’d worked so hard to accomplish with you. He said he wasn’t going to let you be another black man with a ‘baby mama’.” When Amir flinched, Alexis only looked at him and said in an emotionless voice, “His words, not mine.”
“Alexis…” Amir took a shaky breath, wary about what he was hearing.
“You still don’t believe me, do you?” Alexis laughed bitterly. “He asked me how I knew you.” She bit her bottom lip to stop it from trembling, as affected today by Coach Brown's cruel words as she had been then. “Do you know how cheap I felt when I told him I’d met you at spring break. He actually laughed. He laughed and told me you met a lot of girls at spring break.”
She remembered the look of disgust on the coach’s face. “Then he reached in his pocket and pulled out some money. He threw it at me and told me to get rid of it. Get rid of the baby and never contact you again. I was mortified. I ran out of there and took the bus back to school, determined to raise my baby on my own.”
Amir turned away from the pain on her face. He linked his fingers behind his neck and looked up at the ceiling. He believed her. Coach Brown had made it his mission to get him all the way to the top. Amir had always known Coach Brown was as addicted to the accolades and praise he received as Amir’s coach as Amir was addicted to the game itself. But it didn’t bother him, because he knew he wouldn’t have gotten as far as he had without Coach. But for him to do this, to play God and decide the fate of Amir, Alexis, and that of their unborn child...
Amir turned back to face her. "Alexis, I didn’t know. I swear to God, I didn’t know. There’s no way I would’ve let you raise our son alone.” He walked closer to her, softly touching her arm. “Were you…was there anyone to help you, your parents, or…”
Alexis shook her head. “No. My parents died the year I entered college. After I graduated, I took an entry level position and worked my way up to management and never looked back. I made sure my son never wanted for anything.”
When Amir heard her last statement, he closed his eyes. While Lexie was working to give their child the best she could, he’d had money to burn from his contract, endorsements, and bonuses.
“Alexis, you must have recognized my face in the media. Why didn’t you try to contact me again? You had to have known you could've gotten money…” He realized how that sounded the moment the words were out of his mouth. "Wait..."
She jerked away from his touch. “I didn’t want your money. I didn’t want anything to do with you at that point. My son and I got along just fine.”
Amir took a deep breath as he thought about all of the years he’d missed out on with Michael. His first words, his first steps, his first…everything. He looked at Alexis.
“I’m sorry for what happened with Coach Brown. God knows if he wasn’t dead…” Amir left the rest of the sentence hanging. “But now that I know I have a son, I’m going to be in his life.”
Alexis saw the sincerity in his eyes, heard it in his voice and nodded. “I understand, I just don’t think we should rush this. I think we need to give him some time to get used to you before -”
“I don’t think ten years
is ‘rushing it.’” His voice carried a touch of bitterness. “I’ve missed out on a decade of his life. I don’t intend to miss out on a moment more. We’ll tell him I’m his father…tonight.”
Amir’s tone left no room for argument, but Alexis realized he was right. Michael needed his father as much as Amir needed his son. “Okay. We’ll tell him.”
“Tonight, Alexis. As soon as we leave.”
Chapter 10
Amir and Alexis rejoined the celebration determined to put Michael's well-being over everything else. No matter what personal problems or unresolved issues remained between them, Michael's happiness came first. Alexis nervously bit her lip while she scanned the grounds looking for her son.
Amir noticed her worry. “Everything’s going to be okay. After we tell him, I’ll take things slow. I know he’s going to need time to digest it all.”
Alexis took a deep breath and nodded. When Michael was younger and began asking about his father, it had been easy to vaguely tell him that mommy and daddy had met in order to create him and bring him into this world. That satisfied him for a couple of years until he started going to school. Then he wanted to know why he didn’t have a dad like the other kids in his class. Alexis’ heart cried for her child. She tried to explain to him that although everyone had a father, not everyone had a dad. She constantly stressed that she would always be there for him and love him no matter what. However, the older he got, the less those answers appeased him, especially when he noticed the other fathers at their son’s games.
As she had many times before, Alexis questioned whether or not she’d done the right thing. As Amir said, she could have contacted him at any time and told him about Michael. It wouldn’t have been too hard to find him. Had she not done so because she had her child’s best interest at heart…or her own?
“There they are.” Amir broke into her musings as he spotted Michael. His pace quickened as he made his way over to Sharon and Soul who were watching Destiny and Michael climb up the water slide.
Soul and Sharon wore identical expressions which told how anxious they'd been as they waited on the two to come back. They could only imagine how upset Amir was at finding out he had a child, but after a few moments, they let out relived sighs when they saw both seemed to be in one piece.
“Everything ok?“ Sharon asked.
Amir gave her a reassuring smile. "It will be."
When Alexis heard Michael calling her, she raised a hand up to shield her eyes from the brightness of the sun and waved at him. Confident that he had her attention, Michael climbed to the top of the water slide and waved back.
The smile on Alexis' face faded when Michael turn backwards to slide down. With visions of him flipping over and breaking limbs flashing through her mind, she took a step towards the slide.
“Michael! Michael…!”
Amir grabbed her hand and held her back. “He’s okay, Alexis.”
Alexis looked at Amir, who was smiling at Michael and waving. “But, he could hurt himself."
Amir eyes twinkled with amusement. “It’s not like he’s climbing a mountain. He’s just going down a water slide. He’s good.”
Alexis stepped back grudgingly, but folded her arms with a little pout. He finds out he's a father thirty minutes ago and already thinks he knows best!
Amir noticed the petulant angle of her chin and knew exactly what she was thinking. Michael wasn’t the only person who would have to adjust to the changes that were getting ready to happen in their lives. He turned back just in time to see Destiny go down the slide first with a big smile on her face. She was followed by Michael, who flew down with hands in the air, grinning with excitement. When he got to the bottom, he and Destiny ran over to them.
“That was fun! I’m going again.” Alexis grabbed him an instant before he dashed back to get in line.
“Wait.” She bent down to get eye level with him. She hesitated, looking from him to Amir.
Michael impatiently jumped from one foot to the other. “Mom…”
“Sweetie, I’m going back to the tent to fix our plates. This is…Amir. He’s going to stay out here with you until I get everything ready.” She saw the surprise that crossed Amir's face.
Michael looked up at him and grinned. “Cool! So I can stay for a little while?”
Amir nodded and smiled at his son. Before either of them could say another word, Michael took off to get in line again. He stopped halfway there and turned back to Destiny.
“Come on Destiny.”
Destiny scrambled loose from her father’s grip and ran towards Michael without looking back.
“Well, damn…” They all laughed as Soul stood looking utterly lost.
Sharon hugged him around the waist. “Don’t worry, honey, you’re still her hero.”
“I can't tell,” Soul said jokingly as they watched Michael take Destiny’s hand and let her stand in front of him.
Sharon laughed and gave him another kiss as she and Alexis turned to go back to the tent. They had only taken a couple of steps when a deep voice called Alexis’ name. Turning around, the four of them spied a tall, slim, dark skinned brotha jog towards them.
Unknowingly, a frown slashed across Amir’s face and deepened when the man leaned down to kiss Alexis on the lips. Seeing Amir's expression, Soul smirked and let out a low snort which Amir ignored.
“David…” Her lips parted in surprise. With everything going on with Amir, she’d forgotten that she had invited him and his son to stop by.
“I’m sorry I’m late.” The man slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her to his side.
For some reason, Alexis found herself glancing at Amir who was staring at her with his brows knitted down over his eyes. When he noticed her watching him, he turned his attention back to Michael and Destiny.
“Where’s Justin?” Alexis looked around for David's eleven year old son.
David’s smile twisted into a bitter grimace. “His mother wouldn’t let him come. As you know, we made arrangements weeks ago for me to have him on the Fourth of July but apparently, she and her husband made other plans.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” David and his ex-wife had gone through a nasty divorce. He'd taken her back to court several times for violating the custody agreement.
"It's okay, baby." David kissed Alexis’ cheek tenderly.
Amir's head slowly turned towards them. He eyed the other man up and down, as if sizing him up.
“I just hate for Justin to be torn back and forth between his mother and father like this,” David said.
Amir’s laugh was almost rude. Sonuvabitch! Alexis could sympathize and commiserate with another man about not being able to see his son but had kept him away from his for ten years?? That was some bullshit! His eyes drilled the message to hers, making sure she caught it loud and clear.
David frowned, directing his attention to Amir. Wanting to oblige the brotha if he had something he needed to get off his chest, Amir turned around and stared directly at David.
Alexis quickly stepped between them. “Uh, David, I want you to meet my friend Sharon, and her husband Marvin.” David smiled and shook hands with them before looking expectedly at Amir.
Alexis swallowed and made the introduction in a rush. "And this is Amir." She ignored the provocative smirk that curled around Amir's lips. Alexis rolled her eyes in exasperation when she saw the exact moment recognition replaced David’s scowl and he made the connection.
“Hey. You’re Amir Montgomery, the ex-football player, aren’t you?” A grin spread across David’s face. His animosity from a second ago magically faded.
Amir reluctantly reached out to shake the outstretched hand David eagerly offered.
“It’s good to meet you, man. I can't tell you what a big fan I was of yours back in the day. Followed your career from Morehouse to the Falcons. You were a hell of a football player.”
Amir heard Soul softly clear his throat, reminding him to be polite and not make a scene. Amir pasted a half smi
le on his face that in no way reached his eyes and begrudgingly spit out a lie in response. “Thanks. Pleased to meet you.”
“No, really it’s an honor. Maybe I can get your autograph for my son before you leave today.”
“No problem. How old is your son?” He felt Alexis tense at the deceptively mild question. She already knew what was running through Amir’s mind.
“He’s eleven. He and Michael play on the same football team. That’s how Lexie and I met.” He smiled over at Alexis. Then a thought occurred to him. “Hey. The boys would really be psyched if you could come and meet the team one day." David glanced at Alexis. “Speaking of Michael, where is my buddy? Has he met Amir yet?? As much as he lives, eats, and breathes the game of football, he's gonna be thrilled!"
Amir’s mouth tightened as he glared at Alexis.
“David -" Alexis tried to cut him off but David was oblivious to the tension clouding the air.
“Oh there he is. He’s going to be disappointed that his ‘brother’ couldn’t make it.” David smiled at Alexis as if it were a private joke between the two of them.
Amir was seconds away from going off when Soul placed a firm hand on his shoulder. Amir clenched his teeth and remained silent, but when he saw the other man's face light up after spotting Michael, he had a vivid flashback from his glory days. An overwhelming urge to tackle David as if he were a player on the opposing team tried to sorely tempt Amir. Instead, he turned and watched his son run towards them full speed with a wide stretched grin.
“David! Hey, David!!” Michael launched himself at David and threw his arms around his neck. Destiny’s little legs pumped hard to catch up with him.
“Hey, sport! How are you?” David asked
“I’m fine. Where’s Justin?” Michael looked around when he didn't see his friend.
The smile slipped from David's lips a little. “He couldn’t make it sport. But don’t worry, I’ll bring him over soon. Maybe the four of us can go and see a movie next weekend.”
