Breakfast I left my room and walked into the kitchen and opened the cabinet to find something quick to eat. Pop tarts and granola bars Hmmm I grabbed a granola bar and shut the cabinet and started the single cup coffee maker so that I wouldn’t have to stop by the café. Once it started brewing I went back in my room to make sure my book bag was packed. After I shoved all of my books into it I grabbed my phone, keys and scarf before I shout off my light and locked my door. I dumped my book bag on the sofa and placed my keys and phone on the counter while I poured my coffee into one of our reusable coffee cups, overloaded it with cream and sugar and then secured the lid on it. Ready or not, it was time to leave. Let us pray.
Four hours later, I was back in my dorm and had survived another day of classes. Toni wasn’t there when I got back so I assumed she made it to class okay which I figured was a good sign because as of last night she didn’t have the motivation to do anything productive after her situation with Ethan. It was time for a quick nap and then study time. I kicked off my Chucks, one landed in the center of the floor while the other one I had no visual of. I plugged my phone in, draped my turtle blanket over my body, closed my eyes and the second I felt myself my phone started vibrating. Dang it.
“Hey you.” I said, it was Xavier
“What are you doing?”
“Trying to take a nap.”
“I’ll let you go.”
“Too late, I’m up now.”
“I wish I could come join you but I’ve got practice in like forty-five minutes.”
“Just skip it. I’m the better option.”
“True, but coach would kill me and I wouldn’t be able to play Friday.”
“I’m cool with that.”
“So you want me to suffer?”
“No but if it means I get more time with you then I think I can live with it.”
“Selfish, selfish, selfish.” He laughed.
“Am not.”
“Yes you are but it’s all good. If I were you, I would want all of me all the time too.”
“Cocky, cocky, cocky.” I said sarcastically
“I told you, I’m not cocky, just confident.”
“Same thing.”
“Whatever.” He laughed again “Have you talked to Leigh yet?”
“No, what’s up?”
“Please call her, she’s been blowing up my phone about this weekend. The team gets here Saturday morning, but she wants to stay with you Friday night so she wants you to come get her.”
I thought about the fact that he had a game on Friday and wouldn’t be able to make the hour drive there and back to pick her up.
“I’ll call her.” I held my phone away from my face long enough to check the time. “What time does she get out of school?”
“Three fifteen.”
“I should be able to get her. I only have a lab on Friday so I think I can get there and back in time for your game.”
“Can Toni go with you, I don’t really want you going by yourself?”
“I’ll check father, but if not, I’ll be fine. I’ve done it a million times.”
“Funny Ky. I’m serious tough just check and let me know.”
“I will.” I swear you’re worse than my parents sometimes.
“We’ve got a team meeting tonight at 8:00 but it shouldn’t last long so I can be there by like nine I think.”
“Do you want me to just come there?”
“That’s up to you.”
“I don’t mind.”
“You sure, you’ve been here a lot and I can come after the meeting.”
“I’m sure.”
“Okay well I’ll make sure Chaz is here.”
I’m not five but okay “Alright, you do realize that I’m in my dorm by myself, all the time.”
“You don’t live in an athletic dorm full of dumb ass guys who only use their brains about ten percent of the time and jail is not an option for me right now so I will make sure Chaz is here when you get here.” I couldn’t argue with that so I let it go, he was right
All I said was, “Okay.”
“I’ve gotta go, Love you.”
“Love you more.”
I placed my phone back on my nightstand and got comfy again. I smiled at when I thought about how protective Zay was with me. It was a little much sometimes but I couldn’t really complain because I knew it meant that he cared. He always made me feel safe and I wouldn’t trade that for anything in the world.
Xavier Lee
I leaned on the frame of Chaz’s door while he was pecking away at the keyboard of his computer with his chubby oversized fingers totally violating the keys. It looked awkward and I felt sorry for his laptop as he struggled to find each letter. I was positive that he had skipped keyboarding in high school.
“What’s up Chaz, you gonna be around here later?”
“Not sure what ya need?”
“I have a team meeting at 8:00 and Ky is staying tonight. I don’t really want her here alone, so if you don’t mind hanging out here until I get back, I’d appreciate it.”
“Yeah, that’s cool.”
“You need anything, you straight?” I thought about the fact that Chaz didn’t have a car and he was on scholarship but his parent’s usually made sure he had a steady flow of cash when they had it to spare.
“Nah, I’m good but thanks.”
“You know if you need anything, I got you. Just ask.”
“What I need is to finish annotating this poem but I can’t type worth shit.”
“That, I can’t help with but I’ll pay somebody to do it for you.” I said and laughed. I was pretty decent at typing but I barely could make it through my own assignments so I damn sure wasn’t about to do anyone else’s.
“I might have to take you up on that.” He said before he began violating the keys on his laptop again. I left him there pounding the keys and cussing.
I went back to my room grabbed my practice bag, locked my door and headed towards the elevator. The dorms were unusually loud for this time of day. I could hear TV’s blasting and several radios playing so I stopped by Jason’s room just before I reached the elevator.
“What’s up Jas, you don’t have conditioning today.” Jason was one of the first string wide receivers and they trained year round like we did usually during the same times so I figured something was going on.
“We have a recruit coming today so Coach moved our time back. We have dinner at five and then we’re running through a weight session with the recruit after we’re done.”
“You’ve got somebody coming on a Monday?” Recruits usually visited on the weekend so it was strange that somebody was visiting on a Monday.
“Yeah, he’s local and apparently being vetted by a lot of schools so Coach is trying to get him before the others get their hands on him.
“Break him in good.”
“No doubt. We don’t really want him. From what I hear he’s good but he knows it. Not a team player and flashy as hell. I don’t have time for that.”
“What position?”
“QB”
“Good luck with that. I’m out. I’ll catch up with you later.”
“Alright.”
When I made it to my Jeep I started the engine and turned the heat on high. I sat there for a minute to give it a chance to warm up before I pulled off. Ethan’s truck wasn’t in the parking lot so I figured he had already left. I hadn’t really seen much of him in the past 24 hours but when I did it was at practice and we didn’t have much time to talk. I needed to feel him out about Toni to see where his head was at because both Ky and Toni were counting on me to fix Toni’s screw up. I wasn’t really pressed about the issue because I figured that he just needed a minute to let things settle and then they would be cool again.
As soon as I walked into the locker I knew that this was going to be a long practice. Coach was writing on one of the dry erase boards and he had already scribbled out plays on three of the others.
“What’s up wi
th him?” I sat down in front of my locker and looked at Davis who was across from me.
“He’s on one today. Apparently we’re tied in the conference so we need to win Friday.”
“Here we go.” Damn, definitely not in the mood for this.
“Seriously.”
“What’s up Zay?” Ethan sat down next to me and dropped his shoes on the floor in front of him.
“What’s up with you, you straight?”
“I’m good.” I looked at him trying to figure out what kind of “good” he meant.
“You talked to Toni.”
“For what? She made her choice.”
“So you’re done like that?” Shit.
“Bruh, I don’t have time for that. I don’t do that back and forth.”
“Keeping it one hundred, you can’t really trip. You’re still kickin’ it with Shaunie.”
Ethan laughed, “Damn man, you’re supposed to be on my side.”
“Dude, I got you but your situation is complicating my situation so this is about me.”
“That’s even worse, how are you gonna have my back but then make it about you.”
I laughed. “Look I need Ky to be happy right now so if it means throwing you under the bus then hell, a brothers gotta do what a brothers gotta do. But real talk, she messed up and she knows it don’t be too hard on her because she told me she hasn’t been with him since you two have been together and I believe.”
“Yeah I know. It just pissed me off. I’ll talk to her.”
“All eyes on me.” We both looked up at coach along with the rest of the team. …and here we go
-----
I decided to check my mailbox since it had been almost three weeks. I never really got mail at school so I could have probably gone another month or so and not really missed anything. When I reached the mail room I swiped my id card, pushed the door open and walked to the end of the hall where my box was. I could hear voices on the other side but neither of them sounded familiar so I opened my box and pulled out the contents. Basically the usual, credit card offers, school flyers and post cards but there was also a large over stuffed manila envelope. I read the return address searching for clues on what it could be and realized it was from my father. I was curious how he knew my mailing address at school and even more curious about what on earth he could have sent me but I wasn’t really in the mood to deal with it at the moment so I shoved it under my arm, tore up the card offers and threw them away along with the flyers.
A few minutes later I was back in my dorm room and about to shower. I already had the water running so when my phone rang I almost ignored it answered at the last minute.
“Sup?”
“What’s up stranger?” Damn Tori.
“What do you want?”
“Wow, that’s where we are right now?” she sounded irritated like she had the right to be.
“You’re joking right? I don’t have time for this. I’m out and do yourself a favor, delete my number.”
“Zay wait…”
I hung up. She had to be crazy.
I pulled off my shirt, practice shorts dropped them both on the floor before I walked into my bathroom and shut the door. The bathroom quickly filled with steam so I shed by boxer briefs and stepped inside. Did she really just try and talk to me like nothing ever happened. Like she didn’t confront Ky about a fake pregnancy and almost make me lose her. This chick had to be crazy. I laughed because it was so insane that I couldn’t help myself. Absolutely insane.
When I opened my bathroom door I noticed my bedroom door was open so I stepped out, shut it and looked around the corner. Ky was sitting at my desk on the phone and she looked up and smiled when she saw me.
“He just got out of the shower.”
“That is extremely in appropriate and I will tell him that.” She grinned, stood up and moved close to me placed her free arm around my waist and let it rest on my back. I realized that she was on my phone.
“Who are you talking to?” I asked but she ignored me and kept talking
“Exactly. I will make sure he knows that.” She laughed and then lifted her weight onto her toes to kiss me.
“I will call you back on my phone in a little bit okay?”
“I won’t, bye.” She tossed my phone onto my bed and then locked her hands behind my back.
“Your sister said that it was that it was very inappropriate for you to take a shower while I’m here.”
“Technically, I started my shower before you got here.” I kissed her on the forehead, stepped around her and picked up my practice clothes off the floor. The towel that I had wrapped around my waist to almost fall off but I caught it and readjusted it.
“Why are you here so early?”
“Wow, I’m glad to see you too.”
I dropped my practice clothes into my hamper, pecked her on the lips before I sat on my bed and laid back.
“You know I didn’t mean it like that.” She sat down next to me.
“I don’t know. I just felt like it.” She lifted her hand and slide her finger up the side of my towel but I caught it and firmly grabbed her wrist to stop her.
“Don’t start something that you can’t finish.”
“It’s not my fault that you have to leave.” She smiled and snatched her wrist away from me.
“What did Leigh want?” I decided to change the subject or I knew that I wasn’t going to make it to my team meeting.
“She didn’t say. Probably because she got side tracked talking to me about this weekend.”
“Can Toni go with you?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“Did you ask her?”
“Zay, I got this. Chill.”
I could tell that she was getting irritated and it’s not like Toni could help if anything crazy happened but I just didn’t like her being on the road by herself like that but I let it go anyway. For now.
“What time is it?” I held my head up and tried to see my DVD player, while Ky picked up my phone instead.
“7:22”
“I need to get dressed.”
“What’s the meeting about?” She tucked her leg under her butt and turned towards me as I sat up.
“Not sure but there’s not telling knowing Coach. He’s always so random.”
“So you don’t think you’ll be that long.”
“I don’t know why?”
“Just asking.”
I pulled her across my lap and she fell back and grabbed my arm to stop herself from falling completely back. “I’m not gonna let you fall.” I said and laughed.
“I never know with you.”
“Whatever man.” I leaned towards her and kissed her before she pulled herself to a seated position on my lap but I forced her to stand up and then did the same.
“Yeah that’s not gonna work or I will never get out of here in time.”
“Oh so you’re finally admitting that you have no self-control.”
I opened my draw, pulled out a pair of boxer briefs and slide them on under my towel before I pulled it off and tossed it on the bed. “No, I have control which is why I’m getting dressed instead of undressing you.”
“Mmhm.” She grinned and sat down on the center of my bed and crossed her legs.
I finished getting dressed and checked to make sure Chaz was in his room which he was so I stuck my head back in my door. “I’m about to leave. Hopefully I won’t be that long.”
“Okay. I’m about to do homework.”
She slid off the side of my bed, picked up her book bag off the floor next to my desk, dumped it on the bed and then she followed scooting back against the wall before she started pulling out books and binders. I shut the door and left praying that coach wasn’t in one of his moods.
-----
“Anybody know what this meeting is about?” I asked when I entered the locker room. I was one of the last ones to show up followed by Trey and Davis who walked in right behind me.
“So what’s this
wasted of time about?” Trey asked right after me
“This waste of time is about the fact that you horny bastards don’t respect housing rules and therefore I have to spend the next.” Coach looked at his wrist and then back at us “fifteen minutes explaining the consequences of you idiots not practicing safe sex.”
We all looked at each other trying to figure out if Coach was kidding or being serious.
“I always keep it wrapped tight coach. You don’t have to worry about me so can I skip this.” Trey said yelled from the corner of the locker room.
“I didn’t know you needed to use condoms for self-gratification.” Davis said which caused the entire team to erupt into laughter.
“I got your self-gratification right here.” Trey said and threw a basketball at Davis
“I don’t want to be here any longer than I have to so let’s get this over with.” Coach said attempting to get us under control “Apparently, you guys along with the football team have been breaking the overnight guest rules so I have been instructed to explain this rule to you as well as the consequences if you continue to break this rule.”
“It’s the swim team isn’t it coach? They’re just pissed because the ladies love ballers.” Ty said and laughed. “They’re always sweating us. I swear.”
“I really don’t give a shit who told and I don’t really give a shit why. All I care about is not getting calls from the Dean at eleven o’clock at night to complain about my players. If I’m not happy then you’re not happy and trust me, you won’t like how that turns out. So here it goes. You are allowed overnight guest of the opposite sex, however the following rules apply. 1 your guest can not stay any more than three consecutive nights in a row and no more than 6 overnight stays per month. 2 all guest must sign in at the security station and have valid id such as driver’s license or school id. Is that understood?”
Kya & Xavier: It's Always Been You (Life As We Know It Book 1) Page 28
