Page 41 of Intercept My Heart

“What’s up, Nero?” I passed him the ball and told him what I needed from him. His eyes peered between Moolah and me, and he smirked.

“Let’s show these young bucks how it’s done!” Shep played quarterback while I played running back. Moolah and his homeboys thought we were slow because of our ages and size,but they clearly had lost their minds. I didn’t have these championship rings for no reason. Halfway through, I switched positions and allowed Moolah to run the ball. If he knew anything about my “washed-up” game, he would have known that I was just as much of a beast on defense as I was on offense.

The other teams stopped what they were doing to watch us, along with the coaches. I’d give Moolah credit because his speed was impressive, but like the coach mentioned before, he allowed his emotions to hinder him, which would only hurt him in the end. The moment he thought he was about to cross the line for a touchdown, I caught his flag. He should have been glad I chose flag football because, otherwise, I would have laid his ass out.

The coaches blew the whistle to end the camp for the day, so we all gathered for the last words before dismissal. Sweat dripped down my body, and I removed my shirt to cool down.

“Thank you so much for coming out, fellas. Day one was a success, and the boys were on fire. Remember to be here at eight in the morning. We’ll have refreshments and a debriefing before the players get here in the morning.” After dismissal, the players began to walk home or hop in the cars of their awaiting parents.

I noticed the brothers talking to a few of the other players, so I decided to walk over to speak with Moolah. We had gotten off on the wrong foot, and I wanted to make sure he knew how impressed I was by his skills. As I got closer, I noticed the shift in his demeanor.

“You did your thing out there today.” I reached my hand out for him to shake, and you would have thought it was covered in shit from the way he glared at it.

“I know.” He scoffed, turning his back to me as he resumed his conversation with his friends. I stood there, confused by his reaction. I wouldn’t have taken it so personally had he not dapped up Shep and Dreis a few moments ago. Clearly, he had some kind of issue with me; I just wasn’t sure what it was.

“Am I missing something? Do we have beef that I don’t know about?” Moolah kept his back toward me as his twin nudged him. Reluctantly, he turned around to face me with an angry expression on his face.

“Naw, we don’t have any beef. You would have to mean something to me in order for there to be any beef. You’re nobody to me, and I want to keep it that way, so do me a favor and stay far away from me. Everyone else may think you’re some kind of legend, but to me, you’re a b?—”

“Moo, chill out. He isn’t worth it. Let’s just go.” Now, I was really confused because although his brother attempted to calm him down, his words struck me as odd. I had never seen these kids a day in my life, so why did it seem like they both hated me?

“Aye, is everything cool over here?” Dreis must have noticed our tense interaction and decided to come over.

“Yeah, we’re straight as long as you keep this man away from me. I’m here to play football and that’s it. You can keep your lame-ass tips and advice to yourself.”

“I’m letting you slide because it’s clear you don’t have real parents in your life. I’m gonna assume your father is either dead or in jail and your mama—”Wham!I held my jaw as Moolah punched the shit out of me. If I wasn’t so pissed off, I would have been impressed with his form. However, Dreis had to hold me back from beating a minor’s ass. The taste of copper filled my mouth. This little mothafucka really rocked my shit.

“Hey! Hey! What the hell is going on?” I heard a familiar voice that left me frozen in place. The moment our eyes locked, it seemed like the whole world stopped. Years flew by, but she still held the same youthful glow as she did when we were younger. Her grown-woman frame filled in nicely, and her subtle curves only added to her sex appeal. Charae was runway model gorgeous, and she always had been.

“Rae, is that you?” Dre asked as she stepped forward to greet us. I noticed her hesitation before she finally accepted his advances and gave him a hug. The wheels in my mind began to turn as I glanced between her and the brothers. They were like copy-and-paste versions of her, but I guess I’d been in denial since I hadn’t seen her in so long.

The last I’d heard, she transferred schools and moved out of state. I had no idea we lived in the same city again. After our breakup, I fell into a dark place. My grades slipped, and my spot on the team became jeopardized because I lost myself. I had never experienced heartbreak until the night our relationship ended for good.

In order to get her out of my system, I began partying and drinking my sorrows away. That led to a domino effect of consequences. When the head coach sat me on the bench and gave me an ultimatum, I made the decision to put her and my past in the rearview so I could focus on my future.

“Hey. Long time no see. How have you been?” Charae attempted to have small talk with Dre, making sure to ignore me in the process. Maybe I should have expected this reaction from her; however, it still stung. While I could admit that I fucked up my second year on campus, I meant what I said when I told her it was a mistake. I would never regret my daughter, but I still had no memory of that night with Harper.

All I recalled was getting drunk and Harper asking if I needed to lie down. Everything about that night was a blur, even after all these years. After it happened, I panicked and tried to brush it off as if it didn’t happen. When Harper showed up at my dorm with a positive pregnancy test, it blew my mind. I had been fucking since I was fifteen and never had as much as a pregnancy scare. In fact, Charae was the only woman I ever made love to with no protection.

One night cost me the love of my life, and I didn’t think I’d truly recovered from that shit. When Drake confessed about the two of them sleeping together, my whole world fell apart. Those were some of the worst months of my life, and seeing her again reminded me of the pain losing her caused me.

“Ma, can we get out of here?” Moolah pressed. Her eyebrows furrowed as the two of them communicated with their eyes.

“What happened? You promised me you were gonna be on your best behavior.” Moolah sucked his teeth as he glared at me.

“This wasn’t on me. Coach teamed me up with this wack ass?—”

“Language, Moo. Don’t play with me,” Rae warned. He instantly shifted his body and corrected himself for his mother.

“I’m sorry, Mama. I wasn’t happy with the person the coach chose to lead us, so I reacted. I apologize.”

“It’s all good. Everyone has a bad day, so there are no hard feelings on my end,” I voiced.

“Naw, you misunderstood, my guy. I apologized to my mama, not you. You’re still lame, and I don’t want you anywhere near me.” With that, he walked off with his brother trailing behind him. This time, I looked to Sunny for assistance.

“Do you want to tell me what that’s about? I’m used to people hating me, but I’ve never had a child look at me like that.”

“I-I… This really isn’t the place for this conversation. I’m really sorry about Moolah’s behavior. He’s a good kid.”

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